Responses in carcass lean pH at 24 hours post-mortem in lines of Large White pigs selected for growth rate on a fixed ration over a set time

A restricted maximum likelihood analysis applied to an animal model showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) in pH value of the longissimus dorsi measured at 24 h post-mortem (pH24) between high and low lines of Large White pigs selected over 4 years for post-weaning growth rate on restricted feeding. Genetic and phenotypic correlations between pH24 and production and carcass traits were estimated using all performance testing records combined with the pH24 measurements (5.05-7.02) on slaughtered animals. The estimate of heritability for pH24 was moderate (0.29 ± 0.18). Genetic correlations between pH24 and production or carcass composition traits, except for ultrasonic backfat (UBF), were not significantly different from zero. UBF had a moderate, positive genetic correlation with pH24 (0.24 ± 0.33). These estimates of genetic correlations affirmed that selection for increased growth rate on restricted feeding is likely to result in limited changes in pH24 and pork quality since the selection does not put a high emphasis on reduced fatness.

Thin-walled timber and FRP-timber veneer composite CEE-sections

This paper compares the structural performance between thin-walled timber and FRP-timber composite Cee-sections. While, thin-walled composite timber structures have been proven to be efficient and ultra-light structural elements, their manufacturing is difficult and labour intensive. Significant effort and time is required to prevent the cracking of the transverse timber veneers, bent in the grain direction, when forming the cross-sectional shape. FRP-timber structures overcome this disadvantage by replacing the transverse veneers with flexible, unidirectional FRP material and only keeping the timber veneers which are bent in their natural rolling direction. The Cee-sections investigated in this study were 210 mm deep × 90 mm wide × 500 mm high and manufactured from five plies. For both section types, the three internal plies were thin (1 mm thick) softwood Hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) veneers, orientated along the section longitudinal axis. The two outer layers, providing bending stiffness to the walls, were Hoop pine veneers (1 mm thick) for the timber sections and glass fibre reinforced plastic (0.73 mm thick) for the FRP-timber sections orientated perpendicular to the inner layers. The manufacturing process is briefly introduced in this paper. The profiles were fitted with strain gauges and tested in compression. Linear Variable Displacement Transducers also recorded the buckling along one flange. The test results are presented and discussed in this paper in regards to their structural behaviour and performance. Results showed that the use of FRP in the sections increases both the elastic local buckling load and section capacity, the latter being increased by about 24 percent. The results indicate that thin-walled FRP-timber can ultimately be used as a sustainable alternative to cold-formed steel profiles.