Feather

The use of feathers as an indicator of mercury exposure requires imderstanding the life cycle and ecology of each species. Because some species migrate, the location of exposme can be problematic. However, this disadvantage can be ehminated by 

The feather is one of the great engineering marvels of the natural world. They are low in density, but can be very strong. Feathers are composed of keratin, 

which are warm-blooded animals in the class Aves, are the only animals that have feathers. There are six different types of feathers, which are classified according to their shape, purpose, and where they are found on the bird. 

The vanes consist of individual, parallel branches called barbs. The barbs each look like a tiny feather, with two rows of tiny barbed branches called bar-bules. The barbules on adjacent barbs interlock, which gives the feather vane its flexible strength. In non-flying birds like the emu and ostrich, the barbules are not hooked together, resulting in contour feathers that appear fluffy, rather than flat and sleek. 

Some contour feathers include an additional structure, a smaller rachis that emerges from the shaft below the vanes. This afterfeather or aftershaft has branching barbs, but no barbules, so it is downy or fluffy. This type of feather is seen most often in the family Phasianidae (pheasants and grouse). 

Semi-plumes have characteristics of both down and contour feathers. They tend to be short, with some downy barbs. They lie directly beneath the contour feathers, giving both support and insulation. 

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Waxes are water repelling solids that are part of the protective coatings of a number of living things including the leaves of plants the fur of animals and the feathers of birds They are usually mixtures of esters m which both the alkyl and acyl group are unbranched and contain a dozen or more carbon atoms Beeswax for example contains the ester triacontyl hexadecanoate as one component of a complex mixture of hydrocar bons alcohols and esters... 

Wax (Section 26 5) A mixture of water repellent substances that form a protective coating on the leaves of plants the fur of animals and the feathers of birds among other things A principal component of a wax is often an ester in which both the acyl portion and the alkyl portion are characterized by long carbon chains... 

I remember snow, Soft as feathers, Sharp as thumb tacks,.. . ... 

Birch leaf extract Birch reduction Birch-type reactions Bird feathers Bird repellents Bireactive dyes Birkeland-Eyde process Birnessite [1244-32-5] b-Bisabolene [495-61-4]... 

In the United States, more than 16.3 x 10 kg of human-inedible raw materials are available each year, and the rendering industry is a valuable asset in diverting these into valuable ingredients for use primarily in animal foods (4). The three largest meat packers are responsible for nearly four-fifths of aU red meat production (5) and enormous amounts of rendered meat meal and animal fat. Three broiler producers account for about 40% of the total broiler production. American Proteins, Inc. (RosweU, Georgia), the world s largest processor of poultry by-products, produces more than 450,000 t of poultry meal, feather meal, and poultry fat each year. It also produces more than 100,000 t of fish meal, fish oil, and fish products each year. Pish meal production worldwide in 1986 was estimated at 6.23 x 10 t, which with the 125 x 10 t of meat and bone meal plus 6.67 x 10 t of feather meal and poultry by-product meal (6) is the primary source of animal proteins used by the pet food industry. 

Eeather meal, first hydroly2ed and then oxidi2ed, produces cysteic acid [13100-82-8] an excellent precursor for taurine in cats (20). Hydroly2ed feather meal may supplement the taurine provided by other dietary animal proteins and help replace part or all of the synthetic taurine in cat food formulations with considerable cost savings. 

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists P.O. Box 12215 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Inter-Society Color Council U.S. Army Natick R D Center Att STRNC-ITC Natick, Mass. 01760 Friction Materials Friction Materials Standards Institute E210, Route 4 Paramus, NJ 07652 Feather Tanners Council of America 2501 M Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20037... 

Production by Isolation. Natural cysteine and cystine have been manufactured by hydrolysis and isolation from keratin protein, eg, hair and feathers. Today the principal manufacturing of cysteine depends on enzymatic production that was developed in the 1970s (213). 

G. R. Waller and M. S. Feather in The Maillard Reaction in Foods and Nutrition, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 1983 F. Hata and M. Oimomi, Rinsho KensaSS, 893 (1989). 

Wool belongs to a family of proteins, the keratins, that also includes hair and other types of animal protective tissues such as horn, nails, feathers, and the outer skin layers. The relative importance of wool as a textile fiber has declined over the decades as synthetic fibers have increa singly been used in textile consumption. Wool is still an important fiber in the middle and upper price ranges of the textile market. It is also an extremely important export for several nations, notably AustraUa, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina and commands a price premium over most other fibers because of its outstanding natural properties of soft handle (the feel of the fabric), moisture absorption abiUties (and hence comfort), and superior drape (the way the fabric hangs) (see Fibers Textiles). Table 2 shows wool production and sheep numbers in the world s principal wool-producing countries. 

Wool, as a keratin, is a highly cross-linked, insoluble proteinaceous fiber, and few animals have developed the specialized digestive systems that aUow them to derive nutrition from the potential protein resource. In nature, these few keratin-digesting animals, principally the larvae of clothes moths and carpet beetles, perform a useful function in scavenging the keratinous parts of dead animals and animal debris (fur, skin, beak, claw, feathers) that ate inaccessible to other animals. It is only when these keratin-digesting animals attack processed wool goods that they are classified as pests. Very often they enter domestic or industrial huildings from natural habitats such as birds nests. 

J. Christner, "The Use of Lipases ia the Beam House Processes," paper preseated at the S7th American Feather Chemists Association s Annual Meeting Waterville Valley, N.H.,]uae 1991. 

For inlet or outlet end erosion-corrosion, either extend tube ends 3 or 4 inches into the water box or install sleeves, inserts, or ferrules into the tube ends. These should be a minimum of 5 inches long. The ferrules may be nonmetallic or erosion-resistant metals, such as stainless steel, if galvanically compatible. The end of the ferrule should be feathered to prevent turbulence. 

Fig. 28.7. Modification to remove attachment weld from surface of shaft. The collar con be pressed on to the shaft and secured with o feather key, but we must remember that the keywoy will weaken the shaft.

Alpha helices are sufficiently versatile to produce many very different classes of structures. In membrane-bound proteins, the regions inside the membranes are frequently a helices whose surfaces are covered by hydrophobic side chains suitable for the hydrophobic environment inside the membranes. Membrane-bound proteins are described in Chapter 12. Alpha helices are also frequently used to produce structural and motile proteins with various different properties and functions. These can be typical fibrous proteins such as keratin, which is present in skin, hair, and feathers, or parts of the cellular machinery such as fibrinogen or the muscle proteins myosin and dystrophin. These a-helical proteins will be discussed in Chapter 14. 

The rectangular element valve, as the name implies, uses rectangular-shaped sealing elements. These valves are the feather valve, channel valve, and the reed valve. These valves are applied to the industrial air machines for the most part. A channel valve is shown in Figure 3-10. 

Woollatt, D., Increased Life for Feather Valves of Failure Caused by Impact, Proceedings of the 1980 Purdue Compressor Technology Conference, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1980, pp. 293-299. 

Altliough ail accurate assessment could not be tnade itnmediately, tlie Ashland spill look a heavy toll on tlie wildlife of the Ohio River Valley. More tluiii 5000 waterfowl were killed when their feathers became contaminated witli oil. Birds tliat e. perience oil conlaminalion lose tlieir natural insulation and buoyancy and cither drown or freeze to death. In addition, a massive fish kill was e. pectcd in the spring when the ri cr entered a new cycle. 

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