ABSTRACT In this study, an intelligent method was implemented for the detection and classification of chickens by infected Clostridium perfringens type A based on their vocalization. To this aim, the birds were first divided into two groups that were placed in separate cages with 15 chickens each. Chickens were inoculated with Clostridium perfringens type A on day 14. In order to ensure the absence of secondary diseases and their probable effect on bird vocalization, vaccines for common diseases were administered. During 30 days of the experiment, chicken vocalization was recorded every morning at 8 a.m. using a microphone and a data collection card under equal and controlled conditions. Sound signals were investigated in time domains, and 23 features were selected. Using Fisher Discriminate Analysis (FDA), five of the most important and effective features were chosen. Neural Network Pattern Recognition (NNPR) structure with one hidden layer was applied to detect signals and classifying healthy and unhealthy chickens. Firstly, this neural network was trained with 34 samples, after which eight samples were tested for accuracy. Classification accuracy was 66.6 and 100% for days 16 and 22; i.e., two and eight days after the disease, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated the usefulness and effectiveness of intelligent methods for diagnosing diseases in chickens.

Novel biopolymer-based superabsorbent hydrogels were prepared by grafting crosslinked poly(acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PAA-co-PHEA) chains onto collagen backbones through a free radical polymerization method. The graft copolymerization reaction was carried out in a homogeneous medium and in the presence of ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator and N,N '-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker. A proposed mechanism for collagen-g-(PAA-co-PHEA) formation was suggested and the hydrogel structure was confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy and TGA thermal analysis. Moreover, the morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of concentration of MBA as well as AA/HEA weight ratio on the swelling capacity of the hydrogel was also studied. Furthermore, the water absorbency of hydrogels was measured in solutions with pH ranging 1 to 13. The collagen-based hydrogel exhibited a pH-responsive character, so that a swelling-deswelling pulsatile behavior was recorded at pHs 2 and 8. Preliminary swelling and deswelling behaviors of the hydrogels were also studied. Additionally, the hydrogels exhibited salt-sensitivity and cation exchange properties.

A novel superabsorbent hydrogel composite based on kappa-carrageenan (κC) has been prepared via graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AAm) and itaconic acid (IA) monomers in the presence of montmorolonite clay powder, methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as the crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator. Evidence of grafting and montmorolonite interaction was obtained by comparison of FTIR and TGA spectra of the initial substrates and the superabsorbent composite. A new absorption band at 1722 cm-1 in the composite spectrum confirmed montmorolonite-organic polymer linkages. Moreover, the morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The swelling of the superabsorbing hydrogels was also examined in solutions with pH values ranging between 1.0 and 13.0. Finally, the swelling behavior of these composite polymers was investigated in various salt solutions. Results indicated that the swelling capacity decreased with an increase in the ionic strength of the swelling medium. This behavior can be attributed to the charge screening effect of monovalent cations, as well as ionic crosslinking for multivalent cations.