Improvement Of Production Research Articles

An Examination of Improvement in Swallowing and Speech Production on the Quality of Life Among Children with Cerebral Palsy in Mombasa County, Kenya

The purpose of this research was to examine if an improvement in swallowing and speech production can increase the quality of life among children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Dynamic Systems Theory by Smith and Thelen (1995) was adopted. Case study design was adopted for the study which allowed a researcher to look into a single subject in depth. Piloting was done at the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), Mombasa County. Purposive sampling was employed to sample children between 3-8 years of age with Cerebral Palsy. Modified speech assessment tools and a list of the evidence-based swallowing exercises were used to collect data. Data analysis was carried out using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 24.0) and descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages were used to summarize the demographic information. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) for the pre-treatment and post treatment engaging swallowing exercises was computed at .05 alpha level. Tables and graphs were used to present the data. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant if there were differences in the mean ranks of the responses. Findings revealed that before treatment through swallowing exercises, an average of one child with CP could communicate through speech and was able to feed variety of food without problems. However, after the administration of swallowing exercise during the eighth week, an average of children with CP across all the groups were able to communicate through speech and feed a variety of food without help The use of tongue extension, tongue retraction , tongue tip up, elevating tongue towards palate, opening of the jaw, circular movement of the jaw and lip press on tongue depressor had the highest mean rank implying that they had better effects on speech and vocal quality among children with CP under the study. The study concludes that apart from enhancing speech production, swallowing exercises positively impacted on quality of life among children with CP. The study recommends the government should create awareness regarding the need to promote speech therapy courses and medical education to increase the number of available speech therapists. Keywords: improvement in swallowing exercise; speech production; quality of life; children with Cerebral Palsy

Spectral Heterogeneity Analysis and Soil Organic Matter Inversion across Differences in Soil Types and Organic Matter Content in Dryland Farmland in China

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in agricultural production and arable land quality improvement. Hyperspectral technology enables frequent surveys over large areas. In this study, we explored the spectral heterogeneity of differences in soil types and SOM content, and proposed a method for measuring SOM content in large areas using spectroscopy. The results indicate regional variations in factors affecting soil spectral absorption peaks, with noticeable latitudinal disparities. The first-order differential partial-least-squares method provided the best prediction for the SOM inversion. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the SOM inversion model was 0.93, and the root mean square error (RMSE) was 3.42, with an 8.49 g/kg difference in the SOM content. When the difference in SOM content fell between 8 and 15 g/kg, the inversion effect model performed best. The optimal model R2 exceeded 0.95, and the RMSE was less than 5. The comprehensive analysis showed that the organic matter content was an important factor affecting the SOM content estimate and must be considered in the real process. In addition, it is crucial to categorize soil samples on the basis of distinct soil types while maintaining a consistent range of SOM content within the same soil type, ideally between 8 and 15 g/kg. Subsequently, the first-order differential partial least squares method is applicable. These results are expected to contribute to the acquisition of high-quality information on variations in the SOM of complex large-scale areas.

Reduction of methane and nitrogen emission and improvement of feed efficiency, rumen fermentation, and milk production through strategic supplementation of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) leaf meal in the diet of lactating buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

Buffalo plays a compelling role in reducing malnutrition and ensuring food to the people of Asian countries by its major contribution to milk and meat pool of the livestock agriculture farming system in the region. As Asia is the home for more than 90% of world buffalo population, they are also one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.) leaves are rich sources of naturally occurring essential oils and phenolic compounds, which could modulate rumen fermentation through mitigation of methanogenesis and nitrogen excretion along with stimulation of immune system and production performances of animals. Therefore, the present study investigated the impact of dietary inclusion of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) leaf meal (ELM) on voluntary feed intake, rumen functions, methane emission, nutrient utilization, milk yield and fatty acids profile, and immune response in lactating buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). An in vitro experiment conducted with graded dose (10-40 g/kg) inclusion of ELM into the total mixed ration to select ideal level for feeding to lactating buffaloes, an improvement (P < 0.05) in feed degradability (IVDMD), microbial biomass and ruminal volatile fatty acids concentration with reduced (P < 0.05) methane and ammonia-N production were evidenced when ELM was added at 10-20 g/kg DM, beyond which negative effects on rumen fermentation were pronounced. An in vivo experimentation was conducted with sixteen Murrah (Bubalus bubalis) buffaloes of mean live weight, 544.23 ± 10.02 kg; parity, 2-4 at initial stage (~60 days) of lactation with average milk yield of 11.43 ± 1.32 kg and were divided into two groups (CON, ELM) of eight each in a completely randomized design. All the animals were kept individually on wheat straw-based diet with required quantity of concentrate mixture and green fodder. The control group buffaloes were fed a total mixed ration; however, the treatment group (ELM) was supplemented with 10 g/kg DM diet of dry grounded eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) leaves by mixing with the concentrate mixture. The feeding experiment was conducted for 120 days, including 15 days for adaptation to the experimental diets and 105 days for data recording. The nutrient digestibility (DM, OM, CP, and EE) was improved (P < 0.05) without affecting feed intake (P > 0.05) and fiber digestibility (NDF and ADF) in ELM supplemented buffaloes. Increased (P < 0.05) milk production and rumenic acid concentration (cis 9 trans 11 C18:2 CLA) were demonstrated with comparable (P > 0.05) milk composition and major fatty acids profile of milk in the supplemented buffaloes. Dietary inclusion of ELM reduced (P < 0.05) enteric methane production and fecal excretion of nitrogen. The health status of buffaloes fed ELM improved throughout the experimental period was improved by enhancing cell mediated (P = 0.09) and humoral (P < 0.01) immune responses without affecting (P > 0.05) major blood metabolites. The study described feeding ELM at 10 g/kg diet to lactating Murrah buffaloes as a natural source of phenols and essential oils to increase milk production and CLA content, reduce methane and nitrogen emissions, and improve health status. Thus, feeding of ELM could be beneficial for climate smart buffalo production system for enhancing milk production with lesser impact on environment.

Iterative gene integration mediated by 26S rDNA and non-homologous end joining for the efficient production of lycopene in Yarrowia lipolytica

Because of its potent antioxidant effects, lycopene has been used in various industries including, but not limited to, food, medical, and cosmetic industries. Yarrowia lipolytica, a non-conventional yeast species, is a promising chassis due to its natural mevalonate (MVA) pathway, abundant precursor acetyl coenzyme A content, and oleaginous properties. Several gene editing tools have been developed for Y. lipolytica along with engineering strategies for tetraterpenoid production. In this study, we engineered Y. lipolytica following multi-level strategies for efficient lycopene accumulation. We first evaluated the performance of the key lycopene biosynthetic genes crtE, crtB, and crtI, expressed via ribosomal DNA (rDNA) mediated multicopy random integration in the HMG1- and GGS1-overexpressing background strain. Further improvement in lycopene production was achieved by overexpressing the key genes for MVA synthesis via non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) mediated multi-round iterative transformation. Efficient strategies in the MVA and lipid synthesis pathways were combined to improve lycopene production with a yield of 430.5 mg/L. This strain produced 121 mg/g dry cell weight of lycopene in a 5-L fed-batch fermentation system. Our findings demonstrated iterative gene integration mediated by 26S rDNA and NHEJ for the efficient production of lycopene in Y. lipolytica. These strategies can be applied to induce Y. lipolytica to produce other tetraterpenoids.Graphical

Improvement of Oleanolic Acid Production in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Based on OptKnock Framework.

Biosynthesis of plant-derived natural products in the eukaryotic microbe Saccharomyces cerevisiae often faces the issue of the inefficient production due to the poor compatibility between the heterologous genes and chassis cells. In order to improve the biosynthetic efficiency of heterologous production of plant secondary metabolites in S. cerevisiae, people usually do metabolic engineering in and around the heterologous metabolic pathways based on researchers' experience and mass of trials, which usually consumes a lot of manpower and financial resources. Herein, to further improve the heterologous production of oleanolic acid (OA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid in many plants with several promising pharmacological activities, in a genetically engineered, OA-producing strain S. cerevisiae OA07 effectively, a genome-scale metabolic model of the strain was developed, with the named as Yeast-OA07, and then OptKnock, a flux balance analysis-based pathway design algorithm with bilevel objectives, was utilized to develop in silico gene-knockout strategies to guide the molecular operations in S. cerevisiae OA07. Yeast8-OA07 contained 1133 genes, 2702 metabolites, and 3997 reactions. Five in silico gene-knockout strategies, which were expected to increase OA productivities, were obtained based on the metabolic flux analysis of Yeast8-OA07 through OptKnock. Afterwards, five mutant strains, named as LK1, LK2, LK3, LK4 and LK5, were constructed according to the in silico strategies. It was found that the mutant strain LK2, in which 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl dihydropteridine diphosphokinase-encoding gene FOL1 and formate dehydrogenase-encoding gene FDH1 were deleted, had an OA yield of 125.04 mg·L-1, which was significantlyhigher than the original strain OA07 (89.50 mg·L-1), while the mutant strain LK5, which eliminated paminobenzoic acid synthase-encoding gene ABZ1 and glycine hydroxymethyl transferase-encoding gene SHM1, had an even higher OA yield of 207.37 mg·L-1. Nevertheless, strain LK6, which was developed by integrating the in silico gene-knockout strategies of LK2 and LK5, had a significant decrease of OA production than S. cerevisiae OA07, indicating that in silico knockout strategies do not fit to in vivo iteration directly. Our study provides a novel, efficient method to improve the heterologous production of plant metabolites in microbial cell factories.

A Comprehensive Review on Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Present Status and Future Prospects

Protected cultivation of horticultural crops has emerged as a crucial technique in modern agriculture, offering numerous benefits such as increased yield, enhanced quality, and protection against adverse climatic conditions and pests. This comprehensive review aims to present the current status of protected cultivation practices and explore its future prospects in horticulture. The review begins by discussing the various types of protected cultivation structures, including greenhouses, high tunnels, and shade houses, along with their advantages and limitations. It then highlights the significance of protected cultivation in addressing global food security challenges by ensuring year-round crop production and reducing dependence on seasonal variations. The review further explores the impact of protected cultivation techniques on the growth and development of horticultural crops, including improved crop morphogenesis, precipitation management, and the optimization of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. Furthermore, the utilization of advanced technologies like hydroponics, aeroponics, and vertical farming within protected cultivation systems is examined, with an emphasis on their potential for maximizing crop productivity while minimizing resource consumption. Moreover, the paper delves into the challenges and constraints faced in implementing protected cultivation, including cost considerations, energy requirements, and the use of synthetic inputs. It discusses sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches, such as utilizing renewable energy sources and adopting organic farming practices, to mitigate these challenges and promote ecological balance. Lastly, the review discusses some future prospects and trends in protected cultivation, including the integration of precision agriculture techniques, the use of artificial intelligence, and the adoption of smart farming technologies. These advancements have the potential to further optimize resource utilization, improve automation, and enhance crop monitoring and management, ultimately leading to greater yield and quality improvements in horticultural crop production.

Exploring a novel reservoir drawdown operation framework for boosting synergies of hydropower generation and drought defense

The seasonal operation of drought-limited water level (DLWL) can efficiently boost the synergies of hydropower production and drought defense. This study proposes a seasonal DLWL operation framework for mimicking reservoir drawdown operation to improve hydropower output and mitigate drought risk. Firstly, three statistical analysis methods were used to divide the drought season into three segments. And then, the simulation model of seasonal DLWL operation was configured to evaluate the effect of reservoir drawdown operation on risk and benefits. Lastly, the combined distance-based assessment method was employed to identify the best scheme of seasonal DLWL operation. The Three Gorges Reservoir sited in the Yangtze River of China constitutes the case study. The results suggested that the proposed framework could facilitate reservoir drawdown operation to achieve 2346.95 million kW·h (7.0% improvement) in annual hydroelectricity production and 3.3% improvement in annual utilization efficiency of water resources, while could reduce 22.2% in drought risk during the dry year, compared with the annual DLWL operation scheme. This study not only can provide scientific and technical support for reservoir drawdown operation benefiting synergies of hydropower generation and drought defense but also can suggest policymakers with various favorable strategies to experience potential risks and benefits of seasonal DLWL operation in the interest of sustainable hydropower development.

Structure-guided engineering of transcriptional activator XYR1 for inducer-free production of lignocellulolytic enzymes in Trichoderma reesei

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is widely used for the production of lignocellulolytic enzymes in industry. XYR1 is the major transcriptional activator of cellulases and hemicellulases in T. reesei. However, rational engineering of XYR1 for improved lignocellulolytic enzymes production has been limited by the lack of structure information. Here, alanine 873 was identified as a new potential target for the engineering of XYR1 based on its structure predicted by AlphaFold2. The mutation of this residue to tyrosine enabled significantly enhanced production of xylanolytic enzymes in the medium with cellulose as the carbon source. Moreover, xylanase and cellulase production increased by 56.7- and 3.3-fold, respectively, when glucose was used as the sole carbon source. Under both conditions, the improvements of lignocellulolytic enzyme production were higher than those in the previously reported V821F mutant. With the enriched hemicellulases and cellulases, the crude enzymes secreted by the A873Y mutant strain produced 51 % more glucose and 52 % more xylose from pretreated corn stover than those of the parent strain. The results provide a novel strategy for engineering the lignocellulolytic enzyme-producing capacity of T. reesei, and would be helpful for understanding the molecular mechanisms of XYR1 regulation.

Improve meat production and virus resistance by simultaneously editing multiple genes in livestock using Cas12iMax.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated gene (Cas) system is continually optimized to achieve the most efficient gene editing effect. The Cas12iMax, a Cas12i variant, exhibits powerful DNA editing activity and enriches the gene editing toolbox. However, the application of Cas12iMax in large domestic animals has not yet been reported. To verify the efficiency and feasibility of multiple gene editing in large animals, we generated porcine fibroblasts with simultaneous knockouts of IGF2, ANPEP, CD163, and MSTN via Cas12iMax in one step. Phenotypically stable pigs were created through somatic cell nuclear transfer technology. They exhibited improved growth performance and muscle quality. Furthermore, we simultaneously edited three genes in bovine fibroblasts. A knockout of MSTN and PRNP was created and the amino acid Q-G in CD18 was precisely substituted. Meanwhile, no off-target phenomenon was observed by sum-type analysis or off-target detection. These results verified the effectiveness of Cas12iMax for gene editing in livestock animals and demonstrated the potential application of Cas12iMax in the field of animal trait improvement for agricultural production.

Halogen-doped SnO2 for hydrogen production: A theoretical and experimental investigation

Halogen-doped tin dioxide (SnO2) is examined for its photocatalytic activity and further applications apart from the photovoltaic devices. While SnO2 has been extensively examined in energy devices, not so much attention has been paid to its investigation as a photocatalyst. Preliminary studies on photocatalytic properties suggest that Br:SnO2 shows a small improvement in hydrogen production in the first 14 h, whereas, in general, the presence of any halogen reduces the reactivity of SnO2. By incorporating this result with the observed increase in conductance, it can be suggested that the doping of Cl and Br serves as an effective method for enhancing the electron-transport properties of SnO2 layers.

Is there an environment and economy tradeoff for the National Key Ecological Function Area policy in China?

China implemented the National Key Ecological Function Area (NKEFA) policy, the world's largest ecological compensation program, aimed to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation. However, previous studies have often overlooked the poverty and environment impact of the policy and paid little attention to the distortions it may have inadvertently fostered. This study used panel data from 1749 county-level units from 2002 to 2020, supplemented with remote sensing and Geographical Information System data, to quantify ecological poverty indicators. Subsequently, a multi-period difference-in-differences model was deployed to identify the impact of the NKEFA policy on ecological poverty and rural residents' incomes in the pilot counties. Finally, the mechanisms of policy effectiveness were examined from the perspective of administrative constraints and fiscal incentives. The results show that, firstly, the NKEFA policy has exerted a substantial positive impact on both ecological poverty and rural residents' income growth. However, ecological poverty reduction displayed a rebound effect characterized by initial improvement followed by deterioration, primarily due to inadequate incentives, leading to local government distortion behavior. Meanwhile, rural residents' incomes exhibited a consistent upward trend. Secondly, the improvement of ecological poverty is premised on weakening industrial development incentives and aided by some level of ecological migration. However, this also leads to reduced fiscal revenues, increased fiscal expenditures, and expanded fiscal deficits. The significant increase in rural residents' income largely depends on the financial intervention of local governments, especially the non-agricultural income brought about by the transfer and transformation of non-agricultural labor, as well as the agricultural income brought about by the improvement of agricultural production and efficiency. Thirdly, the NKEFA policy has yielded more apparent improvements for ecologically impoverished, resource-dependent, economically strong, and industrial backbone counties. However, resource-dependent and industrial backbone counties have experienced negative income effects. These findings provide a practical Chinese-style example of global eco-poverty reduction policies in developing countries.

The Assessment of the Anthelmintic Activity of Laurus nobilis Extract in Mice Naturally Infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera

Background: The safety of laboratory mice plays an important role in the success of laboratory experiments for correct and accurate results. Parasites are one of the most common diseases that affect most organisms. The worm Aspiculuris tetraptera is a common intestinal parasite of Mus musculus and rats, it is spread around the world. Aspiculuris tetraptera infection remains a problem for modern research groups; They should be excluded and monitored in rat populations due to their effects on animal health. Methods: The present study was conducted to assess the anthelmintic activity of Laurus nobilis extract in mice naturally infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera. Used was Thirty-six adult male and female (C57BL/6) mice, naturally infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera, were divided into six groups, each comprising six mice: Group 1, was the negative control (infected, untreated), and Groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were treated with 50, 100, 200 and 400 ìg/ml of L. nobilis for 5 days respectively. Group 6 was treated with 10 mg/mL Albendazole for 3 days as a positive control. Different six treatments were used to test Aspiculuris tetraptera worms in vitro, Containing 4 concentrations (50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/ml) of L. nobilis extract. Ten actively moving adult worms were then placed in each petri dish at room temperature. A saline solution and 10 mg/ml of Albendazole were prepared and used as negative and positive controls. After treatment, observations were made by recording the death time for worms at 20, 40, 80, 120 and 180 minutes. Worms are considered dead if they do not move for 30 seconds after touching their body parts using a surgical needle and the petri dish is shaken. Result: The analysis of phytochemicals by FT-IR for alcoholic extracts of L. nobilis extracts revealed the presence of 15% effective chemical ingredients responsible for killing worms’ activity. In vitro, worms died in 20, 40, 80, 120 and 180 minutes. Attained 96% and 100% after 180 minutes at the highest concentrations (200 and 400 mg/ml). At the same time, the untreated group lasted for long hours. The effects of the plant extract (Laurus nobilis) on Aspiculuris tetraptera worms were studied in vivo at therapeutic doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/mL. and the concentration of 400 ml/kg showed the most lethal effects for worms, infected mice that did not receive drugs were compared with the highest concentration of the extract and the reference treatment. The attention showed significant differences P≤0.05. The results showed that the mortality rate of worms taken from the intestines of the treated mice that were slaughtered three and six sdays after giving the treatment reached 96% and 100% in the concentration of 400 ml/kg of the extract and 89% and 97%for the mice that treated in 10 ml/kg of met Albendazole respectively. This research showed that herbal remedies could lead to new parasitic disease drugs, and their derivatives can be used for medication production and bioactivity improvement.

Effects of surface modification on a proton exchange membrane for improvements in green hydrogen production

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis, an advanced technique for producing hydrogen with efficiency and environmental friendliness, signifies the forefront of progress in this domain. Compared to alkaline cells, these electrolytic cells offer numerous advantages, such as lower operating temperatures, enhanced hydrogen production efficiency, and eliminating the need for an aqueous solution. However, PEM electrolysis still faces limitations due to the high cost of materials used for the membrane and catalysts, resulting in elevated expenses for implementing large-scale systems. The pivotal factor in improving PEM electrolysis lies in the Platinum catalyst present on the membrane surface. Enhancing catalytic efficiency through various methods and advancements holds immense significance for the progress of this technology. This study investigates the use of patterned membranes to improve the performance of PEM electrolytic cells toward green hydrogen production. By increasing the Platinum loading across the membrane surface and enhancing catalytic performance, these patterned membranes overcome challenges faced by conventionally fabricated counterparts. The findings of this research indicate that membranes with modified surfaces not only exhibit higher current draw but also achieve elevated rates of hydrogen production.

Controlled crystal facet of tungsten trioxide photoanode to improve on-demand hydrogen peroxide production for in-situ tetracycline degradation

Advanced oxidation processes utilizing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are widely employed for the treatment of organic pollutions. However, the conventional anthraquinone method for H2O2 synthesis is unsuitable for this application owing to its hazardous and costly nature. Alternative approaches involve a photoelectrochemical method. Herein, tungsten trioxide (WO3) photoanode has been used for the conversion of H2O into H2O2 through oxidation reaction from a PEC system, simultaneously utilizing in-situ generated hydroxyl (OH•) radicals for tetracycline degradation. By manipulating the ratio of crystal facets between (020) and (200) of the WO3 photoanode, a significant improvement in H2O2 production has been achieved by increasing the proportion of (020) facet. The production rate of WO3 photoanode enriched with the (020) facet is approximately 1.9 times higher than that enriched with (200) facet. This enhanced H2O2 production performance can be attributed to the improved formation of OH• radicals and the accelerated desorption of H2O2 on the (020) facet. Simultaneously, the in-situ generated OH• radicals are applied for tetracycline degradation. Under illumination of sunlight stimulator for 180 min, the optimal photoanode achieves a degradation rate of 86.7% for tetracycline. Furthermore, the resulting chemicals have been analyzed, revealing that C8H10O and C7H8O were formed as the primary products. Notably, these products exhibit significantly lower toxicity compared to tetracycline. This study presents a promising approach for the rational design of WO3 based photoanodes for oxidation reaction, including not only H2O2 production but also the efficient degradation of organic pollutants.

Adaptogen Technology for Skin Resilience Benefits

(1) Background: Skin undergoes constant changes, providing capabilities to repair and renovate its constituents once damaged and a fundamental shield to contrast environmental stress. Nevertheless, environmental stressors may overcome the skin’s protective potential inducing premature aging and accelerating the appearance of anaesthetic age-related skin aspects. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and pollutants (particulate matters, PAHs) contribute to skin aging and functional decline inducing harmful oxidative modifications of macromolecules and stress-related skin disorders. Innovative approaches to preserve skin are needed. (2) Methods: Skin keratinocytes were treated (or not) with a combination of ingredients (Lactobacillus plantarum extract, Withania somnifera root extract and Terminalia ferdinandiana fruit extract; “MIX”) in the presence or absence of stress (oxidative stress or pollution). The effects of the MIX adaptogen technology on (a) cellular resilience, (b) the regulation of cellular functions and (c) regeneration of skin were disclosed through expression proteomics and bioinformatics analyses first, and then through focused evaluations of protein carbonylation as a hallmark of oxidative stress’ deleterious impact and mitochondrial activity. (3) Results: The deleterious impact of stressors was evidenced, as well as the beneficial effects of the MIX through (a) mitochondrial activity preservation, (b) the “vigilance” of the NRF2 pathway activation, (c) NADPH production and protein homeostasis improvements, (d) preserving skin regeneration function and I the contrasting stress-induced oxidation (carbonylation) of mitochondrial and nuclear proteins. (4) Conclusions: The effects of the MIX on increasing cell adaptability and resilience under stress suggested a beneficial contribution in precision cosmetics and healthy human skin by acting as an adaptogen, an innovative approach that may be employed to improve resistance to harmful stress with a potential favourable impact on skin homeostasis.

Production Improvement of Rail Joint by Industrial Engineering Techniques: Case Study of Rail Joint Production

The aim of this research is to improve the rail joint production performance together with appropriate personnel selection process for after-improvement work. The investigation and improvement are done in two levels: process level and activity level. At process level, improvement is done at the bottleneck process using why-why analysis approach along with Eliminate-Combine-Rearrange-Simplify (ECRS) principle. Next, production activity is studied through multiple-activities chart to determine the maximum number of machines which workers can handle. In order to establish staff selection criteria, proper capability for each task is determined by applying Analytical Hierarchy Process to obtain weights for each criterion. The results are reduction of operations processes from 9 stages to 8 stages and personnel reduction from 5 workers to 2 workers. Those two staffs are chosen based on weights for essential tasks, which are 0.340 for machine setting adjustment, 0.367 for product quality test, 0.178 for communication, and 0.115 for read ability to the drawings. Besides that, such improvement can reduce the average percentage of the idle time from 63.56 to 34.65 or a decrease 16.54 percentage but reduce the percentage of machine work rate from 76.16 to 63.56 or a decrease 16.54 percentage.

36 Beyond Environmentally Adapted, Towards Ecologically Purposed: Sheep Production in the Us West

Abstract Consumer demand for sheep products is robust, the annual consumption of U.S. lamb is steadily rising, and the number of U.S. sheep farms is increasing. Nevertheless, the U.S. sheep industry continues to lose market share to foreign competitors and the breeding ewe inventory has declined 30% since 2002. This decline has been more drastic in the upper U.S. Mountain West states, where ewe inventories have declined 37% compared with the national average decline of 26%. This is problematic given the Mountain West generates one-third and one-half of the total U.S. lamb crop and wool revenue, respectively. This depopulation trend indicates obstacles unique to the Mountain West, which are not experienced elsewhere in the nation. Mountain West sheep production systems depend on both private and public rangelands for grazing, which must co-exist with many other goals for public lands, including species conservation and critical wildlife habitat. Extensive conversion of native rangeland to croplands, rural housing, and degraded grasslands has simultaneously resulted in a substantial loss of wildlife habitat, thus creating competing ideologies for how remaining rangelands should be managed. Accordingly, public land management agencies are constantly pressured to change land management plans to accommodate public agendas aimed at restricting or halting livestock grazing on public lands with the assumption wildlife habitat will automatically improve. Such exclusion of grazing from public lands has negatively impacted operational capacity of sheep ranches, thus posing serious threats to the U.S. sheep industry and its contributions towards national food security, rural communities, and rangeland conservation. Therefore, to maintain grazing access to public lands, sheep producers and land managers urgently need tools (e.g., management, genetic) to optimize both conservation and production outcomes synergistically. However, ecological and sheep genetic outcomes have thus far been considered separate rather than integrated goals. Traditional genetic improvements in sheep production are focused strictly on the sheep without regard to the ecological outcome. In other words, the “ecosystem” is only considered to achieve profitable production within that environment. With this in mind, can sheep research move beyond the traditional focus of “environmentally adapted” flocks to “ecologically purposed” flocks? We propose that heritable ecologically focused traits can be identified and used to complement the overall sheep genetic improvement goals of the industry while creating precision-based solutions for sustainable habitat management, such as mitigating catastrophic wildfire risk, halting noxious weed invasion, and shaping vegetative structure of native plant communities towards desirable rangeland and conservation goals. We believe such outcomes extend beyond shaping public opinion about sheep grazing but also towards introducing novel value-based marketable products from the sheep industry.

302 Incremental Variables in Predicting Beef Cattle Dry Matter Intake

Abstract The great strain of increasing climate variability on animal agriculture necessitates improvement of current production processes, the development of methods to measure individual feed and water intakes, and the improvement of feed and water use efficiency in cattle. The use of machine learning (ML) approaches in predicting beef cattle dry matter intake (DMI) have provided groundwork for improvement of beef cattle production using big data and ML. However, despite wide variation between daily feed intakes, typical variables in animal intake-based ML approaches are not incremental, not allowing for daily prediction of intake. Our work introduces first-differenced intake, climate, and animal performance variables into a ML algorithm to predict beef cattle DMI and increase the immediacy of prediction applications. A total of 745 animals were evaluated in eight test groups from 11/25/2019 to 9/2/2021 in a dry lot equipped with In-Pen Weighing Positions and Feed and Water-Intake Nodes. Relationships among average daily gain (ADG), DMI, residual feed intake (RFI), water intake (WI), residual water intake (RWI), animal performance variables, and environmental variables at the individual animal level were investigated on a first test group of 125 Angus bulls and 53 crossbred steers. Out-Of-Bag root mean square error (OOB RMSE), an internal measure of Random Forest (RF) prediction accuracy, was used as a measure of error between model-predicted and observed DMI. Input variables were first-differenced by differencing a variable’s value between sequential test days for the entire test period. Two models were run using the RF package in R (ntree = 500, mtry = 11), with the first model (M1) using a standard test-train data split and the second model (M2) using all first-differenced and non-incremental observations to train the model. The model incorporating the test-train split performed marginally better than M2 (OOB RMSE = 1.39 and 1.44, respectively), indicating that first-differenced input variables can be used to predict daily individual DMI by within 1.39 kg by using M1. Using percent-increase in MSE (%IncMSE), first-differenced variables were found to be of less overall predictive value than non-incremental variables, with incremental daily gain and first-differenced water intake being ~55 and 45% less predictive than ADG and overall water intake in both M1 and M2. Though first-differenced variables were less predictive than non-incremental variables, inclusion of first-differenced variables allowed for prediction of individual DMI by within 1.39 kg. Our work demonstrates critical preliminary steps in the development of a deployable algorithm for the efficient prediction of DMI and the improvement of beef cattle intake efficiencies for the continued sustainability of animal agriculture.

Effect of Furrow Straw Mulching and Straw Decomposer Application on Celery (Apium graveolens L.) Production and Soil Improvement

Straw mulching on wet beds is an effective method to alleviate continuous cropping obstacles in greenhouses. However, this technique cannot be applied in the production of leafy vegetables with high planting density. Straw mulching in furrows is an alternative method in this circumstance. In this study, celery (Apium graveolens L.), a vegetable that prefers a high planting density and wet soil, was used to test furrow straw mulching technology, and the effect of different straw amounts and straw decomposers on soil improvement and celery production was investigated. The results showed that straw mulching in furrows significantly reduced soil conductivity and nitrate nitrogen levels, increased the contents of soil organic carbon as well as phosphorus and potassium nutrients in the bed, and improved celery yield and quality, indicating the significant lateral movement of released nutrients between the furrow and bed. The positive effects of 15,000 kg/ha straw application were more pronounced than those of 7500 kg/ha and 11,250 kg/ha. In addition, straw decomposers accelerated nutrient release and improved celery yield and quality. A decomposer named “ZhuBang” containing Bacillus licheniformis was the most effective. We concluded that furrow straw mulching combined with straw decomposer application is an effective measure for the sustainable production of leafy vegetables in intensive vegetable production facilities.

Research on Lean Improvement of a Powder Production Line Based on Contradiction Analysis

The intelligent improvement of production and manufacturing plays an important role in providing automated production for a company. In response to the problems of low production efficiency, high defect rate, and slow mold change in a certain company’s powder production site, this study combines the ideas of quality management and lean improvement, and analyzes the equipment utilization and production capacity through methods such as contradiction analysis, process function analysis, and fishbone diagram, By using Flexsim simulation and analytic hierarchy process, an optimization plan was obtained, which shortened the processing time and mold change time, improved the production capacity of the production line, and provided specific solutions and new ideas for the company’s production and operation. This helps to improve the technical performance of process oriented manufacturing production.