Carriage speed control of a cross-lapper system for nonwoven web quality

In a cross-lapper system, the carriage unit is used to make uniform web in appropriate width and thickness. Traditionally, this is a stable, sluggish system with large attenuation of the input in the steady state. In this paper, the modeling, stability, order reduction, dynamic analysis and controller design of a cross-lapper system for good nonwoven web quality will be presented to deal with this issue. A realizable controller is designed which can not only make the closed-loop system efficient for good tracking property but also can achieve the meaningful design objectives. The performance can be effectively shown from the computer simulation.     

Using Bacillus subtilis E20‐fermented soybean meal as replacement for fish meal in the diet of orange‐spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides,Hamilton)

The potential of Bacillus subtilis E20‐fermented soybean meal (FSBM) as a partial alternative component of fish meal (FM) in fed diets of orange‐spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) was evaluated in this study. An FM‐based diet and seven diets containing 10%, 20% and 30% and 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of FM replaced by soybean meal (SBM) and FSBM, respectively, were fed to grouper for 84 days to evaluate possible substitution levels of FM by tracking growth performance, digestive enzyme activity and morphological changes in the liver and distal intestine. No significant differences in survival and muscle composition of grouper were found between controls and treatments. Growth performance and feed efficiency of fish fed diets with FM replaced by FSBM up to 30% were not significantly different from controls, whereas significantly decreased growth performance and feed efficiency occurred with diets containing >20% of SBM. Based on the feed efficiency, the maximum substituted levels of FM by SBM and FSBM in grouper diets were 18.36% and 29.32%, respectively, based on broken‐line analyses. Histopathological changes in the liver and distal intestine, and significantly lower activity levels of digestive enzymes, including pepsin in the stomach and trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase and lipase in the distal intestine, were found in fish fed a diet containing 30% of FM replaced by SBM. However, these parameters were improved by the substitution of FSBM. It is therefore believed that FSBM has great potential to be used as a protein source in grouper diets in partial replacement of FM.     

Comparison of dot immunobinding assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunodiffusion for serodiagnosis of paratuberculosis.

A rapid, simple and inexpensive dot immunobinding assay (DIA) was evaluated for the serodiagnosis of paratuberculosis in cattle. The assay was performed on nitrocellulose strips which were dotted with purified protoplasmic antigen of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. After incubation with test serum samples, the bound antibodies were detected using an enzyme-amplified immunostaining procedure. The efficacy of DIA as a screening test for paratuberculosis was compared to that of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), a modified agar gel immunodiffusion (mAGID) test, and an AGID test using 329 serum samples from cattle which were examined for M. paratuberculosis infection by a sensitive fecal culture technique. The DIA and ELISA had comparable results and both of the enzyme immunoassays had higher sensitivity than tests based on AGID. The sensitivity of all four tests was influenced by the intensity of fecal bacterial shedding. Preabsorption of sera with Mycobacterium phlei increased the sensitivity of both enzyme immunoassays. the specificity but reduced the sensitivity of both enzyme immunoassays.     

Antibiotic susceptibility and prevalence of erythromycin ribosomal methylase gene, erm(B) in Streptococcus spp

The aim of this study was to investigate drug resistance and the genetic relatedness of erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus spp. from different animals and humans in Taiwan. Cumulatively, 248 isolates were collected from 15 animal species and human patients and the susceptibilities of the isolates to six antimicrobial agents including azithromycin (AZI), clarithromycin (CLAR), erythromycin (ERY), spiramycin (SPIR), amoxicillin (AMO), and enrofloxacin (ENRO) were determined by the agar dilution method. The results indicated that resistance among the 248 strains was highest for SPIR, followed by ENRO, CLAR, ERY, AZI, and AMO. The most common resistotypes of the isolates from mammals and aquatic animals were AZI-CLAR-ERY-SPIR (27.5%) and SPIR (55.1%), respectively. The presence of ERY-resistant genes was confirmed by PCR. The erm gene was amplified from 28 isolates (20.6%) by PCR for further investigation. The predominant erm gene in the ERY-resistant isolates was the erm(B) gene. The phylogenetic analysis of the erm(B) gene results indicated that there was a close genetic relationship among all the strains but the genotypic clusters did not show clear segregation of the isolates according to the source or region.     

Vegetation recovery monitoring and assessment at landslides caused by earthquake in Central Taiwan

Massive landslides, caused by the catastrophic Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999, occurred at the Jou-Jou Mountain area in the Wu-Chi basin, Taiwan. Multi-temporal satellite images and digital elevation models coupled with GIS were used to process the vegetation index analysis for identifying landslide sites and calculating the vegetation recovery rate (VRR). Topographic information for these areas was extracted. Eight hundred twenty-nine hectares of landslide area was extracted from multi-date NDVI images by combining the image differencing method with the change detection threshold. Over 2 years of monitoring and assessing, the vegetation recovery rate reached 58.93% original vegetation regeneration in the landslide areas. Soil moisture is one of the most important environmental factors for vegetation recovery in the landslide sites. The analyzed results provide very useful information for decision making and policy planning in the landslide area.     

Compressive strength of young Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) trees grown with different thinning and pruning treatments

Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides Hay) is an important timber species in Taiwan. Growth in generally improved trees under intense silvicultural practice is so rapid that rotations or the practice of thinning trees may be as short as 20–30 years. Thus, the wood properties of young plantation trees need to be characterized to effectively use this resource. The effects of different thinning and pruning methods on the compressive strength parallel to grain of young Taiwania trees were explored. Average compressive strengths with various thinning treatments revealed the trend of no thinning > medium thinning > heavy thinning and in the pruning treatments showed the trend of medium pruning > no pruning > heavy pruning. However, most results showed no statistically significant differences among thinning and pruning treatments.     

Nondestructive evaluation techniques for assessing dynamic modulus of elasticity of moso bamboo (Phyllosachys edulis) lamina

Bamboo, an extensively used material in Asia, is becoming an increasingly available structural (e.g., flooring and furniture) material in Taiwan. The bending strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity of moso bamboo (Phyllosachys edulis) laminae were investigated using ultrasonic-wave and drilling resistance techniques. The strength quality of bamboo was reduced after steaming treatment and was significantly affected by node characteristics. The transverse variations of the mean drilling resistance value (R) gradually increased outward from the bamboo cavity layer. There were very significant positive relationships among density (ju), the drilling resistance value (R), the dynamic modulus of elasticity (Eb), the modulus of elasticity (MOE), and the modulus of rupture (MOR), although the coefficients of determination were small. Combining ultrasonic-wave and drilling resistance techniques is efficient in estimating and establishing the dynamic modulus of elasticity (REb). Values of REb for moso bamboo increased with increasing ju, R, Eb, MOE, and MOR, and the relationships could each be represented by positive linear regression formulas.     

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide induces porcine circovirus type 2 replication in swine alveolar macrophages

Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells are major target cells of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). From tissues of field pigs suffering from postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), both intracytoplasmic and intranuclear PCV2 signals, including antigens and nucleic acid, were easily detected in the monocyte/macrophage lineage cells. However, there was a high incidence of intracytoplasmic PCV2-positive signals, but lack of intranuclear signals and PCV2 replication in these cells in vitro. Concurrent infection with bacteria and activation of immune system are suggested to promote viral replication. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) were used to stimulate PCV2-inoculated alveolar macrophages (AMs). A decrease in intracytoplasmic but increase in intranuclear PCV2-positive signals, including antigens and nucleic acid, were detected in LPS-treated PCV2-inoculated AMs, but not in PMA-treated cells. Additionally, the replication product corresponding to PCV2 spliced major capsid protein (Cap) mRNA and a significant elevation in PCV2 titer were demonstrated in the LPS-treated PCV2-inoculated AMs. The results imply that Gram-negative bacterial co-infection in PCV2-infected pigs may be an important factor in promoting PCV2 replication and contributing, at least partially, to the full development of PMWS.     

PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from humans, chickens and dogs in northern Taiwan

Two hundred and twenty strains of Campylobacter jejuni (70 human, 51 canine and 99 chicken strains) were isolated from September 2003 to September 2004 in northern Taiwan. These strains were subtyped by PCR-RFLP analysis of the flagellin (FlaA) gene. On the basis of restrictive digest, six types were identified with AfaI, seven types with MboI and five types with HaeIII. With the combination of these three enzymes, 47 distinct PCR-RFLP patterns were observed-25 each from human and chicken isolates, and 9 from canine isolates. In human strains, the most frequently occurring types were Cj-28 (14.3%), Cj-17 (10%), Cj-16 (8.6%), Cj-37 (7.1%) and Cj-46 (7.1%). In canine strains, the most prevalent types were Cj-1 (33.3%), Cj-26 (19.6%), Cj-3 (15.7%), Cj-2 (9.8%) and Cj-10 (9.8%). In chicken strains, the most frequently occurring types were Cj-46 (40.4%), Cj-29 (9.1%), Cj-45 (7.1%) and Cj-41 (5.1%). The results suggest that poultry is a source, but not the sole source, of C. jejuni infection in humans. Two RFLP types, Cj-17 and Cj-37, frequently occurring in human isolates in this study have also been found to be prevalent in human isolates in Japan, China and the Czech Republic, indicating a possible international clonal spread.