Determining optimal primary sawing and ripping machine settings in the wood manufacturing chain

for wood manufacturers around the world, the single biggest cost factor is known to be its raw material. Maximum volume recovery of this raw material is, therefore, of key importance for the industry. The wood products industry consists of several interrelated manufacturing steps for converting trees into logs and logs into finished lumber. Each operation usually optimises its functionality in isolation from the preceding and following operations. It is a well documented fact that the optimisation of decisions through the whole chain of operations is considerably more profitable than the optimisation of individual operations. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal machine settings for two interrelated operations, namely the sawing and ripping operations which have tradition? ally been optimised individually. A model, having two decision variables, was developed which aims to satisfy market demand at a minimal cost. The first decision was how to saw the log supply into different thicknesses by choosing specific sawing patterns. The second was to decide on a rip saw's priority value settings, which determines how the products from the primary sawing operation are ripped into products of a certain thickness and width. The techniques used to determine the machine settings included static simulation with the SIMSAW software to represent the sawing operation and mixed integer programming to model the ripping operation. A metaheuristic, namely the Population Based Incremental Learning algorithm, was used to link the simulation and mixed integer models and to determine the optimal settings for the combined process. The model's objective function was to minimise the cost of production. This cost included the raw material waste cost and the over or under production cost. The over production cost included the stock keeping costs and the under production cost was estimated as the buy?in cost of under supplied products from another wood supplier. The model performed well against current decision software available, namely the Sawmill Production Planning System package, which combines simulation and mixed integer programming techniques to maximise profit. The model added further value by modelling and determining the ripping priority settings in addition to the primary sawing patterns.     

An improved method for the isolation of enriched canine peripheral blood mononuclear cell and peripheral blood lymphocyte preparations

A two-step purification method was developed for obtaining (1) peripheral blood mononuclear cell preparations of greater than 97% purity and (2) peripheral blood lymphocyte preparations of greater than 95% purity from canine whole blood with yields similar to or greater than those obtained by conventional techniques.     

The role of procaine in adverse reactions to procaine penicillin in horses

Procaine penicillin is a commonly used antibiotic in equine medicine but its use is associated with a substantial incidence of adverse reactions. Soluble procaine concentrations were determined by HPLC in several commercially available procaine penicillin preparations, including some that were involved in adverse reactions. The mean (+/- SEM) soluble procaine concentrations in the veterinary preparations was 20.18 +/- 5.07 mg/ml, which was higher than the concentration in the only procaine penicillin preparation for use in humans in Australia of 7.3 mg/ml. Heating the veterinary procaine penicillin preparations to 50 degrees C for 1 day led to a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in the amount of soluble procaine. Heating to 50 degrees C for 7 days also produced a significant (P less than 0.02) increase. Soluble procaine tended to return to baseline concentrations when veterinary procaine penicillin preparations were heated to 50 degrees C for 2 days then stored for 7 days at room temperature. Administration of procaine HCl intravenously (IV) at 2, 5, and 10 mg/kg produced behavioural, locomotor and vascular reactions, which were clinically similar to those reported in adverse reactions to procaine penicillin. The more severe reactions occurred at higher doses, although different horses responded variably at the same dose. Some adverse reactions lead to recumbency but none were fatal. The blood procaine concentrations 1 min after IV administration averaged 19.0 +/- 12.6 and 25.3 +/- 16 micrograms/ml at 2.5 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg, respectively. Ten min after administration, blood procaine concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in the 5 mg/kg group than in the 2.5 mg/kg group. Intramuscular (IM) procaine HCl at 5 mg/kg produced significantly lower (P less than 0.001) blood concentrations than similar IV doses, and, in contrast to the IV doses, the amount of procaine in the blood was significantly higher 5 and 10 min after administration than it was after 1 min. Mild excitatory reactions in 4/5 horses were noted 5 to 10 min after IM administration. Administration of diazepam 20 s before procaine HCl prevented the excitatory adverse reaction in 2/2 horses, but administration after the procaine did not influence the outcome.     

Development of monoclonal antibodies against canine glomerular antigens

Monoclonal antibody producing hybridomas were developed by fusing spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized against canine glomeruli with SP2 myeloma cells. Monoclonal antibody reactivity was tested using an indirect immunofluorescence assay on various normal canine tissues and canine kidney affected with glomerulonephritis. Two of the hybridomas developed (3H2 and 3A5) reacted with glomeruli and not with renal tubules. Antibody produced by hybridoma 3A5 also reacted with smooth muscle of all other tissues tested and 3H2 with lung tissue. Antigens recognized by monoclonal antibodies were studied by assessing their heat stability and susceptibility to proteolysis and neuraminidase digestion. Antigen and antibody molecular weights were determined by using a western blotting technique. Glomerular proteins that reacted with antibody produced by hybridoma 3H2 had molecular weights ranging from approximately 92,500 daltons to 200,000 daltons. Antigens reacting with both monoclonal antibodies were likely protein antigens. It was concluded that monoclonal antibodies would be useful in the study of glomerular antigens in normal dogs and dogs with glomerulonephritis.     

Ultrastructure and alkaline phosphatase activity of the dome epithelium of canine Peyer's patches

The dome epithelium of Peyer's patches from different parts of the intestine of four dogs was examined by scanning and transmission electron-microscopy and by alkaline phosphatase histochemistry on glycol-methacrylate embedded sections. M cells were scattered among more numerous enterocytes in duodenal and jejunal Peyer's patches, but constituted the major cellular component of dome epithelia of the ileal Peyer's patches. Alkaline phosphatase histochemistry demonstrated low enzyme activity in the brush border of M cells, as compared to enterocytes, in the duodenum and jejunum, allowing identification of M cells at the light microscopic level. Alkaline phosphatase activity was too low in ileal enterocytes to permit visualization of M cells. The presence of intrafollicular invaginations of dome epithelium is a consistent finding in duodenal Peyer's patches of the dog and these invaginations were characterized by few M cells, many intraepithelial lymphocytes and strong alkaline phosphatase activity.     

Immunohistology of Peyer's patches in the dog.

Canine Peyer's patches were examined by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry for possible variations depending on the location within the small intestine and for similarities and dissimilarities to PPs from other species. The duodenal and jejunal PPs were characterized by relatively large domes and interfollicular areas. In contrast, the ileal PP had small domes and poorly developed interfollicular areas and very large follicles. T cells were found in the interfollicular area and corona and in lesser numbers in the dome and germinal centers. The ileal PP contained far fewer T cells than the proximal PPs. Domes of canine PPs contained some cytoplasmic IgA+ (cIgA+) and many cIgG+ cells. Peanut agglutinin (PNA) stained germinal center cells in a selective but not-uniform way and did not stain T cells.     

Polyclonal activation of canine B lymphocytes evaluated by a protein A reverse hemolytic plaque assay

This paper describes the optimal culture and assay conditions for the polyclonal activation of canine lymphocytes with pokeweed mitogen and the quantitation of immunoglobulin secreting plaque-forming cells (PFC) using a staphylococcal protein A-reverse hemolytic plaque assay. The assay permits the quantitation of total immunoglobulin secreting PFC as well as class-specific immunoglobulin secreting PFC. On the optimal day of culture, a mean of 176 IgA PFC/10(6), 575 IgM PFC/10(6), 1276 IgG PFC/10(6), and 2158 total PFC/10(6) cells were generated following polyclonal activation. This study provides a simple and reproducible assay for the delineation of the immunoregulatory mechanisms involved in the differentiation of canine B lymphocytes.