A Study on Minimizing Welding Deformation of Joints for the Sealing of Emission After-Treatment Structure

As the environmental pollution issue has recently become significant, environmental regulations in Europe and the United States are being strengthened. Thus, there is a demand for the quality improvement of emission after-treatment systems to satisfy the strengthened environmental regulations. Reducing the amount of welding heat distortion by optimization of the welding order of each part could be a solution for quality improvement since the emission after-treatment system consists of many parts and each assembly is produced by welding individual ones. In this research, a method to derive a welding sequence that effectively minimizes welding deformation was proposed. A two-stage simulation was performed to obtain the optimal welding sequence. In the first stage, the welding sequence was derived by analyzing the number of welding groups in each assembly of a structure. The derived welding sequence was verified by performing a thermal elasto-plastic analysis and comparing it with the experimental results.

Evaluation of microencapsulated organic acids and botanicals on growth performance of nursery and growing-finishing pigs

A total of 1,215 pigs (L337 × 1050, PIC, Hendersonville, TN) were used to determine the effect of microencapsulated organic acids and botanicals (MOB; AviPlus; Vetagro, Inc. Chicago, IL), on growth performance from weaning to market. Pigs were weaned at approximately 21 d of age and placed in pens based on initial body weight (BW) with 27 pigs per pen in a randomized complete block design. During the 42-day nursery period, pigs were allotted to 1 of 2 treatments in an unbalanced treatment structure with 15 pens (replications) fed the control diet and 30 pens (replications) fed diets containing 0.30% MOB from d 0 to 21 and 0.10% from d 21 to 42. On d 42, pigs were transported as intact pens from the nursery to the finishing facility. During the finishing period, 3 treatments were applied which included: 1) pigs on the control diet in nursery remained on control diets; 2) 50% of pigs provided MOB in nursery were then fed 0.05% MOB throughout finishing, and 3) 50% of pigs provided MOB in nursery were then fed the control diet throughout finishing. All pens of pigs on treatments 2 and 3 were allotted based on ending nursery BW to the finishing treatment. There were 15 replications per treatment in the finishing period. From d 0 to 21, pigs fed diets with MOB had a tendency for increased (P < 0.058) gain:feed (G:F) when compared to pigs fed the control diet; however, there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), or d 21 BW. From d 21 to 42, there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) for ADG, ADFI, or G:F. For the overall nursery period (d 0 to 42), pigs fed diets with MOB had increased (P < 0.05) G:F (660 vs 670 g/kg) when compared to pigs fed the control diet, but there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) for d 42 BW, ADG, or ADFI between treatments. From d 42 to 106, there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) for ADG, ADFI, and G:F. For the overall finishing period (d 42 to 156) and overall experimental period (d 0 to 156), there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) for BW, ADG, ADFI, or G:F. For mortality and removals, there was no evidence of difference (P > 0.05) observed during the nursery, finishing, or overall. In summary, providing MOB during the nursery phase increased G:F in the early and overall nursery phase, but there was no effect on overall wean-to-finish performance.

Steel with control austenitic transformation during operation

The intermediate class of steels, which at room temperature belong to the ferritic state, and at operating temperature pass into the austenitic region, are called steels with control of austenitic transformation during operation. The possibility of increasing the service life of such intermediate steels at high temperatures (above the critical point A3) is shown. For the first time, the cast structure and phase-structural state of steel (grade 4Kh3N5М3F) obtained by electroslag remelting were studied. An improved composition of steel (4Kh4N5М3F) for the production of stamping tools for hot pressing of copper, copper and aluminum alloys is proposed. When setting the critical points (A1 and A3) of the investigated steel, which was confirmed by the results of high-temperature X-ray phase analysis, it was possible to optimize the heat treatment (annealing) of steel 4Kh3N5M3F and 4Kh4N5M4F2 in cast and forged condition, which facilitated processing tool. The results of researches on optimization of modes of heat treatment (hardening, tempering) of steel are given. The mechanical properties (strength, toughness, heat resistance) of steel in cast and forged state depending on the tempering and tempering temperature are determined. The tempering brittleness of the experimental steel is determined. An experimental-industrial test of a stamping tool (die dies, extruder parts) made of the investigated steel was carried out. The possibility of using stamped steel with adjustable austenitic transformation for a wide range of operating temperatures of hot deformation of aluminum alloy AK7h (450-500 ºC), copper M1 (600-630 ºC) and copper-nickel alloy MNZh 5-1 (900-950 ºC) with increased service life in comparison with steels of ferrite class 4Kh5МF1S and 3Kh3М3F. Keywords: die steel, composition, thermal treatment, structure, mechanical properties.

PSI-2 Spices in Free-choice Mineral Offer Gain Advantages to Cattle on Tallgrass Native Range and Promise as Fly Control

This study aims to evaluate effectiveness of two operational management systems for steer gains and fly control. The first strategy evaluated was pasture burn date of March (MAR) or April (APR). The second management strategy was fly control through feeding free-choice mineral with spices (SPICE) or without spices (CON). Eight pastures (n = 281 steers; initial weight 277.7 ± 25.2 kg) were used in a 2 x 2 factorial treatment structure. Steers were weighed individually, randomly assigned to treatment, and grazed for 85 days. Weekly 33% of steers per pasture were photographed and fly numbers counted. ADG was impacted by both burn date and mineral type (P = 0.01). Cattle on the APR-SPICE treatment had a greater ADG than MAR-SPICE and APR-CON with MAR-CON intermediate. Cattle on SPICE gained 4.5 kg (P = 0.12) more than cattle consuming CON mineral. Flies per steer were impacted by burn x mineral x week (P < 0.001). In general, APR-SPICE steers had a greater number of flies weeks 8, 10, and 11 (P < 0.05), corresponding to a time when mineral intake averaged 72% of the formulated intake. The MAR-SPICE steers consumed on average the formulated amount of mineral and through the entire grazing period had lower number of flies than APR-SPICE steers (P < 0.05). The second largest ADG observed with the MAR-CON treatment may be attributed to lower fly numbers as this treatment had one extra week below economic threshold for horn flies. These results are somewhat inconclusive on pasture burn date, but show that the addition of spices to a free-choice complete mineral shows promise as a cost-effective method to increase gains in stocker steers on tallgrass native range. As a fly control method, the spices utilized in this study may be effective if intake is at formulated level.

China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

Since the late 1990s, the trend of plastic waste shipment from developed to developing countries has been increasing. In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow and changes in the treatment structure of countries, whose impacts on global environmental sustainability are enormous but yet unexamined. Here, through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we quantified the environmental impacts of changes in the flow patterns and treatment methods of 6 types of plastic waste in 18 countries subsequent to the ban. In the short term, the ban significantly improved four midpoint indicators of environmental impact, albeit contributed to global warming. An annual saving of about 2.35 billion euros of eco-cost was realized, which is equivalent to 56% of plastic waste global trade value in 2017. To achieve global environmental sustainability in the long run, countries should gradually realize the transition from export to domestic management, and from landfill to recycling, which would realize eco-costs savings of about 1.54–3.20 billion euros.

Brain Metastases in Elderly Patients—The Role of Surgery in the Context of Systemic Treatment

In patients with brain metastases (BM), advanced age is considered a negative prognostic factor. To address the potential reasons for that, we assessed 807 patients who had undergone BM resection; 315 patients aged at least 65 years (group A) were compared with 492 younger patients (group B). We analyzed the impact of the pre- and postoperative Karnofsky performance status (KPS), postoperative treatment structure and post-treatment survival. BM resection significantly improved KPS scores in both groups (p = 0.0001). Median survival after BM resection differed significantly between the groups (A: 5.81 vs. B: 8.12 months; p = 0.0015). In both groups, patients who received postoperative systemic treatment showed significantly longer overall survival (p = 0.00001). However, elderly patients less frequently received systemic treatment (p = 0.0001) and the subgroup of elderly patients receiving such therapies had a significantly higher postsurgical KPS score (p = 0.0007). In all patients receiving systemic treatment, age was no longer a negative prognostic factor. Resection of BM improves the functional status of elderly patients, thus enhancing the likeliness to receive systemic treatment, which, in turn, leads to longer overall survival. In the context of such a treatment structure, age alone is no longer a prognostic factor for survival.

Variation and the analysis of variance (ANOVA).

This chapter focuses on analysis of variance (ANOVA). The goal of applied statistics is to account for the variability observed in an experiment and determine whether it is random or due to a treatment effect. Responses to treatment(s) are evaluated by a systematic accounting of variation called the analysis of variance, or ANOVA, where variability is attributed to various sources. The sources of variability and complexity of an ANOVA depend on an experiment's design and treatment structure. When an experimental design effectively and efficiently holds the treatments of an experiment, the ANOVA is simple and quite elegant. When the experimental design and/or the treatment structure is or are not appropriate for the experiment or each other, the analysis can be cumbersome and difficult.

Factorials.

This chapter focuses on factorials. Experiments involving two or more factors, each at two or more levels, are called 'factorial experiments'. There is no such thing as a factorial design. Factorial refers to treatment structure. Factorial treatment structures are combined in an efficient experimental design. When considering two or more factors, it introduces the concepts of 'main effects' and 'interactive effects' (interactions). The 'main effect' of a factor is a measure of the change in the response variable to changes in the level of the factor, averaged over all levels of all other factors in an experiment. An 'interaction' occurs when the response to various levels of one factor changes as the levels of another factor change. A single-factor experiment, with the factor 'nitrogen application rate' at four levels to evaluate strawberry yield, and modify it to now include the concept of a factorial treatment structure in a completely random design were conducted. The significance levels for time (0.0926) and rate (0.4287) were neither significant. Thus it doesn't seem to matter when nitrogen is applied or not; there is no effect of nitrogen application on strawberry yield.

Effect of Inorganic Fertilizer Micro-dosing and Weed Management Regimes on Finger Millet Productivity in Uganda

Finger millet yields in farmers’ fields are low primarily due to low soil fertility and poor weed management. Fertilizer application could be one of the key strategies used to address the problem. However, due to high cost of fertilizer, its utilization has been limited to very few farmers in the country. Consequently, a study was conducted in Kuju sub-county, Amuria district in Eastern Uganda during 2016 long and short rains to determine the effect of micro dosing and weeding time on finger millet performance and weed growth. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in a split plot treatment structure. Weeding times constituted the main plot [weeding at 20 DAS (days after sowing), 30 DAS, 45 DAS, and 20 & 45 DAS (double weeding)], while fertilizer rates (N 16.6 kg ha-1 + P2O5 10.6 kg ha-1; P2O5 10.6 kg ha-1; N 16.6 kg ha-1; N0 + P0, and N 83 kg ha-1 + P2O5 52 kg ha-1) constituted the sub plots. Results of this study revealed that the interaction between weeding at 45 DAS and fertilizer micro-dosing significantly (P < 0.05) reduced weed biomass (7.7 × 10-4 kg ha-1) without significant increase in finger-millet grain yield. Interaction of fertilizer micro-dosing (N 16.6 kg ha-1 + P2O5 10.6 kg ha-1) with weeding once at 20 DAS recorded the highest (2292 kg ha-1) finger millet grain yield with significant (P < 0.05) reduction in days to finger millet flowering. Therefore, it is recommended that fertilizer micro-dosing at N 16.6 kg ha-1 + P2O5 10.6 kg ha-1 and weeding once at 20 DAS can be used to control weeds and enhance finger-millet productivity.