An adaptive tabu search approach for buffer allocation problem in unreliable non-homogenous production lines

The buffer allocation problem, i.e. how much buffer storage to allow and where to place it within the line, is an important research issue in designing production lines. In this study, a novel adaptive tabu search approach is proposed for solving buffer allocation problem in unreliable and non-homogeneous production lines. The objective is to maximize the throughput of the line, which is constrained by the capacity of each buffer space and also the total buffer capacity to allocate to these spaces. Besides proposing a new strategy to tune the parameters of tabu search adaptively during the search, an experimental study is carried out to select an intelligent initial solution scheme among three alternatives so as to decrease the search effort to obtain the best solutions. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated by computational tests and very promising results are obtained.     

Technological and economic comparison of the usage of beech and alder wood in plywood and laminated veneer lumber manufacturing

In this study, the economic and technological benefits of the usage of alder wood instead of beech wood as a raw material in plywood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufacturing were compared, besides the conservation of national forest resources. For this aim, some technological properties of plywood and LVL panels manufactured from beech and alder logs were determined, and then compared with the values indicated in related standards. According to the results of this study, mechanical strength values of beech plywood and LVL panels were higher than those of alder panels. Bending strength mean values of plywood panels were higher than the limit values indicated in DIN 68705-3 and DIN 68792. Shear strength mean values obtained for the plywood panels manufactured from alder logs were above the limit value (1.0 N/mm²) indicated in EN 314-2 standard. Mechanical strength values of beech LVL panels were also higher than those of alder LVL panels. When the annual increments of beech and alder trees in 1 ha and the time they need to reach suitable diameters for the manufacturing rotary cut veneers were taken into consideration, it was calculated that alder trees allow 3.82 times additional physical harvesting than beech trees.     

The Contribution of Microglia to Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease

With the world’s population ageing, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is on the rise. In recent years, inflammatory processes have emerged as prominent contributors to the pathology of PD. There is great evidence that microglia have a significant neuroprotective role, and that impaired and over activated microglial phenotypes are present in brains of PD patients. Thereby, PD progression is potentially driven by a vicious cycle between dying neurons and microglia through the instigation of oxidative stress, mitophagy and autophagy dysfunctions, a-synuclein accumulation, and pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Hence, investigating the involvement of microglia is of great importance for future research and treatment of PD. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent findings concerning the microglia-neuronal interplay in PD with a focus on human postmortem immunohistochemistry and single-cell studies, their relation to animal and iPSC-derived models, newly emerging technologies, and the resulting potential of new anti-inflammatory therapies for PD.     

Toxic and essential metals in Cyprinus carpio,Carassius gibelio,and Luciobarbus esocinus tissues from Keban Dam Lake,Pertek, Turkey

In various tissues of Luciobarbus esocinus, Cyprinus carpio, and Carassius gibelio which were taken from Keban Dam Lake Pertek region’s freshwaters, Turkey in January–February 2016, concentrations of mercury, nickel, lead, cadmium, arsenic, manganese, chromium, and cobalt were analysed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave digestion. In fish muscle mean chromium concentration (0.614 mg kg^?1 in C. carpio muscle) was higher than the maximum limits as set by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organisation. Additionally, mean concentration of lead (0.380 mg kg^?1 in C. gibelio muscle) was higher compared to the maximum limit as set by Turkish Standards. Furthermore, in the assessment of the potential health risk, estimated weekly and daily intake of all metals were considerably below permissible tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) and permissible tolerable daily intake values. As a result, consumption of these fish species from this region does not pose a problem on human health.     

Improving olive oil quality with double protection: Destoning and malaxation in nitrogen atmosphere

Effect of destoning and malaxation in nitrogen atmosphere on oxidative stability, fatty acid and sterol composition of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) were investigated in industrial scale. Olives of ‘Edremit yaglik’ cultivar were processed with a two phase centrifugal system with or without stones, in nitrogen or air atmosphere. Results have shown that either N₂ flush or destoning did not make any contribution to the sterol and fatty acid composition. Malaxation in nitrogen atmosphere extended induction time, raised phenolic, tocopherol contents and antioxidant potential of oils. Destoning also increased oxidative stability but lowered carotenoid and chlorophyll contents of oils. Among all treatments, the combined effect of destoning and malaxation in nitrogen atmosphere achieved the production of EVOO with the highest quality.     

A new algorithm and multi-response Taguchi method to solve line balancing problem in an automotive industry

One of the most important issues in an assembly line balancing problem is to control a flow of production and manufacturing to provide continuous flow to balance the production line. For this purpose, a line balancing problem was considered for a special assembly line in an automotive factory. A new algorithm was required to deal with balancing an assembly line which consisted of the same job which must be performed by more than one worker at the same time. In this way, the new algorithm was expected to be effective in such a case that jobs were simultaneously completed in a parallel way. In order to measure effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, performance criteria were identified as total number of assembly station, total number of workers, and line productivity. As a result of the application of the proposed algorithm with taking into consideration factors such as cycle time, an allowable number of workers in an assembly station, and an allowable idle time of a worker, alternative solutions were determined in order to measure these criteria. However, these alternative solutions do not give any information about which of the solutions provide not only minimization of the number of assembly station and number of workers on the line but also maximize the line productivity at the same time. Hereby, a multi-response Taguchi method was applied in order to investigate levels of factors which directly affected system performance criteria.     

Utilization of bark flours as additive in plywood manufacturing

Increasing demand for wood based panel products and shortage of wood as raw material have triggered many efforts to utilize residues generated annually by the forest industries including a large portion of bark in panel production. In this study, the effects of using bark flours as additives obtained from different wood species (walnut, chestnut, fir and spruce), having much polyphenol content, on some physical and mechanical properties and formaldehyde emission of plywood panels were examined. Wheat flour, which has been used widely as additive in plywood manufacturing, served as control. Plane tree (Platanus orientalis) logs were obtained for veneer manufacturing. Urea formaldehyde (UF) resin with 55 % solids content was used as adhesive. The bonding shear strength, bending strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE), density, equilibrium moisture content and formaldehyde emission of plywood panels were determined according to related standards. It was found that the use of flours obtained from the barks of chestnut and fir trees in the glue mixture decreased the formaldehyde emission of panels. The bonding strength values of the test panels made using the glue mixture including the flour of walnut and spruce barks as additive were lower than those of the panels with adhesive containing the flour of fir and chestnut barks. The panels manufactured with adhesives including the flour of fir bark gave the highest bending strength and modulus of elasticity values.     

The reaction kinetics of rice husk based cordierite ceramics

In this study, rice husk ash (RHA) was used as a silica source for cordierite production. Two different groups of samples were prepared in order to achieve the synthesis of cordierite. In the first group (HS-0), kaolinite, alumina and talc were used as raw materials while in the second group (HS-1), active silica, obtained from rice husk, was added in powder composition instead of kaolinite. The rice husks were subjected to the chemical pretreatment with 2 M HCl, 5% solid at 25 °C before calcinations to increase silica contents of husk ash. The mixtures of raw materials were prepared in MgO:Al₂O₃:SiO₂ molar ratio of 2:2:5 and ground in water media. The pressed samples were sintered in air at varying temperatures from 950 °C to 1350 °C and soaked for 1 h. It was found that the higher content of α-cordierite with a lower crystallization temperature could be obtained by using active silica instead of kaolinite in the mixture composition. The activation energy of transition μ → α-cordierite was calculated to be 205 kJ/mol for the active silica doped sample.