Half-Barrel Planter Mover

A device for transporting heavy barrel planters is needed. Barrel planters are wooden wine barrels that have been cut in half along the circumference. They are used to store and grow a variety of plants. As such, they can contain more than 300 pounds of soil. The products currently on the market are not designed for such heavy planters, are cost prohibitive, and do not take advantage of the tapered design of a wine barrel half. A solution is needed that is durable, easy to use, and low cost. This final design report will show the steps used to find a solution to the problem, beginning with research and problem definition and ending with a final design. The timeline of steps taken in completing each deliverable for this project will be discussed along with future iterations and goals. The project culminates in the development and testing of a verification prototype which was able to successfully lift and move a planter when tested by our Sponsor. The prototype was manufactured mostly using steel tubing coupled with a manual hydraulic pump and cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder allowed the device to safely and effectively lift the heavy barrel, and the steel frame with all-terrain caster wheels allowed the device to be moved

Modeling uncertain demand in wood pellet supply chains: a case study from Northern Ontario

This thesis aims to enable Canadian wood pellet producers with the opportunity to offer competitive pricing through optimization of their value chains and supply chains, by employing an operational-level decision support tool (DST). Improving the competitiveness of Canada’s individual wood pellet manufacturers will ultimately improve Canada’s position amidst the rapidly developing global wood pellet market. Primary information is used from a case study of Industries Lacwood (ILW), in Hearst, ON; a firm that produces wood pellets using residue generated from processing of its primary wood items. The specific objectives of this study are to: 1) Determine how to optimize the operations of a wood pellet producer, through a comparison of three different gross margin (GM) optimization models, given uncertain demand conditions. These three models will illustrate why it is important to utilize inventory and a variable production rate, in order to most effectively optimize the GM of a pellet producer, given uncertain consumer demand. 2) Produce 100 demand datasets (to satisfy the Central Limit Theorem) for pellet 1 and pellet 2 and run these datasets through each of the three models created for objective 1. Compare the GM results of the three models and demonstrate why the operational environment specified in model 2 should be used for GM optimization of wood pellet producers, and will be used for further analysis. 3) Generate stochastic demand schedules for pellets by averaging the 100 demand datasets produced for objective 2. Use these stochastic demand schedules as the base case demand input values for model 2, along with other standard input values (obtained from ILW). Benchmark output values of production, inventory and unfulfilled demand generated from these standard inputs are compared with output values of production, inventory and unfulfilled demand generated from the variable inputs of 11 different scenarios. These comparisons will illustrate how model 2 is a comprehensive DST that the operational-level managers of wood pellet producers may use to achieve optimal GMs for the producer, under uncertain demand conditions and with other variable input factors. The results show that the model is most sensitive to fluctuations in demand, supply and inventory holding costs

Anopheles gambiae populations from Burkina Faso show minimal delayed mortality after exposure to insecticide-treated nets

Background: The efficacy of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in preventing malaria in Africa is threatened by insecticide resistance. Bioassays assessing 24-hour mortality post-LLIN exposure have established that resistance to the concentration of pyrethroids used in LLINs is widespread. However, although mosquitoes may no longer be rapidly killed by LLIN exposure, a delayed mortality effect has been shown to reduce the transmission potential of mosquitoes exposed to nets. This has been postulated to partially explain the continued efficacy of LLINs against pyrethroid-resistant populations. Burkina Faso is one of a number of countries with very high malaria burdens and pyrethroid-resistant vectors, where progress in controlling this disease has stagnated. We measured the impact of LLIN exposure on mosquito longevity in an area of the country with intense pyrethroid resistance to establish whether pyrethroid exposure was still shortening mosquito lifespan in this setting. Methods: We quantified the immediate and delayed mortality effects of LLIN exposure using standard laboratory WHO cone tests, tube bioassays and experimental hut trials on Anopheles gambiae populations originating from the Cascades region of Burkina Faso using survival analysis and a Bayesian state-space model. Results: Following single and multiple exposures to a PermaNet 2.0 LLIN only one of the four mosquito populations tested showed evidence of delayed mortality. No delayed mortality was seen in experimental hut studies using LLINs. A delayed mortality effect was only observed in WHO tube bioassays when deltamethrin concentration was increased above the standard diagnostic dose. Conclusions: As mosquito pyrethroid-resistance increases in intensity, delayed effects from LLIN exposure are substantially reduced or absent. Given the rapid increase in resistance occurring in malaria vectors across Africa it is important to determine whether the failure of LLINs to shorten mosquito lifespan is now a widespread phenomenon as this will have important implications for the future of this pivotal malaria control tool