Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

Goidanichiella fusiforma sp. nov. from palm fronds in Brunei and Thailand

Goidanichiella fusiforma sp. nov. was identified from collections of decaying palm fronds in tropical rainforests in Brunei and Thailand. The new taxon is described and illustrated, and compared with similar taxa.link_to_OA_fulltex

Aquatic fungi from peat swamp palms: Unichaetosphaeria penguinoides gen. et sp. nov. and three new Dactylaria species

Unisetosphaeria penguinoides gen. et sp. nov. and three new species of Dactylaria are described from dead petioles and rhachides of the palms Eleiodoxa conferta and Nenga pumila (Arecaceae) collected in Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest, southern Thailand. Unisetosphaeria (Ascomycota) is compared with similar genera, and its placement at the family level is considered. The three new Dactylaria species (anamorphic fungi) are compared with similar species in the genus

Biodiversity of fungi on the palm Eleiodoxa conferta in Sirindhorn peat swamp forest, Narathiwat, Thailand

This study focuses on the saprobic fungi occurring on decaying palm material of Eleiodoxa conferta at Sirindhorn peat swamp forest, Narathiwat Province, Thailand. In this survey, 462 fungal records were made from seven field collections in May, June, September and November (2001) and February, May and November (2002). Two hundred and fifty-one records were identified to species level, 176 to generic level while 35 records were unidentified. Of the 112 taxa identified 43 (38%) were ascomycetes, 67 (60%) anamorphic fungi and 2 (2%) basidiomycetes. Different parts of E. conferta support differing fungi: dry (aerial) material supported 17% of the fungal records, damp (moist and on the surface of the soil) material 34.5%, while submerged wet material had the most fungal records (48.5%). The percentage abundances of fungi on different parts of E. conferta were petioles 53%, rachides 30% and leaves 17%. Many of the taxa collected are new to science. Eleiodoxa conferta has been shown to support a rich diversity of fungi that differ significantly from those on terrestrial and brackish water palms. Eight new species and one genus have been described from this palm, while 12 taxa await description.link_to_OA_fulltex

Two new hyaline Chalara species and a key to species described since 1975

Chalara siamense sp. nov. is described from dead petioles of Eleiodoxa conferta (Arecaceae) collected in Thailand, while a second hyaline species, C. schoenoplecti sp. nov., is described from senescent culms of Schoenoplectus litoralis (Cyperaceae) collected in Hong Kong. They are compared with similar species. Three species informally described by T. Matsushima are given Latin binomials and type specimens indicated, and a key to species described since 1975 is provided.link_to_OA_fulltex

Assembly System Design: A Branch and Cut Approach

This paper addresses the single-product assembly system design problem (ASDP), which seeks to minimize total cost by optimally integrating design (selecting the machine type to locate at each activated station) and operating issues (assigning tasks to observe precedence relationships and cycle time restrictions). We propose an effective branch-and-cut approach for solving single-product ASDPs, adapting inequalities known to be valid for embedded line balancing structures to form inequalities that are valid for the ASDP. The implementation also involves a specialized preprocessor, a heuristic, separation procedures, and an enumeration scheme. Computational tests establish benchmark results for this first implementation of cutting planes for solving the ASDP.Assembly System Design, Branch and Cut, Strong Cutting planes, Integer Programming, Manufacturing Systems

Balancing mixed-model assembly lines: a computational evaluation of objectives to smoothen workload

Mixed-model assembly lines are widely used in a range of production settings, such as the final assembly of the automotive and electronics industries, where they are applied to mass-produce standardised commodities. One of the greatest challenges when installing and reconfiguring these lines is the vast product variety modern mixed-model assembly lines have to cope with. Traditionally, product variety is bypassed during mid-term assembly line balancing by applying a joint precedence graph, which represents an (artificial) average model and serves as the input data for a single model assembly line balancing procedure. However, this procedure might lead to considerable variations in the station times, so that serious sequencing problems emerge and work overload threatens. To avoid these difficulties, different extensions of assembly line balancing for workload smoothing, i.e. horizontal balancing, have been introduced in the literature. This paper presents a multitude of known and yet unknown objectives for workload smoothing and systematically tests these measures in a comprehensive computational study. The results suggest that workload smoothing is an essential task in mixed-model assembly lines and that some (of the newly introduced) objectives are superior to others.Mixed-model assembly lines, assembly line balancing, sequencing, workload smoothing