Speed of ultrasound in Hereford bulls and its correlation with carcass composition

1991 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. J. Fursey ◽  
C. A. Miles ◽  
S. J. Page ◽  
A. V. Fisher

ABSTRACTMeasurements were made of the speed of ultrasound transmission through sites in the hind limbs of 125 pedigree Hereford bulls. Twenty-five of these were measured twice at weekly intervals on three occasions prior to slaughter to assess the short-term repeatability of the measurement and the magnitude of long-term changes. Analyses of variance of the means of the measurements at two sites showed that the residual standard deviation (within animal and occasion), was 0·01 (μs/cm. There was a decrease of 0·01 (μs/cm in the group mean over the 2-week period and a significant time × animal interaction. This showed that lipid concentration at the measurement sites decreased as the bulls adjusted to their new surroundings following delivery to the Institute's farm. When a separate group of 64 bulls was measured at the farm at which they were being reared an increase in the group mean of 0·006 iμs/cm was recorded over a 30·day period, indicating an increase in lipid concentration. The residual standard deviation for that group was 0·007 μs/cm, similar to that recorded above.The mean of the reciprocal speeds at the two sites, when used in a multiple regression with live mass, yielded a residual standard deviation in predicted proportion of lean in the side of 20·0 g/kg and in total fat proportion of 22·1 g/kg. These corresponded to population standard deviations, adjusted for live mass, of 29·7 and 34·1 g/kg respectively. It was concluded that the measurement of ultrasound speed in the hind limbs of Hereford bulls could be used to predict lean proportion in the carcass. The method does not require subjective interpretation and responds equally to subcutaneous and interand intra-muscular fat.

1980 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Wood ◽  
H. J. H. MacFie ◽  
R. W. Pomeroy ◽  
D. J. Twinn

ABSTRACTIn order to investigate the effects of type of breed on carcass composition, an examination was made of 361 lambs from four breeds: Clun Forest and Colbred (termed ewe breeds); and Suffolk and Hampshire (termed ram breeds). The animals were in four carcass weight groups averaging 15, 17, 19 and 21 kg.Percentage subcutaneous fat was influenced more by carcass weight than by breed, whereas both carcass weight and breed had similar effects on percentage lean. At the mean carcass weight of 18 kg, Colbreds, the leanest breed, had a similar value for percentage lean (about 57 % of carcass tissue weight) to the carcasses over all breeds weighing 15 kg; and Cluns, the fattest breed, had a similar value (about 54%) to those weighing 21 kg. Since the ram breeds were intermediate in composition between the two ewe breeds there was no effect of type of breed on carcass composition. The breed differences were related to eventual mature size and to the stage of maturity at each carcass weight, as judged by body length and bone weight measurements. However, Colbreds were bigger and leaner than published estimates of their mature weight suggested. Humerus weight was a good predictor of lean or total fat weight, explaining 83 % ofvariation when used as a predictor along with carcass weight.Type of breed had a marked effect on internal fat deposition, the ewe breeds having heavier weights of both kidney knob and channel fat (KKCF) and caul fat (omental fat) than the ram breeds; and on the length oflimb bones, the ewe breeds having longer but thinner bones than the ram breeds. The order of the relative growth of the tissues and fat depots was: subcutaneous fat > caul fat > KKCF > intermuscular fat > lean > bone. Therefore, the internal fat depots were later maturing than intermuscular fat.The percentage of prime cuts in the carcass was not affected by carcass weight. Colbreds had significantly lower values than the other breeds. Suffolks had the lowest lean to bone ratio.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 4059-4072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Fabián León-Luis ◽  
Alberto Redondas ◽  
Virgilio Carreño ◽  
Javier López-Solano ◽  
Alberto Berjón ◽  
...  

Abstract. Total ozone column measurements can be made using Brewer spectrophotometers, which are calibrated periodically in intercomparison campaigns with respect to a reference instrument. In 2003, the Regional Brewer Calibration Centre for Europe (RBCC-E) was established at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Center (Canary Islands, Spain), and since 2011 the RBCC-E has transferred its calibration based on the Langley method using travelling standard(s) that are wholly and independently calibrated at Izaña. This work is focused on reporting the consistency of the measurements of the RBCC-E triad (Brewer instruments #157, #183 and #185) made at the Izaña Atmospheric Observatory during the period 2005–2016. In order to study the long-term precision of the RBCC-E triad, it must be taken into account that each Brewer takes a large number of measurements every day and, hence, it becomes necessary to calculate a representative value of all of them. This value was calculated from two different methods previously used to study the long-term behaviour of the world reference triad (Toronto triad) and Arosa triad. Applying their procedures to the data from the RBCC-E triad allows the comparison of the three instruments. In daily averages, applying the procedure used for the world reference triad, the RBCC-E triad presents a relative standard deviation equal to σ = 0.41 %, which is calculated as the mean of the individual values for each Brewer (σ157 = 0.362 %, σ183 = 0.453 % and σ185 = 0.428 %). Alternatively, using the procedure used to analyse the Arosa triad, the RBCC-E presents a relative standard deviation of about σ = 0.5 %. In monthly averages, the method used for the data from the world reference triad gives a relative standard deviation mean equal to σ = 0.3 % (σ157 = 0.33 %, σ183 = 0.34 % and σ185 = 0.23 %). However, the procedure of the Arosa triad gives monthly values of σ = 0.5 %. In this work, two ozone data sets are analysed: the first includes all the ozone measurements available, while the second only includes the simultaneous measurements of all three instruments. Furthermore, this paper also describes the Langley method used to determine the extraterrestrial constant (ETC) for the RBCC-E triad, the necessary first step toward accurate ozone calculation. Finally, the short-term or intraday consistency is also studied to identify the effect of the solar zenith angle on the precision of the RBCC-E triad.


1971 ◽  
Vol 11 (53) ◽  
pp. 604
Author(s):  
H Jeffery ◽  
RL Colman ◽  
FG Swain

The 4 per cent fat corrected milk (FCM) production obtained from cows grazing a 9.7 ha farmlet of naturalized pasture at Wollongbar was measured over the ten-year period to 1968. FCM per cow varied between 1538 kg and 2765 kg and per hectare between 1678 kg and 2847 kg. The factors most likely to have affected production appeared to be climatic effects. It is suggested that soil fertility was unlikely to have affected production markedly and the relation between FCM production per hectare, and several rainfall parameters were established. The most important factor affecting production appeared to be rainfall in early to mid-lactation. Knowledge of rainfall during this period accounted for 93 per cent of the total variation in FCM per hectare between years. The residual standard deviation of the regression was 5 per cent of the mean production per hectare.


Author(s):  
Mantas Makulavičius ◽  
Henrikas Sivilevičius

Asphalt mixture gradation homogeneity is one of the key factors for proper laying and compaction during road pavement and its long-term maintenance afterwards. To achieve the good quality asphalt mixture homogeneity of aggregates used in road pavement must be kept in mind. Regarding to this, gradation variation of five different granite aggregates fractions (0/2, 2/5, 5/8, 8/11 and 11/16) from one of the largest manufacturing plants in Lithuania were determined in this paper. Total of 244 samples were taken from conveyer belt at the manufacturing place and all the data was evaluated by statistical methods providing histograms with theoretical curves of normal distribution. After that, the results were compared to each other and the requirements issued by Lithuanian road administration authority. Regression analysis was used to determine the dependence of standard deviation of percent passing and the mean percent passing through the sieves. The obtained research findings revealed that the maximum value of standard deviation of this dependence was equal to mean of 50% percent passing. Further investigations should include other aggregates quality parameters variation and its homogeneity throughout different stages of technological and transportation processes.


1981 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Kempster ◽  
D. G. Evans

ABSTRACTCarcass data for a total of 1385 pigs from years 3 to 6 of the Meat and Livestock Commission's Commercial Pig Evaluation were used to examine the value of different shape assessments as predictors of carcass composition, when used in addition to carcass weight and fat thickness over the m. longissimus at the head of the last rib (P2). The sample comprised pigs from 13 breeding companies and a purebred Large White control.The standard deviation of carcass lean proportion at equal weight and P2 was 24·5 g/kg. The addition of carcass length or visual conformation assessments (five-point scales) provided a small improvement in precision (minimum residual standard deviation = 24·2 g/kg). This improvement was associated with a reduction in the variation of lean to bone ratio.The addition of an effect for breeding company to weight and P2 improved the precision substantially (residual standard deviation = 23·1 g/kg). The improvement was due mainly to the identification of differences in carcass fat content, there being a range of 30g/kg in carcass fat content between companies at equal weight and P2.There was a further small improvement in precision from the addition of conformation assessments to weight, P2 and company (minimum residual standard deviation = 22·9 g/kg).The study confirms earlier results which indicate that shape assessments are of limited value as predictors in the British pig population, due mainly to limited variation in lean to bone ratio. It also indicates that significant variation exists between companies in fat content at equal P2 and weight which is not explained by shape assessments.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 993-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Sather ◽  
J. A. Newman ◽  
S. D. M. Jones ◽  
A. K. W. Tong ◽  
S. M. Zawadski ◽  
...  

Carcasses, with an average weight of 80.8 kg, from 130 Lacombe and 96 Yorkshire pigs were probed for fat and muscle depth at the carcass grade site using the Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP). Similar data were collected by the Aloka SSD-210DXII Echo Camera (AEC) at the carcass grade site and at the Canadian Swine Improvement Program loin and mid-back sites. Muscle-width and muscle-area measurements were also made with the AEC. The R2 (residual standard deviation: RSD), using the HGP, for prediction of carcass lean yield at the grade site using fat and muscle depth was 0.58 (16.4). When fat and muscle depth were measured by the AEC, the R2 (RSD) at the mid-back, loin and grade sites to predict carcass lean yield was 0.41 (19.7), 0.47 (18.5), and 0.53 (17.5), respectively. When the AEC muscle-depth measurements were replaced with muscle-area measurements, the R2 increased (RSD decreased) at the mid-back, loin and grade sites to predict carcass lean yield (0.60 (16.0), 0.64 (15.2), and 0.59 (16.4), respectively). Real-time ultrasound (AEC) provides precision for the prediction of carcass lean content similar to that of the electronic grade probe (HGP). However, combining fat- and muscle-depth measurements made by the HGP with muscle-area measurements made by the AEC at the loin increased the R2 from 58 to 66% for the prediction of carcass lean yield. The suitability of the use of real-time ultrasound as an alternative to electronic grading probes, at this time, appears to be limited. Key words: Swine, real-time ultrasound, carcass grading


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenting Wang ◽  
Shuiqing Yin ◽  
Bofu Yu ◽  
Shaodong Wang

Abstract. Stochastic weather generator CLIGEN can simulate long-term weather sequences as input to WEPP for erosion predictions. Its use, however, has been somewhat restricted by limited observations at high spatial-temporal resolutions. Long-term daily temperature, daily and hourly precipitation data from 2405 stations and daily solar radiation from 130 stations distributed across mainland China were collected to develop the most critical set of site-specific parameter values for CLIGEN. Universal Kriging (UK) with auxiliary covariables, longitude, latitude, elevation, and the mean annual rainfall was used to interpolate parameter values into a 10 km × 10 km grid and parameter accuracy was evaluated based on leave-one-out cross-validation. The results demonstrated that Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients (NSEs) between UK interpolated and observed parameters were greater than 0.85 for all parameters apart from the standard deviation of solar radiation, skewness coefficient of daily precipitation, and cumulative distribution of relative time to peak intensity, with relatively lower interpolation accuracy (NSE > 0.66). In addition, CLIGEN simulated daily weather sequences using UK-interpolated and observed inputs showed consistent statistics and frequency distributions. The mean absolute discrepancy between the two sequences in the average and standard deviation of the temperature was less than 0.51 °C. The mean absolute relative discrepancy for the same statistics for solar radiation, precipitation amount, duration and maximum intensity in 30-min were less than 5 %. CLIGEN parameters at the 10 km resolution would meet the minimum WEPP climate requirements throughout in mainland China. The dataset is availability at http://clicia.bnu.edu.cn/data/cligen.html and http://doi.org/10.12275/bnu.clicia.CLIGEN.CN.gridinput.001 (Wang et al., 2020).


2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (04) ◽  
pp. 311-320
Author(s):  
Matt Davison ◽  
C. Essex ◽  
J. S. Shiner

When the dynamics of an epidemic are chaotic, detailed prediction is effectively impossible, except perhaps in the short term. However, a probability distribution underlying the motion does allow for the long term prediction of statistical measures such as the mean or the standard deviation. Even this weaker long term predictability might be lost if distinct populations with chaotic dynamics are coupled. We show that such coupling can result in a phenomenon we call “sensitive dependence on neglected dynamics”. In light of this phenomenon, it is somewhat surprising that when two logistic maps are coupled, the long term predictability of the mean and standard deviation is maintained. This is true even though the probability distribution describing the time series depends on the coupling strength. The coupling-strength dependence does reveal itself in the loss of predictability of higher order moments such as skewness and kurtosis.


1984 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Johnson ◽  
M. K. Vidyadaran

SummaryIndividual muscles, individual bones and fat depots from the non-carcass parts (head, foreshanks and tail) of 40 steers (chilled carcass weight 142–174 kg) were studied in an attempt to predict carcass composition more accurately than in an earlier study where the crude non-carcass parts, head, tongue, foreshanks and hindshanks were used.The technique did not improve the accuracy of prediction of muscle or bone. Carcass fat, which was calculated by difference in the earlier study, was predicted more accurately using intermandibular fat weight (requiring 3–4 min to obtain) plus fat thickness at the 12th rib. However, the accuracy of this prediction (carcass fatness range 14·0–33·6%, residual standard deviation 1·98%) was no greater than that using chilled side weight plus fat thickness at the 12th rib.Careful dissection and trimming of anatomical entities from the non-carcass parts therefore offered a slight advantage only in the prediction of carcass components over existing techniques.Substitution of hot side weight for chilled side weight, and sacral crest fat thickness for fat thickness at the 12th rib did not lead to a loss in the accuracy of prediction of muscle, bone or fat.


1981 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Alliston ◽  
C. E. Hinks

ABSTRACTForty-five crossbred cattle were scanned by ultrasonics at three sites on the body and were ‘condition scored’ before slaughter and subsequent dissection of a sample rib joint.Ultrasonic measurements gave a better indicator of fat content than did ‘condition score’. The third lumbar vertebra site on the body gave a better prediction of sample joint composition than did the 10th or 13th rib.The mean ultrasonic measurement of fat depth at the three sites did not improve the prediction of composition as compared with the value obtained at the third lumbar vertebra. The overall standard deviation for total fat concentration was 42·1 g/kg and for lean concentration was 35·4 g/kg. Area of fat at the third lumbar vertebra was the best single indicator of fat concentration and lean concentration in the sample joint, with residual standard deviations of 25·1 and 23·1 g/kg respectively. A combination of fat measurements at the 3rd lumbar position was the best overall predictor (residual standard deviation: 23·8g fat and 23·0g lean per kg).


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