New ways of measuring intake, efficiency and behaviour of grazing livestock

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Greenwood ◽  
Philip Valencia ◽  
Leslie Overs ◽  
David R. Paull ◽  
Ian W. Purvis
Keyword(s):  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Genetic Parameter ◽  
Livestock Management ◽  
Benchmark Data ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Research Platform ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Grazing Livestock

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) offer a novel method for measuring important livestock phenotypes in commercial grazing environments. This information can then be used to inform genetic parameter estimation and improve precision livestock management. Arguably, these technologies are well suited for such tasks due to their small, non-intrusive form, which does not constrain the animals from expressing the genetic drivers for traits of interest. There are many technical challenges to be met in developing WSN technologies that can function on animals in commercial grazing environments. This paper discusses the challenges of the software development required for the collection of data from multiple types of sensors, the management and analyses of the very large volumes of data, determination of which sensing modalities are sufficient and/or necessary, and the management of the constrained power source. Assuming such challenges can be met however, validation of the sensor accuracy against benchmark data for specific traits must be performed before such a sensor can be confidently adopted. To achieve this, a pasture intake research platform is being established to provide detailed estimates of pasture intake by individual animals through chemical markers and biomass disappearance, augmented with highly annotated video recordings of animal behaviours. This provides a benchmark against which any novel sensor can be validated, with a high degree of flexibility to allow experiments to be designed and conducted under continually differing environmental conditions. This paper also discusses issues underlying the need for new and novel phenotyping methods and in the establishment of the WSN and pasture intake research platforms to enable prediction of feed intake and feed efficiency of individual grazing animals.

Feasibility of Molecular Structure Determination With a High Resolution Electron Microscope

1968 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 338-339
Author(s):  
T. A. Welton
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Substrate Surface ◽  
Helical Axis ◽  
Base Plane ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscope ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Degree Of Order ◽  
Purine Pyrimidine

An ultimate design goal for an improved electron microscope, aimed at biological applications, is the determination of the structure of complex bio-molecules. As a prototype of this class of problems, we propose to examine the possibility of reading DNA sequence by an imaginable instrument design. This problem ideally combines absolute importance and relative simplicity, in as much as the problem of enzyme structure seems to be a much more difficult one.The proposed technique involves the deposition on a thin graphite lamina of intact double helical DNA rods. If the structure can be maintained under vacuum conditions, we can then make use of the high degree of order to greatly reduce the work involved in discriminating between the four possible purine-pyrimidine arrangements in each base plane. The phosphorus atoms of the back bone form in projection (the helical axis being necessarily parallel to the substrate surface) two intertwined sinusoids. If these phosphorus atoms have been located up to a certain point on the molecule, we have available excellent information on the orientation of the base plane at that point, and can then locate in projection the key atoms for discrimination of the four alternatives.

A novel method for the determination of linting propensity of paper

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
ALESSANDRA GERLI ◽  
LEENDERT C. EIGENBROOD
Keyword(s):  
Ash Content ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Offset Printing ◽  
Excellent Correlation ◽  
End Conditions ◽  
Bottom Side ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Total Fraction

A novel method was developed for the determination of linting propensity of paper based on printing with an IGT printability tester and image analysis of the printed strips. On average, the total fraction of the surface removed as lint during printing is 0.01%-0.1%. This value is lower than those reported in most laboratory printing tests, and more representative of commercial offset printing applications. Newsprint paper produced on a roll/blade former machine was evaluated for linting propensity using the novel method and also printed on a commercial coldset offset press. Laboratory and commercial printing results matched well, showing that linting was higher for the bottom side of paper than for the top side, and that linting could be reduced on both sides by application of a dry-strength additive. In a second case study, varying wet-end conditions were used on a hybrid former machine to produce four paper reels, with the goal of matching the low linting propensity of the paper produced on a machine with gap former configuration. We found that the retention program, by improving fiber fines retention, substantially reduced the linting propensity of the paper produced on the hybrid former machine. The papers were also printed on a commercial coldset offset press. An excellent correlation was found between the total lint area removed from the bottom side of the paper samples during laboratory printing and lint collected on halftone areas of the first upper printing unit after 45000 copies. Finally, the method was applied to determine the linting propensity of highly filled supercalendered paper produced on a hybrid former machine. In this case, the linting propensity of the bottom side of paper correlated with its ash content.

scholarly journals Employing entropy measures to identify visitors in multi-occupancy environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aadel Howedi ◽  
Ahmad Lotfi ◽  
Amir Pourabdollah
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Permutation Entropy ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Motion Detectors ◽  
To Receive

AbstractHuman activity recognition (HAR) is used to support older adults to live independently in their own homes. Once activities of daily living (ADL) are recognised, gathered information will be used to identify abnormalities in comparison with the routine activities. Ambient sensors, including occupancy sensors and door entry sensors, are often used to monitor and identify different activities. Most of the current research in HAR focuses on a single-occupant environment when only one person is monitored, and their activities are categorised. The assumption that home environments are occupied by one person all the time is often not true. It is common for a resident to receive visits from family members or health care workers, representing a multi-occupancy environment. Entropy analysis is an established method for irregularity detection in many applications; however, it has been rarely applied in the context of ADL and HAR. In this paper, a novel method based on different entropy measures, including Shannon Entropy, Permutation Entropy, and Multiscale-Permutation Entropy, is employed to investigate the effectiveness of these entropy measures in identifying visitors in a home environment. This research aims to investigate whether entropy measures can be utilised to identify a visitor in a home environment, solely based on the information collected from motion detectors [e.g., passive infra-red] and door entry sensors. The entropy measures are tested and evaluated based on a dataset gathered from a real home environment. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of entropy measures to identify visitors and the time of their visits without the need for employing extra wearable sensors to tag the visitors. The results obtained from the experiments show that the proposed entropy measures could be used to detect and identify a visitor in a home environment with a high degree of accuracy.

scholarly journals Influence of the Share of Renewable Energy Sources on the Level of Energy Security in EECCA Countries

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Trifonov ◽  
Dmitry Trukhan ◽  
Yury Koshlich ◽  
Valeriy Prasolov ◽  
Beata Ślusarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Structural Content ◽  
High Degree

In this study we aimed to determine the extent to which changes in the share of renewable energy sources, their structural complex, and the level of energy security in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) countries in the medium- and long-term are interconnected. The study was performed through modeling and determination of the structural characteristics of energy security in the countries. The methodology of the approach to modeling was based on solving the problem of nonlinear optimization by selecting a certain scenario. For the study, the data of EECCA countries were used. The ability of EECCA countries to benefit from long-term indirect and induced advantages of the transformation period depends on the extent to which their domestic supply chains facilitate the deployment of energy transformation and induced economic activity. This study provides an opportunity to assess the degree of influence of renewable energy sources on the level of energy security of countries in the context of energy resource diversification. The high degree of influence of renewable energy sources on energy security in the EECCA countries has been proven in the implementation of the developed scenarios for its increase. Energy security is growing. At the same time, its level depends not only on an increase in the share of renewable sources but also on the structure of energy resources complex of countries, and the development of various renewable energy sources. Therefore, today the EECCA countries are forced not only to increase the share of renewable energy sources but also to attach strategic importance to the structural content of their energy complex.

Resistance to Outflow of Cerebrospinal Fluid Determined by Bolus Injection Technique and Constant Rate Steady State Infusion in Humans

Neurosurgery ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kosteljanetz
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Bolus Injection ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Injection Technique ◽  
Communicating Hydrocephalus ◽  
Constant Rate ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Infusion Technique

Abstract Two methods for the determination of resistance to the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid, the bolus injection technique and the constant rate steady state infusion technique, were compared. Thirty-two patients with a variety of intracranial diseases (usually communicating hydrocephalus) were studied. There was a high degree of correlation between the resistance values obtained with the two methods, but values based on the bolus injection technique were systematically and statistically significantly lower than those obtained with the constant rate infusion test. From a practical point of view. both methods were found to be applicable in a clinical setting.

A novel method for the simultaneous determination of esterified 2-/3-MCPD and glycidol in foods by GC-MS/MS

Food Control ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107766
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Zheng ◽  
Wusheng Fu ◽  
Kuicheng Zheng ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
Lishan Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Simultaneous Determination ◽  
Novel Method
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