80 research outputs found
Improved Estimates for the Parameters of the Heavy Quark Expansion
We give improved estimates for the non-perturbative parameters appearing in
the heavy quark expansion for inclusive decays. While the parameters appearing
in low orders of this expansion can be extracted from data, the number of
parameters in higher orders proliferates strongly, making a determination of
these parameters from data impossible. Thus, one has to rely on theoretical
estimates which may be obtained from an insertion of intermediate states. In
this paper we refine this method and attempt to estimate the uncertainties of
this approach.Comment: 18 pages (v2: Fixed sign error in section 3. conclusions unchanged
Odd Decays from Even Anomalies: Gauge Mediation Signatures Without SUSY
We analyze the theory and phenomenology of anomalous global chiral symmetries
in the presence of an extra dimension. We propose a simple extension of the
Standard Model in 5D whose signatures closely resemble those of supersymmetry
with gauge mediation, and we suggest a novel scalar dark matter candidate.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure; v2: references added; discussion of direct
collider constraints added; v3: corrected dark matter calculation in chapter
4.2 and replaced figure 1
Modelling Hen Harrier Dynamics to Inform Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution : A Spatially-Realistic, Individual-Based Approach
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Intact tails as a welfare indicator in finishing pigs? Scoring of tail lesions and defining intact tails in undocked pigs at the abattoir
Tail biting lesions are a potential measure of on-farm animal welfare, as a large range of stressors increase the risk for tail biting outbreaks. Further, tail biting is a major challenge, as lesions due to tail biting decrease animal welfare and health, as well as production efficiency and carcass quality. The aim of this study was to suggest a tail scoring system for use at slaughterhouses processing undocked pigs, and to link tail lesion scores to meat inspection data. A further aim was to suggest a definition for an intact enough tail. To validate the suggested scoring system we assessed tails before and after scalding and compared results to pathological examinations. In total, 14,433 tails were scored, and 117 tails were collected for pathological examination. After scalding, 49.2% of all tails were scored as fully intact. Of tails with lesions 2.5% were scored as having major acute wounds (>2 cm), while 11.6% had minor acute wounds (<2 cm), and 36.7% healed lesions. Intact tails were on average 31.5 cm (SD 2.5 cm) long. Lesion scored at the slaughter-line agreed well with the pathological assessment. Tail lesions were associated with several meat inspection findings: tails with more severe lesions and of shorter length increased the risk for meat inspection findings to a higher degree. A detailed lesion scoring method helps to identify carcasses at risk for condemnations, as well as being a potential method for on-farm welfare estimation. We suggest that a system for scoring tail lesions in undocked pigs should utilize a combination of scoring of the lesion and measuring the tail length. As bite marks or bruises on an otherwise intact tail were not a concern for meat hygiene, we suggest the definition of an intact enough tail could allow the inclusion of tails with these mild changes. Meat inspection findings in carcasses with tails scored as healed, but with no fresh lesions, and with more than 75% of the average intact length remaining were rather similar to those of fully intact tails. Based on these findings we suggest that a tail of this length, and with no visible fresh lesions could also be considered intact enough.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Intact Tails as a Welfare Indicator in Finishing Pigs? Scoring of Tail Lesions and Defining Intact Tails in Undocked Pigs at the Abattoir
Tail biting lesions are a potential measure of on-farm animal welfare, as a large range of stressors increase the risk for tail biting outbreaks. Further, tail biting is a major challenge, as lesions due to tail biting decrease animal welfare and health, as well as production efficiency and carcass quality. The aim of this study was to suggest a tail scoring system for use at slaughterhouses processing undocked pigs, and to link tail lesion scores to meat inspection data. A further aim was to suggest a definition for an intact enough tail. To validate the suggested scoring system we assessed tails before and after scalding and compared results to pathological examinations. In total, 14,433 tails were scored, and 117 tails were collected for pathological examination. After scalding, 49.2% of all tails were scored as fully intact. Of tails with lesions 2.5% were scored as having major acute wounds (>2 cm), while 11.6% had minor acute wounds (Peer reviewe
Testing Gluino Spin with Three-Body Decays
We examine the possibility of distinguishing a supersymmetric gluino from a
Kaluza-Klein gluon of universal extra dimensions (UED) at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC). We focus on the case when all kinematically allowed tree-level
decays of this particle are 3-body decays into two jets and a massive daughter
(typically weak gaugino or Kaluza-Klein weak gauge boson). We show that the
shapes of the dijet invariant mass distributions differ significantly in the
two models, as long as the mass of the decaying particle mA is substantially
larger than the mass of the massive daughter mB. We present a simple analysis
estimating the number of events needed to distinguish between the two models
under idealized conditions. For example, for mA/mB=10, we find the required
number of events to be of order several thousand, which should be available at
the LHC within a few years. This conclusion is confirmed by a parton level
Monte Carlo study which includes the effects of experimental cuts and the
combinatoric background.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
A Weakly Coupled Ultraviolet Completion of the Littlest Higgs with T-parity
We construct a weakly coupled, renormalizable ultraviolet completion of the
Littlest Higgs model with T-parity (LHT), based on an SU(5)xSU(2)xU(1) gauge
theory with a discrete Z_2 symmetry. Our model reproduces the complete
structure of the LHT below the 10 TeV scale, including the collective symmetry
breaking mechanism which solves the little hierarchy problem. The model is
manifestly free of anomalies, including both gauge/gravitational anomalies and
anomalies involving T-parity. At the TeV scale, the model contains additional
states not present in the LHT. We estimate the impact of these states on
precision electroweak observables, and show that the model is realistic. We
also discuss how our model can be embedded into a supersymmetric theory or a
five-dimensional setup with a warped extra dimension, stabilyzing the hierarchy
between the 10 TeV and the Planck scale.Comment: v1: 30 pages, 4 figures v2: minor clarifications added and typos
correcte
Evaluation of Tail Lesions of Finishing Pigs at the Slaughterhouse : Associations With Herd-Level Observations
The prevalence of tail lesions evaluated at the slaughterhouse varies considerably between herds. These lesions result mainly from tail biting, a harmful behavior with multifactorial origin. This study sought to investigate if a batchwise inspection of tails at slaughterhouse could be a useful method to estimate the animal welfare situation in finishing pig herds, and if so, what type and detail of tail scoring such an inspection should utilize. We investigated the distribution of different types of tail lesions and how well their scoring at slaughterhouse was associated with the situation recorded on-farm by a veterinarian as part of routine herd health visits. We also wanted to determine if animal welfare-related herd-level parameters, recorded by herd veterinarians during herd health visits, are associated with tail scoring at the slaughterhouse. A total of 10,517 pigtails from 84 herds were scored for this study. Herd data were collected from the national health classification register for pig farms in Finland and also included annual herd production quality data collected by the slaughterhouse. The scores of the tails varied considerably between the herds. On average, 48.1% (sd = 19.3) of the tails with an average length of 30.4 cm (sd = 2.7) were fully intact, 37.3% (13.9) had healed (length = 26.4, sd = 5.1 cm), 12.4% (9.0) (length = 28.9, sd = 4.3 cm) had minor acute wounds, and 2.3% (2.1) (length = 24.2, sd = 6.0 cm) had major acute wounds. Proportions of different tail lesions at slaughterhouse were associated with or tended to be associated with the following herd-level parameters in regression models: use of wood as enrichment (p < 0.1), one health parameter (leg problems other than arthritis, p < 0.05), and long-term animal welfare estimate (annual mortality, p < 0.05). Detailed tail evaluation at the slaughterhouse shows potential in estimating the tail lesions and long-term welfare level on the farm. By recording only one type of tail condition (such as tails with major acute lesions) at the slaughterhouse, it is not possible to estimate the total tail lesion situation in the herds before slaughter. A more detailed scoring similar to the one used in this trial is recommended.Peer reviewe
Towards an integrated ecological-economic land-use change model
Land-use changes have transformed tropical landscapes throughout the past decades dramatically. We describe here an ecologicaleconomicland-use change model to provide an integrated, exploratory tool to analyze how tropical land use and land-use change affect ecological and socio-conomic functions. The guiding question of the model is what kind of landscape mosaic can improve the ensemble of ecosystem functioning, biodiversity and economic benefit based on the synergies and trade-offs that we have to account for. The economic submodel simulates smallholder land-use management decisions based on a profit maximization assumption and a Leontief production function. Each household determines factor inputs for all household fields and decides about land-use change based on available wealth. The ecological submodel includes a simple account of carbon sequestration in above- and belowground vegetation. Initialized with realistic or artificial land use maps, the ecological-economic model will advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the trade-offs and synergies of ecological and economic functions in tropical landscapes
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