Electrical continuity scanner facilitates identification of wires for soldering to connectors

Electrical continuity scanner automatically scans 50 wires in 2 seconds to correlate all wires in a circuit with their respective known ends. Modifications made to the basic plan provide circuitry for scanning up to 250 wires

Analysis of the Management and Costs Associated with Rearing Pregnant Dairy Heifers in the UK from Conception to Calving

Good management of the pregnant heifer is crucial to ensure that she is well grown and healthy and calves down easily before joining the milking herd. This study collected primary data on all aspects of heifer management on 101 UK farms during heifer pregnancy from conception to calving including farm factors and associated costs of system inputs. A cost analysis workbook was developed to calculate the cost of rearing per heifer for each of the study farms. Associations between cost of rearing and farms factors were determined using linear regression and analysis of variance. Heifers had a mean age of conception of 509 d (range 365 - 700 d) and an age at first calving of 784 d (range 639 - 973 d). The mean total cost of rearing during pregnancy was £450.36 (range £153.11 to £784.00) with a mean daily cost of £1.64 (range £0.56 to £2.86). The inputs contributing the most to cost were feed (32.7%), labour (23.8%) and slurry disposal (11.2%). Total purchased and homegrown feed and grazing contributed between 25.5% and 65.4% of total costs with a mean contribution of 43.6%. The cost of rearing was lowest in spring calving herds and highest in all year round calving herds with intermediate values in autumn and multi block calving herds. The main variables influencing the cost were the number of days spent at grass, age at first calving, calving pattern, breed, herd size and region. Each extra day in age at first calving increased the mean cost of rearing during pregnancy by £0.33/d whereas every extra day at grass reduced the cost by £1.75/d

A Study of Dairy Heifer Rearing Practices from Birth to Weaning and Their Associated Costs on UK Dairy Farms

There are many inputs into the dairy replacement herd which impact not only on the cost of rearing heifers from birth to first calving, but also on their future longevity and production potential. This study determined the current cost of rearing dairy heifers in the UK through the calculation and analysis of individual costs on a subset of 102 UK dairy farms. Each farm was visited and an extensive heifer rearing questionnaire was completed. Current heifer rearing practices were recorded to provide insight into critical management decisions. A cost analysis workbook was developed to calculate the costs of inputs in the pre-weaning period for labour, calving, feed, housing, health treatments and vaccinations, waste storage, machinery and equipment, and utilities. The average age at weaning was 62 d. The mean cost of rearing from birth to weaning was £195.19 per heifer with a mean daily cost of £3.14 (excluding the opportunity cost of the calf). This ranged from £1.68 to £6.11 among farms, reflecting major differences in management strategies and efficiency. The highest contribution to total costs came from feed (colostrum, milk, starter and forage) at 48.5% with milk feeding making up the greatest proportion of this at 37.3%. The next major expenses were bedding and labour, contributing 12.3% and 11.2% respectively. Unsurprisingly, delaying age at weaning increased total cost by £3.53 per day. Total costs were on average 45% higher on organic farms than conventional due to higher feed costs and later weaning. Calving pattern also had a strong association with the total cost being lowest with spring calving, intermediate with autumn calving and highest in multi block and all year round calving herds.fals

The management and associated costs of rearing heifers on UK dairy farms from weaning to conception

Dairy heifers only start to produce a return on investment at first calving. The length of the nonproductive rearing period is largely governed by farmer decisions on plane of nutrition and reproduction management. Primary data were collected from 101 dairy farms and a cost analysis workbook developed to calculate individual inputs in each of three periods to determine which management decisions and farm factors have the greatest influence on the total costs associated with rearing. This paper covers weaning until conception. Heifers were weaned at 62 d (range 42 - 112 d) and conceived by 509 d (range 365 - 700 d) giving an average weaning to conception period of 447 ± 60 d (range 253 to 630 d). The mean daily cost of rearing during this period was £1.65 (range £0.75 to £2.97 on different farms) giving a mean total cost of £745.94 per heifer (range £295.32 to £1745.85). This large variation was mostly due to the duration, which was mainly determined by age at first breeding (mean 476 days, range 365 - 700 d). The main contributors to total costs were feed (35.6%), labour (24.7%) and bedding (8.9%). The variables most strongly associated with the total costs were age at conception, calving pattern and breed. A multivariable model predicted an increase in mean cost of £2.26 for each extra day in age at conception. The total cost was highest in herds with all year round calving, intermediate in multi-block and lowest in spring and autumn calving herds, with Friesian x and Jersey herds having the lowest cost of rearing.falsePublished onlin

Predicting 30-day mortality after hip fracture surgery: Evaluation of the National Hip Fracture Database case-mix adjustment model.

OBJECTIVES: The National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) publishes hospital-level risk-adjusted mortality rates following hip fracture surgery in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The performance of the risk model used by the NHFD was compared with the widely-used Nottingham Hip Fracture Score. METHODS: Data from 94 hospitals on patients aged 60 to 110 who had hip fracture surgery between May 2013 and July 2013 were analysed. Data were linked to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) death register to calculate the 30-day mortality rate. Risk of death was predicted for each patient using the NHFD and Nottingham models in a development dataset using logistic regression to define the models' coefficients. This was followed by testing the performance of these refined models in a second validation dataset. RESULTS: The 30-day mortality rate was 5.36% in the validation dataset (n = 3861), slightly lower than the 6.40% in the development dataset (n = 4044). The NHFD and Nottingham models showed a slightly lower discrimination in the validation dataset compared with the development dataset, but both still displayed moderate discriminative power (c-statistic for NHFD = 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67 to 0.74; Nottingham model = 0.70, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.75). Both models defined similar ranges of predicted mortality risk (1% to 18%) in assessment of calibration. CONCLUSIONS: Both models have limitations in predicting mortality for individual patients after hip fracture surgery, but the NHFD risk adjustment model performed as well as the widely-used Nottingham prognostic tool and is therefore a reasonable alternative for risk adjustment in the United Kingdom hip fracture population.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2017;6:550-556

Calibration of a two-phase xenon time projection chamber with a 37^{37}Ar source

We calibrate a two-phase xenon detector at 0.27 keV in the charge channel and at 2.8 keV in both the light and charge channels using a $^{37}$Ar source that is directly released into the detector. We map the light and charge yields as a function of electric drift field. For the 2.8 keV peak, we calculate the Thomas-Imel box parameter for recombination and determine its dependence on drift field. For the same peak, we achieve an energy resolution, $E_{\sigma}/E_{mean}$, between 9.8% and 10.8% for 0.1 kV/cm to 2 kV/cm electric drift fields.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Cascading the use of Web 2.0 technology in secondary schools in the United Kingdom: identifying the barriers beyond pre-service training

This paper reports on research that took place at Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom, over two years. The research focuses on the use of Web 2.0 technology, specifically web logs, with pre-service teachers, both during their university programme and the first year of teaching as full-time newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The purpose of this research was to add a developing body of knowledge by identifying whether technology used by pre-service teachers during their training course can be cascaded into their practice once qualified. Key findings identify a number of enablers and barriers to cascading technology in the classroom; these include curriculum time, pupil skills and support. The research concludes that early professional support and development should be on-going and assumptions about new teachers as champions of cascading innovative use of Web 2 technologies into their practice as NQTs may be over optimisti

Analysis of 83mKr prompt scintillation signals in the PIXeY detector

Prompt scintillation signals from 83mKr calibration sources are a useful metric to calibrate the spatial variation of light collection efficiency and electric field magnitude of a two phase liquid-gas xenon time projection chamber. Because 83mKr decays in two steps, there are two prompt scintillation pulses for each calibration event, denoted S1a and S1b. We study the ratio of S1b to S1a signal sizes in the Particle Identification in Xenon at Yale (PIXeY) experiment and its dependence on the time separation between the two signals (Δ t), notably its increase at low Δ t. In PIXeY data, the Δ t dependence of S1b/S1a is observed to exhibit two exponential components: one with a time constant of 0.05 ± 0.02 μ s, which can be attributed to processing effects and pulse overlap and one with a time constant of 10.2 ± 2.2 μs that increases in amplitude with electric drift field, the origin of which is not yet understood

On Non Commutative G2 structure

Using an algebraic orbifold method, we present non-commutative aspects of $G_2$ structure of seven dimensional real manifolds. We first develop and solve the non commutativity parameter constraint equations defining $G_2$ manifold algebras. We show that there are eight possible solutions for this extended structure, one of which corresponds to the commutative case. Then we obtain a matrix representation solving such algebras using combinatorial arguments. An application to matrix model of M-theory is discussed.Comment: 16 pages, Latex. Typos corrected, minor changes. Version to appear in J. Phys.A: Math.Gen.(2005

The role of science in physical natural hazard assessment : report to the UK Government by the Natural Hazard Working Group

Following the tragic Asian tsunami on 26 December 2004, the Prime Minister asked the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, to convene a group of experts (the Natural Hazard Working Group) to advise on the mechanisms that could and should be established for the detection and early warning of global physical natural hazards. 2. The Group was asked to examine physical hazards which have high global or regional impact and for which an appropriate early warning system could be put in place. It was also asked to consider the global natural hazard frameworks currently in place and under development and their effectiveness in using scientific evidence; to consider whether there is an existing appropriate international body to pull together the international science community to advise governments on the systems that need to be put in place, and to advise on research needed to fill current gaps in knowledge. The Group was asked to make recommendations on whether a new body was needed, or whether other arrangements would be more effective