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

CRIMALDDI: a prioritized research agenda to expedite the discovery of new anti-malarial drugs

The CRIMALDDI Consortium has been a three-year project funded by the EU Framework Seven Programme. It aimed to develop a prioritized set of recommendations to speed up anti-malarial drug discovery research and contribute to the setting of the global research agenda. It has attempted to align thinking on the high priority issues and then to develop action plans and strategies to address these issues. Through a series of facilitated and interactive workshops, it has concluded that these priorities can be grouped under five key themes: attacking artemisinin resistance; creating and sharing community resources; delivering enabling technologies; exploiting high throughput screening hits quickly; and, identifying novel targets. Recommendations have been prioritized into one of four levels: quick wins; removing key roadblocks to future progress; speeding-up drug discovery; and, nice to have (but not essential). Use of this prioritization allows efforts and resources to be focused on the lines of work that will contribute most to expediting anti-malarial drug discovery. Estimates of the time and finances required to implement the recommendations have also been made, along with indications of when recommendations within each theme will make an impact. All of this has been collected into an indicative roadmap that, it is hoped, will guide decisions about the direction and focus of European anti-malarial drug discovery research and contribute to the setting of the global research agenda

Multiple influences on participating in physical activity in older age: Developing a social ecological approach

Background: Evidence of the benefits of engaging in physical activity (PA) is strong, yet the number of older adults meeting the recommended 150 min/wk is low. Policy to increase uptake and adherence has focussed on the health benefits of PA, but may not be the most successful approach. Objective: This qualitative study sought to ask older adults what the components of a successful intervention to promote PA would be, by asking active older adults what motivated them to be active and asking inactive older adults what might encourage them to change. Design, setting and participants: Focus groups and semi‐structured interviews were held with 60 community‐dwelling older adults, aged 50‐87 years. Framework analysis was used to analyse the data, and themes congruent with a social ecological model of behaviour change were developed. Findings: Five themes emerged that influenced PA engagement at multiple levels: individual; interpersonal; perceived environment; community or organizational; and policy. PA engagement was determined by attitude or health status for some participants, but for the majority, PA being enjoyable, sociable, affordable, accessible, flexible and seasonal were more important than the health benefits. Discussion and conclusions: A social ecological model is presented, highlighting the fact that both motivated and unmotivated older adults need to have a range of appropriately labelled, appealing and accessible activities to choose from when thinking about engaging in PA. Policymakers and practitioners need to ensure that their offers of activity sessions are easy to access and easy to remain involved in