Applying a Mathematical Model to Compare, Choose, and Optimize the Management and Economics of Milking Parlors in Dairy Farms

Dairy farms are growing in several areas of theworld,with consequent need for amodernization of milking equipment. The objective of this research is to evaluate milking parlors in current and future situations in modern farms. Several Italian farms were studied: three farms with side-by-side milking parlors (50 cows, 82 cows, and 100 cows), two with herringbone milking parlors (70 cows and 90 cows) and two with rotary milking parlors (360 cows and 900 cows). The choosing and evaluation of milking parlor parameters is based on results of previous research, using the mathematical model developed in the Czech University. The time for milking and the final specific direct costs are the main parameters which enable evaluation and choosing of suitable milking parlor from the dairy; neglect or promotion of only one of the mentioned criteria may lead to uneconomic investment or impaired operation of a farm. The evaluation of existing milking parlors can help to enhance the milking process and operations from the point of view of either technical improvement or improved activity of milkers. The results of measurement and calculation in current farms are compared with possible future enlarged farms. The study demonstrated that increasing the capacity of dairy farms enables a reduction of the final specific direct costs for milking

Viscoelasticity and damage model for creep behaviour of historical masonry structures

This paper presents a continuum model for the simulation of the viscous effects and the long-term damage accumulation in masonry structures. The rheological model is based on a generalized Maxwell chain representation with a constitutive law utilizing a limited number of internal variables. Thanks to its computational efficiency, this approach is suitable for the analysis of large and complex structures. In the paper, the viscous and damage models are presented and their coupling is discussed. The FE simulation of the construction process of the representative bay of Mallorca Cathedral is presented, together with the analysis of the long-term effects. The parameters of the model are tentatively calibrated on the basis of the time-dependent viscous deformations detected during the cathedral monitoring

Next-generation sequencing and metagenomic analysis advances plant virus diagnosis and discovery

The advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies dramatically advanced our ability to comprehensively investigate diseases of unknown etiology and expedited the entire process of virus discovery, identification, viral genome sequencing and, subsequently, the development of routine assays for new viral pathogens. Unlike traditional techniques, these novel approaches require no preliminary knowledge of the suspected virus(es). Currently, the RNA-Seq approach has been widely used to identify new viruses in infected plants, by analyzing virus-derived small interfering RNA populations, single- and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules extracted from infected plants. The method generates sequence in an unbiased fashion, likely allowing to detect all viruses that are present in a sample. We applied the Illumina NGS, coupled with metagenomic analysis, to generate large sequence dataset in different woody crops affected by diseases of unknown origin or infected with uncharacterized viruses or new strains. This approach allowed the identification of five novel viral species and, in addition, the sequencing of the whole genome of several viruses and viroids infecting Citrus spp., Prunus spp., grapes, fig, hazelnut, olive, persimmon and mulberry. Combined analysis of the datasets generated by using either siRNA fractions and dsRNA templates, enhanced the characterization of the whole virus-derived sequences in the infected tissues. Furthermore, profiling small RNAs from virus-infected plants led to a better understanding of host-plant response to virus and viroid infections in perennial plants. A general bioinformatic pipeline and an experimental validation strategy were developed and its application illustrated

A perspective on poultry manure for Italian farmers

An April 2006 Directive in Europe sets new rules for management for farming residues in compliance with the European Nitrates Directive. The new regulation limits the quantity of manure that can be spread on land in relation to the concentration of nitrogen in farms. In order to comply, the implementation of various technologies that will replace the application of manure is needed now more than ever, such as fertilizers. One technology is thermo-chemical management for poultry litter which produce energy and anaerobic digestion, but have a different effect in terms of N-removal in that the former leads to N2 emissions, leaving only a relatively small amount of ash to be managed, while the latter produces a digested liquid effluent with unaltered N concentration. Improvements in thermo-chemical conversion including gasification and pyrolysis will be however be available. On the other hand, anaerobic digestion has many advantages, including lower odor impact, lower phytotoxicity, less pathogens and good fertilizing properties than raw manure and production of energy results in income generation

Sistemi e processi per trasformare l\u2019effluente in concime palabile.

speciale progetto RiduCaReflui supplemento al n.4 del 28 gennaio 201