Influence of level of self-sufficiency on the nutrient budgets of an organic dairy farm (OF0180)

This is the final report of Defra project OF0180 In 1998, the organic dairy herd at Ty Gwyn, Trawsgoed was split into two herds to examine the physical and financial implications of adopting different feeding strategies and levels of feed self-sufficiency (DEFRA Project OF0146). A self-sufficient system (SS) in which cows were fed a high forage diet supplemented with home-grown cereals was compared with a system in which concentrate feeds were purchased from outside the farm (PC). The present study determined nutrient budgets for the two systems and used models to estimate the various forms of N loss. These studies were supported by field studies to provide additional information about areas of uncertainty identified in previous budget calculations. Specific objectives were: 1. To determine whole-farm budgets and internal flows of N, P and K for the SS and PC organic dairy systems at Ty Gwyn. 2. To measure the effect of slurry applications on N fixation in grass/clover fields at Ty Gwyn and effects on the uptake of P, K and Mg. 3. To measure possible changes in the P and K content of soils in the SS and PC systems at Ty Gwyn and evaluate recommended laboratory tests as indicators of P and K deficiencies in these soils. The attached main report starts with a detailed Executive Summary

A Reassessment of General Lighting Practice Based on the MRSE Concept

A case is made for reassessment of the purpose of general lighting practice, involving a change from lighting standards specifying illuminance for high levels of visual performance, to providing for predictable assessments of surrounding brightness. Mean room surface exitance (MRSE) is proposed as a suitable metric for this purpose. This metric actually serves a dual role, in that apart from providing practitioners with the means to design for chosen levels of surrounding brightness, it would enable regulators to specify for perceived adequacy of illumination, PAI. The adoption of PAI specified in terms of MRSE as the prime criterion for specifying indoor illumination levels in lighting standards would invoke fundamental changes in general lighting practice. These are discussed, together with limitations of the MRSE concept and the need for both further research and feedback from industry professionals

Development and Evaluation of a New Interior Lighting Design Methodology.

This thesis examines the basis of professional practice involved in providing controlled distributions of artificial lighting to provide for the broad range of human activities conducted within buildings, and makes proposals for a new methodology. Current practice for specifying lighting requirements based on task performance is examined, and shortcomings are identified. Proposals that have been advanced for alternative forms of specification are reviewed, including those initiated by the candidate in the five publications that form the major part of this thesis. In these publications, the candidate proposes a basis for general lighting practice based on how lighting may influence the appearance of indoor spaces and their contents. Lighting metrics relating to peoples’ responses to the appearance of the lit environment are introduced, and application procedures that may incorporate lighting design objectives based on task performance are discussed. It is recorded that the candidate’s publications have aroused interest among the lighting profession, as well as having stimulated research investigations, notably at DIT. The findings from these investigations are evaluated, and it is concluded that while they generally support the candidate’s proposals, more research is needed to justify their adoption for general lighting practice, particularly as adoption would involve substantial changes from current practice. Specific recommendations for ongoing research are identified, and it is noted that such research is currently in hand at DIT

How Will Removal of the Non-Organic Feed Derogation Affect Nutrient Budgets of Organic Livestock Farms in Wales?

Agri-environment schemes encourage organic farming in Wales. The National Assembly Government second organic action plan has a target of 10-15% land in organic production by 2010. Although forage based, many organic livestock farmers buy in concentrate feeds, which are important sources of nutrients to the farm. The current derogation allowing organic producers up to 10% approved non-organic feed ends in 2005. Many organic farmers are beginning to make management changes to comply with this. The aims of this study were to construct simple nutrient budgets on different organic livestock farms, investigate any planned system changes, look at impacts on nutrient budgets and create awareness amongst farmers of the value of nutrient budgeting, in addition to soil testing, for planning sustainable organic farming systems

Organic farming: technology transfer (Environmental impact and soil fertility) (OF0405)

This project covered two separate activities, but both were examples of technology transfer, relating to organic farming: 1. Developing a science-based report, which covered an assessment of the environmental impacts of organic farming. Defra’s Action Plan to Develop Organic Food and Farming included as Annexe 3 an assessment of the environmental impacts of organic farming. This paper was prepared by a Subgroup of the Action Plan for Organic Farming. Its purpose was to summarise the Subgroup’s views of the likely comparative effects of organic and conventional farming on the environment. However, to be robust and defensible, the assessment needs to be supported by scientific data. Although the report was based on such an assessment, the scientific data were not summarised and this needed to be done. The objective of this part of the project was therefore to collate and publish on the Defra website the evidence that underpinned the overall conclusions. 2. Preparation of a booklet to provide guidelines for managing soil fertility in organic farming. Organic farming aims to create an economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture, with the emphasis placed on self-sustaining biological systems, rather than external inputs. Building soil fertility is central to this ethos. ‘Soil fertility’ can be considered as a measure of the soil’s ability to sustain satisfactory crop growth, both in the short- and longer-term, and it is determined by a set of interactions between the soil’s physical environment, chemical environment and biological activity. The aim of recent Defra-funded projects has been, therefore, to provide a better scientific understanding of ‘soil fertility’ under organic farming, in line with Defra’s policy objective of greater technical support to organic farming. The aim here was to prepare a booklet based on the findings of Defra-funded project OF0164 ‘Soil fertility in organically farmed soils’

A Scoping Review of the Methodology Used in Studies of Genetic Influences on the Development of Keloid or Hypertrophic Scarring in Adults and Children After Acute Wounding

Significance: Keloid and hypertrophic scarring are common following acute wounds. However, the variability in scarring outcomes between individuals and in particular, the association between genetic factors and scarring, is not well understood. This scoping review aims to summarize the methodology used in studies of genetic influences on the development of keloid or hypertrophic scarring in adults and children after acute wounding. The objectives were to determine the study designs used, the characteristics of participants included, the tools used to assess scarring and the length of follow-up after wounding. Recent Advances: The review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Web of Science, Biosciences Information Service (BIOSIS), Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), The Human Genetic Epidemiology (HuGE) Navigator (database of genetic association studies), and the genome-wide association study Catalog were searched from January 2008 to April 2020. Cohort studies and case-control studies that examined the association between one or more genetic variations and the development of keloid or hypertrophic scarring were eligible for inclusion. A narrative synthesis that grouped studies by wound type was conducted. Critical Issues: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria (five in burns, four surgical wounds, and none in other types of acute wounds). Seven assessed hypertrophic scarring, one keloid scarring, and one both scar types. Seven studies used a prospective cohort design. All studies used subjective methods (clinician or patient observation) to assess scarring. There was considerable variation in how scar scales were operationalized. Future Directions: This review identified a small body of evidence on genetic susceptibility to scarring after acute wounding. Further studies are needed, and in a wide range of populations, including patients with wounds caused by trauma. </p

Gas compression systematically delays the onset of viscous fingering

Using gas to drive liquid from a Hele-Shaw cell leads to classical viscous fingering. Strategies for suppressing fingering have received substantial attention. For steady injection of an incompressible gas, the intensity of fingering is controlled by the capillary number Ca. Here, we show that gas compression leads to an unsteady injection rate controlled primarily by a dimensionless compressibility number C. Increasing C systematically delays the onset of fingering at high Ca, highlighting compressibility as an overlooked but fundamental aspect of gas-driven fingering

Compression-driven viscous fingering in a radial Hele-Shaw cell

The displacement of a viscous liquid by a gas within a Hele-Shaw cell is a classical problem. The gas-liquid interface is hydrodynamically unstable, forming striking finger-like patterns that have attracted research interest for decades. Generally, both the gas and liquid phases are taken to be incompressible, with the capillary number being the key parameter that determines the severity of the instability. Here, we consider a radially outward displacement driven by the steady compression of a gas reservoir. The associated gas-injection rate is then unsteady due to the compressibility of the gas. We identify a second nondimensional parameter, the compressibility number, that plays a strong role in the development of the fingering pattern. We use an axisymmetric model to study the impact of compressibility number on the unsteady evolution of injection rate and gas pressure. We use linear stability analysis to show that increasing the compressibility number delays the onset of finger development relative to the corresponding incompressible case. Finally, we present and compare a series of experiments and fully nonlinear simulations over a broad range of capillary and compressibility numbers. These results show that increasing the compressibility number systematically decreases the severity of the fingering pattern at high capillary number. Our results provide an unprecedented comparison of experiments with simulations for viscous fingering, a comprehensive understanding of the role of compressibility in unstable gas-liquid displacement flows, and insight into a new mechanism for controlling the development of fingering patterns

Utilização de redes convolucionais profundas para estimativa de ângulos de pose de fácies obtidas através do kinect®

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Ciências da Computação.A capacidade de reconhecer padrões e construir modelos analíticos a partir de dados, é uma das principais características das técnicas de aprendizado de máquina. O reconhecimento da posição da cabeça a partir de imagens obtidas de câmeras dotadas de sensores de profundidade permite uma série de interações entre seres humanos e computadores em uma variedade de aplicações que vão de jogos até o controle de cadeiras de rodas por cadeirantes. O uso deste tipo de equipamento permite que se obtenha dados de profundidade, tornando possível obter o ângulo de inclinação da cabeça nos três eixos, o que seria muito difícil apenas a partir de imagens convencionais. Uma câmera relativamente barata, e capaz de capturar estas imagens de profundidade é o sensor Kinect®, desenvolvido pela empresa Microsoft. Este captura imagens de 640x480 pixels, uma resolução boa para distinguir a posição da cabeça numa imagem de profundidade. As redes neurais convolucionais são uma arquitetura de redes neurais profundas (deep learning) que têm sido utilizadas com sucesso em uma série de problemas de visão computacional relacionados com a identificação e reconhecimento de objetos em imagens. Este trabalho procurou então utilizar imagens capturadas por um sensor Kinect®, para treinar uma Rede Neural Convolucional de Camada Profunda e reconhecer nas imagens os ângulos de pose de cabeça de seres humanos. A Rede treinada foi então utilizada numa implementação simples onde o reconhecimento correto de imagens de profundidade demonstra aplicações práticas desta interface humano-computador, assim como seu potencial.The capacity to recognise patterns and create analytical models from data, is one of the main characteristics of Machine Learning techniques. The recognition of head positions from 3D (depth) images allows for a multitude of interactions between human beings and computers, in a variety of applications ranging from games to wheelchair control. The usage of devices containing depth sensors allows for the capturing of depth data, making the obtainment of head inclination angles on the three axes possible, which would be very difficult only through conventional images. A relatively cheap camera, which can capture these 3D images is the Kinect® sensor, developed by Microsoft. This device captures images of 640x480 pixels, a good enough resolution to distinguish the head’s position in a depth image. Convolutional Neural Networks are an architecture of Deep Neural Networks (Deep Learning) which have been used with success in a plethora of computer vision problems, related to the identification and recognition of objects in images. This work sought to utilize images captured by a Kinect®, to train a Deep Convolutional Neural Network and to recognise in images the angles in which human heads are posing. The trained Network was then used in a simple example software where the correct recognition of depth images demonstrates practical applications of this human-machine interface, as well as its potential