Livestock transportation: a model for ex-ante policy analysis

The protection of live animals during transport in the EU is currently regulated under the Council Regulation No. 1/2005. The current legal regime is strongly criticized by the European society. To reform the existing regulation, policy makers need insights into the impact of possible transport restrictions for live animals. In this work, we propose a mathematical programming model to assess the potential impact of a policy reform involving limitations of travelling times and space allowances. This model is implemented for the years 2002 and 2013. A sensitivity analysis is performed on variations of fuel prices and cost of meat transpor

Characterization of the virulence, growth temperature and antibiotic resistance of the Campylobacter jejuni IAL 2383 strain isolated from humans

The objective of this study was to characterize the C. jejuni IAL2383 strain isolated from humans in Brazil. Transcripts for the racR, dnaJ and ciaB genes were found and flaA, plda and cadF genes were present in the genome and bacteria was sensitive to most of the important antimicrobials used to treat humans. C. jejuni IAL2383 is a good experimental model to analyze the interactions with cells

Analysis of environmental conditions in two different Compost Bedded Pack Barn systems for dairy cattle

Received: February 1st, 2023 ; Accepted: April 27th, 2023 ; Published: May 10th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected], [email protected] objective of this study was to analyse and compare the thermal environment of dairy cattle facilities in an open compost bedded pack barn (CBP) with natural ventilation and closed CBP (without thermal insulation) and climate control system. The research was conducted in a property located in Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais, Brazil. During the summer and for different periods of the day, the following average environmental variables observed inside the facilities were measured: dry bulb temperature, relative humidity and Temperature and Humidity Index (THI). The results were submitted to an analysis of variance to determine the significance of the variables in the different treatments. It was found that the closed and climate control system CBP promoted greater control of the facility's internal microclimate, registering smaller thermal amplitudes and a greater reduction in the animals' exposure time to stressful thermal conditions, compared to the CBP with natural ventilation. However, during summer afternoons, comfort indices indicated moderate stress. It is concluded that the closed CBP, regarding the analysed variables, indicated potential use, provided that a careful study of the climate of the region is carried out before implementation, the factors related to the ambient conditioning and better insulation of the construction are adjusted. The climatic variables inside the open CBP indicated a high stress condition for the animals, suggesting the placement of positive pressure fans and sprinklers properly distributed in the feed alley, to guarantee benefits to the entire area of the animal housing

Gamma-Ray Bursts: Jets and Energetics

The relativistic outflows from gamma-ray bursts are now thought to be narrowly collimated into jets. After correcting for this jet geometry there is a remarkable constancy of both the energy radiated by the burst and the kinetic energy carried by the outflow. Gamma-ray bursts are still the most luminous explosions in the Universe, but they release energies that are comparable to supernovae. The diversity of cosmic explosions appears to be governed by the fraction of energy that is coupled to ultra-relativistic ejecta.Comment: Paper presented at "The Restless High-Energy Universe", May 5-8 2003 Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterda

Spin-based quantum information processing with semiconductor quantum dots and cavity QED

A quantum information processing scheme is proposed with semiconductor quantum dots located in a high-Q single mode QED cavity. The spin degrees of freedom of one excess conduction electron of the quantum dots are employed as qubits. Excitonic states, which can be produced ultrafastly with optical operation, are used as auxiliary states in the realization of quantum gates. We show how properly tailored ultrafast laser pulses and Pauli-blocking effects, can be used to achieve a universal encoded quantum computing.Comment: RevTex, 2 figure

Putting theory oriented evaluation into practice

Evaluations of gaming simulations and business games as teaching devices are typically end-state driven. This emphasis fails to detect how the simulation being evaluated does or does not bring about its desired consequences. This paper advances the use of a logic model approach which possesses a holistic perspective that aims at including all elements associated with the situation created by a game. The use of the logic model approach is illustrated as applied to Simgame, a board game created for secondary school level business education in six European Union countries

Indirect measurement of anterior-posterior ground reaction forces using a minimal set of wearable inertial sensors: from healthy to hemiparetic walking

BACKGROUND: The anterior-posterior ground reaction force (AP-GRF) and propulsion and braking point metrics derived from the AP-GRF time series are indicators of locomotor function across healthy and neurological diagnostic groups. In this paper, we describe the use of a minimal set of wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) to indirectly measure the AP-GRFs generated during healthy and hemiparetic walking. METHODS: Ten healthy individuals and five individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis completed a 6-minute walk test over a walking track instrumented with six forceplates while wearing three IMUs securely attached to the pelvis, thigh, and shank. Subject-specific models driven by IMU-measured thigh and shank angles and an estimate of body acceleration provided by the pelvis IMU were used to generate indirect estimates of the AP-GRF time series. Propulsion and braking point metrics (i.e., peaks, peak timings, and impulses) were extracted from the IMU-generated time series. Peaks and impulses were expressed as % bodyweight (%bw) and peak timing was expressed as % stance phase (%sp). A 75%-25% split of 6-minute walk test data was used to train and validate the models. Indirect estimates of the AP-GRF time series and point metrics were compared to direct measurements made by the forceplates. RESULTS: Indirect measurements of the AP-GRF time series approximated the direct measurements made by forceplates, with low error and high consistency in both the healthy (RMSE= 4.5%bw; R2= 0.93) and post-stroke (RMSE= 2.64%bw; R2= 0.90) cohorts. In the healthy cohort, the average errors between indirect and direct measurements of the peak propulsion magnitude, peak propulsion timing, and propulsion impulse point estimates were 2.37%bw, 0.67%sp, and 0.43%bw. In the post-stroke cohort, the average errors for these point estimates were 1.07%bw, 1.27%sp, and 0.31%bw. Average errors for the braking estimates were higher, but comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate estimates of AP-GRF metrics can be generated using three strategically mounted IMUs and subject-specific calibrations. This study advances the development of point-of-care diagnostic systems that can catalyze the routine assessment and management of propulsion and braking locomotor deficits during rehabilitation.KL2 TR001411 - NCATS NIH HHSPublished versio

Kosterlitz Thouless Universality in Dimer Models

Using the monomer-dimer representation of strongly coupled U(N) lattice gauge theories with staggered fermions, we study finite temperature chiral phase transitions in (2+1) dimensions. A new cluster algorithm allows us to compute monomer-monomer and dimer-dimer correlations at zero monomer density (chiral limit) accurately on large lattices. This makes it possible to show convincingly, for the first time, that these models undergo a finite temperature phase transition which belongs to the Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class. We find that this universality class is unaffected even in the large N limit. This shows that the mean field analysis often used in this limit breaks down in the critical region.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure