Towards a better understanding of the respective effects of milk yield and body condition dynamics on reproduction in Holstein dairy cows

The overall reproductive performance has decreased over the last decades, involving changes in cyclicity, oestrous behaviour and fertility. High milk yield (MY), low body condition score (BCS) and large body condition (BC) loss have been identified as risk factors. However, these effects are often confounded, as high MY and body lipid reserve mobilization are correlated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the respective effects of MY and BC on post-partum ovarian cyclicity, oestrus and fertility of Holstein cows. This study provides novel information, as MY and BC change were uncoupled in the overall dataset that included 98 lactations and milk progesterone profiles. Cows were assigned to two feeding-level groups: high feed, which achieved high MY and moderate BC loss throughout lactation (8410 kg, −1.17 unit from calving to nadir BCS), and low feed, which limited MY and triggered a large BC loss (5719 kg, −1.54 unit). MY and BC had different effects at different stages of the reproductive process. Cyclicity as well as non-fertilization and early embryo mortality were mainly driven by body lipid reserves, whereas oestrous behaviour and late embryo mortality were related to MY. The results point to possible uncoupling between cyclicity, oestrus and early and late embryo survival allowing compensation along the reproductive process and leading to similar final reproductive performance. In compact calving systems, which require high pregnancy rates within a short period, higher MY strategies appear unsuitable even where BCS is maintained, owing to depressed oestrous behaviour and probably increased late embryo mortality, which delays rebreeding. Similarly, strategies that compromise cyclicity and fertility by excessively low BCS are unsuitabl

Oxidation of iodide and iodine on birnessite (δ-MnO2) in the pH range 4-8

The oxidation of iodide by synthetic birnessite (δ-MnO2) was studied in perchlorate mediain the pH range 4-8. Iodine (I2) was detected as an oxidation product that was subsequently further oxidized to iodate (IO3). The third order rate constants, second order on iodide and first order on manganese oxide, determined by extraction of iodine in benzene decreased with increasing pH (6.3-7.5) from 1790 to 3.1 M2 s1. Both iodine and iodate were found to adsorb significantly on birnessite with an adsorption capacity of 12.7 mM/g for iodate at pH5.7. The rate of iodine oxidation by birnessite decreased with increasing ionic strength, which resulted in a lower rate of iodate formation. The production of iodine in iodide-containing waters in contact with manganese oxides may result in the formation of undesired iodinated organic compounds (taste and odor, toxicity) in natural and technical systems. The probability of the formation of such compounds is highest in the pH range 5-7.5. For pH 7.5, iodide is not oxidized to a significant extent

Supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing through the integration of companion animals into tutorial programmes at a teaching-led university

This paper considers the protocols and processes of a small-scale project involving final year university students and the companion animals (dogs and guinea pigs) of tutors, aimed at improving student wellbeing and fostering relational learning. Narratives and survey data revealed a range of perceived benefits including those relating to the technique of distraction to reduce anxiety and improve student wellbeing. Also identified are possible further benefits including relational learning and improved attendance. The paper reflects on a range of other issues, such as the welfare of the animals, potential risks and objections from staff and students. Recommendations from the pilot project are provided and the potential for further research identified

Attention Bias in Test Anxiety: The Impact of a Test-threat Congruent Situation, Presentation Time, and Approach-avoidance Temperament

Previous studies have shown that test anxiety is related to attention bias. It is not clear, however, whether a congruent test-threat manipulation is required to elicit this bias or whether the bias is a result of automatic or conscious processes. In the present study we used a mood induction procedure to examine attention bias in test anxious persons using a dot-probe task and incorporated approach-avoidance temperament as a possible moderator. Results showed that the mood induction procedure was not effective in manipulating state anxiety. In the absence of an effective test-threat manipulation, high test anxious persons showed attention bias towards supraliminal threat stimuli. Attention bias was only shown to subliminal threat stimuli in high test anxious persons with a strong approach temperament. This suggests that the mechanism for attention bias to threat stimuli in high test anxious persons is a result of both automatic and conscious processes

Constructor paralelo de planificaciones

Scheduling es un área activa de investigación en Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada. El interés en esta área es planificar adecuadamente la asignación de un número limitado de recursos a determinadas tareas que se deben desarrollar en el tiempo. Existen un número de técnicas heurísticas que han realizado contribuciones notables al problema de scheduling, entre ellas los algoritmos genéticos y otras variantes de la Computación Evolutiva. Estos algoritmos tienen la capacidad de descubrir planificaciones cercanas a las óptimas mucho más rápido debido a su paralelismo implícito. Varias implementaciones ya realizadas en esta dirección muestran que los algoritmos genéticos trabajan mejor cuando en la representación del cromosoma que utilizan se incorpora conocimiento específico del problema de modo tal que permita trabajar con operadores de recombinación avanzados. La elección de este tipo de representación indirecta del cromosoma requiere de un decodificador o "schedulers builder ", el cual transforme la representación del cromosoma en una planificación legal. En otras palabras los schedule builder deben garantizar la factibilidad y consistencia de cada planificación.Eje: Procesamiento concurrente, paralelo y distribuido. Procesamiento de imágenes.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Constructor paralelo de planificaciones

Scheduling es un área activa de investigación en Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada. El interés en esta área es planificar adecuadamente la asignación de un número limitado de recursos a determinadas tareas que se deben desarrollar en el tiempo. Existen un número de técnicas heurísticas que han realizado contribuciones notables al problema de scheduling, entre ellas los algoritmos genéticos y otras variantes de la Computación Evolutiva. Estos algoritmos tienen la capacidad de descubrir planificaciones cercanas a las óptimas mucho más rápido debido a su paralelismo implícito. Varias implementaciones ya realizadas en esta dirección muestran que los algoritmos genéticos trabajan mejor cuando en la representación del cromosoma que utilizan se incorpora conocimiento específico del problema de modo tal que permita trabajar con operadores de recombinación avanzados. La elección de este tipo de representación indirecta del cromosoma requiere de un decodificador o "schedulers builder ", el cual transforme la representación del cromosoma en una planificación legal. En otras palabras los schedule builder deben garantizar la factibilidad y consistencia de cada planificación.Eje: Procesamiento concurrente, paralelo y distribuido. Procesamiento de imágenes.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Efectos del tiempo de espera prefaena y la zona térmica en camión sobre la inmovilidad tónica en pollos parrilleros

La cadena de producción industrial de carne aviar incluye procedimientos que afectan el bienestar animal y consecuentemente la calidad del producto obtenido. Para evaluar el efecto del transporte y la manipulación pre-faena sobre el nivel de miedo en pollos, se han empleado pruebas de diferente tipo entre las cuales la inmovilidad tónica (IT) se destaca por su fácil determinación. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el efecto del tiempo de espera en playa de faena y la ubicación de la jaula en los camiones, sobre la duración de la IT en pollos parrilleros. El análisis comparativo se realizó mediante ANOVA en un arreglo factorial, tomándose como efectos principales el tiempo en playa de espera y la localización de la jaula en el camión. Se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p=0,0001) para IT, con valores de 248,88±12,86 s para el grupo espera larga y 167,88±13,4 s para espera corta. La zona térmica del camión también registró diferencias significativas (p=0,03) con valores de 189,06±14,74 s (zona ventilada) y 227,69±17,23 s (zona no ventilada). No se observaron diferencias significativas para el número de intentos de inducción a la inmovilidad en función del tiempo de espera y zona térmica del camión (p=0,08). No existieron correlaciones significativas entre las variables dependientes en ambos grupos experimentales. Los resultados de este trabajo permiten inferir que tiempos de espera en la playa pre-faena superiores a 3½ horas y altas temperaturas, provocan aumento en la duración de la IT, lo que la transforma en una herramienta útil para medir el estado de miedo de los pollos como consecuencia de ambas situacione

Efecto de la densidad de alojamiento y la zona del galpón sobre indicadores de bienestar en pollos parrilleros

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of decreasing stocking density and shed area on footpad dermatitis, hock burn, and ventral feathers cleanliness of broilers reared in winter. The work was carried out on a commercial farm in the northeast of the Santa Fe province, Argentina. 54,000 broilers were housed in sex-mixed batches, in two darkened sheds, divided into three zones: Panels, Intermediate and Extractors. Two stocking densities were evaluated: 14 and 12 chickens/m2, standard and reduced, respectively. At 41 days feet and hock lesions and cleanliness of ventral feathers was assessed in 120 chickens per area. Significant differences were registered for footpad lesions in Extractors (p = 0.0006), Intermediate (p = 0.0002) and Panels (p <0.0001) zones, with predominance of lesions 1 and 2 in Intermediate and Panels zones with standard density. Non-significant differences were observed for hock lesions in Extractors (p = 0.111) a response not seen in Intermediate (p = 0.024) and Panels (p <0.0001) zones, with more type 2 lesions in both zones under standard density. Feather cleanliness showed significant differences in Extractors (p = 0.014) Intermediate (p = 0.01) and Panels (p <0.0001), with a higher proportion of type 3 plumage dirt with standard density. Welfare indicators behaviour showed the favourable change achieved by reducing stocking density in broilers production.El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de la disminución de la densidad de alojamiento y de la zona del galpón sobre lesiones en almohadilla plantar, tarso y suciedad de plumas ventrales de pollos de engorde criados en invierno. El trabajo se realizó en una granja comercial en el noreste de la provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina. Se alojaron 54.000 pollos de engorde en lotes mixtos, en dos galpones oscurecidos, divididos en tres zonas: Paneles, Intermedia y Extractores. Se evaluaron dos densidades de alojamiento: 14 y 12 pollos/m2, estándar y reducida, respectivamente. A los 41 días se valoró la presencia de lesiones y suciedad del plumaje ventral en 120 pollos por zona. Las lesiones de almohadilla plantar registraron diferencias significativas en Extractores (p= 0,0006), Intermedia (p= 0,0002) y Paneles (p< 0,0001), con mayoría de lesiones 1 y 2 en Intermedia y Paneles con densidad estándar. Las lesiones de tarso no fueron significativas en Extractores (p= 0,1107), sí en Intermedia (p= 0,0235) y Paneles (p< 0,0001), ambas, con más lesiones tipo 2 en la densidad estándar. En suciedad de plumas hubo diferencias significativas en Extractores (p= 0,014), Intermedia (p= 0,01) y Paneles (p< 0,0001), con mayor proporción de plumaje tipo 3 en la densidad estándar. Las variables evaluadas dan cuenta del cambio favorable en la situación de bienestar alcanzada mediante la reducción de la densidad de alojamiento en pollos de engorde

Students’ Emotion Regulation and School-Related Wellbeing: Longitudinal Models Juxtaposing Between- and Within-Person Perspectives

There is a lack of research examining how students’ emotion regulation is linked to their wellbeing at school. To address this gap in the current literature, we examined reciprocal relations between two important emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and school-related wellbeing over 12 months across two school years. We collected data from 2,365 secondary and upper secondary students in England (aged 11-19 years) across three waves. Juxtaposing between-person and within-person perspectives, we used a tripartite (three-part) latent cross-lagged panel model (CLPM), and a tripartite latent random intercept-cross lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to examine the directional ordering of the two strategies and wellbeing over time. Both the CLPM and RICLPM showed that reappraisal and school-related wellbeing were reciprocally related. Reappraisal positively predicted school-related wellbeing, and school-related wellbeing positively predicted reappraisal. Reappraisal also negatively predicted subsequent suppression, but not vice versa. Suppression and school-related wellbeing were not linked. Findings inform the design of intervention research in schools and colleges by highlighting the importance of cognitive reappraisal in the school-related wellbeing of adolescents

ExaHyPE: An engine for parallel dynamically adaptive simulations of wave problems

ExaHyPE (“An Exascale Hyperbolic PDE Engine”) is a software engine for solving systems of first-order hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs). Hyperbolic PDEs are typically derived from the conservation laws of physics and are useful in a wide range of application areas. Applications powered by ExaHyPE can be run on a student’s laptop, but are also able to exploit thousands of processor cores on state-of-the-art supercomputers. The engine is able to dynamically increase the accuracy of the simulation using adaptive mesh refinement where required. Due to the robustness and shock capturing abilities of ExaHyPE’s numerical methods, users of the engine can simulate linear and non-linear hyperbolic PDEs with very high accuracy. Users can tailor the engine to their particular PDE by specifying evolved quantities, fluxes, and source terms. A complete simulation code for a new hyperbolic PDE can often be realised within a few hours — a task that, traditionally, can take weeks, months, often years for researchers starting from scratch. In this paper, we showcase ExaHyPE’s workflow and capabilities through real-world scenarios from our two main application areas: seismology and astrophysics