Relocation and expansion planning for dairy producers

Relocating or expanding a dairy facility requires a tremendous amount of time and planning. Owners or managers of dairies will go through a number of steps including: 1) developing a business plan; 2) choosing a design process; 3) developing specifications; 4) selecting location/site; 5) obtaining permits/ legal; 6) obtaining bids; 7) selecting contractors; 8) buying cattle; 9) purchasing feeds; 10) financing; 11) managing construction; 12) hiring and training employees; 13) developing management protocols for the dairy; and 14) managing information flow. The dairy can be divided into these components: 1) milking parlor; 2) cow housing; 3) special needs facility (e.g., hospital, closeups); 4) replacement heifer housing; 5) manure management system; and 6) feed center. This article will focus on milking parlors, cow housing, grouping strategies, and site selection.; Dairy Day, 1999, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1999

Thermal Recycling of Waelz Oxide Using Concentrated Solar Energy

The dominating Zn recycling process is the so-called Waelz process. Waelz oxide (WOX), containing 55-65% Zn in oxidic form, is mainly derived from electric arc furnace dust produced during recycling of galvanized steel. After its wash treatment to separate off chlorides, WOX is used as feedstock along with ZnS concentrates for the electrolytic production of high-grade zinc. Novel and environmentally cleaner routes for the purification of WOX and the production of Zn are investigated using concentrated solar energy as the source of high-temperature process heat. The solar-driven clinkering of WOX and its carbothermal reduction were experimentally demonstrated using a 10kWth packed-bed solar reactor. Solar clinkering at above 1265°C reduced the amount of impurities below 0.1wt.%. Solar carbothermal reduction using biocharcoal as reducing agent in the 1170-1320°C range yielded 90wt.% Z

The statistics of atmospheric turbulence at Maunakea measured by RAVEN

Prior statistical knowledge of the turbulence such as turbulence strength, layer altitudes and the outer scale is essential for atmospheric tomography in adaptive-optics (AO). These atmospheric parameters can be estimated from measurements of multiple Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensors (SH-WFSs) by the SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR). In this paper, we present the statistics of the vertical CN^2 and the outer scale L_0 at Maunakea in Hawaii estimated from 60 hours telemetry data in total from multiple SH-WFSs of RAVEN, which is an on-sky multi-object AO demonstrator tested on the Subaru telescope. The mean seeing during the RAVEN on-sky observations is 0.475 arcsec, and 55% turbulence is below 1.5 km. The vertical profile of CN^2 from the RAVEN SLODAR is consistent with the profiles from CFHT DIMM and MASS, and TMT site characterization

Relocation and expansion planning for dairy producers

Relocating or expanding a dairy facility requires a tremendous amount of time and planning. Owners or managers of dairies will go through a number of steps including: 1) developing a business plan; 2) choosing a design process; 3) developing specifications; 4) selecting location/site; 5) obtaining permits/ legal; 6) obtaining bids; 7) selecting contractors; 8) buying cattle; 9) purchasing feeds; 10) financing; 11) managing construction; 12) hiring and training employees; 13) developing management protocols for the dairy; and 14) managing information flow. The dairy can be divided into these components: 1) milking parlor; 2) cow housing; 3) special needs facility (e.g., hospital, closeups); 4) replacement heifer housing; 5) manure management system; and 6) feed center. This article will focus on milking parlors, cow housing, grouping strategies, and site selection.; Dairy Day, 1999, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1999

Associations between Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis antibodies in bulk tank milk, season of sampling and protocols for managing infected cows

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to identify associations between the concentration of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) antibodies in bulk milk and potential risk factors in herd management and herd characteristics, explaining high MAP antibody titers in milk. An extensive questionnaire was administered to 292 organic and conventional dairy farms from New York, Wisconsin and Oregon. Bulk milk samples were taken from each farm for MAP enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A general linear model was constructed with MAP ELISA value as the outcome variable and the management factors and herd characteristics as independent variables, while at the same time controlling for the study design variables of state, herd size, and production system (organic or conventional). High bulk tank MAP ELISA value may be due to either a high prevalence of MAP in a herd with many cows contributing to the antibody titer or due to a few infected cows that produce large quantities of antibodies. RESULTS: Results of the regression models indicated that bulk milk ELISA value was associated with season of sampling and the presence or absence of protocols for managing MAP-positive cows. The concentration of MAP antibodies in bulk milk varied seasonally with a peak in the summer and low concentrations in the winter months. When compared to farms that had never observed clinical Johne’s disease, keeping MAP-positive cows or only culling them after a period of delay was associated with an increase in optical density. CONCLUSIONS: The seasonal variation in MAP antibody titers, with a peak in the summer, may be due to a seasonal increase in MAP-bacterial load. Additionally, seasonal calving practices may contribute to seasonal fluctuations in MAP antibody titers in bulk tank milk. Keeping MAP-positive cows increases the antibody titer in bulk milk, likely due to direct antibody production in the infected cow and indirect triggering of antibody production in herdmates.Keywords: Antibodies, ELISA, Cattle, Mycobacteirum avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Bulk-tank milkKeywords: Antibodies, ELISA, Cattle, Mycobacteirum avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Bulk-tank mil

On-sky MOAO performance evaluation of RAVEN

This paper presents the AO performance we got on-sky with RAVEN, a Multi-Object Adaptive Optics (MOAO) technical and science demonstrator installed and tested at the Subaru telescope. We report Ensquared-Energy (EE) and Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) measured from science images on Subaru's IRCS taken during all of the on-sky observing runs. We show these metrics as function of different AO modes and atmospheric conditions for two asterisms of natural guide stars. The performances of the MOAO and Ground-Layer AO (GLAO) modes are between the classical Single-Conjugate AO (SCAO) and seeing-limited modes. We achieve the EE of 30% in H-band with the MOAO correction, which is a science requirement for RAVEN. The MOAO provides sightly better performance than the GLAO mode in both asterisms. One of the reasons which cause this small difference between the MOAO and GLAO modes may be the strong GL contribution. Also, the performance of the MOAO modes is affected by the accuracy of the on-sky turbulence profiling by the SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR) method

“Be an ambassador for change that you would like to see”: a call to action to all stakeholders for co-creation in healthcare and medical research to improve quality of life of people with a neuromuscular disease

BACKGROUND: Patient and public involvement for co-creation is increasingly recognized as a valuable strategy to develop healthcare research targeting patients’ real needs. However, its practical implementation is not as advanced and unanimously accepted as it could be, due to cultural differences and complexities of managing healthcare programs and clinical studies, especially in the rare disease field. MAIN BODY: The European Neuromuscular Centre, a European foundation of patient organizations, involved its key stakeholders in a special workshop to investigate the position of the neuromuscular patient community with respect to healthcare and medical research to identify and address gaps and bottlenecks. The workshop took place in Milan (Italy) on January 19–20, 2018, involving 45 participants who were mainly representatives of the patient community, but also included experts from clinical centers, industry and regulatory bodies. In order to provide practical examples and constructive suggestions, specific topics were identified upfront. The first set of issues concerned the quality of life at specific phases of a patient’s life, such as at the time of diagnosis or during pediatric to adult transition, and patient involvement in medical research on activities in daily living including patient reported outcome measures. The second set of issues concerned the involvement of patients in the management of clinical research tools, such as registries and biobanks, and their participation in study design or marketing authorization processes. Introductory presentations were followed by parallel working group sessions, to gain constructive contributions from all participants. The concept of shared decision making was used to ensure, in discussions, a partnership-based identification of the wishes and needs of all stakeholders involved, and the “ladder of participation” tool served as a model to evaluate the actual and the desired level of patients’ involvement in all topics addressed. A general consensus on the outcome of the meeting was collected during the final plenary session. This paper reports the outcome of the workshop and the specific suggestions derived from the analysis of the first set of topics, related to quality of life. The outcomes of the second set of topics are reported elsewhere and are only briefly summarized herein for the sake of completeness. CONCLUSIONS: The neuromuscular community proved to be very active and engaged at different levels in the healthcare initiatives of interest. The workshop participants critically discussed several topics, providing practical examples where different stakeholders could play a role in making a change and bridging gaps. Overall, they indicated the need for education of all stakeholders for better communication, where everyone should become an ambassador to promote real change. Support should also come from institutions and healthcare bodies both at structural and economic level

Relocation and expansion planning for dairy producers

Relocating or expanding a dairy facility requires a tremendous amount of time and planning. Owners or managers of dairies will go through a number of steps including: 1) developing a business plan; 2) choosing a design process; 3) developing specifications; 4) selecting location/site; 5) obtaining permits/ legal; 6) obtaining bids; 7) selecting contractors; 8) buying cattle; 9) purchasing feeds; 10) financing; 11) managing construction; 12) hiring and training employees; 13) developing management protocols for the dairy; and 14) managing information flow. The dairy can be divided into these components: 1) milking parlor; 2) cow housing; 3) special needs facility (e.g., hospital, closeups); 4) replacement heifer housing; 5) manure management system; and 6) feed center. This article will focus on milking parlors, cow housing, grouping strategies, and site selection

Short communication: Prevalence of methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bulk milk on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States

The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. in bulk tank milk samples from 288 organic and conventional dairy farms located in New York, Wisconsin, and Oregon from March 2009 to May 2011. Due to recent publications reporting the presence mecC (a mecA homolog not detected by traditional mecA-based PCR methods), a combination of genotypic and phenotypic approaches was used to enhance the recovery of methicillin-resistant organisms from bulk tank milk. In total, 13 isolates were identified as methicillin resistant: Staph. aureus (n=1), Staphylococcus sciuri (n=5), Staphylococcus chromogenes (n=2), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (n=3), Staphylococcus agnetis (n=1), and Macrococcus caseolyticus (n=1). The single methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus isolate was identified from an organic farm in New York, for an observed 0.3% prevalence at the farm level. The methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci prevalence was 2% in the organic population and 5% in the conventional population. We did not identify mecC in any of the isolates from our population. Of interest was the relatively high number of methicillin-resistant Staph. sciuri recovered, as the number of isolates from our study was considerably higher than those recovered from other recent studies that also assessed milk samples. Our research suggests that the presence of a potential methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus reservoir in milk, and likely the dairy farm population in the United States, is independent of the organic or conventional production system.Keywords: Dairy, Staphylococcus, Methicillin resistance, Organi

Potato Harvester Chain Speed Adjustment

Growers can minimize tuber bruising during harvesting by eliminating all of the soil with the primary chain. Then keep the other chains as full of tubers as possible without spill-out, rollback, or back-feeding. This bulletins explains in detail, with tables and mathematical equations, how to achieve less tuber bruising by adjusting the harvesting equipment. 8 pages