Evaluating business models for e-books through usage data analysis: a case study from the University of Westminster

As part of a review of e-book suppliers, usage data were analysed to determine which of the business models on offer gave best value for money. Two analyses were carried out. The first compared a range of subscription options from a single supplier, and the second compared business models from two different suppliers

Grazing Alfalfa in Lincoln County

Alfalfa grazing is becoming an important practice for our county\u27s large livestock enterprise. Both dairy and beef producers use alfalfa grazing in various parts of their feeding operations. Lincoln County farmers have a reputation for being good forage producers and have over the years produced good yields and good quality alfalfa. Most producers realize that good forage leads to better profits for their livestock enterprises. That\u27s very important to us as the livestock business generates over $21 million in cash receipts annually

Impact of Alfalfa in Lincoln County

Lincoln County is located 45 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky. It is part of 3 geographical regions of the state-the outer Bluegrass, the Knobs, and the Eastern Pennyroyal area. Thus the land ranges from moderate sloping fields that can be row cropped to fields that are nearly too steep to mow. The majority of the land is best suited for hay and pasture production. The soil fertility is moderately high with limestone, sandstone, shale and siltstone parent material. The land is very well suited to growing very productive forage crops

Increased strength is associated with lower trunk muscle activation during loaded back squats and dynamic body weight jumps

This study measured how back squat strength (1RM) affected trunk muscle activation in performing squats, squat jump (SJ), and countermovement jump (CMJ). Fifty males, completed two test sessions. Squat 1RM was tested first. Participants were assigned to three groups: (a) strong group (SG), (b) middle group (MG), or (c) weak group (WG), based on relative squat 1RM. Test 2: EMG data were collected for four trunk muscle sites; rectus abdominus, external oblique, lumbar sacral erector spinae, and upper lumbar erector spinae while performing (3 reps) SJ, CMJ, and squats at 65%, 75%, and 95% 1RM. Squat and jump phases were determined from a linear transducer and 30° tertiles for each phase, from a knee goniometer. Normalized root mean square RMS increased significantly with load for each muscle site in both squat phases. Trunk muscle activation was significantly lower in SG vs WG in eccentric and concentric squat phases. Concentric and flight phase RMS in both jumps was lower in SG vs WG. RMS increased significantly for each eccentric tertile and first concentric tertile. Greater squat strength is associated with lower trunk muscle activation in squats and jumps and trunk muscle activation was highest in the two deepest 30° squat segments. In conclusion, back squat strength training to parallel, where top of thighs are horizontal, is an effective method of developing dynamic trunk stability

A Short Non-Saline Sprinkling Increases the Tuber Weights of Saline Sprinkler Irrigated Potatoes

© 2017 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Previous work has shown that a short non-saline sprinkling, following saline sprinkling, increased crop growth. We incorporated this finding into an investigation of two approaches to the conjunctive use of saline and non-saline water sources for sprinkler irrigation of potatoes viz., (i) mixing waters prior to application, and (ii) keeping waters temporally separate, that is commencing each irrigation with saline water and finishing it with non-saline sprinkling. The latter approach delayed canopy senescence and increased tuber weight by at least 150%. Under both approaches, soil salinities and leaf and tuber concentrations of Na+ and Cl− were similar. Thus, the advantages of a non-saline sprinkling cannot be explained in terms of its effect on either soil osmotic potential or bulk tissue concentrations of putatively toxic ions Na+ and Cl−. We propose that the positive effect of finishing irrigations with a non-saline sprinkling may be attributed to either dilution, and hence increase in osmotic potential, of the water film that remains on the leaf after each irrigation or its effect on the distribution of the putatively toxic ions Na+ and Cl− within tissue. View Full-Tex

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Indices of Negative Affect Predict Cocaine Self-Administration

The motivation to seek cocaine comes in part from a dysregulation of reward processing manifested in dysphoria, or affective withdrawal. Learning is a critical aspect of drug abuse; however, it remains unclear whether drug-associated cues can elicit the emotional withdrawal symptoms that promote cocaine use. Here we report that a cocaine-associated taste cue elicited a conditioned aversive state that was behaviorally and neurophysiologically quantifiable and predicted subsequent cocaine self-administration behavior. Specifically, brief intraoral infusions of a cocaine-predictive flavored saccharin solution elicited aversive orofacial responses that predicted early-session cocaine taking in rats. The expression of aversive taste reactivity also was associated with a shift in the predominant pattern of electrophysiological activity of nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons from inhibitory to excitatory. The dynamic nature of this conditioned switch in affect and the neural code reveals a mechanism by which cues may exert control over drug self-administration

A Haptic Interface for Guiding People with Visual Impairment using Three Dimensional Computer Vision

Computer vision technology has the potential to provide life changing assistance to blind or visually impaired (BVI) people. This paper presents a technique for locating objects in three dimensions and guiding a person’s hand to the object. Computer vision algorithms are used to locate both objects of interest and the user’s hand. Their relative locations are used to calculate the movement required to take the hand closer to the object. The required direction is signaled to the user via a haptic wrist band, which consists of four haptic motors worn at the four compass points on the wrist. Guidance works both in two and three dimensions, making use of both colour and depth map inputs from a camera. User testing found that people were able to follow the haptic instructions and move their hand to locations on vertical or horizontal surfaces. This work is part of the Artificial Intelligence Sight Loss Assistant (AISLA) project

Gene expression changes following extinction testing in a heroin behavioral incubation model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A number of gene expression studies have investigated changes induced by drug exposure, but few reports describe changes that persist following relapse. In this study, genome-wide analysis of gene expression was conducted following an extinction session (90 min) in rats that expressed behavioral incubation of heroin-seeking and goal-directed behavior. As an important modulator of goal-directed behavior, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was the target of genomic analysis. Rats were trained to self-administer heroin during 3 h daily sessions for 14 d. Following the self-administration period, rats were reintroduced to the self-administration chambers for a 90-minute extinction session in which they could seek heroin, but received none. Extinction sessions were conducted on groups after either 1 d or 14 d of drug-free enforced abstinence to demonstrate behavioral incubation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Behavioral data demonstrated incubation (increased expression) of heroin-seeking and goal-directed behavior after the 14 d abstinent period. That is, following 14 d of enforced abstinence, animals displayed heightened drug-seeking behavior when returned to the environment where they had previously received heroin. This increased drug-seeking took place despite the fact that they received no drug during this extinction session. Whole genome gene expression analysis was performed and results were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Microarrays identified 66 genes whose expression was identified as changed by at least 1.4 fold (p < 0.02) following 14 d of abstinence and the 90-minute extinction session compared to the saline treated controls. Orthogonal confirmation by RT-qPCR demonstrated significant alterations in <it>bdnf</it>, <it>calb1</it>, <it>dusp5</it>, <it>dusp6</it>, <it>egr1</it>, <it>npy</it>, <it>rgs2</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ontological analysis indicates that several of the genes confirmed to be changed are important for neuroplasticity, and through that role may impact learning and behavior. The importance of drug-seeking behavior and memory of previous drug-taking sessions suggest that such genes may be important for relapse. The global gene expression analysis adds to the knowledge of heroin-induced changes and further highlights similarities between heroin and other drugs of abuse.</p