733 research outputs found
Comparison of fluorgestone and medroxyprogesterone intravaginal sponges for oestrus synchronization in Saanen does during the transition period
The efficiency of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) and fluorogestone acetate (FGA) sponges for synchronizing oestrus in lactating Saanen goats was investigated during the transition from non-breeding to natural breeding season. Does were treated for 11 days with 60 mg MAP (n=19) or 40 mg FGA (n=24) sponges. All does received intramuscular injections of 750 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and 125 mg cloprostenol (PGF2a) 48 h prior to sponge removal. Cervical artificial insemination (AI) with fresh diluted semen was performed at a fixed time (36 and 48 h) followed progestagen withdrawal. The two progestagen treatments showed no significant difference in oestrous response (100% both for MAP and FGA groups), time to the onset (15.8+09 and 15.0+06 h for the MAP and FGA groups, respectively), duration (30.5+1.9 and 34.0+1.4 h for MAP and FGA, respectively) and cessation (42.32+1.6 and 43.25+1.3 h for MAP and FGA, respectively) of the induced oestrus period. No significant difference was observed with respect to pregnancy rates determined at the 53rd day after AI (52.6 and 50.0% for MAP and FGA, respectively). These dates indicate that the use of MAP and FGA intravaginal progestagen treatments are equally efficient in synchronizing oestrus in lactating goats during the transition from the non-breeding to the natural breeding season.
Key Words: Goat, Oestrus, Synchronization, Medroxyprogesterone acetate, MAP, Fluorogestone acetate, FGA
SA Jnl Animal Sci Vol.34(1) 2004: 18-2
Entropy-Functional-Based Online Adaptive Decision Fusion Framework with Application to Wildfire Detection in Video
Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this paper, an entropy-functional-based online adaptive decision fusion (EADF) framework is developed for image analysis and computer vision applications. In this framework, it is assumed that the compound algorithm consists of several subalgorithms, each of which yields its own decision as a real number centered around zero, representing the confidence level of that particular subalgorithm. Decision values are linearly combined with weights that are updated online according to an active fusion method based on performing entropic projections onto convex sets describing subalgorithms. It is assumed that there is an oracle, who is usually a human operator, providing feedback to the decision fusion method. A video-based wildfire detection system was developed to evaluate the performance of the decision fusion algorithm. In this case, image data arrive sequentially, and the oracle is the security guard of the forest lookout tower, verifying the decision of the combined algorithm. The simulation results are presented
Wavelet based flickering flame detector using differential PIR sensors
Cataloged from PDF version of article.A Pyro-electric Infrared (PIR) sensor based flame detection system is proposed using a Markovian
decision algorithm. A differential PIR sensor is only sensitive to sudden temperature variations within
its viewing range and it produces a time-varying signal. The wavelet transform of the PIR sensor signal
is used for feature extraction from sensor signal and wavelet parameters are fed to a set of Markov
models corresponding to the flame flicker process of an uncontrolled fire, ordinary activity of human
beings and other objects. The final decision is reached based on the model yielding the highest
probability among others. Comparative results show that the system can be used for fire detection in
large rooms.
(C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Video fire detection - Review
Cataloged from PDF version of article.This is a review article describing the recent developments in Video based Fire Detection (VFD). Video
surveillance cameras and computer vision methods are widely used in many security applications. It is
also possible to use security cameras and special purpose infrared surveillance cameras for fire detection.
This requires intelligent video processing techniques for detection and analysis of uncontrolled fire
behavior. VFD may help reduce the detection time compared to the currently available sensors in both
indoors and outdoors because cameras can monitor “volumes” and do not have transport delay that the
traditional “point” sensors suffer from. It is possible to cover an area of 100 km2 using a single pan-tiltzoom
camera placed on a hilltop for wildfire detection. Another benefit of the VFD systems is that they
can provide crucial information about the size and growth of the fire, direction of smoke propagation.
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserve
Red and Blue Compounds Formed from Copper(II) Bromide and the Ligand 7-Isobutyl-5-methyl-[1,2,4]triazolo [1,5-a]pyrimidine: Synthesis, Spectroscopy and Single-Crystal Structures
Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic Material
Beautiful Mirrors at the LHC
We explore the "Beautiful Mirrors" model, which aims to explain the measured
value of , discrepant at the level. This scenario
introduces vector-like quarks which mix with the bottom, subtly affecting its
coupling to the . The spectrum of the new particles consists of two
bottom-like quarks and a charge -4/3 quark, all of which have electroweak
interactions with the third generation. We explore the phenomenology and
discovery reach for these new particles at the LHC, exploring single mirror
quark production modes whose rates are proportional to the same mixing
parameters which resolve the anomaly. We find that for mirror quark
masses is required to
reasonably establish the scenario and extract the relevant mixing parameters.Comment: version to be published in JHE
Clinical implications of gait analysis in the rehabilitation of adult patients with "Prader-Willi" Syndrome: a cross-sectional comparative study ("Prader-Willi" Syndrome vs matched obese patients and healthy subjects)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Being severely overweight is a distinctive clinical feature of Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). PWS is a complex multisystem disorder, representing the most common form of genetic obesity. The aim of this study was the analysis of the gait pattern of adult subjects with PWS by using three-Dimensional Gait Analysis. The results were compared with those obtained in a group of obese patients and in a group of healthy subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional, comparative study: 19 patients with PWS (11 males and 8 females, age: 18–40 years, BMI: 29.3–50.3 kg/m<sup>2</sup>); 14 obese matched patients (5 males and 9 females, age: 18–40 years, BMI: 34.3–45.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup>); 20 healthy subjects (10 males and 10 females, age: 21–41 years, BMI: 19.3–25.4 kg/m<sup>2</sup>). Kinematic and kinetic parameters during walking were assessed by an optoelectronic system and two force platforms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PWS adult patients walked slower, had a shorter stride length, a lower cadence and a longer stance phase compared with both matched obese, and healthy subjects. Obese matched patients showed spatio-temporal parameters significantly different from healthy subjects.</p> <p>Furthermore, Range Of Motion (ROM) at knee and ankle, and plantaflexor activity of PWS patients were significantly different between obese and healthy subjects. Obese subjects revealed kinematic and kinetic data similar to healthy subjects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PWS subjects had a gait pattern significantly different from obese patients. Despite that, both groups had a similar BMI. We suggest that PWS gait abnormalities may be related to abnormalities in the development of motor skills in childhood, due to precocious obesity. A tailored rehabilitation program in early childhood of PWS patients could prevent gait pattern changes.</p
Search for the Higgs boson in events with missing transverse energy and b quark jets produced in proton-antiproton collisions at s**(1/2)=1.96 TeV
We search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with an
electroweak vector boson in events with no identified charged leptons, large
imbalance in transverse momentum, and two jets where at least one contains a
secondary vertex consistent with the decay of b hadrons. We use ~1 fb-1
integrated luminosity of proton-antiproton collisions at s**(1/2)=1.96 TeV
recorded by the CDF II experiment at the Tevatron. We find 268 (16) single
(double) b-tagged candidate events, where 248 +/- 43 (14.4 +/- 2.7) are
expected from standard model background processes. We place 95% confidence
level upper limits on the Higgs boson production cross section for several
Higgs boson masses ranging from 110 GeV/c2 to 140 GeV/c2. For a mass of 115
GeV/c2 the observed (expected) limit is 20.4 (14.2) times the standard model
prediction.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Observation and Mass Measurement of the Baryon
We report the observation and measurement of the mass of the bottom, strange
baryon through the decay chain , where
, , and .
Evidence for observation is based on a signal whose probability of arising from
the estimated background is 6.6 x 10^{-15}, or 7.7 Gaussian standard
deviations. The mass is measured to be (stat.) (syst.) MeV/.Comment: Minor text changes for the second version. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
Let
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