Space requirements for pullets and layers on litter

UNEVEN growth, cannibalism, weakened resistance to disease, unsanitary conditions and poor production commonly arise from failure to provide sufficient floor, feed and watering space for pullets and layers

What Can Philosophers Really Learn from Science Journals?

Philosophers of science regularly use scientific publications in their research. To make their analyses of the literature more thorough, some have begun to use computational methods from the digital humanities (DH). Yet this creates a tension: it’s become a truism in science studies that the contents of scientific publications do not accurately reflect the complex realities of scientific investigation. In this paper, we outline existing views on how scientific publications fit into the broader picture of science as a system of practices, and find that none of these views exclude articles as valuable sources for philosophical inquiry. Far from ignoring the gap between texts and practice, proper use of DH tools requires, and can even contribute to, our understanding of that gap and its implications

Transition of economic structure and demography: The case of tourism gentrification in George Town, Penang

Gentrification of George Town has begun since 1997 after the revoked of Rent Control Act 1966. The inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 has unfortunately exacerbated the pace of gentrification in George Town (Lim et al., 2014). With the influx of new capital and investment in housing stock, as well as tourists, gentrification could induce displacement of long-term residents, causing erosion of local culture. Nonetheless, culture is a powerful driver of local social and economic transition, which could open up many new opportunities. Cultural and creative district has been an important tool in fostering the development of urban centres and revitalising neighbourhoods in decline (Landry, 2000; Scott, 2000), making cities attractive both for entrepreneurs and employers, as well as tourists. For instance, George Town has 3177 businesses, where 660 are new establishments, ranging from hotels and restaurants to arts, fashion, culture and craft businesses in 2013 (Think City, 2014). We propose that the interaction between local residents in George Town, predominantly overseas Chinese, and tourists, would nurtures creative ideas leading to innovation and entrepreneurial activities. This will enable self-gentrification (Chan et al., 2016a) supporting a broader socio-economic transition of local residents

The Impact of Different Absolute Solar Irradiance Values on Current Climate Model Simulations

Simulations of the preindustrial and doubled CO2 climates are made with the GISS Global Climate Middle Atmosphere Model 3 using two different estimates of the absolute solar irradiance value: a higher value measured by solar radiometers in the 1990s and a lower value measured recently by the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment. Each of the model simulations is adjusted to achieve global energy balance; without this adjustment the difference in irradiance produces a global temperature change of 0.48C, comparable to the cooling estimated for the Maunder Minimum. The results indicate that by altering cloud cover the model properly compensates for the different absolute solar irradiance values on a global level when simulating both preindustrial and doubled CO2 climates. On a regional level, the preindustrial climate simulations and the patterns of change with doubled CO2 concentrations are again remarkably similar, but there are some differences. Using a higher absolute solar irradiance value and the requisite cloud cover affects the model's depictions of high-latitude surface air temperature, sea level pressure, and stratospheric ozone, as well as tropical precipitation. In the climate change experiments it leads to an underestimation of North Atlantic warming, reduced precipitation in the tropical western Pacific, and smaller total ozone growth at high northern latitudes. Although significant, these differences are typically modest compared with the magnitude of the regional changes expected for doubled greenhouse gas concentrations. Nevertheless, the model simulations demonstrate that achieving the highest possible fidelity when simulating regional climate change requires that climate models use as input the most accurate (lower) solar irradiance value

The potential use of operational radar network data to evaluate the representation of convective storms in NWP models

Operational forecasting centres increasingly rely on convection-permitting NWP simulations to assist in their forecasting of convective events. The evaluation of upgrades in the underlying NWP modeling system normally happens through routine verification using traditional metrics on two-dimensional fields, such as gridded rainfall data. Object- and process-based evaluation can identify specific physical mechanisms for model improvement, but such evaluation procedures normally require targeted and expensive field campaigns. Here, we explore the potential use of the UK operational radar network observations and its derived 3D composite product for evaluating the representation of convective storms in the Met Office Unified Model. A comparison of the 1 km x 1 km x 0.5 km 3D radar composites against observations made with the research-grade radar at Chilbolton in the southern UK indicates that the 3D radar composite data can reliably be used to evaluate the morphology of convective storms. The 3D radar composite data are subsequently used to evaluate the development of convective storms in the Met Office Unified Model. Such analysis was heretofore unavailable due to a lack of high-frequency three-dimensional radar data. The operational nature of the UK radar data makes these 3D composites a valuable resource for future studies of the initiation, growth, development, and organisation of convective storms over the UK

The impact of spin up and resolution on the representation of a clear convective boundary layer over London in order 100m grid-length versions of the Met Office Unified Model

With a number of operational centres looking forward to the possibilities of “city scale” NWP and climate modelling it is important to understand the behaviour of order 100m models over cities. A key issue is how to handle the representation of partially resolved turbulence in these models. In this paper we compare the representation of a clear convective boundary layer case in London in 100m and 50m grid-length versions of the Unified Model (MetUM) with observations. Comparison of Doppler lidar observations of the vertical velocity shows that convective overturning in the boundary layer is broadly well represented in terms of its depth and magnitude. The role of model resolution was investigated by comparing a 50m grid-length model with the 100m one. It is found that, although going to 50m grid-length does not greatly change many of the bulk properties (mixing height, heat flux profiles, etc.) the spatial structure of the overturning is significantly different. This is confirmed with spectral analysis which shows that the 50m model resolves significantly more of the energetic eddies, and a length scale analysis that shows the 50m and 100m models produce convective structures 2-3 times larger than observed. We conclude that, for the MetUM, model grid-lengths of order 100m may well be sufficient for predicting many bulk and statistical properties of convective boundary layers however the details of the spatial structures around convective overturning in these situations are likely to be still under-resolved. Spin up artefacts emanating from the inflow boundary of the model are investigated by comparing with a smaller 100m grid-length domain which is more dominated by such effects. These manifest themselves as along wind boundary layer rolls which produce a less realistic comparison with the lidar observations. A stability analysis is presented in order to better understand the formation of these rolls

Filling the intervention gap: service evaluation of an intensive nonsurgical weight management programme for severe and complex obesity

Background: Weight management including formula total diet replacement (TDR) is emerging as an effective intervention for severe and complex obesity, particularly with respect to type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, no prospective audit and service evaluation of such programmes have been reported. Methods: Following initial feasibility piloting, the Counterweight‐Plus programme was commissioned across a variety of healthcare providers. The programme includes: Screening, TDR (formula low energy diet), food reintroduction and weight loss maintenance, all delivered by staff with 8 h of training, in‐service mentoring, ongoing specialist support and access to medical consultant expertise. Anonymised data are returned centrally for clinical evaluation. Results: Up to December 2016, 288 patients commenced the programme. Mean (SD) baseline characteristics were: age 47.5 (12.7) years, weight 128.0 (32.0) kg, body mass index 45.7 (10.1) kg m−2, n = 76 (26.5%) were male and n = 99 (34.5%) had T2DM. On an intention‐to‐treat (ITT) basis, a loss of ≥15 kg at 12 months was achieved by 48 patients, representing 22.1% of all who started and 40% of those who maintained engagement. For complete cases, mean (95% confidence interval) weight loss was 13.3 (12.1–14.4) kg at 3 months, 16.0 (14.4–17.6) kg at 6 months and 14.2 (12.1–16.3) kg at 12 months (all P < 0.001), with losses to follow‐up of 10.8%, 29.3% and 44.2%, respectively. Mean loss at 12 months by ITT analyses was: single imputation –10.5 (9.5) kg, last observation carried forward –10.9 (11.6) kg and baseline observation carried forward –7.9 (11.1) kg. The presence of diabetes had no significant impact on weight change outcomes. Conclusions: This nonsurgical approach is effective for many individuals with severe and complex obesity, representing an option before considering surgery. The results are equally effective in terms of weight loss for people with T2DM

Monte Carlo simulation of the transmission of measles: Beyond the mass action principle

We present a Monte Carlo simulation of the transmission of measles within a population sample during its growing and equilibrium states by introducing two different vaccination schedules of one and two doses. We study the effects of the contact rate per unit time $\xi$ as well as the initial conditions on the persistence of the disease. We found a weak effect of the initial conditions while the disease persists when $\xi$ lies in the range 1/L-10/L ($L$ being the latent period). Further comparison with existing data, prediction of future epidemics and other estimations of the vaccination efficiency are provided. Finally, we compare our approach to the models using the mass action principle in the first and another epidemic region and found the incidence independent of the number of susceptibles after the epidemic peak while it strongly fluctuates in its growing region. This method can be easily applied to other human, animals and vegetable diseases and includes more complicated parameters.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Submitted to Phys.Rev.

Digital Literature Analysis for Empirical Philosophy of Science

Empirical philosophers of science aim to base their philosophical theories on observations of scientific practice. But since there is far too much science to observe it all, how can we form and test hypotheses about science that are sufficiently rigorous and broad in scope, while avoiding the pitfalls of bias and subjectivity in our methods? Part of the answer, we claim, lies in the computational tools of the digital humanities (DH), which allow us to analyze large volumes of scientific literature. Here we advocate for the use of these methods by addressing a number of large-scale, justificatory concerns—specifically, about the epistemic value of journal articles as evidence for what happens elsewhere in science, and about the ability of DH tools to extract this evidence. Far from ignoring the gap between scientific literature and the rest of scientific practice, effective use of DH tools requires critical reflection about these relationships