Performance and beef quality of growing bulls offered whole crop legume-cereal and alsike clover silages

201

Effects of silage plant species and breed on carcass and meat quality of finishing bulls using forage-based beef production systems

201

Arktisen alueen rooli Venäjän geopolitiikassa vuosina 2008–2020:sisällönanalyysi Venäjän federaation presidentin vuotuisista liittokokouspuheista

Tiivistelmä. Tutkielmassa tutkitaan sisällönanalyysin keinoin sitä, millainen arktisen alueen rooli on Venäjän geopolitiikassa Venäjän federaation presidentin vuosittain pidettävien Venäjän perustuslaissa määriteltyjen liittokokouspuheiden perusteella. Tutkielmassa selvitetään sisällönanalyysin perusteella sitä, miten paljon arktiseen alueeseen liittyvät asiat ovat esillä vuosittaisissa liittokokouspuheissa, millainen rooli arktisella alueella on Venäjän geopolitiikassa ja sitä, miten tämä rooli on mahdollisesti tarkasteluvälillä 2008 2020 muuttunut. Tutkielman aineistona on Kremlin internetsivuilta löytyvät englanniksi käännetyt translitteroinnit Venäjän federaation presidentin vuotuisista liittokokouspuheista aikavälillä 2008 2020. Analyysiä varten puheet luettiin ja puheista poimittiin arktiseen alueeseen liittyviä viittauksia eri luokkiin. Viittausten sanamääriä vertaamalla puheiden kokonaissanamääriin saatiin käsitys ensinnäkin arktisten teemojen osuus eri vuosina pidetyistä puheista, sekä eri luokkien osuudet arktiseen alueeseen liittyvistä viittauksista. Analyysin tuloksena selvisi, että arktisen alueen rooli Venäjän federaation presidentin pitämissä vuotuisissa liittokokouspuheissa tarkasteluvälillä 2008 2020 oli vähäinen. Valtaosassa tarkasteluvälin puheista arktiset teemat jäivät hyvin pienelle huomiolle, vaikka joinain vuosina osuus oli suurempi. Arktisten teemojen osuuksissa voidaan nähdä kuitenkin maltillinen nouseva trendi. Arktisen alueen rooli on nykyään eritoten taloudellinen. Koillisväylän mahdollinen avautuminen laajempaan käyttöön näkyy liittokokouspuheissa ja tähän liittyen myös alueen elinolojen ja esimerkiksi infrastruktuurin parantaminen ovat merkittäviä teemoja. Tarkasteluvälillä voidaan nähdä, miten arktista aluetta koskevissa viittauksissa maanpuolustuksen merkitys on vähentynyt samalla kun talouden alueellisen kehityksen teemojen merkitys on lisääntynyt

Aberrant migration and surgical removal of a heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) from the femoral artery of a cat.

A cat was evaluated for an acute-onset of right pelvic limb paresis. Thoracic radiographs revealed normal cardiac size and tortuous pulmonary arteries. Abdominal ultrasound identified a heartworm (HW) extending from the caudal abdominal aorta into the right external iliac artery and right femoral artery. The cat was HW-antigen positive. Echocardiography revealed a HW within the right branch of the main pulmonary artery and evidence of pulmonary hypertension. An agitated-saline contrast echocardiogram revealed a small right to left intracardiac shunt at the level of the atria. Surgical removal of the HW was performed with no substantial postoperative complications. There was return of blood flow and improved motor function to the limb. The cat remains mildly paretic on the affected limb with no other clinical signs

Forest inventory attribute estimation using airborne laser scanning, aerial stereoimagery, radargrammetry and interferometry - Finnish experiences of the 3D techniques

Three-dimensional (3D) remote sensing has enabled detailed mapping of terrain and vegetation heights. Consequently, forest inventory attributes are estimated more and more using point clouds and normalized surface models. In practical applications, mainly airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been used in forest resource mapping. The current status is that ALS-based forest inventories are widespread, and the popularity of ALS has also raised interest toward alternative 3D techniques, including airborne and spaceborne techniques. Point clouds can be generated using photogrammetry, radargrammetry and interferometry. Airborne stereo imagery can be used in deriving photogrammetric point clouds, as very-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are used in radargrammetry and interferometry. ALS is capable of mapping both the terrain and tree heights in mixed forest conditions, which is an advantage over aerial images or SAR data. However, in many jurisdictions, a detailed ALS-based digital terrain model is already available, and that enables linking photogrammetric or SAR-derived heights to heights above the ground. In other words, in forest conditions, the height of single trees, height of the canopy and/or density of the canopy can be measured and used in estimation of forest inventory attributes. In this paper, first we review experiences of the use of digital stereo imagery and spaceborne SAR in estimation of forest inventory attributes in Finland, and we compare techniques to ALS. In addition, we aim to present new implications based on our experiences

Automation aspects for the georeferencing of photogrammetric aerial image archives in forested scenes

Photogrammetric aerial film image archives are scanned into digital form in many countries. These data sets offer an interesting source of information for scientists from different disciplines. The objective of this investigation was to contribute to the automation of a generation of 3D environmental model time series when using small-scale airborne image archives, especially in forested scenes. Furthermore, we investigated the usability of dense digital surface models (DSMs) generated using these data sets as well as the uncertainty propagation of the DSMs. A key element in the automation is georeferencing. It is obvious that for images captured years apart, it is essential to find ground reference locations that have changed as little as possible. We studied a 68-year-long aerial image time series in a Finnish Karelian forestland. The quality of candidate ground locations was evaluated by comparing digital DSMs created from the images to an airborne laser scanning (ALS)-originated reference DSM. The quality statistics of DSMs were consistent with the expectations; the estimated median root mean squared error for height varied between 0.3 and 2 m, indicating a photogrammetric modelling error of 0.1 parts per thousand with respect to flying height for data sets collected since the 1980s, and 0.2 parts per thousand for older data sets. The results show that of the studied land cover classes, "peatland without trees" changed the least over time and is one of the most promising candidates to serve as a location for automatic ground control measurement. Our results also highlight some potential challenges in the process as well as possible solutions. Our results indicate that using modern photogrammetric techniques, it is possible to reconstruct 3D environmental model time series using photogrammetric image archives in a highly automated way.Peer reviewe

Mapping the risk of forest wind damage using airborne scanning LiDAR

Wind damage is known for causing threats to sustainable forest management and yield value in boreal forests. Information about wind damage risk can aid forest managers in understanding and possibly mitigating damage impacts. The objective of this research was to better understand and quantify drivers of wind damage, and to map the probability of wind damage. To accomplish this, we used open-access airborne scanning light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. The probability of wind-induced forest damage (PDAM) in southern Finland (61°N, 23°E) was modelled for a 173 km2 study area of mainly managed boreal forests (dominated by Norway spruce and Scots pine) and agricultural fields. Wind damage occurred in the study area in December 2011. LiDAR data were acquired prior to the damage in 2008. High spatial resolution aerial imagery, acquired after the damage event (January, 2012) provided a source of model calibration via expert interpretation. A systematic grid (16 m x 16 m) was established and 430 sample grid cells were identified systematically and classified as damaged or undamaged based on visual interpretation using the aerial images. Potential drivers associated with PDAM were examined using a multivariate logistic regression model. Risk model predictors were extracted from the LiDAR-derived surface models. Geographic information systems (GIS) supported spatial mapping and identification of areas of high PDAM across the study area. The risk model based on LiDAR data provided good agreement with detected risk areas (73 % with kappa-value 0,47). The strongest predictors in the risk model were mean canopy height and mean elevation. Our results indicate that open-access LiDAR data sets can be used to map the probability of wind damage risk without field data, providing valuable information for forest management planning

From research to production: radiometric block adjustment to automate and improve tonal adjustment of orthomosaics created from airborne images

Production of orthophotos and orthomosaics from airborne imaging has been standard procedure of National mapping agencies for decades. Various aspects affect to the colour, or tones of the images: time of the day and year, atmosphere, illumination conditions, view and illumination angle, BRDF-effects (Bi-directional reflectance distribution function), object, sensor, and whole imaging system. Quantitative and automated solution for creating evenly coloured image mosaics is to use method based on radiometric block adjustment, that has similarities to more well-known geometric block adjustment. We have applied radiometric block adjustment method called RadBA, originally developed for drone image blocks collected with hyperspectral sensor, to image block collected with large-format photogrammetric camera. Goals of our work are: 1) to speed up orthophoto deliveries to Finish Food Authority used for EU farming subsidies monitoring, 2) improve the quality of images delivered to Finnish Forest Centre used for forest inventory, and 3) to automate, fasten and improve the current colour balancing process of orthophotos at National Land Survey of Finland. RadBA-based tonal processing with 4-parameter BRDF-correction was able to clearly improve the tonal quality of the image mosaic collected during three different dates. We still need to automate various steps of the RadBA-workflow and improve final steps in converting 16-bits per band mosaics to visually good looking 8-bits per band mosaics. Our long-term goal is to create tonally high quality, seamless orthomosaic of whole Finland