Milling Characteristics of High and Low Quality Rice

Harvest moisture contents (HMCs) have been proven to play a role in rice quality, especially affecting head rice yield (HRY) due to fissuring or immature kernels. Differences in milling characteristics between samples having high and low level milling quality were studied in this experiment. Two hybrid, long-grain cultivars (CL XL729 and CL XL745) and two pureline, long-grain cultivars (CL 181 and Wells) were harvested at near optimal and low HMCs, representing high and low milling quality, respectively. Lots were dried to approximately 12.5 ± 0.5% and milled in triplicate for durations of 10, 20, 30, and 40 s. Results showed that low quality rice achieved a greater degree of milling (DOM) than high quality rice when milled for the same duration. Low quality rice also reached a given surface lipid content (SLC) at a faster rate as supported by greater SLC reduction rates. As DOM increased, milled rice yield (MRY) of low quality rice decreased at a statistically greater rate than that of high quality rice. The rate at which HRY decreased, however, was not greatly impacted by milling quality as a function of HMC

An analysis of the semantic skills of children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Ten children who were deaf or hard of hearing were administered the Test of Semantic Skills - Primary. The results indicate that semantic skills of children who are deaf or hard of hearing are not dependent on category type or receptive or expressive abilities

Assessment of Range, Habitat Use, and Diel Movement of Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) in the Wabash River Using Ultrasonic Telemetry

Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) are one of the most targeted species for recreational and commercial fishing within the Mississippi River Basin. With heavy harvest pressure placed on many populations, proper management is crucial; however, the species range, habitat requirements, and diel movement patterns have rarely been investigated in free flowing rivers. Therefore, I used ultrasonic telemetry with active tracking to monitor movement and habitat use of 44 Flathead Catfish from August 2012 to December 2013 in the lower 280 km of the Wabash River. This system is ideal to evaluate broad and fine scale movement of Flathead Catfish because the population is well-established and individuals are able to move without restriction caused by impoundments. Fish were located by reach and diel tracking performed seasonally, and monthly site specific tracking. I found that Flathead Catfish exhibit relatively small movements within a localized annual range (\u3c 12 km). Most often, fish were observed using shoreline habitat, specifically, outside bends and channel borders containing dense woody debris. Although there was no seasonal difference in the range of movement, season was a major driver in daily activity and habitat use. Flathead Catfish showed the most diel movement during summer, utilizing shoreline and main channel habitats, whereas movement decreased dramatically during winter when fish only used shorelines. Results from my research indicate habitat requirements for Flathead Catfish during annual spawning and overwintering are found in outside bends containing logjam structure. I suggest these areas are crucial for the species persistence within lotic systems and should be recognized as such. Managers can use this information to ensure habitat requirements are met and to assist with development of restoration and conservation strategies if future populations begin to decline

Image gathering and coding for digital restoration: Information efficiency and visual quality

Image gathering and coding are commonly treated as tasks separate from each other and from the digital processing used to restore and enhance the images. The goal is to develop a method that allows us to assess quantitatively the combined performance of image gathering and coding for the digital restoration of images with high visual quality. Digital restoration is often interactive because visual quality depends on perceptual rather than mathematical considerations, and these considerations vary with the target, the application, and the observer. The approach is based on the theoretical treatment of image gathering as a communication channel (J. Opt. Soc. Am. A2, 1644(1985);5,285(1988). Initial results suggest that the practical upper limit of the information contained in the acquired image data range typically from approximately 2 to 4 binary information units (bifs) per sample, depending on the design of the image-gathering system. The associated information efficiency of the transmitted data (i.e., the ratio of information over data) ranges typically from approximately 0.3 to 0.5 bif per bit without coding to approximately 0.5 to 0.9 bif per bit with lossless predictive compression and Huffman coding. The visual quality that can be attained with interactive image restoration improves perceptibly as the available information increases to approximately 3 bifs per sample. However, the perceptual improvements that can be attained with further increases in information are very subtle and depend on the target and the desired enhancement

Paper2GIS: Going postal in the midst of a pandemic

It is widely agreed that using local knowledge and opinions can prove beneficial in the decision-making process, with various forms of Participatory Mapping being used to capture responses to spatial questions. However, remote participatory research is increasingly carried out using digital methods which can limit the involvement of those affected by digital divides. This research uses a novel, automatic self-digitising paper-based Participatory Mapping method to explore whether the accessibility needs of participants can be met whilst maintaining the potential for effective spatial analysis on the part of the researcher. As a paper-based, geographically specific approach this research could be conducted during the pandemic by post, with residents of the Outer Hebrides, UK

Estimating multiple greenspace exposure types and their associations with neighbourhood premature mortality: A socioecological study.

BACKGROUND: Greenspace exposures are often measured using single exposure metrics, which can lead to conflicting results. Existing methodologies are limited in their ability to estimate greenspace exposure comprehensively. We demonstrate new methods for estimating single and combined greenspace exposure metrics, representing multiple exposure types that combine impacts at various scales. We also investigate the association between those greenspace exposure types and premature mortality. METHODS: We used geospatial data and spatial analytics to model and map greenspace availability, accessibility and eye-level visibility exposure metrics. These were harmonised and standardised to create a novel composite greenspace exposure index (CGEI). Using these metrics, we investigated associations between greenspace exposures and years of potential life lost (YPLL) for 1673 neighbourhoods applying spatial autoregressive models. We also investigated the variations in these associations in conjunction with levels of socioeconomic deprivation based on the index of multiple deprivations. RESULTS: Our new CGEI metric provides the opportunity to estimate spatially explicit total greenspace exposure. We found that a 1-unit increase in neighbourhood CGEI was associated with approximately a 10-year reduction in YPLL. Meaning a 0.1 increment or 10% increase in the CGEI is associated with an approximately one year lower premature mortality value. A single 1-unit increase in greenspace availability was associated with a YPLL reduction of 9.8 years, whereas greenness visibility related to a reduction of 6.14 years. We found no significant association between greenspace accessibility and YPLL. Our results further identified divergent trends in the relations between greenspace exposure types (e.g. availability vs. accessibility) and levels of socioeconomic deprivation (e.g. least vs. most). CONCLUSION: Our methods and metrics provide a novel approach to the assessment of multiple greenspace exposure types, and can be linked to the broader exposome framework. Our results showed that a higher composite greenspace exposure is associated with lower premature mortality