5,601 research outputs found
Influence of the sampling device on somatic cell count variation in cow milk samples (by official recording)
The objective of this study was to investigate the variability in cow's milk somatic cell counts (SCC) depending on the type of milk meter used by dairy farms for official milk recording The study was performed in 2011 and 2012 in the major cattle area of Spain. In total, 137,846 lactations of Holstein-Friesian cows were analysed at 1,912 farms. A generalised least squares regression model was used for data analysis. The model showed that the milk meter had a substantial effect on the SCC for individual milk samples obtained for official milk recording. The results suggested an overestimation of the SCC in milk samples from farms that had electronic devices in comparison with farms that used portable devices and underestimation when volumetric meters are used. A weak positive correlation was observed between the SCC and the percentage of fat in individual milk samples. The results underline the importance of considering this variable when using SCC data from milk recording in the dairy herd improvement program or in quality milk programs.Peer reviewe
Mapping monthly rainfall data in Galicia (NW Spain) using inverse distances and geostatistical methods
In this paper, results from three different interpolation techniques based on Geostatistics (ordinary kriging, kriging with external drift and conditional simulation) and one deterministic method (inverse distances) for mapping total monthly rainfall are compared. The study data set comprised total monthly rainfall from 1998 till 2001 corresponding to a maximum of 121 meteorological stations irregularly distributed in the region of Galicia (NW Spain). Furthermore, a raster Geographic Information System (GIS) was used for spatial interpolation with a 500×500 m grid digital elevation model. Inverse distance technique was appropriate for a rapid estimation of the rainfall at the studied scale. In order to apply geostatistical interpolation techniques, a spatial dependence analysis was performed; rainfall spatial dependence was observed in 33 out of 48 months analysed, the rest of the rainfall data sets presented a random behaviour. Different values of the semivariogram parameters caused the smoothing in the maps obtained by ordinary kriging. Kriging with external drift results were according to former studies which showed the influence of topography. Conditional simulation is considered to give more realistic results; however, this consideration must be confirmed with new data
European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) immune status and disease resistance are impaired by arginine dietary supplementation
Infectious diseases and fish feeds management are probably the major expenses in the aquaculture business. Hence, it is a priority to define sustainable strategies which simultaneously avoid therapeutic procedures and reinforce fish immunity. Currently, one preferred approach is the use of immunostimulants which can be supplemented to the fish diets. Arginine is a versatile amino acid with important mechanisms closely related to the immune response. Aiming at finding out how arginine affects the innate immune status or improve disease resistance of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) against vibriosis, fish were fed two arginine-supplemented diets (1% and 2% arginine supplementation). A third diet meeting arginine requirement level for seabass served as control diet. Following 15 or 29 days of feeding, fish were sampled for blood, spleen and gut to assess cell-mediated immune parameters and immune-related gene expression. At the same time, fish from each dietary group were challenged against Vibrio anguillarum and survival was monitored. Cell-mediated immune parameters such as the extracellular superoxide and nitric oxide decreased in fish fed arginine-supplemented diets. Interleukins and immune-cell marker transcripts were down-regulated by the highest supplementation level. Disease resistance data were in accordance with a generally depressed immune status, with increased susceptibility to vibriosis in fish fed arginine supplemented diets. Altogether, these results suggest a general inhibitory effect of arginine on the immune defences and disease resistance of European seabass. Still, further research will certainly clarify arginine immunomodulation pathways thereby allowing the validation of its potential as a prophylactic strategy.European Union's Seventh Framework Programme AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research) [262336]; AQUAIMPROV [NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000038]; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte) , under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework through the COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/89457/2012, SFRH/BPD/77210/2011]; Generalitat Valenciana through the project REVIDPAQUA [ISIC/2012/003]; [PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013]; [UID/Multi/04423/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Construction and commissioning of a technological prototype of a high-granularity semi-digital hadronic calorimeter
A large prototype of 1.3m3 was designed and built as a demonstrator of the
semi-digital hadronic calorimeter (SDHCAL) concept proposed for the future ILC
experiments. The prototype is a sampling hadronic calorimeter of 48 units. Each
unit is built of an active layer made of 1m2 Glass Resistive Plate
Chamber(GRPC) detector placed inside a cassette whose walls are made of
stainless steel. The cassette contains also the electronics used to read out
the GRPC detector. The lateral granularity of the active layer is provided by
the electronics pick-up pads of 1cm2 each. The cassettes are inserted into a
self-supporting mechanical structure built also of stainless steel plates
which, with the cassettes walls, play the role of the absorber. The prototype
was designed to be very compact and important efforts were made to minimize the
number of services cables to optimize the efficiency of the Particle Flow
Algorithm techniques to be used in the future ILC experiments. The different
components of the SDHCAL prototype were studied individually and strict
criteria were applied for the final selection of these components. Basic
calibration procedures were performed after the prototype assembling. The
prototype is the first of a series of new-generation detectors equipped with a
power-pulsing mode intended to reduce the power consumption of this highly
granular detector. A dedicated acquisition system was developed to deal with
the output of more than 440000 electronics channels in both trigger and
triggerless modes. After its completion in 2011, the prototype was commissioned
using cosmic rays and particles beams at CERN.Comment: 49 pages, 41 figure
Performance of Glass Resistive Plate Chambers for a high granularity semi-digital calorimeter
A new design of highly granular hadronic calorimeter using Glass Resistive
Plate Chambers (GRPCs) with embedded electronics has been proposed for the
future International Linear Collider (ILC) experiments. It features a 2-bit
threshold semi-digital read-out. Several GRPC prototypes with their electronics
have been successfully built and tested in pion beams. The design of these
detectors is presented along with the test results on efficiency, pad
multiplicity, stability and reproducibility.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
Shower development of particles with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the CALICE scintillator-tungsten hadronic calorimeter
We present a study of showers initiated by electrons, pions, kaons, and
protons with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the highly granular CALICE
scintillator-tungsten analogue hadronic calorimeter. The data were recorded at
the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron in 2011. The analysis includes measurements
of the calorimeter response to each particle type as well as measurements of
the energy resolution and studies of the longitudinal and radial shower
development for selected particles. The results are compared to Geant4
simulations (version 9.6.p02). In the study of the energy resolution we include
previously published data with beam momenta from 1 GeV to 10 GeV recorded at
the CERN Proton Synchrotron in 2010.Comment: 35 pages, 21 figures, 8 table
Pion and proton showers in the CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter
Showers produced by positive hadrons in the highly granular CALICE
scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter were studied. The experimental
data were collected at CERN and FNAL for single particles with initial momenta
from 10 to 80 GeV/c. The calorimeter response and resolution and spatial
characteristics of shower development for proton- and pion-induced showers for
test beam data and simulations using Geant4 version 9.6 are compared.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, JINST style, changes in the author list, typos
corrected, new section added, figures regrouped. Accepted for publication in
JINS
Performance of the first prototype of the CALICE scintillator strip electromagnetic calorimeter
A first prototype of a scintillator strip-based electromagnetic calorimeter
was built, consisting of 26 layers of tungsten absorber plates interleaved with
planes of 45x10x3 mm3 plastic scintillator strips. Data were collected using a
positron test beam at DESY with momenta between 1 and 6 GeV/c. The prototype's
performance is presented in terms of the linearity and resolution of the energy
measurement. These results represent an important milestone in the development
of highly granular calorimeters using scintillator strip technology. This
technology is being developed for a future linear collider experiment, aiming
at the precise measurement of jet energies using particle flow techniques
The Time Structure of Hadronic Showers in highly granular Calorimeters with Tungsten and Steel Absorbers
The intrinsic time structure of hadronic showers influences the timing
capability and the required integration time of hadronic calorimeters in
particle physics experiments, and depends on the active medium and on the
absorber of the calorimeter. With the CALICE T3B experiment, a setup of 15
small plastic scintillator tiles read out with Silicon Photomultipliers, the
time structure of showers is measured on a statistical basis with high spatial
and temporal resolution in sampling calorimeters with tungsten and steel
absorbers. The results are compared to GEANT4 (version 9.4 patch 03)
simulations with different hadronic physics models. These comparisons
demonstrate the importance of using high precision treatment of low-energy
neutrons for tungsten absorbers, while an overall good agreement between data
and simulations for all considered models is observed for steel.Comment: 24 pages including author list, 9 figures, published in JINS
Hadron shower decomposition in the highly granular CALICE analogue hadron calorimeter
The spatial development of hadronic showers in the CALICE scintillator-steel
analogue hadron calorimeter is studied using test beam data collected at CERN
and FNAL for single positive pions and protons with initial momenta in the
range from 10 to 80 GeV/c. Both longitudinal and radial development of hadron
showers are parametrised with two-component functions. The parametrisation is
fit to test beam data and simulations using the QGSP_BERT and FTFP_BERT physics
lists from Geant4 version 9.6. The parameters extracted from data and simulated
samples are compared for the two types of hadrons. The response to pions and
the ratio of the non-electromagnetic to the electromagnetic calorimeter
response, h/e, are estimated using the extrapolation and decomposition of the
longitudinal profiles.Comment: 38 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables; author list changed; submitted to
JINS
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