Genetic parameters of the first three lactation records in Polish Lowland cattle

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Analysis of images recorded during welding processes,

Abstract In the paper elements of a system of assessment of a welding process and welded joints have been presented. The system was based on the application of one thermovision and two CCD cameras. In the paper exemplary results of processing and analysis of thermal and ordinary images have been discussed. Introduction The course of a welding process significantly influences the quality of welds. In order to obtain high quality joints proper parameters of welding process are required to be stable. In most cases by a correct welded joints one assumes the joints which are characterized not only by required mechanical properties but also by aesthetic quality. While the selection of proper welding parameters for an experienced welder does not make difficulties, the stability of these parameters is often not easy to be ensured. Abnormality of the process is caused by numerous factors which are often random. Examples are instability of passing of a filler wire, smudges of dirt, inaccuracy of preparation of element edges, deformations of elements as effects of thermal phenomena. These factors are reasons of common welding defects, such as excessive undercuts, partial or lack of joint penetration, cracks, overheatings, excessive convexity or concavity of a face of weld, blisters, bubbles and holes Maintenance of the high quality welding process and welds can be obtained by means of constant control of process parameters. One describes different approaches to the process inspection. Examples are measurements of amperage, voltage and flow of shielding gas The main problem concerning the application of vision systems seems to be a proper image analysis. In welding industry methods based on image analysis are being used for seam tracking Issues described in the paper are a part of investigations aimed at development of a system of controlling automatic welding processes. According to this approach, the vision system consists of three cameras. A crucial role is played be an IR camera, which observes a welding arc and pool, and the joint that is getting cold. Observation of the process is also aided by two CCD cameras, which record correspondingly images representing the arc and the joint. There are two goals of image analysis. The first one is to asses the stability of welding process, which is performed by means of determination of geometrical parameters of the arc. Secondly, some common defects of joints are supposed to be detected. It should be stressed that the application of IR camera lets us to detect not only surface defects but also defects and phenomena that do not manifest themselves on the surface. Presented experiments were carried out with the use of series of samples divided into some groups characterized by: correctly prepared surface, surface covered with rust, and parts covered with some impurities Overview of the vision system The welding process can be realized with the use of different devices. In industrial production automated and equipped with robots stands are commonly used, they enable MIG or MAG welding. Usually in such automated processes elements to be joined move and a welding device passing the filled wire is motionless. The vision system elaborated within the framework of the research described in the paper has been assigned to such processes. General overview of the system was presented in figure 1. The system let us to record, archive, process, analyze and recognize two types of images acquired by three presented cameras: -hot area that includes sub-areas of arc, metal in fluid and solidification phases and welded elements, -self-cooling area consisting of weld and welded elements sub-areas. The system has included hardware and software part

Association of Maternal Smoking and Alcohol Consumption with Young Adults' Cannabis Use: A Prospective Study

This 2006 study examined 1) whether maternal use of tobacco and consumption of alcohol when a child is 5 and 14 years of age predict cannabis use in young adults, and 2) whether this association is explained by possible confounding or mediating factors. Data were taken from a prospective birth cohort study of mothers and their children in Brisbane, Australia. This study was based on a cohort of 3,176 young adults who participated at the 21-year follow-up of the study and for whom data were available on maternal smoking and alcohol consumption 5 and 14 years after their birth. After controlling for possible confounders, the authors found that maternal smoking at 14 years was associated with frequent use of cannabis in offspring at 21 years, regardless of maternal smoking at 5 years. Children of mothers who drank more than one glass of alcohol at 5 years and continued at 14 years were more likely to use cannabis in early adulthood. The association between maternal substance use and offspring cannabis use was partially mediated by adolescent externalizing behavior and smoking measured at 14 years. Prevention programs that address maternal and adolescent tobacco use and adolescent externalizing behavior should be considered as strategies to reduce cannabis use by young adult

Light smoking at base-line predicts a higher mortality risk to women than to men; evidence from a cohort with long follow-up

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence as to whether smoking is more harmful to women than to men. The UK Cotton Workers’ Cohort was recruited in the 1960s and contained a high proportion of men and women smokers who were well matched in terms of age, job and length of time in job. The cohort has been followed up for 42 years. METHODS: Mortality in the cohort was analysed using an individual relative survival method and Cox regression. Whether smoking, ascertained at baseline in the 1960s, was more hazardous to women than to men was examined by estimating the relative risk ratio women to men, smokers to never smoked, for light (1–14), medium (15–24), heavy (25+ cigarettes per day) and former smoking. RESULTS: For all-cause mortality relative risk ratios were 1.35 for light smoking at baseline (95% CI 1.07-1.70), 1.15 for medium smoking (95% CI 0.89-1.49) and 1.00 for heavy smoking (95% CI 0.63-1.61). Relative risk ratios for light smoking at baseline for circulatory system disease was 1.42 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.98) and for respiratory disease was 1.89 (95% CI 0.99 to 3.63). Heights of participants provided no explanation for the gender difference. CONCLUSIONS: Light smoking at baseline was shown to be significantly more hazardous to women than to men but the effect decreased as consumption increased indicating a dose response relationship. Heavy smoking was equally hazardous to both genders. This result may help explain the conflicting evidence seen elsewhere. However gender differences in smoking cessation may provide an alternative explanation

Crafting communities: promoting inclusion, empowerment, and learning between older women

While social policy and planning documents are replete with ominous warnings about the cost of an ageing population, this article tells a different story about the productive and self-sustaining networks that exist among older women in the community who do craftwork. From our research conducted in Victoria, Australia during 2007&ndash;2008 we discovered a resilient and committed group of older women quietly and steadily contributing to community fundraising, building social networks, and providing learning opportunities to each other in diverse ways. Through our conversations with nine craftswomen we have been able to articulate clear links between the theory and models commonly espoused in the community development literature and the life-enriching practices used in organising informal community craft group activities. From our interviews with the older women we provide evidence of sustained participation, the generation of social capital, and the fostering of life-long learning. While none of the women we spoke to were trained in community development and did not use language commonly associated with feminist ideology, the relationship between the informal group work with principles of empowerment and self-efficacy were unmistakeable. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for critical social work practice.<br /

Research ethics committees: agents of research policy?

The purpose of this commentary is to describe the unintended effects ethics committees may have on research and to analyse the regulatory and administrative problems of clinical trials. DISCUSSION: The Finnish law makes an arbitrary distinction between medical research and other health research, and the European Union's directive for good clinical trials further differentiates drug trials. The starting point of current rules is that clinical trials are lesser in the interest of patients and society than routine health care. However, commercial interests are not considered unethical. The contrasting procedures in research and normal health care may tempt physicians to continue introducing innovations into practice by relying on unsystematic and uncontrolled observations. Tedious and bureaucratic rules may lead to the disappearance of trials initiated by researchers. Trying to accommodate the special legislative requirements for new drug trials into more complex interventions may result in poor designs with unreliable results and increased costs. Meanwhile, current legal requirements may undermine the morale of ethics committee members. CONCLUSION: The aims and the quality of the work of ethics committees should be evaluated, and a reformulation of the EU directive on good clinical trials is needed. Ethical judgement should consider the specific circumstance of each trial, and ethics committees should not foster poor research for legal reasons

Ethics of controlled human infection to study COVID-19

Development of an effective vaccine is the clearest path to controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To accelerate vaccine development, some researchers are pursuing, and thousands of people have expressed interest in participating in, controlled human infection studies (CHIs) with severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1, 2). In CHIs, a small number of participants are deliberately exposed to a pathogen to study infection and gather preliminary efficacy data on experimental vaccines or treatments. We have been developing a comprehensive, state-of-the-art ethical framework for CHIs that emphasizes their social value as fundamental to justifying these studies. The ethics of CHIs in general are underexplored (3, 4), and ethical examinations of SARS-CoV-2 CHIs have largely focused on whether the risks are acceptable and participants could give valid informed consent (1). The high social value of such CHIs has generally been assumed. Based on our framework, we agree on the ethical conditions for conducting SARS-CoV-2 CHIs (see the table). We differ on whether the social value of such CHIs is sufficient to justify the risks at present, given uncertainty about both in a rapidly evolving situation; yet we see none of our disagreements as insurmountable. We provide ethical guidance for research sponsors, communities, participants, and the essential independent reviewers considering SARS-CoV-2 CHIs