Modelling fat and protein concentration curves for Irish dairy cows

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to acquire a well-fitting, single-equation model that would represent the fat and protein concentration curves of milk from Irish dairy cows. The dataset consisted of 16,086 records from both spring and autumn calving cows from both experimental and commercial herds. Many models cited in the literature to represent milk yield were examined for their suitability to model constituent curves. Models were tested for goodness-of-fit, adherence to the assumptions of regression analysis, and their ability to predict total fat and protein concentration for an entire lactation. Wilmink’s model best satisfied these criteria. It had the best Mean Square Prediction Error (goodness-of-fit) value, it satisfied the assumptions of regression analysis (multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation and normality of distribution), and it predicted the actual concentration of the constituents to within 0.01 percentage point

Detection of abnormal recordings in Irish milk recorded data

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to detect abnormal recordings of milk yield, fat concentration and protein concentration in Irish milk-recorded data. The data consisted of 14,956 records from both commercial and experimental herds with 92% of the recordings recorded manually and the remainder recorded electronically. The method used in this paper was a modified version of the method employed by the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory in Maryland, USA and conformed with the guidelines outlined by the International Committee of Animal Recording. The results illustrate the effectiveness of detecting abnormal recordings in Irish milk records. The method described in this paper, defines the upper and lower limits for each production trait and these limits along with the slope parameters were used to determine if a recording was abnormal or not. Three percent of milk yield recordings, 5% of fat concentration recordings and less than 1% of protein concentration recordings were found to be abnormal. The proportion of values declared abnormal in manually recorded and electronically recorded data were examined and found to be significantly different for fat concentration

Replacement strategies to maximise profiltability in dairying.

End of Project ReportsThe overall objective of this project was to develop a dynamic model which would determine the optimum replacement rates for dairy herds under an Irish system of production. A model was designed and applied to the Irish dairy replacement problem, which included in the decision making process production, fertility, calving interval, seasonality, month of calving and various economic factors. The output from the Hierarchic model is a series of rankings. The dynamic programming approach can enable one to inform a farmer which cows in the herd should be replaced, on the basis that a replacement heifer( and its future successors) are expected to be more profitable than the current cow. The optimum replacement rate was 17.8% from this analysis.European Union Structural Fund (EAGGF

Cues: How power influences behaviour in project portfolio management

Project portfolio management (PPM) is a dynamic management activity that seeks to align an organisation’s strategy with its portfolio of projects by selecting and delivering a suitable combination of projects. Though PPM processes are often adopted, outcomes vary and poor decisions are common. While there are many reasons why this might occur, we focus on the influence of power on PPM decision making, in particular the effects of indirect power. We examine models of decision making and argue that power shapes context, and provides actors with cues that encourages behaviour in frame appropriate ways. Specific behavioural cues are identified, and the need for further research is made

Hydrological hazard assessment for irrigated agriculture in the Irwin focus area

The Midlands groundwater and land assessment project aimed to identify 2000–3000 hectare precincts suitable to develop intensive irrigated horticulture. The primary focus area was at Irwin, where the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation investigated groundwater resources and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development undertook a multi-faceted site assessment. This report describes the hydrological hazards assessment for the Irwin focus area. The Irwin focus area is located on fertile loam and clay flats associated with the Irwin River. In the east, it encompasses the Irwin River valley floor and the western boundary loops to the south of the Irwin River to capture an area of alluvial clays. The Gingin Scarp forms a boundary between the east and west parts of the focus area. We used groundwater data from resource condition monitoring in the Arrowsmith Hydrozone to assess the hydrological hazards in the Irwin focus area and guide more intensive field investigations. We undertook a shallow drilling program to investigate the profile and to sample and monitor the watertable in the western part of the Irwin focus area. Monitoring bores were established at 13 sites on the alluvial clay flats. The shallow drilling program was complemented with ground-based electromagnetic surveys. A vehicle-mounted system was developed to record electrical conductivity measurements from Geonics™ EM38 and EM31 instruments. Historical groundwater level monitoring in the Irwin River valley indicates consistently rising groundwater levels east of the Gingin Scarp in the Arrowsmith Hydrozone. This trend and shallow depth to groundwater poses a significant risk of dryland salinity developing in this landscape. This existing hydrological hazard, rising groundwater and salinity, makes the eastern part of the focus area unsuitable for irrigated horticulture. West of the Gingin Scarp, the soil profile under the alluvial flats that extend south of the Irwin River is dominated by stiff, moist, grey clay that becomes red-brown or mottled brown and pale grey clay with depth. While the surface soils are not salt-affected, there is significant salt storage at depth, starting from about 3m to about 7–10m. Since groundwater is not rising in this area the regolith salt storage is not a hazard for dryland agriculture. However, if irrigation water is applied and groundwater rises, it will become a significant hazard. The hydraulic properties of the alluvial clays could not be closely observed during the investigation because of the absence of recharge due to low rainfall. However, the drill cuttings of heavy, moist clay indicate that there is low hydraulic conductivity or permeability. If the surface soils were to become saline from irrigation, they would likely remain saline because of the limited leachability of the clays

Children’s Act Evaluation and Emotion Attribution Reasoning Regarding Different Moral Transgressions

This study investigated patterns of reasoning regarding different types of moral transgressions and different measures of moral development in children 6–8 years of age (N = 130). The findings documented different patterns of reasoning for each measure and for transgressions including different moral principles. Children distinguished between their understanding of their emotional response to a transgression and the moral violation that has occurred, using much more moral reasoning when justifying act evaluations and much more self-interest reasoning when justifying emotion attributions. Children also differentiated between different types of moral violations—that is, transgressions including different moral principles. Stories about others’ welfare elicited reasoning related to others’ welfare, stories about fairness elicited reasoning related to equality/rights/fairness, and a multifaceted story elicited both types of moral reasoning

Unilateral hamstring foam rolling does not impair strength but the rate of force development of the contralateral muscle

Background Self-administered foam rolling (SAFR) is an effective massage technique often used in sport and rehabilitation settings to improve range of motion (ROM) without impairing the strength performance. However, the effects of unilateral SAFR on contralateral non-intervened muscle’s rate of force development (RFD) are unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the acute effects of unilateral hamstrings SAFR on the contralateral limb flexibility, the isometric strength, and the RFD parameters. Methods Thirty-four subjects (21 women) completed two separate randomly sequenced experimental visits, during which the control (rested for 10 min) or ten, 30-second SAFR were performed with the dominant hamstring muscle group. Before (Pre) and after (Post) the interventions, the contralateral hip flexion passive ROM, the maximal explosive isometric strength of the contralateral knee flexors with the corresponding prime mover muscles’ surface electromyographic (EMG) amplitude were measured. Separate two-way (time ×intervention) repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to examine the potential changes of the dependent variables. Results The SAFR significantly improved the contralateral limb ROM (Pre vs. Post: 68.3 ± 21.0 vs. 73.2 ± 23.2 degrees, p < 0.001; d = 0.22). No change was found for the contralateral isometric strength or the maximal EMG amplitude. For the RFD parameters, the percent changes of the RFDs for the first 50, 100, and 200 ms of the maximal explosive isometric contraction were −31.2%, −16.8%, and −10.1%, respectively, following the unilateral SAFR, relative to the control condition. In addition, the decrement of the first 50-ms RFD reached statistical significance (p = 0.007; Cohen’s d = 0.44). Conclusion Ten sets of 30-second unilateral hamstring SAFR improved the ROM of the non-intervened contralateral limb, but decreased its ability to generate force, especially during the early phase (e.g., 50 ms) of the maximal explosive contraction

The Effects of 3 Weeks Yogic Breathing Practice on Ventilation and Running Economy

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(2): 62-74, 2020. Yogic breathing techniques (Pranayama) positively impact respiratory function (RF) in non-endurance trained individuals.The purpose of this study investigated effects of routine Pranayama practice on RF, running economy (RE) and perceptual responses. A between subject’s case-control study design was incorporated.Eleven runners practiced three styles of Pranayama (30 min/day 6 days/week) for 3 consecutive weeks (YG) and completed a VO2max tests on a treadmill (trial 1), basic RF tests, and constant workload RE trials at 60, 70, and 80% VO2max (trial 2 and 3). A control group (n= 10) (CT) completed the same pre – post testing without intervention. Pre vs. post values for resting forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and forced expiratory flow volume in one second (FEV1). Yoga improved FVC and FEV1, but did not significantly impact RE However, RPE-L for HIGH had an interaction (p\u3c 0.05)showing a decrease for YG and an increase for CT. The current study suggests 3 weeks of yogic Pranayama fails to significantly impact RE, however some evidence indicates YG may positively alter perceptual responses at individually prescribed workloads. More work is needed to definitively establish benefits of YG for runners

Shoaling reduces metabolic rate in a gregarious coral reef fish species

Many animals live in groups because of the potential benefits associated with defense and foraging. Group living may also induce a 'calming effect' on individuals, reducing overall metabolic demand. This effect could occur by minimising the need for individual vigilance and reducing stress through social buffering. However, this effect has proved difficult to quantify. We examined the effect of shoaling on metabolism and body condition in the gregarious damselfish Chromis viridis. Using a novel respirometry methodology for social species, we found that the presence of shoal-mate visual and olfactory cues led to a reduction in the minimum metabolic rate of individuals. Fish held in isolation for 1 week also exhibited a reduction in body condition when compared with those held in shoals. These results indicate that social isolation as a result of environmental disturbance could have physiological consequences for gregarious species

A multi-scale modelling framework combining musculoskeletal rigid-body simulations with adaptive finite element analyses, to evaluate the impact of femoral geometry on hip joint contact forces and femoral bone growth

Multi-scale simulations, combining muscle and joint contact force (JCF) from musculoskeletal simulations with adaptive mechanobiological finite element analysis, allow to estimate musculoskeletal loading and predict femoral growth in children. Generic linearly scaled musculoskeletal models are commonly used. This approach, however, neglects subject- and age-specific musculoskeletal geometry, e.g. femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA) and anteversion angle (AVA). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of proximal femoral geometry, i.e. altered NSA and AVA, on hip JCF and femoral growth simulations. Musculoskeletal models with NSA ranging from 120° to 150° and AVA ranging from 20° to 50° were created and used to calculate muscle and hip JCF based on the gait analysis data of a typically developing child. A finite element model of a paediatric femur was created from magnetic resonance images. The finite element model was morphed to the geometries of the different musculoskeletal models and used for mechanobiological finite element analysis to predict femoral growth trends. Our findings showed that hip JCF increase with increasing NSA and AVA. Furthermore, the orientation of the hip JCF followed the orientation of the femoral neck axis. Consequently, the osteogenic index, which is a function of cartilage stresses and defines the growth rate, barely changed with altered NSA and AVA. Nevertheless, growth predictions were sensitive to the femoral geometry due to changes in the predicted growth directions. Altered NSA had a bigger impact on the growth results than altered AVA. Growth simulations based on mechanobiological principles were in agreement with reported changes in paediatric populations