Empirical Tm modeling in the region of Guangxi

Abstract:This paper presents three strategies for modeling the regional empirical Tm (the weighted mean temperature of the atmosphere) to obtain more accurate determinations in a regional empirical model that is better adapted to the geographical and climatic characteristics of the applied area. The proposed models utilize data from four radiosonde stations in Guangxi, at Nanning, Guilin, Wuzhou and Baise, over an 11 month period (from Jan. to Nov. of 2011). The experimental results demonstrated the following: (1) there is no significant difference between monthly and annual regression results at each site; (2) it is more reasonable and feasible to use the proposed regional Hybrid model for the area far away from the radiosonde site; (3) from the analysis of the possible temperature conditions, the precision of the proposed regional Hybrid model is higher than that of the well-known Bevis formula and of some other existing models and can reach an accuracy within 1mm for the GPS-derived PWV estimates for the applied region

Choice Between Fluorescent and Poultry-Specific LED Lights by Pullets and Laying Hens

Light plays an important role in poultry development, production performance, health, and well-being. Light technology continues to advance, and accordingly new light products are finding applications in poultry operations. However, research concerning responses of young and adult laying hens to light sources is relatively lacking. This study assessed the choice between a Dim-to-Red poultry-specific light-emitting diode (LED) light (PS-LED, correlated color temperature or CCT = 2000K) and a warm-white fluorescent light (FL, CCT = 2700K) by pullets and laying hens (W-36 breed) via preference test. Birds with different prior lighting experiences were evaluated for their light choice, including (1) pullets (14 to 16 weeks of age or WOA) reared under incandescent light (designated as PINC), (2) layers (44 to 50 WOA) under PSLED (LLED) throughout the pullet and laying phases, and (3) layers under FL (LFL) throughout the pullet and laying phases. Each bird category consisted of 12 replicates, three birds per replicate. Each replicate involved a 6-day preference test, during which the birds could move freely between two interconnected compartments that contained PS-LED and FL, respectively. Time spent and feed intake by the birds under each light were measured and then analyzed with generalized linear mixed models. Results showed that regardless of prior lighting experience, birds in all cases showed stronger choice for FL (p = 0.001 to 0.030), as evidenced by higher proportions of time spent under it. Specifically, the proportion of time spent (mean ±SEM) under FL versus PS-LED was 58.0% ±2.9% vs. 42.0% ±2.9% for PINC, 53.7% ±1.6% vs. 46.3% ±1.6% for LLED, and 54.2% ±1.2% vs. 45.8% ±1.2% for LFL. However, the proportions of daily feed intake occurring under FL and PS-LED were comparable in all cases (p = 0.419 to 0.749). The study thus reveals that prior lighting experience of the pullets or layers did not affect their choice of FL versus PS-LED. While the birds exhibited a somewhat stronger choice for FL, this tendency did not translate into differences in the proportion of feed use under each light type

Choice between LED and Fluorescent Lights by Pullets and Laying Hens

Light plays a key role in the development, production performance, health, and well-being of poultry. Yet there are no standards regarding light type, spectrum, intensity and diurnal photoperiod for poultry production. Thus, it is of socio-economic as well as scientific values to assess light needs of pullets and laying hens, especially considering the emergence of LED lights intended for poultry production. This study assessed the choice between a commercial dim-to-red LED light (LED, correlated color temperature or CCT = 2000K) and a typical compact fluorescent light (CFL, CCT = 2700K) by Hy-Line W-36 pullets and laying hens using free-choice preference test. Three categories of birds with different prior lighting experiences were evaluated, including pullets (14-16 weeks of age) reared in incandescent light (IP), layers (44-50 weeks of age) reared and kept in LED (LL), and layers reared and kept in CFL (CL). Each bird category consisted of 12 groups (replicates), three birds per group. A 6-day preference test was performed for each group, where the birds could move freely between two inter-connected compartments that contained LED or CFL. Feed intake and time spent of birds in each light were determined using load-cell scales and automated computer vision, respectively. Behavior parameters were analyzed with generalized linear mixed models. Evaluation of the light preference was accomplished by testing the null hypothesis that the proportions of feed intake or time spent in each light under concern equaled 50%. Results showed that the birds spent significantly higher proportion of light-period time in the CFL (P = 0.011, 0.030, and 0.001 for IP, LL, and CL, respectively), regardless of their prior lighting experience (P = 0.422). Birds in all three categories had comparable proportions of daily feed intake in the LED and CFL (P = 0.419, 0.566, and 0.749 for IP, LL, and CL, respectively). The study reveals that the CFL was preferred over the LED by the pullets and layers in terms of time spent regardless of their prior lighting experience; but no distinct effect of one light vs. the other was observed on feed use

Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Winter Production of Agricultural Greenhouses

Consuming conventional fossil fuel, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, to heat agricultural greenhouses has contributed to the climate change and air pollutions regionally and globally, so the clean energy sources have been increasingly applied to replace fossil energies in heating agricultural greenhouses, especially in urban area. To assess the environment performance (e.g., greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) of the ground source heat pump system (GSHPs) for heating agricultural greenhouses in urban area, a GSHPs using the shallow geothermal energy (SGE) in groundwater was applied to heat a Chinese solar greenhouse (G1) and a multispan greenhouse (G2) in Beijing (latitude 39°40′ N), the capital city of China. Emission rates of the GSHPs for heating the G1 and G2 were quantified to be 0.257–0.879 g CO2 eq. m−2 day−1. The total GHG emissions from heating greenhouses in Beijing with the GSHPs were quantified as 1.7–2.9 Gt CO2 eq. year−1 based on the electricity from the coal-fired power plant (CFPP) and the gas-fired power plant (GFPP). Among different stages of the SGE flow, the SGE promotion contributed most GHG emissions (66%) in total due to the higher consumption of electricity in compressors. The total GHG emissions from greenhouses heating with the coal-fired heating system (CFHs) and gas-fired heating system (GFHs) were quantified as 2.3–5.2 Gt CO2 eq. year−1 in Beijing. Heating the G1 and G2 with the GSHPs powered by the electricity from the CFPP, the equivalent CO2 emissions were 43% and 44% lower than directly burning coal with the CFHs but were 46% and 44% higher than the GFHs that burn natural gas. However, when using the GFPP-generated electricity to run the GSHPs, the equivalent CO2 emissions would be 84% and 47% lower than the CFHs and the GFHs, respectively

Computer Vision-Based Animal Preference Assessment – Do Laying Hen Chicks Prefer Light with UVA Radiation?

Poultry have a fourth retinal cone that allows them to see in the ultraviolet A (UVA) wavelength (315-400 nm) and may use UVA perception to modify various behavioral functions such as feeding, peer recognition, mate selection, and social encounters. As UVA perception is an essential part of poultry vision, it may be of socio-economic significance to provide certain amount of UVA light in poultry production facilities, particularly in most of modern facilities where artificial lighting is the only light source for the birds. However, there is limited scientific information regarding how to provide the UVA supplementation to birds as well as the behavioral responses of birds to UVA radiation. The objective of this study was to assess preference of W-36 chicks (day-old) for light-emitting diode (LED) light supplemented with or without various levels of UVA radiation (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%), i.e., LED vs. LED+UVA. A total of 108 chicks (day-old) in 18 groups over nine successive batches were assessed for their choice via preference test. For each group (six chicks), each bird was individually identified with one of the six colored marks (yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, and orange) on the head. Each group of chicks involved an 8-day preference test, during which the birds could move freely between two inter-connected compartments that contained LED and LED+UVA, respectively. A real-time monitoring system was employed to record behaviors of chicks at a capture rate of 5 frames per second. Trajectory of each bird was tracked using automated computer vision based on color detection algorithms. Time spent and feed intake by the birds under each light condition were measured daily and analyzed with generalized linear mixed models. The following results were found. In the scenario of 0% vs. 5% UVA, the chicks spent significantly lower amount of time under LED+UVA than under LED (45.6% vs. 54.4%), but had comparable feed use under both light conditions. In the scenario of 0% vs. 10% UVA, the chicks showed similar amount of time spent and feed use. In the scenario of 0% vs. 15% UVA, the chicks spent significantly higher proportion of time (61.3% vs. 38.7%) and consumed significantly more feed (60.5% vs. 39.5%) under LED+UVA than under LED. The study demonstrates the attracting effect of UVA light at 15% inclusion rate under LED illumination on chicks in terms of time spent and feed use. A large-scale and long-term study to further verify the positive effects of UVA inclusion seems warranted

Behavioral and Production Responses of W-36 Chicks to Supplementary UVA Light

UVA (315-400 nm) light perception is an essential part of poultry vision, which may be used to modify behavioral traits of birds such as feeding, peer recognition, and social encounters. The objectives of this study were to assess behavioral and production responses of W-36 chicks reared under LED light with or without various levels of UVA supplementation (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%), i.e., LED+UVA vs. LED. For behavioral response, a total of 108 chicks (day-old) in 18 groups were assessed for their lighting preference. Each group of chicks was involved an 8-d preference test, during which the birds could move freely between two inter-connected compartments that contained LED and LED+UVA, respectively. For production response, a total of 180 chicks (day-old) in 12 groups were used to assess the effects of the UVA supplementation (5%) on growth performance of chicks. For each batch, two groups were randomly assigned to two compartments, one with LED and the other with LED+UVA. In the scenario of 0% vs. 5% UVA, the chicks spent significantly lower amount of time under LED+UVA than under LED (45.6% vs. 54.4%), but had comparable feed use under both light conditions. In the scenario of 0% vs. 10% UVA, the chicks showed similar amount of time spent and feed use. In the scenario of 0% vs. 15% UVA, the chicks spent significantly higher proportion of time (61.3% vs. 38.7%) and consumed significantly more feed (60.5% vs. 39.5%) under LED+UVA than under LED. Chicks had comparable growing performance under LED and LED+UVA (5%) and no eye pathology was detected at 5% UVA supplementation level. The study demonstrates the attracting effect of UVA light at 15% inclusion rate under LED illumination on chicks in terms of time spent and feed use. A large-scale and long-term study to further verify the positive effects of UVA inclusion seems warranted

Parameter-Efficient Prompt Tuning Makes Generalized and Calibrated Neural Text Retrievers

Prompt tuning attempts to update few task-specific parameters in pre-trained models. It has achieved comparable performance to fine-tuning of the full parameter set on both language understanding and generation tasks. In this work, we study the problem of prompt tuning for neural text retrievers. We introduce parameter-efficient prompt tuning for text retrieval across in-domain, cross-domain, and cross-topic settings. Through an extensive analysis, we show that the strategy can mitigate the two issues -- parameter-inefficiency and weak generalizability -- faced by fine-tuning based retrieval methods. Notably, it can significantly improve the out-of-domain zero-shot generalization of the retrieval models. By updating only 0.1% of the model parameters, the prompt tuning strategy can help retrieval models achieve better generalization performance than traditional methods in which all parameters are updated. Finally, to facilitate research on retrievers' cross-topic generalizability, we curate and release an academic retrieval dataset with 18K query-results pairs in 87 topics, making it the largest topic-specific one to date

Mitigating ammonia and PM generation of cage-free henhouse litter with solid additive and liquid spray

A number of chain restaurants, retailers, and grocers in the U.S. have pledged to source only cage-free (CF) eggs in the foreseeable future (e.g., by 2025) due to marketing reasons or concerns over animal welfare. However, CF housing has some inherent challenges, and a predominant one is poor air quality, i.e., ammonia gas (NH3) and particulate matter (PM), and increased emissions. Spraying a liquid agent such as electrolyzed water (EW) can effectively suppress PM generation of CF henhouse litter. However, liquid spray can enhance NH3 generation because it increases the litter moisture content (LMC). Application of acidic liquid to the litter would help control NH3 while suppressing PM, but con-cerns arise about the potential corrosive effect of acidic liquid on housing equipment. To overcome this dilemma, this study evaluated the effect of applying PLT, a commercial poultry litter additive (LA), on NH3 emissions of CF hen litter while spraying it with neutral EW (NEW) at a rate of 25 mL kg-1 dry litter d-1. The PLT application rates were 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 kg m-2, denoted as Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA, respectively. CF litter was placed inside dynamic emission chambers and automatically stirred to mimic hen scratching. PLT was topically applied onto the litter on day 1; NEW was sprayed daily for 11 d, followed by a 3 d non-spray period (i.e., 14 d per trial); and each regimen was replicated four times. The ammonia emission rate (ER) of the control (no LA), Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA regimens (mean SE) was, respectively, 0.76 0.05, 0.55 0.06, 0.37 0.04, and 0.16 0.02 g kg-1 dry litter d-1, i.e., 28% to 79% reduction by the treatments. The NH3 reduction efficiency was linearly proportional to the PLT application rate, with higher application rate resulting in lower litter pH (p \u3c 0.05). At the end of each trial (d14), the Med-LA and High-LA regimens still showed relatively low NH3 emissions, suggesting the need for a longer measurement period in future studies. The NEW spray increased LMC by up to 60% after 11 once-a-day sprays, which reduced PM2.5, PM10, and TSP levels from 3.83, 6.39, and 7 mg m-3 to 0.07, 0.14, and 0.15 mg m-3, respectively. After a 3 d spray suspension, the PM levels rebounded to 0.72, 1.02, and 1.12 mg m-3 for PM2.5, PM10, and TSP, respectively, due to decreased LMC. Field verification of the mitigation efficacy and an economic assessment of the method are warranted

Surface Permittivity Estimation of Southern Utopia Planitia by High-Frequency RoPeR in Tianwen-1 Mars Exploration

China’s Tianwen-1 successfully landed in the southern Utopian Planitia of the Martian surface on 15 May 2021. The Zhurong Rover, equipped with a high-frequency full polarimetric Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR), traveled 1921 m to investigate the shallow geological structure and material composition of the Martian weathered layer. In this study, we propose a new processing strategy to estimate surface relative permittivity using the HH and VV reflections of the high-frequency RoPeR data. This new strategy is based on the induced field rotation (IFR) effect, which occurs when orthogonally polarized electromagnetic (EM) waves propagate into an uneven surface with incident angles. Three-dimensional time-domain finite-difference simulations were performed using random surfaces with various relative permittivities under the same geometry as the Zhurong Rover. Polarimetric alpha angle versus relative permittivity was then calculated based on the simulation results. At the same time, direct coupling (DC) removal, bandpass filtering, and channel calibration were performed on the real RoPeR data, and clear surface reflections were extracted. The surface reflection amplitudes of the HH and VV were then obtained and the polarimetric alpha angle was calculated. Finally, relative permittivity was estimated through the relationship obtained from the simulation results. The average value of the relative permittivity estimated by the proposed approach is 3.292, with a standard deviation of 0.235. This result is consistent with that obtained by orbiting radar systems and the low-frequency RoPeR system. This study will contribute to the further signal processing and accurate interpretation of real radar data captured by way of RoPeR on Mars

Role of gonadally synthesized steroid hormones in the colorectal cancer microenvironment

ObjectiveTo understand the relationship between steroid hormones synthesized by the gonads and colorectal cancer as well as its tumor microenvironment, in the expectation of providing new ideas in order to detect and treat colorectal cancer.MethodsThrough reviewing the relevant literature at home and abroad, we summarized that androgens promote the growth of colorectal cancer, and estrogens and progesterone help prevent bowel cancer from developing; these three hormones also have a relevant role in the cellular and other non-cellular components of the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer.ConclusionThe current literature suggests that androgens, estrogens, and progesterone are valuable in diagnosing and treating colorectal cancer, and that androgens promote the growth of colorectal cancer whereas estrogens and progesterone inhibit colorectal cancer, and that, in addition, the receptors associated with them are implicated in the modulation of a variety of cellular components of the microenvironment of colorectal cancer