1,361 research outputs found
Financial evaluation of Holstein Friesian strains within composite and housed UK dairy systems
Modelling phosphorus efficiency within diverse dairy farming systems - pollutant and non-renewable resource?
Measurement Duration but Not Distance, Angle, and Neighbour-Proximity Affects Precision in Enteric Methane Emissions when Using the Laser Methane Detector Technique in Lactating Dairy Cows
SIMPLE SUMMARY: Methane that is breathed out and eructed from ruminants is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Although metabolic chambers are the “gold standard” for measuring methane from livestock, their application in production farms is very limited. There is a need to develop proxy methods that can be applied in such production environments. The proprietary Laser Methane Detector (LMD) has been trialed for the previous decade and has demonstrated its usefulness as a non-invasive and portable instrument to determine methane output from ruminants. In validating the reliability and stability of the data generated by the LMD, the current study gives answers to some very practical assumptions used in the use of the LMD and enhances the confidence in its use in ruminants. ABSTRACT: The laser methane detector (LMD), is a proprietary hand-held open path laser measuring device. Its measurements are based on infrared absorption spectroscopy using a semiconductor laser as a collimated excitation source. In the current study, LMD measurements were carried out in two experiments using 20 and 71 lactating dairy cows in Spain and Scotland, respectively. The study aimed at testing four assumptions that may impact on the reliability and repeatability of the LMD measurements of ruminants. The study has verified that there is no difference in enteric methane measurements taken from a distance of 3 m than from those taken at a distance of 2 m; there was no effect to the measurements when the measurement angle was adjusted from 90° to 45°; that the presence of an adjacent animal had no effect on the methane measurements; and that measurements lasting up to 240 s are more precise than those taken for a shorter duration. The results indicate that angle, proximity to other animals, and distance had no effects and that measurements need to last a minimum of 240 s to maintain precision
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Psychometric properties of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale: an analysis using item response theory
Background: Social media use has become an everyday behavior in contemporary life resulting in increased participation. A minority of individuals, especially younger adults, may engage excessively with the medium, resulting in the emergence of problematic social media use (PSMU). One way of assessing PSMU is by administering the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). The present study investigated the psychometric properties and prevalence of the BSMAS using Item Response Theory (IRT). Additionally, it evaluated risk factors such as gender and age.
Methods: A relatively large community sample (N = 968, Mage = 29.5 years, SD = 9.36, 32.5% women) completed the BSMAS online.
Results: IRT analyses showed differences regarding the BSMAS items’ discrimination, difficulty, and reliability capacities, with a raw score exceeding 26 (out of 30) indicating a higher risk of PSMU (n = 11; 1.1%). Females and younger participants were at greater risk of developing PSMU.
Conclusion: The BSMAS functions as a reliable measure of PSMU, particularly between average to high levels of the trait. Additionally, younger participants were shown to be at higher risk of PSMU suggesting that prevention and intervention protocols should focus on this group
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The role of procrastination between personality traits and addictive mukbang watching among emerging adults
The role of personality traits in the development of addictive use of different online activities has been extensively demonstrated in the previous studies. One new type of online activity is the watching of mukbang (the South Korean term for “eating broadcasts”). However, very little is known about addictive mukbang watching (AMW) and its relationship to personality constructs. The present study investigated the direct and indirect associations of Big Five personality traits (i.e., extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness) and dark personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefulness) with AMW via procrastination. An online survey that comprised items assessing the aforementioned variables was completed by 222 university students who had watched mukbang at least once in the previous week. Path analysis indicated that extroversion was indirectly negatively associated with AMW via procrastination. Furthermore, conscientiousness, sadism, and procrastination were directly positively associated with higher AMW. Findings suggest that individuals may develop and maintain uncontrolled mukbang watching in order to procrastinate and personality traits may play a contributing role in this association
Designing an information system for updating land records in Bangladesh: action design ethnographic research (ADER)
Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Information Systems (IS) has developed through adapting, generating and applying diverse methodologies, methods, and techniques from reference disciplines. Further, Action Design Research (ADR) has recently developed as a broad research method that focuses on designing and redesigning IT and IS in organizational contexts. This paper reflects on applying ADR in a complex organizational context in a developing country. It shows that ADR requires additional lens for designing IS in such a complex organizational context. Through conducting ADR, it is seen that an ethnographic framework has potential complementarities for understanding complex contexts thereby enhancing the ADR processes. This paper argues that conducting ADR with an ethnographic approach enhances design of IS and organizational contexts. Finally, this paper aims presents a broader methodological framework, Action Design Ethnographic Research (ADER), for designing artefacts as well as IS. This is illustrated through the case of a land records updating service in Bangladesh
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SDSS-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY: AN ANALYSIS of the LARGEST SAMPLE of TYPE IA SUPERNOVAE and CORRELATIONS with HOST-GALAXY SPECTRAL PROPERTIES
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Institute of Physics via http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/821/2/115Using the largest single-survey sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to date, we study the relationship between properties of SNe Ia and those of their host galaxies, focusing primarily on correlations with Hubble residuals (HRs). Our sample consists of 345 photometrically classified or spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia discovered as part of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-SNS). This analysis utilizes host-galaxy spectroscopy obtained during the SDSS-I/II spectroscopic survey and from an ancillary program on the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey that obtained spectra for nearly all host galaxies of SDSS-II SN candidates. In addition, we use photometric host-galaxy properties from the SDSS-SNS data release such as host stellar mass and star formation rate. We confirm the well-known relation between HR and host-galaxy mass and find a 3.6σ significance of a nonzero linear slope. We also recover correlations between HR and host-galaxy gas-phase metallicity and specific star formation rate as they are reported in the literature. With our large data set, we examine correlations between HR and multiple host-galaxy properties simultaneously and find no evidence of a significant correlation. We also independently analyze our spectroscopically confirmed and photometrically classified SNe Ia and comment on the significance of similar combined data sets for future surveys.This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1321851. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
M.S. and J.A.F. are supported by the Department of Energy grant DE-SC-0009890.
Funding for the SDSS and SDSS-II has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, the Max Planck Society, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England ...
Funding for SDSS-III has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation ..
The effect of bovine colostrum supplementation on intestinal injury and circulating intestinal bacterial DNA following exercise in the heat
Purpose Exercise-induced changes in intestinal permeability are exacerbated in the heat. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 14 days of bovine colostrum (Col) supplementation on intestinal cell damage (plasma intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, I-FABP) and bacterial translocation (plasma bacterial DNA) following exercise in the heat. Methods In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 12 males completed two experimental arms (14 days of 20 g/day supplementation with Col or placebo, Plac) consisting of 60 min treadmill running at 70% maximal aerobic capacity (30 ??C, 60% relative humidity). Blood samples were collected pre-exercise (Pre-Ex), post-exercise (Post-Ex) and 1 h post-exercise (1 h Post-Ex) to determine plasma I-FABP concentration, and bacterial DNA (for an abundant gut species, Bacteroides). Results Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed an arm ?~ time interaction for I-FABP (P = 0.005, with greater Post- Ex increase in Plac than Col, P = 0.01: Plac 407 ?} 194% of Pre-Ex vs Col, 311 ?} 134%) and 1 h Post-Ex (P = 0.036: Plac 265 ?} 80% of Pre-Ex vs Col, 229 ?} 56%). There was no interaction (P = 0.904) but there was a main effect of arm (P = 0.046) for plasma Bacteroides/total bacterial DNA, with lower overall levels evident in Col. Conclusion This is the first investigation to demonstrate that Col can be effective at reducing intestinal injury following exercise in the heat, but exercise responses (temporal pattern) of bacterial DNA were not influenced by Col (although overall levels may be lower).publishersversionPeer reviewe
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