Information retrieval system

Generalized information storage and retrieval system capable of generating and maintaining a file, gathering statistics, sorting output, and generating final reports for output is reviewed. File generation and file maintenance programs written for the system are general purpose routines

Labour efficiency on-farm

End of project reportImprovements in milking efficiency have a greater influence than any other aspect of the dairy farmers work on overall farm labour inputs (Whipp, 1992). In order to facilitate the examination of milking process labour inputs, the milking process may be divided into the following three components: herding pre and post milking (transfer of cows to and from the milking parlour); milking (milking tasks / work routines within the parlour); and washing (washing of milking machine and yard). Meanwhile, within milking specifically, the number of cows milked per operator per hour is the best measure of both the performance of the operator and the milking installation (Clough, 1978). This is affected by the following three factors: the milking times of the cows, the number and arrangement of the milking units, and the operator’s work routine (Whipp, 1992). The addition of extra milking units will only increase milking performance if the operator has idle time during milking (Hansen, 1999)

Schmallenberg virus: a systematic international literature review (2011-2019) from an Irish perspective

peer-reviewedIn Autumn 2011, nonspecific clinical signs of pyrexia, diarrhoea, and drop in milk yield were observed in dairy cattle near the German town of Schmallenberg at the Dutch/German border. Targeted veterinary diagnostic investigations for classical endemic and emerging viruses could not identify a causal agent. Blood samples were collected from animals with clinical signs and subjected to metagenomic analysis; a novel orthobunyavirus was identified and named Schmallenberg virus (SBV). In late 2011/early 2012, an epidemic of abortions and congenital malformations in calves, lambs and goat kids, characterised by arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly were reported in continental Europe. Subsequently, SBV RNA was confirmed in both aborted and congenitally malformed foetuses and also in Culicoides species biting midges. It soon became evident that SBV was an arthropod-borne teratogenic virus affecting domestic ruminants. SBV rapidly achieved a pan-European distribution with most countries confirming SBV infection within a year or two of the initial emergence. The first Irish case of SBV was confirmed in the south of the country in late 2012 in a bovine foetus. Since SBV was first identified in 2011, a considerable body of scientific research has been conducted internationally describing this novel emerging virus. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive synopsis of the most up-to-date scientific literature regarding the origin of SBV and the spread of the Schmallenberg epidemic, in addition to describing the species affected, clinical signs, pathogenesis, transmission, risk factors, impact, diagnostics, surveillance methods and control measures. This review also highlights current knowledge gaps in the scientific literature regarding SBV, most notably the requirement for further research to determine if, and to what extent, SBV circulation occurred in Europe and internationally during 2017 and 2018. Moreover, recommendations are also made regarding future arbovirus surveillance in Europe, specifically the establishment of a European-wide sentinel herd surveillance program, which incorporates bovine serology and Culicoides entomology and virology studies, at national and international level to monitor for the emergence and re-emergence of arboviruses such as SBV, bluetongue virus and other novel Culicoides-borne arboviruses

Effect of Strain of Holstein-Friesian Cow and Feed System on Reproductive Performance in Seasonal-Calving Milk Production Systems Over Four Years

In Ireland most dairy farms operate seasonal calving grass-based milk production systems. Feed demand and supply are matched by having calving highly concentrated in spring. This requires high pregnancy rates within a short time following the start of mating in late April or early May, but has become increasingly difficult to achieve due to declining fertility in Irish dairy herds (Mee, 2004). In New Zealand, cows of North American Holstein-Friesian origin have poorer fertility than New Zealand Holstein-Friesians on pasture-based seasonal calving systems (Harris & Kolver, 2001). The present study sought to determine the effect of strain of Holstein-Friesian (HF) cow and feed system on reproductive performance within Irish milk production systems

A unified approach to Darboux transformations

We analyze a certain class of integral equations related to Marchenko equations and Gel'fand-Levitan equations associated with various systems of ordinary differential operators. When the integral operator is perturbed by a finite-rank perturbation, we explicitly evaluate the change in the solution. We show how this result provides a unified approach to Darboux transformations associated with various systems of ordinary differential operators. We illustrate our theory by deriving the Darboux transformation for the Zakharov-Shabat system and show how the potential and wave function change when a discrete eigenvalue is added to the spectrum.Comment: final version that will appear in Inverse Problem

The effect of rubber versus concrete passageways in cubicle housing on claw health and reproduction of pluriparous dairy cows

peer reviewedThe effect of covering the passageways and feed face of a cubicle house with rubber flooring was compared to concrete in terms of claw health, behaviour and reproductive performance of dairy cows from a grass-based milk production system. Sixty-two, autumn calving, pluriparous Holstein–Friesian cows were introduced to the housing treatments prior to calving. Foot lesions were scored at housing, 1, 7, 12 and 16 weeks post-partum. The behaviour (activity, posture, and location) of all cows was recorded by instantaneous scan sampling over 24 h once per week from ca. 3 weeks pre-partum to 12 weeks post-partum. Estrous activity was recorded by visual observation three times daily using tail-paint and continuously by radiotelemetry from 1 week after calving until the end of the breeding season. The rubber flooring had a negligible beneficial effect on heel erosion but no effect on haemorrhage or dermatitis scores and no effect on the proportion of cows affected by severe lesions. Furthermore, there were no benefits for estrous expression or subsequent reproductive performance. There were no differences between treatments in time spent standing by cows, but cows on concrete stood more in the cubicles, while cows on the rubber flooring stood more at the feed face. This suggests that cows prefer to stand on comfortable surfaces while not feeding and that they can use well-bedded, comfortable cubicles for standing to get relief for their feet from concrete floors. This also explains the lack of a difference between treatments in claw health

Tunable microwave signal generator with an optically-injected 1310nm QD-DFB laser

Tunable microwave signal generation with frequencies ranging from below 1 GHz to values over 40 GHz is demonstrated experimentally with a 1310nm Quantum Dot (QD) Distributed-Feedback (DFB) laser. Microwave signal generation is achieved using the period 1 dynamics induced in the QD DFB under optical injection. Continuous tuning in the positive detuning frequency range of the quantum dot's unique stability map is demonstrated. The simplicity of the experimental configuration offers promise for novel uses of these nanostructure lasers in Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) applications and future mobile networks. © 2013 Optical Society of America

The Bivariate Normal Copula

We collect well known and less known facts about the bivariate normal distribution and translate them into copula language. In addition, we prove a very general formula for the bivariate normal copula, we compute Gini's gamma, and we provide improved bounds and approximations on the diagonal.Comment: 24 page

Bioexclusion of diseases from dairy and beef farms: Risks of introducing infectious agents and risk reduction strategies

peer reviewedInfectious disease represents a major threat to the productivity and welfare of cattle herds throughout the world. The introduction of infectious agents into dairy and beef farms may be through direct transmission (purchased cattle, reintroduced resident cattle and contact with contiguous cattle) or indirect transmission (fomites, visitors, other species, and biological materials) and this article reviews the evidence supporting these transmission routes. In the absence of eradication programmes for many endemic infectious diseases, bioexclusion is the key management process for risk reduction. Various ameliorative bioexclusion strategies have been recommended and the evidence supporting these protocols is considered

Exact solutions to the focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation

A method is given to construct globally analytic (in space and time) exact solutions to the focusing cubic nonlinear Schrodinger equation on the line. An explicit formula and its equivalents are presented to express such exact solutions in a compact form in terms of matrix exponentials. Such exact solutions can alternatively be written explicitly as algebraic combinations of exponential, trigonometric, and polynomial functions of the spatial and temporal coordinates.Comment: 60 pages, 18 figure