The use of mid-infrared spectrometry to predict body energy status of Holstein cows

Energy balance, especially in early lactation, is known to be associated with subsequent health and fertility in dairy cows. However, its inclusion in routine management decisions or breeding programs is hindered by the lack of quick, easy, and inexpensive measures of energy balance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of mid-infrared (MIR) analysis of milk, routinely available from all milk samples taken as part of large-scale milk recording and milk payment operations, to predict body energy status and related traits in lactating dairy cows. The body energy status traits investigated included energy balance and body energy content. The related traits of body condition score and energy intake were also considered. Measurements on these traits along with milk MIR spectral data were available on 17 different test days from 268 cows (418 lactations) and were used to develop the prediction equations using partial least squares regression. Predictions were externally validated on different independent subsets of the data and the results averaged. The average accuracy of predicting body energy status from MIR spectral data was as high as 75% when energy balance was measured across lactation. These predictions of body energy status were considerably more accurate than predictions obtained from the sometimes proposed fat-to-protein ratio in milk. It is not known whether the prediction generated from MIR data are a better reflection of the true (unknown) energy status than the actual energy status measures used in this study. However, results indicate that the approach described may be a viable method of predicting individual cow energy status for a large scale of application

Neutrality of narrative discussion in annual reports of UK listed companies

This paper reports the results of an investigation into the neutrality of the narrative discussion of financial performance and position, as evidenced in 179 annual reports of UK listed companies. Neutrality of narrative discussion was determined by comparing the average proportions of good and bad news contained in the narrative and statutory accounts sections of the annual reports. The results of a comparison of the proportion of good news in the two sections of the annual reports suggest that the narrative sections contained a significantly higher proportion of good news than the statutory accounts sections. Comparison of proportions of bad news, however, indicates that the narrative sections contained a significantly lower proportion of bad news compared to the statutory accounts sections. Finally, the results also suggest that the proportion of good news as compared to bad news in the narrative sections is significantly higher than the proportion of good news compared to bad news in the statutory accounts section. The results are consistent with the suggestion that company management highlights good news in narrative discussions. The implications of the findings for company management, users, auditors and regulators are discussed

Performance, combustion and emissions of a diesel engine operated with reformed EGR. Comparison of diesel and GTL fuelling

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Fuel. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2008 Elsevier B.V.In this work, the effects of a standard ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) fuel and a new, ultra-clean synthetic GTL (gas-to-liquid) fuel on the performance, combustion and emissions of a single-cylinder, direct injection, diesel engine were studied under different operating conditions with addition of simulated reformer product gas, referred to as reformed EGR (REGR). For this purpose various levels of REGR of two different compositions were tested. Tests with standard EGR were also carried out for comparison. Experiments were performed at four steady state operating conditions and the brake thermal efficiency, combustion process and engine emission data are presented and discussed. In general, GTL fuel resulted in a higher brake thermal efficiency compared to ULSD but the differences depended on the engine condition and EGR/REGR level and composition. The combustion pattern was significantly modified when the REGR level was increased. Although the extent of the effects of REGR on emissions depended on the engine load, it can be generally concluded that an optimal combination of GTL and REGR significantly improved both NOx and smoke emissions. In some cases, NOx and smoke emission reductions of 75% and 60%, respectively, were achieved compared to operation with ULSD without REGR. This offers a great potential for engine manufacturers to meet the requirements of future emission regulations.Shell Global Solutions UK, the Government of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and the Royal Thai Government

Translationally invariant treatment of pair correlations in nuclei: II. Tensor correlations

We study the extension of our translationally invariant treatment of few-body nuclear systems to include tensor forces and correlations. It is shown that a direct application of our method is not as successful for realistic V6 interactions as our previous results for V4 potentials suggested. We investigate the cause in detail for the case of $^4$He, and show that a combination of our method with that of Jastrow-correlated wave functions seems to be a lot more powerful, thereby suggesting that for mildly to strongly repulsive forces such a hybrid procedure may be an appropriate description.Comment: 19 pages, 3 ps figures. uses elsart, graphicx, amssym

An extension of the coupled-cluster method: A variational formalism

A general quantum many-body theory in configuration space is developed by extending the traditional coupled cluter method (CCM) to a variational formalism. Two independent sets of distribution functions are introduced to evaluate the Hamiltonian expectation. An algebraic technique for calculating these distribution functions via two self-consistent sets of equations is given. By comparing with the traditional CCM and with Arponen's extension, it is shown that the former is equivalent to a linear approximation to one set of distribution functions and the later is equivalent to a random-phase approximation to it. In additional to these two approximations, other higher-order approximation schemes within the new formalism are also discussed. As a demonstration, we apply this technique to a quantum antiferromagnetic spin model.Comment: 15 pages. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Consistent histories, the quantum Zeno effect, and time of arrival

We present a decomposition of the general quantum mechanical evolution operator, that corresponds to the path decomposition expansion, and interpret its constituents in terms of the quantum Zeno effect (QZE). This decomposition is applied to a finite dimensional example and to the case of a free particle in the real line, where the possibility of boundary conditions more general than those hitherto considered in the literature is shown. We reinterpret the assignment of consistent probabilities to different regions of spacetime in terms of the QZE. The comparison of the approach of consistent histories to the problem of time of arrival with the solution provided by the probability distribution of Kijowski shows the strength of the latter point of view

Experimental support of the scaling rule for demographic stochasticity

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73613/1/j.1461-0248.2006.00903.x.pd

Marine ice sheet instability and ice shelf buttressing of the Minch ice stream, Northwest Scotland

Uncertainties in future sea level projections are dominated by our limited understanding of the dynamical processes that control instabilities of marine ice sheets. A valuable case to examine these processes is the last deglaciation of the British-Irish Ice Sheet. The Minch Ice Stream, which drained a large proportion of ice from the northwest sector of the British-Irish Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation, is well constrained, with abundant empirical data which could be used to inform, validate and analyse numerical ice sheet simulations. We use BISICLES, a higher-order ice sheet model, to examine the dynamical processes that controlled the retreat of the Minch Ice Stream. We simulate retreat from the shelf edge under constant "warm" surface mass balance and subshelf melt, to isolate the role of internal ice dynamics from external forcings. The model simulates a slowdown of retreat as the ice stream becomes laterally confined at a "pinning-point" between mainland Scotland and the Isle of Lewis. At this stage, the presence of ice shelves became a major control on deglaciation, providing buttressing to upstream ice. Subsequently, the presence of a reverse slope inside the Minch Strait produces an acceleration in retreat, leading to a "collapsed" state, even when the climate returns to the initial "cold" conditions. Our simulations demonstrate the importance of the Marine Ice Sheet Instability and ice shelf buttressing during the deglaciation of parts of the British-Irish Ice Sheet. Thus, geological data could be used to constrain these processes in ice sheet models used for projecting the future of our contemporary ice sheets

Effects of Short Range Correlations on Ca Isotopes

The effect of Short Range Correlations (SRC) on Ca isotopes is studied using a simple phenomenological model. Theoretical expressions for the charge (proton) form factors, densities and moments of Ca nuclei are derived. The role of SRC in reproducing the empirical data for the charge density differences is examined. Their influence on the depletion of the nuclear Fermi surface is studied and the fractional occupation probabilities of the shell model orbits of Ca nuclei are calculated. The variation of SRC as function of the mass number is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages (RevTex), 6 Postscript figures available upon request at [email protected] Physical Review C in prin