Ontologies for Tracking Ubiquitous Interest

Within a ubiquitous environment, intelligent displays can select the most appropriate material depending on factors such as the audience's preferences and diversity of interest. In addition, such intelligent displays should adapt according to how the audience responds. To do this, they need to determine the composition of the audience, in terms of numbers and diversity of interest. This can affect the choice of video clip shown, by taking into consideration the number of people in the local region, and the preferences of the individuals in that region. In this paper we introduce BluScreen, an agent-oriented market-place that uses ubiquitous wireless technology to determine an audience composition as part of the bidding process, and present an ontology that is used to describe the wireless devices (used to identify and track users) within the local region of a display

The 2004-06 drought (2nd ed.)

This report reviews the 2004-06 drought within a hydrological and water resources framework. It was prepared as part of the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme (NHMP) – a collaborative enterprise between the Centre for Hydrology & Ecology and the British Geological Survey (both component bodies of the Natural Environment Research Council). The NHMP relies on the active cooperation of many organizations - the Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Rivers Agency (Northern Ireland) and the Met Office in particular. The provision of the basic data which provides the foundation both of this report and the wider activities of the NHMP is gratefully acknowledged. A primary source of information for this review is the series of monthly UK Hydrological Summaries (for further details please visit: http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/nrfa)

White Dwarf Cosmochronometry. I. Monte Carlo Simulations of Proper-Motion ̶ and Magnitude-Limited Samples Using Schmidt’s 1/Vmax Estimator

Observationally, white dwarf stars are a remarkably homogeneous class with a minimum observed Teff ~4000 K. Theoretically, the physics that determines their cooling timescales is relatively more straightforward than that which determines main-sequence evolutionary timescales. As a result, the white dwarf luminosity function has for the last decade been used as a probe of the age and star formation rate of the Galactic disk, providing an estimated local disk age of ~10 Gyr with estimated total uncertainties of roughly 20%. A long-standing criticism of the technique is that the reality of the reported downturn in the luminosity function (LF) hinges on just a handful of stars and on statistical arguments that fainter (older) objects would have been observed were they present. Indeed, the likely statistical variations of these small-number samples represent one of the primary uncertainties in the derived Galactic age, and the behavior of Schmidt\u27s 1/Vmax estimator in this limit is not well understood. In this work, we explore these uncertainties numerically by means of a Monte Carlo population synthesis code that simulates the kinematics and relative numbers of cooling white dwarfs. The “observationally selected” subsamples are drawn using typical proper motion and V-magnitude limits. The corresponding 1/Vmax LFs are then computed and compared to the input-integrated LFs. The results from our (noise-free) data suggest that (1) Schmidt’s 1/Vmax technique is a reliable and well-behaved estimator of the true space density with typical uncertainties of ~50% for 50 point samples and 25% for 200 point samples; (2) the age uncertainties quoted in previously published observational studies of the LF are consistent with uncertainties in the Monte Carlo results ̶ specifically, there is a ~15% and ≤10% observational uncertainty in the ages inferred from 50 point and 200 point samples, respectively; and (3) the large statistical variations in the bright end of these LFs ̶ even in the large-N limit ̶ preclude using the white dwarf LF to obtain an estimate of the recent star formation rate as a function of time

PC-CUBE: A Personal Computer Based Hypercube

PC-CUBE is an ensemble of IBM PCs or close compatibles connected in the hypercube topology with ordinary computer cables. Communication occurs at the rate of 115.2 K-band via the RS-232 serial links. Available for PC-CUBE is the Crystalline Operating System III (CrOS III), Mercury Operating System, CUBIX and PLOTIX which are parallel I/O and graphics libraries. A CrOS performance monitor was developed to facilitate the measurement of communication and computation time of a program and their effects on performance. Also available are CXLISP, a parallel version of the XLISP interpreter; GRAFIX, some graphics routines for the EGA and CGA; and a general execution profiler for determining execution time spent by program subroutines. PC-CUBE provides a programming environment similar to all hypercube systems running CrOS III, Mercury and CUBIX. In addition, every node (personal computer) has its own graphics display monitor and storage devices. These allow data to be displayed or stored at every processor, which has much instructional value and enables easier debugging of applications. Some application programs which are taken from the book Solving Problems on Concurrent Processors (Fox 88) were implemented with graphics enhancement on PC-CUBE. The applications range from solving the Mandelbrot set, Laplace equation, wave equation, long range force interaction, to WaTor, an ecological simulation

Wheat Straw, Distillers Grains, and Beet Pulp for Late Gestation Beef Cows

The feeding value of a mixture of 30:70 wet distillers grains:wheat straw or 20:20:60 wet distillers grains:beet pulp:wheat straw (DM) for late gestation beef cows was estimated. In Experiment 1, cows limit fed distillers grains and wheat straw gained as much weight and body condition as cows limit fed alfalfa hay. In Experiment 2, cows fed wet distillers grains and wheat straw or wet distillers grains, beet pulp, and wheat straw gained more weight and improved body condition compared with cows fed alfalfa hay. The results of these experiments indicate cows in late gestation will maintain body condition when limit fed by-products and crop residues to meet their energy requirements

Wheat Straw, Distillers Grains, and Beet Pulp for Late Gestation Beef Cows

The feeding value of a mixture of 30:70 wet distillers grains:wheat straw or 20:20:60 wet distillers grains:beet pulp:wheat straw (DM) for late gestation beef cows was estimated. In Experiment 1, cows limit fed distillers grains and wheat straw gained as much weight and body condition as cows limit fed alfalfa hay. In Experiment 2, cows fed wet distillers grains and wheat straw or wet distillers grains, beet pulp, and wheat straw gained more weight and improved body condition compared with cows fed alfalfa hay. The results of these experiments indicate cows in late gestation will maintain body condition when limit fed by-products and crop residues to meet their energy requirements

A 10-year ecosystem restoration community of practice tracks large-scale restoration trends

In 2004, a group of large-scale ecosystem restoration practitioners across the United States convened to start the process of sharing restoration science, management, and best practices under the auspices of a traditional conference umbrella. This forum allowed scientists and decision makers to interact in a new type of setting, with science being presented from a perspective that informed ecosystem restoration decisions, and decision makers articulating their decision needs in a manner that informed the types of science questions that needed to be addressed. From that beginning, a core ecosystem restoration practitioner group has formed a community of practice that continues to build and maintain momentum for this type of ecosystem restoration engagement. In the fall of 2013, this community of practice became permanently organized as the Large-scale Ecosystem Restoration Section within the Society for Ecological Restoration. Over the past decade, this community has evaluated and expanded upon ecosystem restoration themes ranging from defining and measuring success, adaptive management, adaptive governance, and linking science with management decision-making. Current and future themes include novel ecosystems, ecosystem goods and services, urban ecosystem restoration, and climate change and ecosystem resilience

The Effects of Supplementing Wet Distillers Grains Mixed With Wheat Straw to Growing Steers

A growing study compared feeding wet distillers grains, dried distillers grains, and a mix of 66% wet distillers grains and 33% wheat straw as supplements to a forage-based diet. Steers were supplemented 0, 2, 4, or 6 lb distillers grains/head daily. Wet distillers grains and dried distillers grains produced higher final body weight and dry matter intake compared to the mix. Increasing levels of distillers grains increased performance in forage based diets and wet grains mixed with straw reduced forage intake

The Effects of Supplementing Wet Distillers Grains Mixed With Wheat Straw to Growing Steers

A growing study compared feeding wet distillers grains, dried distillers grains, and a mix of 66% wet distillers grains and 33% wheat straw as supplements to a forage-based diet. Steers were supplemented 0, 2, 4, or 6 lb distillers grains/head daily. Wet distillers grains and dried distillers grains produced higher final body weight and dry matter intake compared to the mix. Increasing levels of distillers grains increased performance in forage based diets and wet grains mixed with straw reduced forage intake

Effects of Wet Corn Gluten Feed and Roughage Inclusion Levels in Finishing Diets Containing Modified Distillers Grains Plus Solubles

A finishing trial evaluated wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) and roughage inclusion levels in diets containing 30% modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS, DM basis) using a 3 x 3 factorial treatment structure. No significant WCGF x roughage level interactions were observed. There was a quadratic response due to WCGF level for dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG), which were lowest for cattle fed 30% WCGF; however, feed-gain ratio (F:G) increased linearly with increasing WCGF. Gain responded quadratically and was lowest for cattle fed 0% corn silage. F:G and DMI increased linearly with increasing corn silage. Feedlot performance was improved by feeding 0% or 15% WCGF compared to 30% WCGF in finishing diets containing 30% MDGS. The optimal level was 7.5% corn silage in diets containing 30% MDGS with or without WCGF