First results of a detection sensor for the monitoring of laying hens reared in a commercial organic egg production farm based on the use of infrared technology

The development of a monitoring system to identify the presence of laying hens, in a closed room of a free-range commercial organic egg production farm, was the aim of this study. This monitoring system was based on the infrared (IR) technology and had, as final target, a possible reduction of atmospheric ammonia levels and bacterial load. Tests were carried out for three weeks and involved 7 ISA (Institut de S\ue9lection Animale) brown laying hens. The first 5 days was used to set up the detection sensor, while the other 15 days were used to evaluate the accuracy of the resulting monitoring system, in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The setup procedure included the evaluation of different color background (CB) thresholds, used to discriminate the information contents of the thermographic images. At the end of this procedure, a CB threshold equal to an increase of 3 \ub0C from the floor temperature was chosen, and a cutoff level of 196 colored pixels was identified as the threshold to use to classify a positive case. The results of field tests showed that the developed monitoring system reached a fine detection accuracy (sensitivity = 97.9% and specificity = 94.9%) and the IR technology proved to be a possible solution for the development of a detection sensor necessary to reach the scope of this study

Precipitation extremes over La Plata Basin –Review and new results from observations and climate simulations

Monthly and daily precipitation extremes over La Plata Basin (LPB) are analyzed in the framework of the CLARIS-LPB Project. A review of the studies developed during the project and results of additional research are presented and discussed. Specific aspects of analysis are focused on large-scale versus local processes impacts on the intensity and frequency of precipitation extremes over LPB, and on the assessment of specific wet and dry spell indices and their changed characteristics in future climate scenarios. The analysis is shown for both available observations of precipitation in the region and ad-hoc global and regional models experiments. The Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans can all impact precipitation intensity and frequency over LPB. In particular, considering the Pacific sector, different types of ENSO events (i.e. canonical vs Modoki or East vs Central) have different influences. Moreover, model projections indicate an increase in the frequency of precipitation extremes over LPB during El Niño and La Ninã events in future climate. Local forcings can also be important for precipitation extremes. Here, the feedbacks between soil moisture and extreme precipitation in LPB are discussed based on hydric conditions in the region and model sensitivity experiments. Concerning droughts, it was found that they were more frequent in the western than in the eastern sector of LPB during the period of 1962–2008. On the other hand, observations and model experiments agree in that the monthly wet extremes were more frequent than the dry extremes in the northern and southern LPB sectors during the period 1979–2001, with higher frequency in the south.Published211-2304A. Clima e OceaniJCR Journalrestricte