Integrated approach for prediction of centrifugal fertilizer spread patterns

The present paper proposes a numerical approach for prediction of behavior of those fertilizers spreaders based on centrifugal disc functioning. In particular results from finite element multi-body simulations provided by commercial software are used in order to define boundary conditions of field tests carried out concurrently. Results are then integrated into a mathematical model to rapidly generate distribution charts and distribution diagrams. Such integrated approach can be implemented to effectively calibrate a theoretical model which provides simulations on different machine settings conditions: as a final point simulations allow fast testing of different distribution conditions, helping definition of those which minimize the variability of the distribution itself

OPENNESS AND DESIGN PRACTICES IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

This paper explores openness and its role and relevance in creating an opportunity for sustained innovation through design thinking in organizations such as libraries. There is a growing recognition of design thinking as an effective approach to innovation. Many libraries, also academic ones, seem to have embraced the approach. However, to enable sustained, and not only short-term efforts to innovate, we believe that design thinking needs to be integrated with existing library practices. Furthermore, we consider that openness towards designerly ways of working is crucial in achieving that goal. In this paper, we discuss diverse ways in which openness plays a role in design thinking led innovation, including openness to learning new skills, question and explore, acquire new values, and continually integrate what is learned with existing practices. Two cases from our research on effects of design thinking on academic library practices are used to illustrate the importance of openness in this process

University library as a living lab: innovating with students

Ubiquitous and pervasive technologies are part of everyday life, including the portion of it that has something to do with the university libraries: all students use personal mobile technology and all books have embedded sensors. This paper describes three years long experience with student-lead innovation of student-oriented university library services. Stu-dents, as library users themselves, have a potential to initiate changes in the existing practices, or offer novel technological solutions based on ubiquitous and pervasive technologies that are easy to adopt and use for this user group. Within the project described in the paper, the library was established as a living lab for a student-lead innovation. At this stage, the innovators are recruited among interaction design students. The approach shows very promising results, some of which are showcased in the paper

Male Genital Morphology and Its Influence on Female Mating Preferences and Paternity Success in Guppies

In internally fertilizing species male genitalia often show a higher degree of elaboration than required for simply transferring sperm to females. Among the hypotheses proposed to explain such diversity, sexual selection has received the most empirical support, with studies revealing that genital morphology can be targeted by both pre-and postcopulatory sexual selection. Until now, most studies have focused on these two episodes of selection independently. Here, we take an alternative approach by considering both components simultaneously in the livebearing fish, Poecilia reticulata. We allowed females to mate successively (and cooperatively) with two males and determined whether male genital length influenced the female's propensity to mate with a male (precopulatory selection, via female choice) and whether male genital size and shape predicted the relative paternity share of subsequent broods (postcopulatory selection, via sperm competition/cryptic female choice). We found no evidence that either episode of sexual selection targets male genital size or shape. These findings, in conjunction with our recent work exposing a role of genital morphology in mediating unsolicited (forced) matings in guppies, further supports our prior speculation that sexual conflict may be an important broker of genital evolution in this species

Service design for artificial intelligence

In this paper, we present the first findings of a project testing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an academic library with the aim to support and redefine library services. The context of the research project is an academic library. Libraries represent an ideal environment for containing potential bias and test prototypes. Several AI supported services are prototyped and tested during a research project. The paper features approaches such as user journey and blueprint to address issues service providers and service users might encounter. The paper identifies a series of factors that need to be taken into account when designing prototypes in which AI features centrally. The paper also charts the implications of AI-enhanced library services in relation to users’s behaviour and expectations and organizations’ workflow

Tractor cabin ergonomics analyses by means of Kinect motion capture technology

Kinect is the de facto standard for real-time depth sensing and motion capture cameras. The sensor is here proposed for exploiting body tracking during driving operations. The motion capture system was developed taking advantage of the Microsoft software development kit (SDK), and implemented for real-time monitoring of body movements of a beginner and an expert tractor drivers, on different tracks (straight and with curves) and with different driving conditions (manual and assisted steering). Tests show how analyses can be done not only in terms of absolute movements, but also in terms of relative shifts, allowing for quantification of angular displacements or rotations

Posterior thigh compartment syndrome associated with hamstring avulsion and antiplatelet therapy

Posterior thigh compartment syndrome is a rare injury. We reported a case of a 49-year-old man developing posterior thigh compartment syndrome after an accidental fall at home causing hamstring tendon avulsion while assuming antiaggregant therapy

Epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries in a population of harness Standardbred racehorses in training

BACKGROUND: There is a substantial paucity of studies concerning musculoskeletal injuries in harness Standardbred racehorses. Specifically, little is known about the epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries. Most studies on this subject involve Thoroughbred racehorses, whose biomechanics and racing speed differ from Standardbred, making comparisons difficult. Here, a population of Standardbred racehorses trained at the same racecourse was studied over four years and a classification system for exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries was designed. The incidence rates of musculoskeletal injuries causing horses’ withdrawal from training for 15 days or longer were investigated. A mixed-effects Poisson regression model was used to estimate musculoskeletal injury rates and to describe significance of selected risk factors for exercise-related injuries in this population. RESULTS: A total of 356 trotter racehorses from 10 different stables contributed 8961 months at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Four-hundred-and-twenty-nine injuries were reported and classified into 16 categories, based on their aetiology and anatomical localisation. The overall exercise-related injury rate was 4.79 per 100 horse months. When considering risk factors one by one in separate univariable analyses, we obtained the following results: rates did not differ significantly between genders and classes of age, whereas one driver seemed to cause fewer injuries than the others. Racing speed and racing intensity, as well as recent medical history, seemed to be significant risk factors (p < 0.001), while being shod or unshod during racing was not. On the other hand, when pooling several risk factors in a multivariable approach, only racing intensity turned out to be significant (p < 0.001), since racing speed and the racing intensity were partially confounded, being strongly correlated to one another. CONCLUSION: Characterizing epidemiology of exercise-related musculoskeletal injuries in trotter racehorses provides baseline incidence rate values. Incidence rates of stress fracture are lower in Standardbreds compared to Thoroughbreds, whereas the opposite is true for tendon and suspensory ligament injuries. In addition to identification of risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries among Standardbred racehorses, results suggest that racing intensity seems to be a protective predictor of risk and recent medical history could be used to identify horses at risk of injury

Integrated approach for prediction of centrifugal fertilizer spread patterns

The present paper proposes a numerical approach for prediction of behavior of those fertilizers spreaders based on centrifugal disc functioning. In particular results from finite element multi-body simulations provided by commercial software are used in order to define boundary conditions of field tests carried out concurrently. Results are then integrated into a mathematical model to rapidly generate distribution charts and distribution diagrams.Such integrated approach can be implemented to effectively calibrate a theoretical model which provide simulations on different machine settings conditions: as a final point simulations allow fast testing of different distribution conditions, helping definition of those which minimize the variability of the distribution itself.

B-Wheel. A Process Model for approaching AI in research libraries

Presentation