625 research outputs found
Age Management in Danish Companies: What, How, and How Much?
This article investigates Danish employersâ behavior in the area of active aging, which is made topical by demographic aging. It describes age management practices and explains why some companies are more prone to employ age management than others. The study is based on a survey conducted among a representative sample of Danish employers, and 609 interviews in total have been carried out. Data have been scrutinized using frequency analysis for descriptive purposes as well as binary logistic regression analysis for explanatory purposes. Findings indicate that structural, cognitive, and action-oriented variables have significance for whether companies develop and employ active age management policies
Body condition score, morphometric measurements and estimation of body weight in mature Icelandic horses in Denmark
BACKGROUND: Obesity is related to the development of several diseases like insulin resistance and laminitis in horses. The prevalence of obesity among mature Icelandic horses in Denmark has not been investigated previously. This study aimed to find the prevalence of obesity, to compare body condition score (BCS) based on owner perception with that of an experienced person and to correlate the BCS to body weight (BW) and morphometric measures in a group of mature Icelandic horses in Denmark. A total of 254 Icelandic horses (âĽ4 years; 140 geldings, 105 mares, 9 stallions) from 46 different farms were included. All horses were assigned a BCS on a scale from 1 to 9 (1 is poor, 5 is moderate and 9 is extremely fat) by their owner and by an experienced person. Two weight tapes were used to assess BW. Girth circumference (GC), neck circumference (NC) and height at withers (HW) were measured, and the GC:HW and NC:HW ratios were calculated. RESULTS: Categorising the horses into four groups, 5.9 % were underweight (BCS 3â4), 70.1 % were optimal (BCS 5â6), 13.8 % were overweight (BCS 7) and 10.2 % were obese (BCS 8â9). The GC:HW and NC:HW ratios increased with increasing BCS, as did the BW estimated with the weight tapes. A GC:HW ratio >1.21 might indicate overweight or obesity in Icelandic horses. Horse owners underestimated the BCS of their horses compared to an experienced person. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study show that 24.0 % of mature Icelandic horses in Denmark are overweight or obese, and that owners tend to underestimate the BCS of their Icelandic horses. The GC:HW ratio might indicate overweight or obesity, however, the ratio for Icelandic horses is different than reported for horses and ponies of other breeds
Osmotically driven pipe flows and their relation to sugar transport in plants
In plants, osmotically driven flows are believed to be responsible for
translocation of sugar in the pipe-like phloem cell network, spanning the
entire length of the plant. In this paper, we present an experimental and
theoretical study of transient osmotically driven flows through pipes with
semipermeable walls. We extend the experimental work of Eschrich, Evert and
Young \cite[]{Eschrich:1972} by providing a more accurate version of their
experiment allowing for better comparison with theory. In the experiments we
measure the dynamics and structure of a "sugar front", i.e. the transport and
decay of a sudden loading of sugar in a pipe which is closed in both ends. We
include measurements of pressure inside the membrane tube allowing us to
compare the experiments directly with theory and, in particular, to confirm
quantitatively the exponential decay of the front in a closed tube.In a novel
setup we are able to measure the entire concentration profile as the sugar
front moves. In contrast to previous studies we find very good agreement
between experiment and theory.
In the limit of low axial resistance (valid in our experiments as well as in
many cases in plants) we show that the equations can be solved exactly by the
method of characteristics yielding, in general, an implicit solution. Further
we show that under more general conditions the equations of motion can be
rewritten as a single integro-differential equation, which can be readily
solved numerically. The applicability of our results to plants is discussed and
it is shown that it is probable that the pressure-flow hypothesis can account
for short distance transport of sugar in plants.Comment: 34 pages, Submitted to Journal of Fluid Mechanics on May 28, 200
Estimating evaporation with thermal UAV data and two-source energy balance models
Estimating evaporation is important when managing water
resources and cultivating crops. Evaporation can be estimated using land
surface heat flux models and remotely sensed land surface temperatures
(LST), which have recently become obtainable in very high resolution using
lightweight thermal cameras and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In this
study a thermal camera was mounted on a UAV and applied into the field of
heat fluxes and hydrology by concatenating thermal images into mosaics of
LST and using these as input for the two-source energy balance (TSEB) modelling
scheme. Thermal images are obtained with a fixed-wing UAV overflying
a barley field in western Denmark during the growing season of 2014 and a
spatial resolution of 0.20âŻm is obtained in final LST mosaics. Two models
are used: the original TSEB model (TSEB-PT) and a
dual-temperature-difference (DTD) model. In contrast to the TSEB-PT model,
the DTD model accounts for the bias that is likely present in remotely sensed
LST. TSEB-PT and DTD have already been well tested, however only during
sunny weather conditions and with satellite images serving as thermal input.
The aim of this study is to assess whether a lightweight thermal camera
mounted on a UAV is able to provide data of sufficient quality to constitute
as model input and thus attain accurate and high spatial and temporal
resolution surface energy heat fluxes, with special focus on latent heat
flux (evaporation). Furthermore, this study evaluates the performance of the
TSEB scheme during cloudy and overcast weather
conditions, which is feasible due to the low data retrieval altitude (due to
low UAV flying altitude) compared to satellite thermal data that are only
available during clear-sky conditions. TSEB-PT and DTD fluxes are compared
and validated against eddy covariance measurements and the comparison shows
that both TSEB-PT and DTD simulations are in good agreement with eddy
covariance measurements, with DTD obtaining the best results. The DTD model
provides results comparable to studies estimating evaporation with similar
experimental setups, but with LST retrieved from satellites instead of a
UAV. Further, systematic irrigation patterns on the barley field provide
confidence in the veracity of the spatially distributed evaporation revealed
by model output maps. Lastly, this study outlines and discusses the thermal
UAV image processing that results in mosaics suited for model input. This
study shows that the UAV platform and the lightweight thermal camera provide
high spatial and temporal resolution data valid for model input and for
other potential applications requiring high-resolution and consistent LST
Initial experiments to assess short-term survival of discarded plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) caught in trammel nets during winter season
European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a key species in commercial fisheries in the North Sea, Skagerrak,
Kattegat, and Baltic Sea. The reformed European Union Common Fisheries Policy includes the possibility of
exemptions from the landing obligation for âspecies for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival
ratesâ. Discard survival from set-net fisheries is poorly studied. Trials were conducted on two commercial fishing
vessels over seven trips from November to February 2017â2018 in the Baltic Sea. The nylon trammel nets had a
nominal bar size for the inner/outer wall of 75/350 mm and 85/400 mm. Soaking time was 23â47 h, water depth
7â18 m, and deck temperature was â 0.1â6.0 âŚC. Following commercial practice, the trammel nets were hauled
back onto the vessel, after which netting and fish passed through a net hauler onto a steel sorting table where the
entire fish catch were manually untangled by the fishers and plaice collected by scientists. We used a storage
system for housing the captured fish inside fishing harbours during observations. Catch-damage-index (CDI) and
Reflex Action Mortality Predictor (RAMP) scores were used to assess fish condition immediately after capture and
at the end of observation periods. All plaice below 40 cm were sampled with a total number of 118 individuals
from 13 fleets (several nets joined together). The fish were assessed for short-term survival for 4â10 days with
full survival (100%). The majority of fish exhibited no reflex impairments. Minor bruises, fraying, and net marks
were frequently observed on captured fish. The overall condition of the fish did not change during observation
periods
Fault Detection and Diagnosis Encyclopedia for Building Systems:A Systematic Review
This review aims to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive, and systematic summary of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in building systems. The latter was performed through a defined systematic methodology with the final selection of 221 studies. This review provides insights into four topics: (1) glossary framework of the FDD processes; (2) a classification scheme using energy system terminologies as the starting point; (3) the data, code, and performance evaluation metrics used in the reviewed literature; and (4) future research outlooks. FDD is a known and well-developed field in the aerospace, energy, and automotive sector. Nevertheless, this study found that FDD for building systems is still at an early stage worldwide. This was evident through the ongoing development of algorithms for detecting and diagnosing faults in building systems and the inconsistent use of the terminologies and definitions. In addition, there was an apparent lack of data statements in the reviewed articles, which compromised the reproducibility, and thus the practical development in this field. Furthermore, as data drove the research activity, the found dataset repositories and open code are also presented in this review. Finally, all data and documentation presented in this review are open and available in a GitHub repository
Regional Longitudinal Myocardial Deformation Provides Incremental Prognostic Information in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Global longitudinal systolic strain (GLS) has recently been demonstrated to be a superior prognosticator to conventional echocardiographic measures in patients after myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of regional longitudinal myocardial deformation in comparison to GLS, conventional echocardiography and clinical information.In total 391 patients were admitted with ST-Segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention and subsequently examined by echocardiography. All patients were examined by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and two-dimensional strain echocardiography (2DSE).During a median-follow-up of 5.3 (IQR 2.5-6.1) years the primary endpoint (death, heart failure or a new MI) was reached by 145 (38.9%) patients. After adjustment for significant confounders (including conventional echocardiographic parameters) and culprit lesion, reduced longitudinal performance in the anterior septal and inferior myocardial regions (but not GLS) remained independent predictors of the combined outcome. Furthermore, inferior myocardial longitudinal deformation provided incremental prognostic information to clinical and conventional echocardiographic information (Harrell's c-statistics: 0.63 vs. 0.67, p = 0.032). In addition, impaired longitudinal deformation outside the culprit lesion perfusion region was significantly associated with an adverse outcome (p<0.05 for all deformation parameters).Regional longitudinal myocardial deformation measures, regardless if determined by TDI or 2DSE, are superior prognosticators to GLS. In addition, impaired longitudinal deformation in the inferior myocardial segment provides prognostic information over and above clinical and conventional echocardiographic risk factors. Furthermore, impaired longitudinal deformation outside the culprit lesion perfusion region seems to be a paramount marker of adverse outcome
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