Usability improvements of the Thermipig model for precision pig farming

Pig livestock farming systems encounter several economic and environmental challenges, connected with meat price decrease, sanitary norms, emissions etc. To deal with these issues, methods and models to assess the performance of a pig production system have been developed. For instance, Thermipig model represents the pig fattening room and simulates performances of pigs at the batch level, taking into account interactions between the individual variability of pigs, farmer's practices, room characteristics and outdoor climate conditions. The model requires some static basic inputs fulfilled in several spreadsheets (such as rooms, pigs, and dietary characteristics) but also data files for voluminous variable inputs (such as outdoor temperature or climate control box parameters) for further modelling and outcome producing. This leads to challenges in data providing by the farmers and have to be improved. This paper deals with the implementation of the separate modules of the developed data warehouse system for usability improvements of the Thermipig model. The idea is to substitute input from the data files with online data input and automated variable processing by the model using the python script for connection to the remote data warehouse. The data warehouse system is extended with ‘Property Sets’ section dealing with all the operations that can be performed to a set of input variables. This approach demonstrates the ability of the data warehouse to act as data supplier for the remote model. As well the outcome of the model is also transferable back to the data warehouse for evaluation. This work is done within the Era-Net SuSan PigSys project - Improving pig system performance through a whole system approach

Cortical functioning in children with developmental coordination disorder:a motor overflow study

This study examined brain activation in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to reveal areas that may contribute to poor movement execution and/or abundant motor overflow. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, 13 boys with DCD (mean age = 9.6 years ±0.8) and 13 typically developing controls (mean age = 9.3 years ±0.6) were scanned performing two tasks (finger sequencing and hand clenching) with their dominant hand, while a four-finger motion sensor recorded contralateral motor overflow on their non-dominant hand. Despite displaying increased motor overflow on both functional tasks during scanning, there were no obvious activation deficits in the DCD group to explain the abundant motor overflow seen. However, children with DCD were found to display decreased activation in the left superior frontal gyrus on the finger-sequencing task, an area which plays an integral role in executive and spatially oriented processing. Decreased activation was also seen in the left inferior frontal gyrus, an area typically active during the observation and imitation of hand movements. Finally, increased activation in the right postcentral gyrus was seen in children with DCD, which may reflect increased reliance on somatosensory information during the execution of complex fine motor tasks

The effect of motor load on planning and inhibition in developmental coordination disorder

Previous research has reported mixed findings regarding executive function (EF) abilities in developmental coordination disorder (DCD), which is diagnosed on the basis of significant impairments in motor skills. The current study aimed to assess whether these differences in study outcomes could result from the relative motor loads of the tasks used to assess EF in DCD. Children with DCD had significant difficulties on measures of inhibition and planning compared to a control group, although there were no significant correlations between motor skills and EF task performance in either group. The complexity of the response, as well as the component skills required in EF tasks, should be considered in future research to ensure easier comparison across studies and a better understanding of EF in DCD over development

Executive difficulties in Developmental Coordination Disorder: Methodological issues and future directions

Motor skills and cognition have often been studied separately, but there is increasing understanding of the close relationship between these abilities over development. Motor coordination difficulties are central to the diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), and recent evidence suggests that certain cognitive processes, known as ‘executive functions’, may be affected in individuals with this neurodevelopmental disorder. In this article, we review the research concerning executive functions in DCD, considering behavioural, neuroimaging and questionnaire studies of a range of processes. We highlight methodological issues relating to our current understanding of executive functioning difficulties in DCD, including problems with interpretation of results based on the tasks used. We suggest future directions for research in this area, including the relationship of laboratory research to interventions within ‘real-world’ contexts

Association between Hypothermia in the First Day of Life and Survival in the Preterm Infant

International audienceObjective: Hypothermia is associated with elevated mortality in the preterm infant. The preterm infant's thermoregulatory capacity is limited, and the thermal environment in an incubator is often perturbed by nursing procedures. We evaluated the incidence of a postnatal low body temperature and hypothermia in preterm infants and its association with mortality. Methods: We measured the lowest body temperature during the first 24 h of life (TBody Nadir 24h) and hypothermia (TBody Nadir 24h < 36.0 ° C) in preterm infants (gestational age: 230\textendash 316 weeks) in a neonatal intensive care unit. Prenatal and neonatal characteristics associated with mortality were identified in univariate and multivariable analyses. Results: A total of 102 preterm infants were included, with a mean gestational age at birth of 28.4 ± 2.3 weeks. The incidence of hypothermia during the first 24 h was 53%. A Cox multivariate regression model indicated that TBody Nadir 24h (hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval]: 0.57 [0.36\textendash 0.90]; P = 0.017), gestational age (0.62 [0.50\textendash 0.76]; P < 0.001), and amine use (4.55 [2.01\textendash 10.28]; P = 0.001) were significantly associated with mortality. When considering a threshold for TBody Nadir 24h, a value of 35.0 ° C had the highest HR (3.30 [1.42\textendash 7.68]; P < 0.01). Conclusion: In preterm infants, the incidence of hypothermia during the first 24 h of life was 53%. TBody Nadir 24h had an influence on mortality, independently of other factors (notably birth weight and amine use). Within the framework of a quality improvement strategy, the implementation of a thermoregulation bundle is required to prevent hypothermia and decrease mortality in preterm infants. \textcopyright 2021 French Society of Pediatric

Análise da utilização de cerâmica vermelha como adsorvente na remoção do corante têxtil Direct Blue de uma solução aquosa

A adsorção tem sido estudada como alternativa para tratamento de efluentes têxteis contendo corantestóxicos, carcinogênicos, mutagênicos e que interferem no equilíbrio dos ecossistemas aquáticos ao seremlançados no ambiente sem adequado tratamento prévio. Este problema é agravado pois até 50% daquantidade de corante aplicado nas etapas de tingimento e de lavagem não se fixa às fibras dos tecidos. Oobjetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a remoção de cor de uma solução aquosa contendo o corante direct blue, naconcentração inicial de 5 g/L, através da adsorção em cerâmica vermelha. Para isto, foram selecionadas asfaixas de diâmetro de 1,21 mm a 2,4 mm e de 2,41 mm a 4,8 mm e as massas de 200, 250 e 300 g doadsorvente para cada faixa. Os ensaios foram conduzidos sob agitação constante de 120 rpm a temperaturaambiente, com duração total de 5 horas, para avaliar o desempenho da adsorção a partir dos valores obtidospara remoção de cor. Além disto, os resultados foram ajustados aos modelos cinéticos de pseudo-primeiraordem e pseudo-segunda ordem de Lagergren. Em todas as configurações experimentais avaliadas, oequilíbrio se deu após a primeira hora de ensaio e as remoções de cor variaram de 98,2% a 99,5%. Do pontode vista da capacidade de adsorção por massa de adsorvente, os melhores resultados foram verificados commassa de 200 g do adsorvente. Constatou-se ainda que os resultados foram moderadamente mais efetivos nafaixa de menor de diâmetro com desempenho 0,5% superior à faixa de maiores diâmetros. O modelo cinéticode pseudo-segunda ordem se ajustou melhor aos resultados experimentais quando comparado ao de pseudoprimeiraordem. Foi possível concluir através da pesquisa que a cerâmica de argila adquirida na RegiãoMetropolitana de Curitiba foi um material efetivo na remoção do corante Direct Blue de uma solução aquosa