Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate change and broadacre livestock production across southern Australia. 3. Adaptation options via livestock genetic improvement

Climate change is predicted to reduce the productivity of the broadacre livestock industries across southern Australia; to date there has been no formal evaluation of the potential of genetic improvement in cattle or sheep to ameliorate the impacts of changing climates. We used the GRAZPLAN simulation models to assess selection of five traits of sheep and cattle as adaptation options under the SRES A2 global change scenario. Analysis of the breeding strategies was carried out for 25 representative locations, five livestock enterprises and three future years (2030, 2050, 2070). Uncertainty in future climates was taken into account by considering projected climates from four global circulation models. For three sheep enterprises, breeding for greater fleece growth (at constant body size) was predicted to produce the greatest improvements in forage conversion efficiency, and so it was the most effective genetic adaptation option. For beef cow and steer enterprises, breeding for larger body size was most effective; for beef cows, however, this conclusion relied on per-animal costs (including provision of bulls) remaining stable as body size increases. Increased conception rates proved to be less effective but potentially viable as an adaptation in beef cow and crossbred ewe enterprises. In the southern Australian environments that were analysed, our modelling suggests that breeding for tolerance to heat stress is unlikely to improve the performance of livestock production systems even at 2070. Genetic improvement of livestock was able to recover much less of the impact of climate change on profitability at drier locations where the need for adaptation is likely to be greatest. Combinations of feedbase and livestock genetic adaptations are likely to complement one another as the former alter the amount of forage that can be consumed, while the latter affect the efficiency with which consumed forage is converted to animal products. Climate change impacts on pasture production across southern Australia are likely to have only small effects on methane emissions intensity, as are a range of candidate genetic and feedbase adaptations to climate change; methane emissions per hectare in future climates will therefore be driven mainly by changes in livestock numbers due to alterations in pasture productivity.
Field Monitoring and Hygrothermal Modeling of Interior Basement Insulation Systems

Interior insulation of basement walls has been linked to moisture accumulation, damage, and mold growth within the vulnerable portions of the assembly. Four basement interior insulation wall systems were installed and monitored in a house in a cold climate; these assemblies included those with and without polyethylene vapor control layers, as well as extruded polystyrene foam for comparison. Measurements indicated that summertime inward vapor drive occurs in the above-grade portions of the walls, but that an interior vapor control layer reduces the amount of moisture transmitted from the interior in the winter. However, both framed walls showed wood moisture content levels within acceptable limits, with and without polyethylene. The measured boundary conditions from field monitoring were then used in onedimensional hygrothermal simulations. Validation simulations were performed, followed by extrapolations that varied interior conditions, assemblies, and climate location. The validity of this simulation tool for designing interior basement insulation assemblies is discussed. building science.com
Launcher Performance in the DIII‐D ECH System

The thermal performance of three different designs for the steerable mirrors on the ECH launchers installed in the DIII‐D tokamak has been evaluated theoretically and experimentally. In each case the disruption forces must be minimized while providing a low loss reflecting surface. One design uses all Glidcop® material, but shaped so that the center is appreciably thicker than the edge. A second design is graphite with a molybdenum surface brazed to the graphite. The latest design is laminated copper/stainless steel construction with a thin copper reflecting surface. All three mirrors employ passive radiative cooling. The mirror temperatures are measured by resistance temperature devices (RTDs) which are attached at the back surfaces of the mirrors. The temperature increases are moderate for the laminated mirror, which has the best overall performance.
The first detection of neutral hydrogen in emission in a strong spiral lens

We report HI observations of eight spiral galaxies that are strongly lensing background sources. Our targets were selected from the Sloan WFC (Wide Field Camera) Edge-on Late-type Lens Survey (SWELLS) using the Arecibo, Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, and Green Bank telescopes. We securely detect J1703+2451 at z=0.063 with a signal-to-noise of 6.7 and W50=79+/-13 km/s, obtaining the first detection of HI emission in a strong spiral lens. We measure a mass of M(HI)= 1.77+/-0.06(+0.35/-0.75) x 10^9 M_(sol) for this source. We find that this lens is a normal spiral, with observable properties that are fairly typical of spiral galaxies. For three other sources we did not secure a detection; however, we are able to place strong constraints on the HI masses of those galaxies. The observations for four of our sources were rendered unusable due to strong radio frequency interference.
The role of satisfaction in cultural activities’ word-of-mouth. A case study in the Picasso Museum of Málaga (Spain)

Word of mouth has become a relevant area of research in tourism activities in the last decades. However, the effects on this recommendation of tourists’ emotions is an underdeveloped area, particularly in cultural tourism. This tourism is the second most important segment in terms of numbers of tourist arrivals in countries with significant tourism, such as Spain. Taking stock of the recent advances in cultural tourism, this paper explores the specific factors that affect word of mouth in museums. As a novel approach, an experiment (painting a self-portrait) with 127 international visitors was conducted in a famous museum (Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain). The participants painted themselves in a self-portrait. The results show that strengthening pleasure and activation of emotions in tourists when they are conducting cultural activities has a positive effect on their satisfaction, affecting this positively the word of mouth about the museum.
Lexical Access in L2 Speech Production: a controlled serial search task

When it comes to lexical access in L2 speech production, working memory (WM) seems to play a central role as for less automatized procedures require more WM capacity to be executed (Prebianca, 2007). With that in mind, this paper aims at claiming that bilingual lexical access qualifies as a controlled serial strategic search task susceptible to individual differences in WM capacity. Evidence in support of such claim is provided by the results of AUTHOR's (2010) study conducted so as to investigate the relationship between L2 lexical access, WMC and L2 proficiency. AUTHOR's (2010) findings indicate that bilingual lexical access entails underlying processes such as cue generation, set delimitation, serial search and monitoring, which to be carried out, require the allocation of attention. Attention is limited and, as a result, only higher spans were able to perform these underlying processes automatically.
Resilience Safety Culture

Safety culture may be seen as the oil necessary for an efficient safety management system. During the work in HILAS SMS task force some weaknesses in the use of safety culture in practice were identified. A work stream was initiated to identify further weaknesses and suggest remedies for them. The objective of this paper is to discuss some of the weaknesses and propose mitigations. A major suggestion is to actively look for „holes‟ in the safety culture and mitigate them. The „holes‟ could be low-score groups, low-score aspects of safety culture, and critical time-windows. Also the efforts by top management may need to be improved. Also means for feed forward control should be used and further developed as proposed by the new school of resilience engineering. Also when problems with long questionnaires are too big shorter questionnaires could be used complemented by interviews and studies of behaviour and artefacts. (Less)
Relationship between Motivation, Academic Self-concept and Academic Achievement amongst Students at a Ghanaian Technical University

Purpose- This study explores the relationship between motivation, academic self-concept and academic achievement amongst Sunyani Technical University students. Gender differences between academic self-concept, motivation and academic achievement were also investigated. Design/methodology/approach- The study utilized a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to collect data from 193 final year Higher National Diploma students from four faculties at the university, using simple random sampling techniques. Criterion for academic achievement was a mark which students themselves reported. Data were analyzed using SPSS16 by means of Pearson Correlation coefficient Finding- The study found that there were significant correlations between academic self-concept, motivation and academic achievement of students. It was also found that female students are significantly more motivated than their male counterparts. Conclusion: The study concludes that the findings justify the importance of academic self-concept and motivation to academic achievement. Some recommendations were made regarding the enhancement of academic self-concept and motivation amongst students to improve their performance. Value/originality- Since the study is first of its kind critically exploring the relationship between motivation, academic self-concept and academic achievement amongst students at a Ghanaian Technical University, management in the tertiary sector may find the findings and conclusions useful. The findings trigger more research interests among scholars who might be interested in the field of human resource management.
Large eddy simulations of the flow around high-speed trains cruising inside tunnels

Stability and ride comfort of high-speed rolling stock are, for reasons of external aerodynamics, dependent on the external design in conjunction with properties of the vehicle dynamics and the design of the infrastructure, herein referring to the confining tunnel walls. It is a fact that some Japanese high-speed trains are quite prone to tail vehicle vibrations only inside tunnels, while (to the authors' knowledge) other nation's comparable train systems are not. In this context the current work describes our results of external aerodynamics, calculated with large eddy simulations, about two simplified train models inside two double track tunnels with comparable blockage ratio. These models are based on the German Inter-City Express 2 and the Japanese Series 300 Shinkansen trains. The focal points of this study are the origin of unsteady aerodynamic tail forces, their spectral characteristics and the impact of spontaneously emerging coherent flow structures adjacent to the train's surfaces. Full scale tests of the above trains have shown that only the Shinkansen train is subjected to a reduced ride comfort inside tunnels, with a quite obvious lateral vibration at about 2 Hz at top speed (300 km/h). Our unsteady flow calculations have successfully predicted the more detrimental lateral aerodynamic forces. In addition, a spectral analysis of the unsteady side force resulted in a quite prominent frequency at the Strouhal number of 0.09 (based on the speed and height of the train), which correlates well with the Japanese full scale tests.
Geographic Concentration and Vertical Disintegration: Evidence from China

Existing theoretical literature predicts that geographic concentration encourages vertical disintegration of firms. Nevertheless, empirical evidence of this prediction is limited, especially in developing countries. Using data on manufacturing firms from China, this paper documents a positive correlation between geographic concentration and vertical disintegration. Additionally, this paper uses the instrumental variable approach to address the issue of endogeneity and finds that geographic concentration has a positive causal effect on vertical disintegration.
Supplementation of dairy cows with bovine somatotropin or omega-3 rich fish oil affects the endometrial expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors.

Aim: The study objectives were to determine whether dietary supplementation with long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the form of enriched fish oil (FO) for 90 days or treatment with bovine somatotropin (bST) at the time of ovulation and 11 days post-ovulation influenced PPAR expression and activation in bovine endometrium in Holstein cows. Materials and Methods: Non-lactating cows were assigned to one of four treatments: cyclic, cyclic-bST, pregnant or pregnant-bST. Lactating cows were assigned to one of six treatments: cyclic, cyclic-bST, pregnant, pregnant-bST, cyclic-FO or cyclic-FO-bST. Results: Northern and Western blot analyses indicated that PPARα and PPARδ, but not PPARγ, are expressed in endometrium from all cows at day 17 post-ovulation. Treatment with bST is associated with increased PPARδ mRNA abundance in pregnant but not cyclic cows, suggesting that the effect may be mediated by the embryo. Increased abundances of PPARα mRNA are observed in response to bST during pregnancy in lactating cows but not in non-lactating cows, highlighting the importance of lactation status in determining bST response. Fish oil supplementation is associated with reduced PPARδ mRNA abundance, but did not affect steady-state PPARα mRNA abundance. PPARδ protein is expressed in the luminal epithelium, glandular epithelium, subepithelial stroma and to a lesser extent in the adluminal stroma. Anti-PPARδ reactivity is reduced in response to bST and fish oil treatments in pregnant cows. Conclusion: bST and fish oil treatments affect endometrial PPARα and PPARδ expression in lactating dairy cows.
Intra-seasonal variation of anthropometrical , conditional , and technical tests in U 14 soccer players

This study aimed to analyze the annual variation of soccer players abilities assessed by means of a field-battery test administered six times during an entire competitive season (from T0 to T5). Anthropometric (i.e., body mass, stature, and body mass index), soccer skill (i.e., touch with the body, touch with the head, passing, shooting, dribbling with pass, and dribbling) and functional capacities (i.e., counter-movement jump with and without free arms, and speed) tests were submitted to 33 Under-14 soccer players. A general improvement across the season as confirmed by the rising effects from 0.3 (T2) to 0.6 (T5) was showed. The technical skills (except touch with the head and dribbling) and functional tests showed significant differences (p < 0.001) between T0 and T5 but they were not dependent by the exposure to training. This study underlined that the skills’ development in youth soccer players are not linear due to the effects of the growth and maturation. In order to optimize this process, in-season assessment are needed. Finally, programs and decisions promoted by coaches and scouts aimed to the development of youth soccer players should be inspired by the potential results that might be achieved by players.
MODELING THE MODULATION OF GALACTIC AND JOVIAN ELECTRONS BY STOCHASTIC PROCESSES

We present a newly developed numerical modulation model to study the transport of galactic and Jovian electrons in the heliosphere. The model employs stochastic differential equations (SDEs) to solve the corresponding transport equation in five dimensions (time, energy, and three spatial dimensions) which is difficult to accomplish with the numerical schemes used in finite difference models. Modeled energy spectra for galactic electrons are compared for the two drift cycles to observations at Earth. Energy spectra and radial intensity profiles of galactic and Jovian electrons are compared successfully to results from previous studies. In line with general drift considerations, it is found that most 100 MeV electrons observed at Earth enter the heliosphere near the equatorial regions in the A > 0 cycle, while they enter mainly over the polar regions in the A < 0 cycle. Our results indicate that 100 MeV electrons observed at Earth originate at the heliopause with ∼600 MeV undergoing adiabatic cooling during their transport to Earth. The mean propagation time of these particles varies between ∼180 and 300 days, depending on the drift cycle. For 10 MeV Jovian electrons observed at Earth, a mean propagation time of ∼40 days is obtained. During this time, the azimuthal position of the Jovian magnetosphere varies by ∼1°. At a 50 AU observational point, the mean propagation time of these electrons increases to ∼370 days with an azimuthal position change of Jupiter of ∼20°. The SDE approach is very effective in calculating these propagation times.
Labour adjustment in agriculture: Assessing the heterogeneity across transition countries

A standard model of labour adjustment in times of economic transition assumes a constant impact of variables like sectoral income differences, unemployment or the relative size of the agricultural sector. This paper shows for a panel of 29 European and Asian transition countries that the standard model fails to take the heterogeneity of determinants of sectoral labour adjustment properly into account. A random coefficients model reveals quite heterogeneous influences of the intersectoral income ratio, the relative size of agricultural employment, the unemployment rate, and the general level of economic development on a measure of sectoral labour adjustment across transition countries. Moreover, for selected determinants the estimated coefficients show opposing signs.
Mathematical models of nonlinear uniform consensus

We consider a nonlinear protocol for a structured time-invariant and synchronous multi-agent system. In the multi-agent system, we present opinion sharing dynamics as a trajectory of a cubic triple stochastic matrix. We provide a criterion for a uniform consensus of the multi-agent system. We show that the multi-agent system eventually reaches a consensus if either one of the following two conditions is satisfied: (i) every member of the group people has a positive subjective opinion on the given task after some revision steps or (ii) all entries of the given cubic triple stochastic matrix are positive.
Quantifying Cumulative Entrainment Effects for Chinook Salmon in a Heavily Irrigated Watershed

Abstract Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. experience multiple small-scale disturbances throughout their freshwater habitat, but the cumulative effect of these disturbances is often not known or not easily quantifiable. One such disturbance is water diversions, which can entrain fish and alter streamflow regimes. Threatened Lemhi River (Idaho) Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha smolts encounter 41–71 water diversions during their out-migration. We used passive integrated transponder tag data to model the entrainment rate of Chinook salmon smolts as a function of the proportion of water removed by an irrigation diversion. Under median-streamflow conditions with unscreened diversions, the estimated cumulative effect of the diversions was a loss of 71.1% of out-migrating smolts due to entrainment. This is a large potential source of mortality, but screening is an effective mitigation strategy, as estimated mortality was reduced to 1.9% when all diversions were screened. If resources are limited, targeting the dive.
Programmable Toys and Free Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

This paper reports on a study that investigated the ways that young children interact with familiar discrete programmable digital toys (e.g. robots) in a free play setting. This was designed to meet some of the requirements of the Digital Technologies subject in the Australian Curriculum. The study was implemented in two phases in consecutive years involving teachers and students in two early childhood classes. Researchers worked with the teachers to provide the children with opportunities to use two types of digital toys. The children were observed as they interacted with these toys and their interactions analysed using a checklist of behaviours. It was found that without some intentional teaching the children did not demonstrate ‘programming skills’. However, they did then demonstrate motivation, engagement, and increased proficiency with the devices.
ADJUSTING THE IP β FUNCTIONS IN RHIC

The β-functions at the IP can be adjusted without perturbation of other optics functions via several approaches. In this paper we describe a scheme based on a vector knob, which assigns fixed values to the different tuning quadrupoles and scales them by a common multiplier. The values for the knob vector were calculated for a lattice without any errors using MADX. Previous studies for the LHC [1] have shown that this approach can meet the design goals. A specific feature of the RHIC lattice is the nested power supply system. To cope with the resulting problems a detailed response matrix analysis has been carried out and different sets of knobs were calculated and compared. The knobs were tested at RHIC during the 2004 run and preliminary results are discussed. Simultaneously a new approach to measure the beam sizes of both colliding beams at the IP, based on the tunability provided by the knobs, was developed and tested.
Experimenting with C2 Applications and Federated Infrastructures for Integrated Full-Spectrum Operational Environments in Support of Collaborative Planning and Interoperable Execution

Abstract : In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, and execution of and the results obtained from the SINCE experiment 1a (SINCEx1a). The goals of this experiment were (a) to test and verify the information exchange among all of the US and German systems connected in the experimentation environment, and (b) to demonstrate and validate with military user participation that the C2 functionality implemented was adequate to support future planned operational experiment, SINCEx1b. SINCEx1a implementation followed, adopted and adapted a code of best practice approach for experimentation. Both adopted features and adapted elements are summarized herein. Clearly, many compromises had to be made considering the limited resources and budget available. Many trade-offs were made in establishing a balance between (a) developing the infrastructure not only for SINCEx1a but for the planned follow-on experiments and (b) developing the SINCEx1a experimental configuration that was finally used in the conduct of the actual experiment.