title: Applying machine learning to agricultural data

authors: McQueen, Robert J.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Many techniques have been developed for abstracting, or "learning," rules and relationships from diverse data sets, in the hope that machines can help in the often tedious and error-prone process of acquiring knowledge from empirical data. While these techniques are plausible, theoretically well-founded, and perform well on more or less artificial test data sets, they stand or fall on their ability to make sense of real-world data. This paper describes a project that is applying a range of learning strategies to problems in primary industry, in particular agriculture and horticulture. We briefly survey some of the more readily applicable techniques that are emerging from the machine learning research community, describe a software workbench that allows users to experiment with a variety of techniques on real-world data sets, and detail the problems encountered and solutions developed in a case study of dairy herd management in which culling rules were inferred from a medium-sized database of herd information.

text: Applying machine learning to agricultural data Many techniques have been developed for abstracting, or "learning," rules and relationships from diverse data sets, in the hope that machines can help in the often tedious and error-prone process of acquiring knowledge from empirical data. While these techniques are plausible, theoretically well-founded, and perform well on more or less artificial test data sets, they stand or fall on their ability to make sense of real-world data. This paper describes a project that is applying a range of learning strategies to problems in primary industry, in particular agriculture and horticulture. We briefly survey some of the more readily applicable techniques that are emerging from the machine learning research community, describe a software workbench that allows users to experiment with a variety of techniques on real-world data sets, and detail the problems encountered and solutions developed in a case study of dairy herd management in which culling rules were inferred from a medium-sized database of herd information.

year: 1994-07

title: An investigation of beryllium coordination chemistry using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

authors: Raymond, Onyekachi

subjects: Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

abstract: The electrospray ionisation mass spectrometric behaviour of various complexes of beryllium have been investigated in this thesis. These beryllium complexes were prepared in situ on a small scale by preparing appropriate molar mixtures of the Be²⁺ ion with ligands in a range of solvent systems. In view of the toxicity of beryllium compounds, this combinatorial type screening, involving miniscule amounts of material in solution, proved to be a safe strategy to pursue the coordination chemistry of beryllium. 
          Starting from simple beryllium compounds which include the metal salts (Chapter 2), the speciation and hydrolysis of beryllium ions in aqueous solution have been studied over a pH range of 2.5-6.0 using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Ions observed by ESI-MS revealed that the speciation of beryllium with hydroxide ligands in solution was preserved into the gas phase via charge reduction by ion pairing with the salt anion. The pH-dependent hydrolytic tendencies of the Be²⁺ cation presented as an ESI-MS speciation diagram for beryllium hydrolysis is in good agreement with previous speciation data which indicates the ability of ESI-MS as a quick, sensitive and safe screening technique for observing beryllium speciation with ligands of interest at low concentrations. Collision induced dissociation patterns further confirmed that the trimer [Be₃(OH)₃]³⁺ is the most stable beryllium hydroxido-aggregate arrangement while the pronounced ion pairing of the beryllium cation with the sulfato ligand yielded additional beryllium ion cluster arrangements such as Be₃ (μ₃-O) aggregate and mixed sulfato-/hydroxido- species. These ions were further investigated using computational techniques simulated in the gas and aqueous environment which allowed for the first time, the molecular dynamics simulations of the ligand exchange processes of the Be²⁺ cation (Chapter 3). A major finding from the ab initio molecular simulations was that hydrogen bonding was relevant in stabilising the tetraaquaberyllium complex in beryllium solutions. Therefore, in the gas phase where the solvation shell of such beryllium species is very much compromised, the formation of inner-sphere complexes is commonplace as observed from the ion signal assignment in the ESI mass spectra. While these extraneous species may not be an exact representation of the solution state, these ions provided insight into plausible modes of beryllium aggregation that are not otherwise easily investigated. 
          Building on these results, a variety of beryllium complexes was generated with various ligands in solutions and subjected to detailed characterisation by ESIMS. These ligands containing functional groups or architecture of interest, varied from simple monodentate ligands such as the acetate ion to more common beryllium chelators including 1,3-diketone, hydroxy keto, malonic acid, chromotropic acid and crown ethers (Chapter 4). Generally, there was an excellent correlation between the species observed in the mass spectrum and those confirmed to exist in solution by other techniques. This lent strong credence to the ESI-MS methodology used as an efficient analytical technique for the easy screening of a diverse range of potential ligands for the divalent beryllium ion.  
          A fundamental issue in beryllium research is the search for suitable chelating ligands for environmental and biomedical application. Therefore, the ESIMS methodology was further employed to investigate several multidentate aminopolycarboxylic acids which are well-known commercial and biomedical chelating agents (Chapter 5). Notable among these are the nitrilotripropionic acid (NTP) and related tetradentate ligands designed towards the full encapsulation of the Be²⁺ cation. Stoichiometric information which was readily obtained from the ESI mass spectra was found to be effective for the preliminary screening of potential encapsulation by tetradentate coordination from a single ligand. Lastly, to corroborate ESI-MS speciation results, beryllium complexes with these class of ligands were synthesised on a larger scale and characterised by ⁹Be NMR and single-crystal X-ray crystallography.

text: An investigation of beryllium coordination chemistry using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry The electrospray ionisation mass spectrometric behaviour of various complexes of beryllium have been investigated in this thesis. These beryllium complexes were prepared in situ on a small scale by preparing appropriate molar mixtures of the Be²⁺ ion with ligands in a range of solvent systems. In view of the toxicity of beryllium compounds, this combinatorial type screening, involving miniscule amounts of material in solution, proved to be a safe strategy to pursue the coordination chemistry of beryllium. 
          Starting from simple beryllium compounds which include the metal salts (Chapter 2), the speciation and hydrolysis of beryllium ions in aqueous solution have been studied over a pH range of 2.5-6.0 using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Ions observed by ESI-MS revealed that the speciation of beryllium with hydroxide ligands in solution was preserved into the gas phase via charge reduction by ion pairing with the salt anion. The pH-dependent hydrolytic tendencies of the Be²⁺ cation presented as an ESI-MS speciation diagram for beryllium hydrolysis is in good agreement with previous speciation data which indicates the ability of ESI-MS as a quick, sensitive and safe screening technique for observing beryllium speciation with ligands of interest at low concentrations. Collision induced dissociation patterns further confirmed that the trimer [Be₃(OH)₃]³⁺ is the most stable beryllium hydroxido-aggregate arrangement while the pronounced ion pairing of the beryllium cation with the sulfato ligand yielded additional beryllium ion cluster arrangements such as Be₃ (μ₃-O) aggregate and mixed sulfato-/hydroxido- species. These ions were further investigated using computational techniques simulated in the gas and aqueous environment which allowed for the first time, the molecular dynamics simulations of the ligand exchange processes of the Be²⁺ cation (Chapter 3). A major finding from the ab initio molecular simulations was that hydrogen bonding was relevant in stabilising the tetraaquaberyllium complex in beryllium solutions. Therefore, in the gas phase where the solvation shell of such beryllium species is very much compromised, the formation of inner-sphere complexes is commonplace as observed from the ion signal assignment in the ESI mass spectra. While these extraneous species may not be an exact representation of the solution state, these ions provided insight into plausible modes of beryllium aggregation that are not otherwise easily investigated. 
          Building on these results, a variety of beryllium complexes was generated with various ligands in solutions and subjected to detailed characterisation by ESIMS. These ligands containing functional groups or architecture of interest, varied from simple monodentate ligands such as the acetate ion to more common beryllium chelators including 1,3-diketone, hydroxy keto, malonic acid, chromotropic acid and crown ethers (Chapter 4). Generally, there was an excellent correlation between the species observed in the mass spectrum and those confirmed to exist in solution by other techniques. This lent strong credence to the ESI-MS methodology used as an efficient analytical technique for the easy screening of a diverse range of potential ligands for the divalent beryllium ion.  
          A fundamental issue in beryllium research is the search for suitable chelating ligands for environmental and biomedical application. Therefore, the ESIMS methodology was further employed to investigate several multidentate aminopolycarboxylic acids which are well-known commercial and biomedical chelating agents (Chapter 5). Notable among these are the nitrilotripropionic acid (NTP) and related tetradentate ligands designed towards the full encapsulation of the Be²⁺ cation. Stoichiometric information which was readily obtained from the ESI mass spectra was found to be effective for the preliminary screening of potential encapsulation by tetradentate coordination from a single ligand. Lastly, to corroborate ESI-MS speciation results, beryllium complexes with these class of ligands were synthesised on a larger scale and characterised by ⁹Be NMR and single-crystal X-ray crystallography.

year: 2018

title: The Wairua of Self: A Path of Love, Simplicity, and Connectedness

authors: Frishman, Lezlie

subjects: love

abstract: Love is an action of freedom until something else steps in – often fear – that insists we create a box of survival. Whether self-imposed, forced, or chosen, it is interesting to notice how we limit ourselves with love. This thesis examines love; love in its purest intent and creation as the simplest way to live. An analysis of personal experiences, illuminated by psychological, mythological, philosophical, and spiritual literature, suggests that living from a place of love can be accomplished through a dedicated journeying back to the Self. The Māori myth of Tāne-Mahuta and Hine-Tītama shows the significance of releasing shame, as well as how a tragic situation might offer a catalytic possibility that shifts a core belief about one’s self. The complications of love that are self-created through loss and grief can easily mask the barely underlying truth of love in its nakedness. Reconnecting with this underlying truth, aroha in its purest sense, is essential for healing and allows for increased connection with the Divine. Doing so is often a difficult task, as hypocrisies fueled by fear and perpetuated by blame are bountiful. When love is used as an instrument and convenience in order to defend a closely held idea, person, or way of life, one often moves further from their true Self, thus surrendering their deepest power and knowing of love. The silent assault of expectations, power, will, and control can turn love into a complication. The complications of being utterly human only serve to further obscure love. Within families, how one initially learns love is often complicated by interrupted attachment, causing rebellion and the need to look for love elsewhere. The components of Tikkun Olam, aroha, mikveh, and wairua of spirit, are intertwined and interconnected, such that the delineation between cultures and spiritual beliefs cannot be divided as oppositional forces. The denominator lives in the magnitude of love for all that has been created; beginning with the Self. In setting the foundation of self-love and allowing it to settle into the fractures and rifts of porousness, love may then be extended without attachment. When freely proffered without agenda, love will seep into every curve of the universe; thus, changing the world. Through the practice of mindfulness and loving-kindness, perception can change. It is this change in perception which can return love to its origin of simplicity. This thesis is a story of love.

text: The Wairua of Self: A Path of Love, Simplicity, and Connectedness Love is an action of freedom until something else steps in – often fear – that insists we create a box of survival. Whether self-imposed, forced, or chosen, it is interesting to notice how we limit ourselves with love. This thesis examines love; love in its purest intent and creation as the simplest way to live. An analysis of personal experiences, illuminated by psychological, mythological, philosophical, and spiritual literature, suggests that living from a place of love can be accomplished through a dedicated journeying back to the Self. The Māori myth of Tāne-Mahuta and Hine-Tītama shows the significance of releasing shame, as well as how a tragic situation might offer a catalytic possibility that shifts a core belief about one’s self. The complications of love that are self-created through loss and grief can easily mask the barely underlying truth of love in its nakedness. Reconnecting with this underlying truth, aroha in its purest sense, is essential for healing and allows for increased connection with the Divine. Doing so is often a difficult task, as hypocrisies fueled by fear and perpetuated by blame are bountiful. When love is used as an instrument and convenience in order to defend a closely held idea, person, or way of life, one often moves further from their true Self, thus surrendering their deepest power and knowing of love. The silent assault of expectations, power, will, and control can turn love into a complication. The complications of being utterly human only serve to further obscure love. Within families, how one initially learns love is often complicated by interrupted attachment, causing rebellion and the need to look for love elsewhere. The components of Tikkun Olam, aroha, mikveh, and wairua of spirit, are intertwined and interconnected, such that the delineation between cultures and spiritual beliefs cannot be divided as oppositional forces. The denominator lives in the magnitude of love for all that has been created; beginning with the Self. In setting the foundation of self-love and allowing it to settle into the fractures and rifts of porousness, love may then be extended without attachment. When freely proffered without agenda, love will seep into every curve of the universe; thus, changing the world. Through the practice of mindfulness and loving-kindness, perception can change. It is this change in perception which can return love to its origin of simplicity. This thesis is a story of love.

year: 2011