Birth traits of Holstein calves compared with Holstein,Jersey, Montbéliarde,Normande, and Viking Red-sired crossbred calves

Holstein (HO) calves, 3-breed crossbred calves of Montbéliarde, Viking Red, and HO (MVH), and 3-breed crossbred calves of Normande, Jersey, and Viking Red (NJV) were compared for gestation length (GL), calf weight at birth (CW), calving difficulty (CD), and stillbirth (SB) in 2 research herds at the University of Minnesota. Calves were born from January 2009 to December 2019. For the St. Paul and Morris herds, HO calves (n = 1,121) were compared with MVH calves (n = 1,393) from primiparous and multiparous cows. For the single herd analysis at Morris, HO calves (n = 476), MVH calves (n = 922), and NJV calves (n = 405) were compared from primiparous and multiparous cows. Primiparous and multiparous births were analyzed separately because multiparous cows had multiple births, and CD and SB are likely different traits for primiparous and multiparous cows. Statistical analysis of GL, CW, CD, and SB included fixed effects of sex of calf, herd, breed group of calf, and year-season of calving. For the St. Paul and Morris herds, HO calves from primiparous (278 d) and multiparous (279 d) HO cows had shorter GL compared with MVH calves from primiparous (280 d) and multiparous (282 d) crossbred cows. The HO calves (39.4 and 43.2 kg, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous HO cows had lower CW compared with MVH calves (40.3 and 44.3 kg, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous crossbred cows. Calving difficulty and SB were not different for HO and MVH calves from primiparous and multiparous cows. For the single herd analysis at Morris, HO calves (278 and 279 d, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous HO cows had shorter GL compared with MVH calves (281 and 282 d, respectively) and NJV calves (282 and 282 d, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous crossbred cows. The CW of HO calves (38.6 and 42.0 kg, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous HO cows was lower compared with MVH calves (39.7 and 42.9 kg, respectively), but higher compared with NJV calves (35.1 and 38.0 kg, respectively) from primiparous and multiparous crossbred cows. Calving difficulty and SB did not differ for HO, MVH, and NJV calves from primiparous and multiparous cows. The longer GL for crossbred calves and higher CW for MVH calves did not increase CD and SB for primiparous and multiparous cows. Dairy producers may implement 3-breed rotational crossbreeding systems that include the HO, Jersey, Normande, Montbéliarde, and Viking Red breeds, and some breeds may increase GL and CW without an increase in CD and SB.     

Flow distribution and mass removal in floating treatment wetlands arranged in series and spanning the channel width

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) use plants’ roots for water quality improvement. The plants are supported by a buoyant structure deployed at the water surface. The roots form a porous zone beneath the structure and remove pollutants carried in suspension through filtering, absorption and uptake. This paper used CFD simulation to model FTWs arranged in series and spanning the channel width and to study the effects of root length and spacing between FTWs on flow distribution and mass removal. The root zone was modelled as a porous media, and removal was computed using first-order decay, for which a range of removal constants was tested. Longer roots increased the reactive volume of the root zone, which increased the fraction of pollutant inflow entering the FTWs. Increasing the distance between FTWs allowed greater mixing between water that went through and beneath the upstream FTW. This increased the concentration entering each FTW, which enhanced mass removal per FTW. However, a larger distance between FTWs reduced the number of FTWs in the channel, reducing the reactive volume. In the tradeoff between mixing and reactive volume, the reactive volume was more important, such that total removal in the channel increased with longer roots and more units of FTW (shorter gap distance). However, removing the gap entirely was detrimental, as FTWs in series removed more mass than a continuous FTW of same volume. This study points to two design recommendations for FTWs in series. First, if resources for building FTWs are not limiting, but the channel length is, it is preferable to prioritize higher reactive volume (shorter gap distance) to achieve maximum removal per channel length. Second, if resources for FTWs are limiting, but channel length is not, it is better to place the FTWs with a longer gap distance, preferably along enough to allow mixing over the full depth between FTWs, as this will achieve maximum removal per FTW.     

Gluten-free cakes with walnut flour: a technological,sensory, and microstructural approach

Walnut flour (WF), a by-product of walnut oil production, is characterised by high polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, and fibre contents and presents suitability for bakery products. However, when using non-traditional ingredients, it is essential to evaluate the effect on the quality properties of the final product. So, this work aimed to assess the impact of WF on the technological, physicochemical, and sensory properties of gluten-free (GF) cakes. WF was added at a flour blend (cassava (CS) and maize (MS) starches and rice flour) at 0, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The results showed that WF modified starch gelatinisation, increased amylose–lipid complex (ALC) content, and made crumbs easier to chew. Besides, the total dietary fibre (TDF) and protein content significantly increased. Cakes with 15% WF presented the highest specific volume (SV) and no differences in overall acceptability with respect to control. Hence, WF is a suitable ingredient for gluten-free bakery products.     

Influence of thermal runaway in styrene–acrylonitrile bulk copolymerization revealed by computational fluid dynamics modeling

The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and kinetic-based moment methods coupled approach is adopted to simulate the bulk copolymerization of styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN) in a stirred tank reactor. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the impacts of impeller speed, monomer ratio, initiator ratio, and initial reaction temperature on the copolymerization process and product properties. Particularly, the Chaos theory is selected as a criterion for evaluating the occurrence of the thermal runaway. The Flory's and Stockmayer's distributions are employed to calculate chain length distribution and copolymer composition distribution of copolymer. The simulation results highlight that the appearance of thermal runaway can be postponed by properly increasing the rotation speed, decreasing the initiator loadings, initial acrylonitrile contents and initial reactor temperature. Furthermore, significant differences exist in the product properties that predicted by the ideal and non-ideal models, which demonstrates that the temperature heterogeneity plays a crucial role in SAN copolymerization. This study could offer references for the safe operation and design of polymerization processes.     

Green Measurements for Software Product Based on Sustainability Dimensions

Software is a central component in the modern world and vastly affects the environment’s sustainability. The demand for energy and resource requirements is rising when producing hardware and software units. Literature study reveals that many studies focused on green hardware; however, limited efforts were made in the greenness of software products. Green software products are necessary to solve the issues and problems related to the long-term use of software, especially from a sustainability perspective. Without a proper mechanism for measuring the greenness of a particular software product executed in a specific environment, the mentioned benefits will not be attained. Currently, there are not enough works to address this problem, and the green status of software products is uncertain and unsure. This paper aims to identify the green measurements based on sustainable dimensions in a software product. The second objective is to reveal the relationships between the elements and measurements through empirical study. The study is conducted in two phases. The first phase is the theoretical phase, where the main components, measurements and practices that influence the sustainability of a software product are identified. The second phase is the empirical study that involved 103 respondents in Malaysia investigating current practices of green software in the industrial environment and further identifying the main sustainability dimensions and measurements and their impact on achieving green software products. This study has revealed seven green measurements of software product: Productivity, Usability, Cost Reduction, Employee Support, Energy Efficiency, Resource Efficiency and Tool Support. The relationships are statistically significant, with a significance level of less than 0.01 (p = 0.000). Thus, the hypothesised relationships were all accepted. The contributions of this study revolve around the research perspectives of the measurements to attain a green software product.     

Crystalline lens thickness change is associated with axial length elongation and myopia progression in orthokeratology

AimsConsidering individual variability in regards to the effects of orthokeratology (ortho-k) on myopia progression and controversies regarding the precise underlying mechanism, the aim of this study was to investigate several ocular measurements associated with axial length (AL) growth in children wearing ortho-k lenses.MethodsIn this retrospective chart review, medical records of 53 Chinese children who wore ortho-k lenses over the course of 12 months were reviewed. Baseline variables included age at initiation of ortho-k wear, refractive error (spherical equivalent, SE), central corneal thickness (CCT), and flat and steep keratometry of corneal principal meridians. The change of anterior chamber depth (ACD) and the change of crystalline lens thickness (CLT) between baseline and the 12-month follow-up were also analyzed. The contributions of all analyzed variables to AL change were assessed using univariate and multivariate regression analyses.ResultsInitially, the results of paired t-test showed that CLT and AL were significantly increased after 12 months of ortho-k wear compared with that at baseline (P = 0.001 and < 0.001). The ACD did not change significantly after 12 months compared with that at baseline (P = 0.491). Subsequently, univariate analyses showed that a reduced rate of AL elongation was found in children who were older age at initiation of ortho-k wear (P = 0.028), had greater SE (higher degree of myopia) at baseline (p = 0.006), had thicker CCT at baseline (P = 0.04), and had greater increase of CLT (P = 0.001) in 12 months. At last, only greater SE (higher degree of myopia) and greater increase of CLT were associated with smaller increases of AL in multivariable analyses, (P = 0.003 and 0.001).ConclusionsBoth CLT and AL were significantly increased in children with overnight ortho-k wear after 12 months of follow-up. Greater baseline SE and greater increase of CLT were associated with less increase in AL during ortho-k wear in children with myopia.     

基于LP与小波包的复杂机电系统监测序列混沌降噪方法

针对流程工业生产系统监测数据存在强噪声和混沌性的特点,提出了一种局部投影方法(Local Projection Method)与小波包方法相结合的信号降噪方法。该方法先利用局部投影方法从动力学系统嵌入流形的角度进行多次迭代降噪,并根据关联维数来判定迭代终止;再利用小波包方法从频率的角度进行降噪,抑制高频噪声的干扰,取得了较好的降噪效果。用Lorenz时间序列进行仿真验证,对仿真时间序列加入不同程度的噪声,对比分析小波包、局部投影与该方法降噪后的相空间、SNR值和最大Lyapunov指数,证明了该方法对于中高强度噪声具有更好的降噪效果。并将该方法用于某压缩机组的实际监测数据降噪,评估三种方法的降噪效果,进一步验证了该方法的优越性。     

Pregnancy by Assisted Reproductive Technology Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Neonates

Telomere length (TL) influences the development of lifestyle-related diseases, and neonatal TL may influence their prevalence. Various factors have been reported to affect neonatal TL. Although the fetus is exposed to multiple conditions in utero, the main factors affecting the shortening of neonatal TL are still not known. In this study, we sought to identify factors that influence fetal TL. A total of 578 mother-newborn pairs were included for TL analysis. TL was measured in genomic DNA extracted from cord blood samples using quantitative PCR. The clinical factors examined at enrollment included the following intrauterine environmental factors: maternal age, assisted reproductive technology (ART) used, body mass index (BMI), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age, neonatal sex, and placental weight. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to verify the relationship between neonatal TL and these clinical factors. The median neonatal TL to single-copy gene ratio was 1.0. Pregnancy with ART was among the 11 factors associated with shorter neonatal TL. From multiple regression analysis, we determined that neonatal TL was significantly shorter for pregnancies in the ART group than in the other groups. We conclude that pregnancy with ART is associated with shorter neonatal TL.     

入口长度对旋转直通式迷宫气封流场及流场力的影响

迷宫密封的转子和定子部件之间的流场和流场力直接影响转子的振动和稳定性。为了深入了解迷宫密封的流场和流场力特性,选取旋转直通式迷宫气封为研究对象,利用稳态CFD分析方法,研究密封入口长度对旋转直通式迷宫气封泄漏、流场和流场力的影响。考虑和不考虑入口预旋的影响,计算不同入口长度的旋转直通式迷宫气封的泄漏量、流场速度流线、总压强分布、流体压力和流体黏滞力。结果表明:随着入口长度的增大,密封流场泄漏量先增加后减小,转子表面流体压力和流体黏滞力先增加后快速减小;入口长度影响着直通式迷宫气封流场力,存在一个特定的入口长度,使转子表面的流体压力和流体黏滞力最大;当考虑入口预旋时,泄漏量、流体压力和流体黏滞力均有所减小。