Detecting cow's lameness using force sensors     

M. Pastell  M. Kujala  A.-M. Aisla  M. Hautala  V. Poikalainen  J. Praks  I. Veerme  J. Ahokas 《Computers and Electronics in Agriculture》2008,64(1):34

Our aim is to automatically detect cow's leg problems. The first system is a four-balance system, where each of the legs is weighed when a cow is in a milking robot. Its functionality is limited to milking robot and complications in interpreting results occur, since often not all of the legs are properly in each balance or the cow is leaning the robot. Therefore, we introduce a new system. It is a mat made of electromechanical film, Emfit, which can detect only dynamic forces. Its benefit is that its use is not limited to milking robot, but it can be set up in any corridor along which the cows walk. Preliminary tests with walking cows indicate that it has potentiality to separate lame cows from healthy cows by different force–time behaviour.  相似文献   

Predicting probability of A-quality lumber of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) prior to or concurrently with logging operation     

Jori Uusitalo  Olli Ylhäisi  Hannu Rummukainen  Marika Makkonen 《Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research》2018,33(5):475-483

Knot properties have a profound influence on the suitability of wood for many wood products leading to significant value differences between different quality grades. It would therefore be rather advantageous to maximise the volume of good quality timber attained from the logs. The objective of this study was to assess how well A-quality lumber of Scots pine derived from log tomography features can be predicted with characteristics measured prior to or concurrently with the logging operation. The study is based on field experiments and X-ray scanning of 204 stems from southern Finland in 2014. We employed mixed logistic regression techniques to model the relationship between the main stem characteristics and probability of A-quality lumber. From the tree characteristics that can be measured or detected from standing trees, the height from the ground level to the lowest dead branch was found to be the best predictor of A-quality lumber. From the characteristics that could, at least in theory, be detected and measured at the moment of harvest, early growth rate and size of tree were found to be the best combination for predicting the probability of A-class quality.  相似文献   

Soil respiration after slash and stump removal in three clear-cut areas with patch scarification and mounding     

Markus Hartman  Tanja Oksala  Hannu Ilvesniemi 《Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research》2019,34(4):282-288

We studied the soil carbon dioxide respiration (R_s) at three clear-cut mesic forest sites in south, central and north central Finland, which had been treated with different intensities of stump lifting and slash removal and then patch mounded and planted with spruce. The follow-up period after the initial calibration lasted for five consecutive years. Throughout the study the R_s remained at fairly steady levels according to the study site and soil disturbance level. Based on a split-plot test using the general linear model there were no significant differences in the R_s between the different stump and slash removal treatments at the three study sites, but unaffected and moderately affected soil surfaces had significantly higher R_s than mounds and wheel ruts. We conclude that the removal of stumps and slash have minor direct effects on R_s, but large indirect effects through soil disturbance.  相似文献   

Interaction of heat–moisture conditions and physical properties in oat processing: II. Flake quality     

F.K. Gates  T. Sontag-Strohm  F.L. Stoddard  B.J. Dobraszczyk  Hannu Salovaara 《Journal of Cereal Science》2008

Product quality is an important determinant of consumer acceptance. Consistent oat flake properties are thus necessary in the mill as well as in the marketplace. The effects of kilning and tempering conditions (30, 60 or 90 min at 80, 95 or 110 °C) on flake peroxidase activity, size, thickness, strength and water absorption were therefore determined. After kilning, some peroxidase activity remained but steaming and tempering effectively destroyed the activity of these enzymes. Thus the supposed protective effect of kilning or groat durability was not confirmed. Kilning resulted in an increase in flake specific weight, but no other significant effect on flake quality was observed. Tempering time and temperature interacted significantly to produce complex effects on flake specific weight, thickness and water absorption. Flake thickness and specific weight were significantly correlated (r = 0.808, n = 54). Longer tempering times resulted in an increased fines' fraction, from 1.45% at 30 min to 1.75% at 90 min. It is concluded that whilst kilning has little effect on flake quality, the heat treatment immediately prior to flaking can be used to adjust flake quality independently of flake thickness.  相似文献   

Retrospecting genetic variation of Finnish oat (Avena sativa) landraces and observations on revived lines grown prior to 1957     

Hannu Ahokas  Marja-Leena Manninen 《Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution》2000,47(3):345-352

An aged seed sample of a single oat landrace resulted in four plants when germinated. The plants differed from each other morphologically and genetically. They represented four grain types, three lemma colours, three avenin and three residual grain protein patterns and two molar ratios of C18:C16 fatty acids. These old oats grew high under current conditions and some also had yielding potential. Landraces with wide residual to avenin protein ratios would have been good sources in breeding food cereals for coeliac patients. Literature data since the 1700s indicate that Finnish oat landraces included morphological mixtures. Some were intentionally mixed. As also noted for Finnish barley landraces, oat landraces appear to have approached mixtures of genetically unique plants. Several reasons for the variation are presented. Active replacement of landraces (genetic polymorphism) with only a few pure-line cultivars was encouraged by authorities during the Mendelian period. Genetic variation was lost earliest in oats among Finnish cereal landraces. The proportion of oat landraces declined from 100% in 1902 to 34.4% in 1922 and to 0.2% in 1955. Genetic conservation did not occur in time, resulting from lack of foresight by authorities.  相似文献   

Effects of processing on availability of total plant sterols, steryl ferulates and steryl glycosides from wheat and rye bran     

Nyström L  Lampi AM  Rita H  Aura AM  Oksman-Caldentey KM  Piironen V 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2007,55(22):9059-9065

Rye and wheat bran are excellent natural sources of plant sterols in the diet. Their content, however, may vary according to processing. Thermal (roasting and heating in a microwave oven), mechanical (milling and cryogenic grinding), and enzymatic treatments (hydrolysis with xylanase or beta-glucanase or a mixture of these two enzymes) were performed, and their effect on sterol content, extractability of sterols and the characteristic steryl conjugates of cereals (steryl ferulates, steryl glycosides, and acylated steryl glycosides) were studied. Mechanical and enzymatic treatments increased the apparent sterol content, whereas aqueous processing without enzymes hindered the availability of total sterols, especially from rye bran. Changes were also seen in the amounts of steryl conjugates caused by the enzymatic treatments. On the basis of the results of this study, it can be speculated that a combination of fine particle size and enzymatic processing results in optimal sterol availability in cereal processing.  相似文献   

Reviewing the undergraduate veterinary curriculum in Finland for control tasks in veterinary public health   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Maijala R  Korkeala H 《Journal of veterinary medical education》2008,35(2):241-254

To review and develop the undergraduate veterinary curriculum on official control in veterinary public health, an electronic survey was sent to 204 Finnish veterinarians employed in the field of food hygiene in 2005. The response rate was 44%. Most frequently cited as strengths of the current curriculum were extensive education and good knowledge. Respondents considered the main challenges in their work to be a wide field of activity, organizational changes, financial resources, organization of substitutes, and collaboration with decision makers. Of the 23 items to be included in the undergraduate curriculum, therefore, respondents prioritized state and local decision making, the role of the public servant, and leadership and management in the area of social factors; in the field of practical control work, in-house control systems, organizations and responsibilities, control techniques, and planning and targeting of controls were prioritized. Of areas traditionally covered in the undergraduate curriculum, legislation; legal proceedings and implications of controls; risks to human, animal, and plant health; and hazards in feed, animal, and food production were stated to be the most important. Although respondents were generally content with their career choice, veterinary public health tasks were not their first choice of career path immediately after graduation. Based on these findings, more attention should be focused on social aspects and practical training in official control in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum. The survey results also highlight the contrasts between society's needs and veterinarians' motivations and career-path expectations, which pose a significant challenge for future curricula.  相似文献   

Berry phenolic extracts modulate the expression of p21(WAF1) and Bax but not Bcl-2 in HT-29 colon cancer cells     

Wu QK  Koponen JM  Mykkänen HM  Törrönen AR 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2007,55(4):1156-1163

Previous studies have shown that anthocyanin-rich berry extracts inhibit the growth of cancer cells in vitro. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of berry extracts containing different phenolic profiles on cell viability and expression of markers of cell proliferation and apoptosis in human colon cancer HT-29 cells. Berry extracts were prepared with methanol extraction, and contents of the main phenolic compounds were analyzed using HPLC. Anthocyanins were the predominant phenolic compounds in bilberry, black currant, and lingonberry extracts and ellagitannins in cloudberry extract, whereas both were present in raspberry and strawberry extracts. Cells were exposed to 0-60 mg/mL of extracts, and the cell growth inhibition was determined after 24 h. The degree of cell growth inhibition was as follows: bilberry > black currant > cloudberry > lingonberry > raspberry > strawberry. A 14-fold increase in the expression of p21WAF1, an inhibitor of cell proliferation and a member of the cyclin kinase inhibitors, was seen in cells exposed to cloudberry extract compared to other berry treatments (2.7-7-fold increase). The pro-apoptosis marker, Bax, was increased 1.3-fold only in cloudberry- and bilberry-treated cells, whereas the pro-survival marker, Bcl-2, was detected only in control cells. The results demonstrate that berry extracts inhibit cancer cell proliferation mainly via the p21WAF1 pathway. Cloudberry, despite its very low anthocyanin content, was a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation. Therefore, it is concluded that, in addition to anthocyanins, also other phenolic or nonphenolic phytochemicals are responsible for the antiproliferative activity of berries.  相似文献   

Old soil carbon is more temperature sensitive than the young in an agricultural field     

Pekka Vanhala  Kristiina Karhu  Eloni Sonninen  Hannu Fritze 《Soil biology & biochemistry》2007,39(11):2967-2970

Changes in the carbon stock of soil in response to climate change would significantly affect the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and consequently climate. The isotopes of carbon provide a means to study the temperature sensitivities of different soil carbon fractions. Where C3 vegetation has changed for C4, soil organic matter (SOM) from the different origins have different ¹³C/¹²C ratios. Relying on this feature, we took soil samples from a control field and a field where ordinary grain (C3) vegetation was replaced by maize (C4), 5 years ago. We measured the respiration rate and the ¹³C/¹²C ratio of the CO₂ produced by the samples at different temperatures. Based on these measurements, we quantified that Q₁₀ was 3.4-3.6 for the total CO₂ production while it was 2.4-2.9 at 20 °C for the maize-derived young carbon and 3.6 for the older C3-derived carbon. Our results suggest that climatic warming will accelerate especially the decomposition of the large pool of old soil carbon in these fields.  相似文献   

Near-infrared characteristics of forest humus are correlated with soil respiration and microbial biomass in burnt soil     

Hannu Fritze  Petri Järvinen  Risto Hiukka 《Biology and Fertility of Soils》1994,18(1):80-82

Near-infrared spectroscopy and soil physicochemical determinations (pH_H2O, organic matter content, total C content, NH _inf4 ^sup+ , total N content, cation-exchange capacity, and base saturation) were used to characterize fire-or wood ash-treated humus samples. The spectroscopic and the soil physicochemical analysis data from the humus samples were used separately to explain observed variations in soil respiration and microbial biomass C by partial least-square regression. The first regression component obtained from the physicochemical and spectroscopic characterization explained 10–12% and 60–80% of the biological variation, respectively. This suggests that information on organic material collected from near-infrared spectra is very useful for explaining biological variations in forest humus.  相似文献