Perspectives of digital agriculture in diverse types of livestock supply chain systems. Making sense of uses and benefits.

Digital technology is being introduced to global agriculture in a wide variety of forms that are collectively known as digital agriculture. In this paper we provide opportunities and value propositions of how this is occurring in livestock production systems, with a consistent emphasis on technology relating to animal health, animal welfare, and product quality for value creation. This is achieved by organizing individual accounts of digital agriculture in livestock systems according to four broad types-commodity-based; value seeking; subsistence and nature-based. Each type presents contrasting modes of value creation in downstream processing; as well as from the perspective of One Health. The ideal result of digital technology adoption is an equitable and substantial diversification of supply chains, increased monetization of animal product quality, and more sensitive management to meet customer demands and environmental threats. Such changes have a significance beyond the immediate value generated because they indicate endogenous growth in livestock systems, and may concern externalities imposed by the pursuit of purely commercial ends.

Development and Analysis of the Novel Hybridization of a Single-Flash Geothermal Power Plant with Biomass Driven sCO2-Steam Rankine Combined Cycle.

This study investigates the hybridization scenario of a single-flash geothermal power plant with a biomass-driven sCO2-steam Rankine combined cycle, where a solid local biomass source, olive residue, is used as a fuel. The hybrid power plant is modeled using the simulation software EBSILON®Professional. A topping sCO2 cycle is chosen due to its potential for flexible electricity generation. A synergy between the topping sCO2 and bottoming steam Rankine cycles is achieved by a good temperature match between the coupling heat exchanger, where the waste heat from the topping cycle is utilized in the bottoming cycle. The high-temperature heat addition problem, common in sCO2 cycles, is also eliminated by utilizing the heat in the flue gas in the bottoming cycle. Combined cycle thermal efficiency and a biomass-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 24.9% and 22.4% are achieved, respectively. The corresponding fuel consumption of the hybridized plant is found to be 2.2 kg/s.

Influence of sand depth and pause period on microbial removal in traditional and modified biosand filters.

Three different-sized biosand filters (i.e., the center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology v10 concrete filter, a 5-gal bucket filter, and a 2-gal bucket filter with fine sand depths of 54, 15, and 10 cm, respectively), configured with and without the addition of iron nails to the diffuser basin, were evaluated for removal of bacteria, protozoa, and viruses over pause periods ranging from 1 to 72 hrs. Biosand filtration proved effective at all pause periods tested, and log10 removal of bacteria and protozoan cysts for all filter sizes and configurations ranged from 3 to 4. The addition of nails resulted in significantly better (p<0.05) bacteria removal for all filter sizes and significantly better (p<0.02) protozoan removal for the bucket-sized filters. Log10 virus removal for all filter types and sizes ranged from <1 to 6. Both the pause period and filter type (size/configuration) influenced virus removal, and the addition of nails to the filter improved virus removal at the shorter pause periods. Scaled-down biosand filters provide a viable household water treatment option for some of the millions of people that still lack access to an improved water source.

Upgrading the smallholder dairy value chain: a system dynamics ex-ante impact assessment in Tanzania's Kilosa district.

This paper examines ex-ante impacts of two policy interventions that improve productivity of local-breed cows through artificial insemination (AI) and producers' access to distant markets through a dairy market hub. The majority of cattle in Kilosa district in Tanzania are local low productivity breeds kept by smallholders and agro-pastoralists. Milk production is seasonal, which constrains producers' access to distant urban markets, constrains producers' incomes and restricts profitability in dairy processing. We developed and evaluated an integrated system dynamics (SD) simulation model that captures many relevant feedbacks between the biological dynamics of dairy cattle production, the economics of milk market access, and the impacts of rainfall as an environmental factor. Our analysis indicated that in the short (1 year) and medium (5-year) term, policy interventions have a negative effect on producers' income due to high AI costs. However, in the long term (5+ years), producers' income from dairy cattle activities markedly increases (by, on average, 7% per year). The results show the potential for upgrading the smallholder dairy value chain in Kilosa, but achievement of this result may require financial support to producers in the initial stages (first 5 years) of the interventions, particularly to offset AI costs, as well as additional consideration of post-farm value chain costs. Furthermore, institutional aspects of dairy market hub have substantial effects on trade-offs amongst performance measures (e.g. higher profit vs. milk consumption at producer's household) with gain in cumulative profit coming at the expense of a proportional and substantial reduction in home milk consumption.

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies.

Over the last decade, employing computer animations for animal behavior research has increased due to its ability to non-invasively manipulate the appearance and behavior of visual stimuli, compared to manipulating live animals. Here, we present the FishSim Animation Toolchain, a software framework developed to provide researchers with an easy-to-use method for implementing 3D computer animations in behavioral experiments with fish. The toolchain offers templates to create virtual 3D stimuli of five different fish species. Stimuli are customizable in both appearance and size, based on photographs taken of live fish. Multiple stimuli can be animated by recording swimming paths in a virtual environment using a video game controller. To increase standardization of the simulated behavior, the prerecorded swimming path may be replayed with different stimuli. Multiple animations can later be organized into playlists and presented on monitors during experiments with live fish. In a case study with sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna), we provide a protocol on how to conduct a mate-choice copying experiment with FishSim. We utilized this method to create and animate virtual males and virtual model females, and then presented these to live focal females in a binary choice experiment. Our results demonstrate that computer animation may be used to simulate virtual fish in a mate-choice copying experiment to investigate the role of female gravid spots as an indication of quality for a model female in mate-choice copying. Applying this method is not limited to mate-choice copying experiments but can be used in various experimental designs. Still, its usability depends on the visual capabilities of the study species and first needs validation. Overall, computer animations offer a high degree of control and standardization in experiments and bear the potential to 'reduce' and 'replace' live stimulus animals as well as to 'refine' experimental procedures.

Effect of Sand Bed Depth and Medium Age on Escherichia coli and Turbidity Removal in Biosand Filters.

The main objective of this study was to build several full-scale biosand filters (BSFs) and assess the long-term (9 month) efficacy for particulate and Escherichia coli removal under simulated real-world usage. Four replicates of three different filter designs were built: the traditional concrete BSF and two scaled-down versions that use a 5 or 2 gal bucket as the casing material. The smaller sand bed depths in the bucket-sized filters did not impact filter performance with respect to (i) turbidity and E. coli removal or (ii) effluent levels of turbidity and E. coli. All filters produced effluents with a mean turbidity of <0.6 nephelometric turbidity unit. In addition, 78, 74, and 72% of effluent samples for the concrete, 5 gal, and 2 gal filters, respectively, had E. coli concentrations of <1 colony-forming unit/100 mL. The bucket-sized filters were found to be a potential alternative to the concrete BSFs for the removal of E. coli and turbidity from drinking water. Because smaller BSFs must be filled more frequently than larger BSFs to produce comparable water volumes, the effect of shorter pause periods on BSF performance should be investigated.

Pressure broadening of H(2)O absorption lines in the 1.3 microm region measured by continuous wave-cavity ring-down spectroscopy: application in the trace detection of water vapor in N(2), SiH(4), CF(4), and PH(3).

A continuous wave cavity ring-down (cw-CRD) spectrometer has been developed for the measurement of trace levels of water vapor by absorption spectroscopy at wavelengths in the vicinity of 1358 nm and 1392 nm. The speed of data acquisition and selectivity make cavity ringdown spectroscopy potentially more useful than current techniques for measurement of trace water in process gases and vacuum environments used for semiconductor manufacture where water vapor contamination has a detrimental effect on the final product. The pressure broadening coefficients (gamma) for bath gases N(2), air, and Ar and semiconductor process gases SiH(4), PH(3), and CF(4) were determined for a range of absorption lines in the 2nu(1) and nu(1) + nu(3) bands of H(2)O. For the transitions investigated, the concentration of water vapor in the sample gas varied from 1.7 x 10(12) to 2.9 x 10(15) molecule cm(-3) in N(2) at a total pressure of <10 mbar and was mixed with the bath gas of increasing pressure up to approximately 200 mbar. The values of gamma quantify the reduction in peak absorption cross-sections with bath gas pressure and, thus, their effects on the detection limit of water vapor. For a CRD spectrometer with a ring-down time of tau = 12.0 mus measured with a precision of 0.6%, detection limits for the measurement of water vapor in 1 atm N(2) and of CF(4) were estimated to be 18 and 14 ppbv, respectively. Competing absorption by SiH(4) and PH(3) in the 1.3 mum wavelength region results in respective detection limits for water vapor of 98 and 319 ppbv (relative to 1 atm) in 0.2 atm SiH(4) and 0.37 atm PH(3).