Sustainability Evaluation of Pastoral Livestock Systems.

In order to manage important transformations affecting a steppe area, it is necessary to analyze the existing pastoral system by evaluating the sustainability of its subsystems of production. For this reason, in this study, a tool for the evaluation of the sustainability of livestock production in the steppe area was used in order to identify the most sustainable systems. The study was conducted using a survey of 87 livestock farmers (production units) in the region ranked first in terms of sheep production. Principal component analysis (PCA) enabled us to identify two production systems: (i) the pastoral production system, characterized by the mobility of livestock and its high dependence on concentrated feed; (ii) the agropastoral system, combining fodder and livestock production, which is sedentary and semi-extensive. Using a grid for evaluating the sustainability of livestock systems in steppe regions, the impact of each system on the environment (environmental, economic, and social) was examined, and the results showed that the feed system was unbalanced, with high pressure on steppe rangelands. Nevertheless, multiple ways of improving these systems emerged from the analysis, such as encouraging the production of fodder and its association with livestock, on new spatial, temporal, regional, and national levels.

Polygon generation and video-to-video translation for time-series prediction.

This paper proposes an innovative method for time-series prediction in energy-intensive industrial systems characterized by highly dynamic non-linear operations. The proposed method can capture the true distributions of the inputs and outputs of such systems and map these distributions using polygon generation and video-to-video translation techniques. More specifically, the time-series data are represented as polygon streams (videos), then the video-to-video translation is used to transform the input polygon streams into the output ones. This transformation is tuned based on a model trustworthiness metric for optimal video synthesis. Finally, an image processing procedure is used for mapping the output polygon streams back to time-series outputs. The proposed method is based on cycle-consistent generative adversarial networks as an unsupervised approach. This does not need the heavy involvement of the human expert who devotes much effort to labeling the complex industrial data. The performance of the proposed method was validated successfully using a challenging industrial dataset collected from a complex heat exchanger network in a Canadian pulp mill. The results obtained using the proposed method demonstrate better performance than other comparable time-series prediction models. This allows process operators to accurately monitor process key performance indicators (KPIs) and to achieve a more energy-efficient operation.

Full weight bearing and dynamisation with Limmed® locked plate fixation accelerates bone regeneration in the volume of opening wedge high tibial osteotomy.

PURPOSE: The efficacy of immediate full weight bearing in accelerating bone regeneration after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) was evaluated in patients operated with the Limmed system (locked plate fixation) that allows dynamisation of the site of the osteotomy. METHODS: A case series of 50 consecutive osteotomies performed with Limmed locked plate fixation for medial opening wedge HTO had full weight bearing immediately after the HTO; they were compared to a case-matched control series of 50 HTOs (50 patients) performed using the same implant without locked screws. Radiographs were observed at 30 days and two, three, four, five and six months after surgery. The osteotomy gap was only partially filled by a medial bone substitute leaving the lateral part unfilled. Bone surface areas of osteotomy planes were quantified and opening volumes were determined applying wedge heights. End points for evaluation included radiographic evidence of bone regeneration in the volume created by the opening of the osteotomy. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were seen between the groups in terms of radiographic union and radiographic stability between the two groups. Patients of the Limmed group reported a shorter time for union (average four weeks difference) without loss of correction during healing. At the radiographic evaluation, there was a significant increase in osseointegration in the group with weight bearing compared to the control group without weight bearing with increased rate of speed to fill the void volume of the osteotomy. The computed tomography scan of the grafted area at four months after surgery showed no significant difference in the quality of the newly formed bone between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Limmed medial opening wedge HTO system with immediate full weight bearing accelerates bone graft substitute osseointegration and bone healing as compared with controls without full weight bearing.