Short-term liveweight changes of dairy cows measured by stationary and walk-over weighing scales

Monitoring and detecting individual cows' liveweight (LW) and liveweight change (LWC) are important for estimation of nutritional requirements and health management, and could be useful to measure short-term feed intake, water consumption, defecation, and urination. Walk-over weighing (WOW) systems can facilitate measurements of LW for these purposes, providing automated LW recorded at different times of the day. We conducted a field study to (1) quantify the contribution of feed and water intake, as well as urine and feces excretions, to short-term LWC and (2) determine the feasibility of stationary and WOW scales to detect subtle changes in LW as a result of feed and water intake, urination, and defecation. In this experiment, 10 cows walked through a WOW system and then stood individually on a stationary scale collecting weights at 10 and 3.3 Hz, respectively. Cows were offered 4 kg of feed and 10 kg of water on the stationary scale. For each animal, LW before and after eating and drinking was then calculated using different approaches. Liveweight change was calculated as the difference between the initial and final LW before and after eating and drinking for each statistical measure. The weights of feed intake, water consumption, urination, and defecation were measured and used as predictors of LWC. Urine and feces were collected from individual cows while the cow was on the scale, using a container, and weighed separately. The agreement between LWC measured using either stationary or WOW scales was assessed to determine the sensitivity of the scales to detect subtle changes in LW using the coefficient of determination (R²), Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and mean bias. The prediction model showed that most of the regression coefficients were not significantly different from +1.0 for feed and water, or ?1.0 for urine and feces. The R² and CCC values demonstrated a satisfactory agreement between calculated and stationary LWC and values ranged from 0.60 to 0.92 and 0.71 to 0.94, respectively. A moderate agreement was achieved between calculated and automated LWC with R² and Lin's CCC values of 0.45 to 0.63 and 0.60 to 0.74, respectively. Therefore, results demonstrated that new algorithms and data processing methods need to be continuously explored and improved to obtain accurate measurements of LW to measure changes in LW, especially from WOW scales.     

An approach for evaluating collaboration attributes in cluster-based companies

This paper presents an approach for evaluating collaboration attributes in companies operating in industrial clusters. From the literature review, we identified governance, geographic proximity, and trust as the main collaboration attributes in industrial clusters. For each of them, there is a set of related sub-attributes that composed the evaluation model. For developing the model, we used the graph theoretic approach (GTA), a methodology for multi-attribute assessment that considers interdependencies among elements of a system to provide an overall evaluation. We applied the model to five companies of a furniture cluster. The results showed the model allows for systematizing relationship management because it highlights the collaboration attributes that need to be improved. Furthermore, the application of the model may contribute to encouraging companies to develop collaborative practices.     

Algorithmic Fairness in Mortgage Lending: from Absolute Conditions to Relational Trade-offs

Minds and Machines - To address the rising concern that algorithmic decision-making may reinforce discriminatory biases, researchers have proposed many notions of fairness and corresponding...     

Technological and sensorial properties of liquid nitrogen ice cream enriched with protein from brewing waste (trub)

Debittered trub (brewing waste) is an important source of protein source (70.26%). Trub and whey protein were used for 5% protein enrichment of ice cream frozen by liquid nitrogen. Three formulations were elaborated: ice cream standard (ICS), ice cream with whey protein (ICW) and ice cream with trub (ICT). Chemical composition, rheological properties, texture, overrun, melting rate, scanning electron microscopy and a sensorial test were performed. Results showed that ICT presented a higher viscosity, obtained on the upward curve up to 6.76 Pa s⁻¹, consistency index (22.96 (Pa s⁻¹)ⁿ), hysteresis area (140.40 mPa s⁻¹) and hardness (31113.33 g) but a lower melting rate (0.38 g min⁻¹), overrun (13.92%) and sensorial acceptability than the other formulations. The addition of trub debittered for protein enrichment improved ice cream properties and demonstrated that it could be used as a food ingredient.     

Brazilian Artisanal Cheeses: An Overview of their Characteristics,Main Types and Regulatory Aspects

A large variety of cheeses exist in Brazil, reflecting historical and cultural aspects. Brazilian artisanal cheeses present differences in the processing, ripening time (when applied), type of milk used, texture, size, shape, color, moisture content, flavor, the use or not of starter cultures, among others. This review describes the main artisanal cheeses produced in Brazil, focusing on general and particular characteristics associated with their making process and geographical identity. Overall, the high variability of the physicochemical data and deficiency of information on sensorial properties of Brazilian artisanal cheeses were noticed. On the other hand, culture‐dependent methods were mostly used to expand the knowledge into the microbiology of these cheeses, whereas their microbial diversity has been recently discovered through the use of 16S rRNA gene sequencing‐based methods. The certification of a geographical indication for Brazilian artisanal cheeses may encompass an essential milestone for adding value to these products. Regardless of their significance in the diet, culture, and economy of producing regions, taken together, the reviewed literature discloses the need of insightful studies to generate scientific data to support the expansion of the market, while ensuring the protection of historic aspects related to the production of Brazilian artisanal cheeses.     

Investigation of the properties of niobium pentoxide for use in dye-sensitized solar cells

This work demonstrates the obtention of Nb₂O₅ nanoparticles by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis method in a fast way and with the use of low temperatures. The heat treatment applied on the samples promotes the phase change in Nb₂O₅ from pseudohexagonal to orthorhombic as the temperature increases, with a particle size between 7.3 and 32.6 nm. The band gap of the samples decreases with increasing temperature, obtaining a minimum value of 3.04 eV at 800°C. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were assembled using the Doctor Blade coating technique. The photovoltaic parameters of open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) were evaluated. The cells showed a photovoltaic response, demonstrating that Nb₂O₅ has a semiconductive potential. The DSSC have different characteristics regarding Jsc and Voc, showing that according to the temperature increase in the semiconductor sample, there is a decrease in the photovoltaic parameters of the cells.