Application of an airborne laser scanner to forest road design with accurate earthwork volumes

In this study we developed a forest road design program based on a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) from a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system. After a designer has located the intersection points on a horizontal plane, the model first generates the horizontal alignment and the ground profile. The model precisely generates cross-sections and accurately calculates earthwork volumes using a high-resolution DEM. The model then optimizes the vertical alignment based on construction and maintenance costs using a heuristic technique known as tabu search. As the distance between cross-sections affects the accuracy of earthwork volume calculations, the results were examined by comparing them with the exact earthwork volume calculated by the probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation method. The earthwork volumes calculated by the Pappus-based method were similar to those calculated by the Monte Carlo simulation when the distance between cross-sections was within 10m. The model was applied to a high-resolution DEM from the LIDAR of Capitol Forest in Washington State, USA. The model generated a horizontal alignment, length 827m, composed of five horizontal curves. We examined the number of grade change points. The results indicated that tabu search found the best solution ($61.42/m) with five grade change points. This was composed of two vertical curves that almost followed the ground profile. As the accuracy of a high-resolution DEM from LIDAR increases, the model would become a useful tool for a forest road designer because it eliminates or at least reduces the time-consuming process of road surveys.     

Neural networks with artificial bee colony algorithm for modeling daily reference evapotranspiration

The study investigates the ability of artificial neural networks (ANN) with artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm in daily reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) modeling. The daily climatic data, solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed from two stations, Pomona and Santa Monica, in Los Angeles, USA, are used as inputs to the ANN–ABC model so as to estimate ET₀ obtained using the FAO-56 Penman–Monteith (PM) equation. In the first part of the study, the accuracy of ANN–ABC models is compared with those of the ANN models trained with Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) and standard back-propagation (SBP) algorithms and those of the following empirical models: The California Irrigation Management System (CIMIS) Penman, Hargreaves, and Ritchie methods. The mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and determination coefficient (R²) statistics are used for evaluating the accuracy of the models. Based on the comparison results, the ANN–ABC and ANN–LM models are found to be superior alternative to the ANN–SBP models. In the second part of the study, the potential of the ANN–ABC, ANN–LM, and ANN–SBP models in estimation ET₀ using nearby station data is investigated.     

Consumer Versus Resource Control in Freshwater Pelagic Food Webs

Models predict that food-web structure is regulated by both consumers and resources, and the strength of this control is dependent on trophic position and food-web length. To test these hypotheses, a meta-analysis was conducted of 11 fish (consumer)-by-nutrient (resource) factorial plankton community experiments. As predicted, zooplankton biomass was under strong consumer control but was weakly stimulated by nutrient additions; phytoplankton biomass was under strong resource control with moderate control by fish. However, the phytoplankton and zooplankton responses to nutrient additions did not follow theoretical predictions based on the number of trophic levels in the food web.     

Evaluation of a regimen using a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (CIDR) and PMSG as a treatment for post partum anoestrus in dairy cattle

Anoestrous dairy cows in seasonally calving herds in the Macalister Irrigation District of Gippsland, Victoria were treated at the start of the mating period with a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (CIDR). The CIDR was inserted for 7 days and 400 IU of PMSG was injected intramuscularly at removal. There was no clinically useful difference among cows receiving the CIDR, a placebo and untreated cows in the interval from treatment to either first oestrus or conception, the conception rate to first service or percent pregnant by the end of mating. Analyses of data from 2-year-old cows, older cattle, cows calved at least 45 days or cows calved at least 55 days and cows treated 3 weeks after the start of mating did not show improved reproductive performance following treatment with the CIDR.     

Extracts from Black Carrot Tissue Culture as Potent Anticancer Agents

Black carrots contain anthocyanins possessing enhanced physiological activities. Explants of young black carrot shoots were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for callus initiation and were transferred to new MS medium supplemented with four different combinations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and kinetin. Subsequently, the lyophilized calli and black carrot harvested from fields were subjected to ultrasound extraction with ethanol at a ratio of 1:15 (w:v). Obtained extracts were applied to various human cancer cell lines including MCF-7 SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231 (human breast adenocarcinomas), HT-29 (human colon adenocarcinoma), PC-3 (human prostate adenocarcinoma), Neuro 2A (Musmusculus neuroblastoma) cancer cell lines and VERO (African green monkey kidney) normal cell line by MTT assay. The highest cytotoxic activity was achieved against Neuro-2A cell lines exhibiting viability of 38–46 % at 6.25 μg/ml concentration for all calli and natural extracts. However, a significantly high IC₅₀ value of 170.13 μg/ml was attained in normal cell line VERO indicating that its natural counterpart is an ideal candidate for treatment of brain cancer without causing negative effects to normal healthy cells.     

Intrauterine Idiopathic Amputation of the Head of a Porcine Foetus

An anencephalic full‐term porcine foetus accompanied by a mummified head was submitted for examination. The neck almost entirely lacked skin and was covered by granulation tissue as were the exposed parts of the spine and spinal cord. The case represents a rare case of intrauterine amputation. A definitive cause could not be established because the placenta was not available. The most likely cause is strangulation of the neck. Such strangulation could be due to a defect of the allantoamnion with herniation of the foetal head or entanglement by amniotic constriction bands.     

Assessing the effects of site factors on the productivity of a feller buncher:a time and motion analysis

We evaluated,for the first time in Turkey,the productivity of a feller buncher during clear-cut operations of two Brutian pine stands located in Canakkale,northwestern Turkey with different diameter classes and terrain conditions.In the first stand with 24.6 cm average DBH,the feller buncher cut full trees and moved them to roadside.In the second stand with 34.3 cm average DBH,the feller buncher cut trees in two stages due to their larger diameters and the relatively steep and rough terrain conditions of the site.The effects of specific stand features,DBH and tree height measurements were assessed through statistical analysis in relation to productivity.The results indicate that the average productivity for the first stand was about 118 m^3h^-1,while it was about 80 m3h-1 in the second stand.Even though tree diameter and volume were higher in the second stand,productivity decreased by32.3%due to extra time spent on the two-stage cutting operation.The results revealed that harvesting operations should be planned carefully and the right equipment selected by accounting for different tree sizes,terrain conditions and machine specifications in order to better understand their effects on production.     

Validation of the BioPRYN enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for detection of pregnancy‐specific protein‐B (PSPB) and diagnosis of pregnancy in American bison (Bison bison)

This study assessed the accuracy of the commercial BioPRYN^® ELISA for the detection of pregnancy‐specific protein‐B (PSPB) using a single blood sample to determine pregnancy status in American bison (Bison bison). A total of 49 bison cows were used in the study, and sampled at two time‐points during the gestation period, fall and spring, correlating with early‐ to mid‐term gestation (average 62.9 days post‐mating) and mid‐ to late‐term gestation (average 229.2 days post‐mating), respectively. Sensitivity of the test during early‐ to mid‐term gestation sampling period (fall) was 87.1%, while specificity was 100%; sensitivity of the test during late‐term gestation sampling period (spring) was 96.3%, while specificity remained at 100%. In total, the test showed a total sensitivity of 91.4%, specificity of 100% and total accuracy of 93.8%, similar to domestic cattle. Use of the single‐sample BioPRYN^® ELISA in American Bison for pregnancy diagnosis is economical and practical, minimizing animal handling time, frequency and subsequent stress while providing accurate results for pregnancy diagnosis at 62 days post‐mating. This method should be considered over more traditional pregnancy diagnosis methods for use in managed bison herds.