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Feed restriction and fasting experienced during commercial production negatively affect unweaned calves' behavior and health status. Transportation and stays at assembly centers are the main factors generating these disorders. For this study, 20 unweaned Angus-Holstein bull calves [44.1 ± 2.04 kg of body weight (BW) and 14.7 ± 0.63 d of age (± standard error)] were used to evaluate the effects of feed restriction and fasting on performance, energy status [serum concentration of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and nonesterified fatty acids], and gastrointestinal permeability [serum concentration of citrulline, chromium (Cr)-EDTA, lactulose, and d-mannitol]. Calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments that simulated the feed restrictions of an assembly center situation on one hand, and the fasting hours during transportation on the other. Treatments were as follows. Control (CT): from d −4 to −1, calves were fed 2.5 L of milk replacer (MR) twice daily; concentrate and straw were offered ad libitum. Mild (MD): calves were fed only MR (d −4 to −1) as described for CT, and on d −1 calves were subjected to a 9-h feed withdrawal. Moderate (MO): calves were fed only MR (d −4 to −1) as described for CT and on d −1 subjected to a 19-h feed withdrawal. Severe (SV): calves were fed only 2.5 L of a rehydrating solution twice daily (d −4 to −1) and on d −1 subjected to a 19-h feed withdrawal. From d 0 to d 42 (weaning) all calves were fed the same feeding program (MR, concentrate, and straw ad libitum). Results showed that BW was greater for the CT treatment compared with the others from d 0 to d 7, whereas BW of SV was lesser compared with the others from d −1 to d 7. No differences among treatments were observed at weaning. At d 2 concentrate intakes of MD, MO, and SV were lesser compared with CT. By d 4, concentrate intake of SV was similar to that for CT and greater than MD and MO. Similarly to BW, no differences in concentrate intake among treatments were observed at weaning on d 42 of the study. At d −1 for SV and d 0 in all restricted calves, serum glucose concentration was lesser compared with CT. At d −1 and 0, nonesterified fatty acids and BHB serum concentrations were greater in the SV calves compared with the other treatments. By d 2, serum concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids, BHB, and glucose were restored to CT levels. At d −1 serum citrulline concentration was lesser in SV and greater in MD calves. The CT calves had lower serum concentrations of Cr-EDTA (d −1 and d 0), lactulose (d 0), and d-mannitol (d 0) compared with the other restricted calves. Results showed that degree of dietary restriction, type of liquid diet (MR or rehydrating solution), and fasting hours (9 vs. 19 h) affected calves' BW, concentrate intake, and serum concentration of markers indicative of energy status and gastrointestinal permeability. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The control of chemical and physicochemical properties of water bodies is essential to guarantee a proper environment, not only for the species of a certain habitat, but also for human health. In this sense, the study of pollution and its variability can be assimilated to the detection of outliers (anomalous values that indicate the deviation of the measured variable compared to the defined objectives). In this paper, two methods have been used and compared for detecting outliers: statistical process control and functional data analysis (FDA). These techniques have been tested on three key water quality variables: turbidity, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen. Data were continuously recorded in 2008 using an automatic monitoring station located in the Ebro River (NE Spain). The results of the research show FDA as a powerful tool for this kind of study, since it takes into account the time correlation structure of the data. This research is focused on an essential natural resource, water. The study intends to provide analysts with a methodology for detecting anomalous values (possible pollution episodes) within a large dataset of measurements. The collection of information of natural resources is a basic task for their management and control, but the analysis of gathered data is frequently difficult due to the vast number of measurements taken in the field. This work is focused on water, but the methodologies presented here can be applied to other natural data. Thus, geoscientists and geoengineers might find this research useful for interpreting many kinds of data and detecting anomalous episodes among them with an objective approach.

Water quality is a major concern, particularly when the water is used for human consumption. We study the variability of the Ebro River (Spain) water quality through a global quality index (GQI) using two methods: functional data analysis (FDA) and Shewhart-type control charts for statistical process control (SPC). The aim of this study is to identify abnormal values of this quality indicator. We used the data collected in 2008 at the El Bocal station, which is a strategic location. Temperature, ammonium content, nitrate content, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity were measured every 15 min. These physical–chemical parameters were used to calculate the GQI. The results obtained using SPC reflect the causes of specific variation in May, July and October. However, no functional outlier was detected when using FDA. According to our results, we conclude that Shewhart-type control charts could be used to search for and eliminate abnormal values in a water quality analysis based on global...

Plaster and common reed (Arundo donax L.) have been utilized for construction purposes for thousands of years, although nowadays have been replaced by reinforced concrete. In an attempt to follow an environmental sustainable construction we are now trying to bring them back. In the traditional design there is a low adherence between plaster and common reed. Modifications in the design of slabs made with plaster and common reed with respect to traditional designs have been tested in order to obtain an increase in the flexural strength. With de results we obtain an increase of up to 116.2% (5.34 N/mm2) of the flexural strength with respect to the traditional use (2.47 N/mm2).

Polluted air of cities is a harmful factor to health that may eventually cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular disease. The monitoring and control of pollutants is an essential activity in order to protect the environment and the health by minimizing pollution levels through the detection of contaminants. Contaminants are emissions of substances to the atmosphere (mainly gases and particulate matter) whose values are greater than the limits allowed by the environmental legislation (they are anomalous values). Thus they are considered as vector samples where each component represents the gas concentration value in the air. In this sense, a model based on functional analysis has been implemented for the outliers detection in air quality samples in this research work. This model transforms the vectorial sample by creating a new functional sample in order to determine functional outliers by adjusting the concept of depth to the functional event. This method has been compared to classical outliers analysis from a vectorial point of view, emphasizing the power of use of such functional techniques over the traditional ones. The main aim of this research work is to compare the results corresponding to the classical and the functional methods and to obtain the most appropriate methodology to analyze this type of dataset in order to reach a better solution for the air quality control.

Functional data appear in a multitude of industrial applications and processes. However, in many cases at present, such data continue to be studied from the conventional standpoint based on Statistical Process Control (SPC), losing the capacity of analyzing different aspects over the time. In this study is presented a Statistical Control Process based on functional data analysis to identify outliers or special causes of variability of harmonics appearing in power systems which can negatively impact on quality of electricity supply. The results obtained from the functional approach are compared with those obtained with conventional Statistical Process Control that has been done firstly.

Functional data appear in a multitude of industrial applications and processes. However, in many cases at present, such data continue to be studied from the conventional standpoint based on Statistical Process Control (SPC), losing the capacity of analysing different aspects over the time. In this study, the well-known runs rules for Shewhart Type Control Charts are adapted to the case of functional data. Also, in the application of this functional approach, a number of advantages over the classical one are described. Furthermore, the results of applying this new methodology are analysed to determine the air quality of urban areas from the gas emissions at different weather stations.

The presence of harmonics in power systems and their problems and impact on quality of electricity supply is increasing due to the increase in society's use of the nonlinear loads that generate them, especially the electronic kind. Classic techniques such as Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Process Capability Analysis (PCA) that form the Statistical Quality Control, can be used to identify outliers or special causes of variability, and proceed with the implementation of actions allowing corrective disposal, provided that the harmonics are normally distributed. In the event that the distribution is unknown novel tools such as Functional Data Analysis (FDA), have been used successfully in this communication to study these phenomena in situations where the classic quality control cannot.

Common reed ( Arundo donax ) is a fast growing perennial plant, considered in many countries as a weed or invasive plant. New material developments in recent years have led to common cane proliferation and an invasion in crops and water channels, significantly increasing elimination and control costs. In this study, it is proposed that particleboard be manufactured of common reed ( A. donax ). The objective is twofold. On the one hand it allows control of a weed, and secondly, it helps reduce the high dependence of imported wood timber and boards by using a readily and annually renewable resource. The fibers of common reed A. donax , possess high tensile strength (200 N/mm 2 between knots), providing much higher values than wood. This fact together with an important moisture and aging resistance, encourage us to propose it as a suitable raw material for the production of particleboards. In this study we propose the manufacture of particle board with urea formaldehyde resin, which is currently used in the wood chipboard industry. To perform this study, A. donax fibers obtained from a shredding hammer, were classified attending to size and slenderness. Following the standard industrial chipboard manufacturing processes, boards were developed to compare their behaviour against wood chipboards. Fifteen test-tube batches with different proportions of pre-selected fibers were manufactured. New boards were subjected to a mechanical stress test, and other physical properties were also measured. UNE EN—specific wood chipboard regulations were applied. Results showed that particleboard could be manufactured using A. donax adjusting the particle size to a maximum of 4 mm sieves. Finally it can be stated that making common reed panels also involves the reuse of a plant actually considered a weed, to become a raw material for industrial applications, leaving a door open to future development and research areas.

Present work elaborates on systems and engineering procedures to create particleboards based on Common Reed. Particleboard was manufactured using the shredding blades, usually applied by wood-particleboard industry. Diverse types of boards were manufactured keeping the same proportion of urea formaldehyde resin (for indoor use), but with different particle proportions according to ISO standard sieves, and varying the pressure from 3 N/mm2 to 25 N/mm2. Mechanical Density, bending resistance and elasticity tests were performed and results were compared against commercial wood particleboards. Results allowed us to state that particle size and pressure plays a significant role in common reed particleboard properties. Common reed particleboards were classified according to UNE EN standards, taking into account relevant standard tests carried out as well as additional classification standard-rules.

This article describes the Metrovisionlab simulation software and practical sessions designed to teach the most important machine vision camera calibration aspects in courses for senior undergraduate students. By following a constructivist methodology, having received introductory theoretical classes, students use the Metrovisionlab application to carry out a series of practical exercises with the aim of learning in a simple way: 1) the basic functioning of a camera; 2) how to calibrate a camera; 3) the most important calibration methods and their special characteristics; and 4) the generation and use of synthetic calibration points. Evaluations based on student feedback confirm that the use of Metrovisionlab as a teaching tool facilitates the learning process.

The kinematic modeling of articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMM) has inherited both the previous developments in the field of robot arms and manipulators, and their calibration and parameter identification techniques, given the similarity of their mechanical characteristics. The different accuracy and repeatability requirements of both systems make it necessary to consider different identification techniques covering the characteristic operational parameters in each case. This paper presents a new data capture technique for subsequent identification of an AACMM kinematic model parameters, using nominal data reached by a ball bar gauge, along with the algorithm and objective functions used, based on a new approach including terms regarding measurement accuracy and repeatability. Thus, an estimation and error measurement correction method using a repeatability error model based on Fourier polynomials is derived from the identification scheme. A Sterling series FARO arm with 1.5 m long and 6 degrees of freedom (dof) was used to carry out experimental tests in order to evaluate the efficiency of the techniques presented, showing improved accuracy and repeatability performance.

A new long distance measurement system design, based on parallel kinematics, is presented in this paper. This system has two degrees of freedom for positioning and orientating two high precision cameras. In this document is presented the system design. Several configurations have been analyzed and the components needed such as actuators, linear captators (to measure the displacement), spherical ball‐and‐socket joints and universal joints, have been selected. The developed model allows us to obtain the kinematic joint variables, depending on geometric parameters, by means of the resolution of opened chains for each leg. The direct model allows us to obtain the platform position and orientation for a determined displacement values. Once the matrix transformation (which describes the coordinates of the platform reference system respect to the base reference system) is obtained, the actuators elongation can be found out through the inverse model with numeric or geometric methods. The design optimization, by means of the analysis of anchorage points and the study of singularities (analysis of the limited platform positions, depending on maximum strut lengths and maximum angle that joints can turn), allows us to optimize the workspace of the platform.