In agent based models, the agents are usually platforms (individual soldiers, tanks, helicopters, etc.), not military units. In the Sandis software, the agents can be platoon size units. As there are about 30 soldiers in a platoon, there is a need for strength distribution in simulations. The contribution of this paper is a conceptual model of the platoon level agent, the needed mathematical mo...

The aim of this study was to develop a pilot plant for the production of M. barbatus seed through artificial reproduction technology for possible use in aquaculture and repopulation of nursery areas. The study involved various phases: setup of the pilot plant, sourcing of M. barbatus specimens and their transplantation to an offshore long-line farm; production of live food (phytoplankton); sele...

Production of foreign molecules in transgenic plants is anticipated to be an alternative to already established, microbial or animal expression systems with lower production costs. This article reviews the different technologies and approaches currently used to produce economically interesting molecules in plants or plant cell cultures, to evaluate their technical feasibility and economic impli...

Organic farming is increasingly recognized as a prototype for sustainable agriculture. Its guidelines ban the use of artificial fertilizers. However, organic farms may import nutrients from conventional farming through material exchanges. In this study, we aimed at estimating the magnitude of these flows through the quantification of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium inflows from conventional ...

The use of plants for medicinal purposes dates back thousands of years but genetic engineering of plants to produce desired biopharmaceuticals is much more recent. As the demand for biopharmaceuticals is expected to increase, it would be wise to ensure that they will be available in significantly larger amounts, on a cost-effective basis. Currently, the cost of biopharmaceuticals limits their a...

The New Zealand deer industry is growing rapidly and the development of sustainable management practices for deer farming is becoming increasingly important. The main environmental issues facing the deer industry are the effects on soil and water quality, exacerba ted by the behaviour responses of deer to confinement (in particular fence pacing and wallowing). In addition, the projected increas...

Artificially produced chemical elements heavier than uranium have been known for more than seventy years and the number of superheavy elements continues to grow. Presently 26 transuranic elements are known. This paper examines the earliest scientific interest in the very heavy elements and the related question of an upper limit of the periodic system. In the period from the 1880s to the early 1...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were to compare total energy expenditure (including PAL and RMR) of Korean farmers between the farming season and off farming season and to assess the accuracy of estimated energy requirement (EER) prediction equation reported in KDRIs. SUBJECTS/METHODS Subjects were 72 Korean farmers (males 23, females 49) aged 30-64 years. Total energy expend...

Over the past 50 years, the scale and intensity of livestock farming have increased significantly. At the same time, Western societies have become more urbanised and fewer people have close relatives involved in farming. As a result, most citizens have little knowledge or direct experience of what farming entails. In addition, more people are expressing concerns over issues such as farm animal ...

This paper describes how the social capital of rice farmers of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, as manifested in the tradition of collective farming practice, has changed. Collective rice farming persisted for decades, irrespective of critical events that challenged its continuation, due to two key factors: the high need for collective farming to ensure subsistence, and the availability of a closel...