In this article, we present a particle filter (PF)-based track-before-detect (PF TBD) procedure for detection of extended objects whose shape is modeled by an ellipse. By incorporating of an existence variable and the target shape parameters into the state vector, the proposed algorithm performs joint estimation of the target presence/ absence, trajectory and shape parameters under unknown nuis...

A new method of retting flax recently developed to suit the United Kingdom climate has allowed the reintroduction of flax growing to this country. The weed killer glyphosate is sprayed on the crop which then rets before harvesting six weeks later. The acute bronchoconstrictor responses of 11 normal subjects to dust from dew retted and from pre-harvest retted flaxes were compared in a double bli...

There is a strong economic incentive to reduce mite-vectored virus outbreaks. Most outbreaks in the central High Plains of the United States occur in the presence of volunteer wheat that emerges before harvest as a result of hail storms. This study provides a conceptual framework for developing a risk map for wheat diseases caused by mite-vectored viruses based on pre-harvest hail events. Tradi...

Trials were conducted to determine effects of AQUI-STM sedation during harvest (rested-harvest) on physiological responses and fillet quality of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Rested-harvest is defined as application of an anesthetic immediately before harvest to reduce fish activity associated with a normal harvest. Doses of 25–35 ppm AQUI-STM were effective for rested-harvest of catfis...

• The concentration of anthocyanins in grape skins is a characteristic specific to each grape variety even if environmental and cultural factors play a role in determining the final amounts. Knowing the anthocyanin characteristics of grapes before harvest would allow the winemaker to choose the maceration regime best suited to maximize the potential of each incoming grape load. The initial goal...

Clonal herbs that attain maximum development in late-seral forest are often assumed to have similar responses to disturbance and to be functionally equivalent. However, little is known about the demographic or physiological responses of these plants to disturbance or to the altered conditions of the post-disturbance environment. Following harvest of a mature coniferous forest, we compared abund...

BACKGROUND Predation and hunter harvest constitute the main mortality factors affecting the size and dynamics of many exploited populations. The re-colonization by wolves (Canis lupus) of the Scandinavian Peninsula may therefore substantially reduce hunter harvest of moose (Alces alces), the main prey of wolves. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We examined possible effects of wolf presence on h...

Effects of 1-aminoethoxyvinylglycine hydrochloride (AVG or Aviglycine HCl or ReTain) and α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on fruit retention, fruit quality, eveloved ethylene, and respiration in ‘Rome Beauty’ and three ‘Delicious’ apple cultivars (Malus domestica Borkh.) were studied.  The experimental trees were treated with either AVG, applied at 120 g a.i. per 935 L. ha-1 or NAA, applied at t...

Market weight pigs are subjected to numerous stressors during the marketing process from loading at the farm to stunning at the packing plant. These stressors have important implications for animal well-being and fresh pork quality traits. The objectives of this presentation are to review: 1) pre-harvest stressors in pigs; 2) common measures of stress during handling and transportation; and 3) ...

Soil fertility is important in the cultivation process. potential of soil to provide nutrients sufficient quantities available and balanced forms ensure optimum plant growth production. The current availability has decreased as a result continuous land use with chemical fertilizers process, plus leaching erosion by rainwater, not least Alfisol soils. Therefore, fertilization organic materials c...