University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
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Smart Cattle Monitoring Using Computer Vision to Detect Physiological, Behavioral, and Physical Characteristics
No full textThis study investigates the use of computer vision as a non-invasive, scalable approach for monitoring key physiological, behavioral, and physical indicators of beef cattle health and welfare. The main goal was to develop automated, camera-based frameworks capable of replacing or augmenting manual or contact-based monitoring methods commonly used in livestock management.
Three integrated systems were developed and validated under real farm conditions: (1) breathing-rate detection, (2) drinking-behavior estimation, and (3) body condition scoring (BCS). For respiration monitoring, a learning-based motion magnification and pose-estimation pipeline was implemented to amplify low-flank movements associated with breathing. Adaptive signal analysis and a hybrid winner strategy were applied to extract breathing frequencies from motion signals. The model achieved a mean bias of 1.84% and limits of agreement within ±20% when compared with manually counted respiration, with accuracy remaining stable across lighting conditions and animal variations.
The drinking-behavior framework utilized pose estimation to track head and neck keypoints and employed Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Transformer networks to classify drinking events from video sequences. The LSTM achieved 95.5% accuracy and an F1-score of 0.97. Behavioral features derived from the classified events, including duration and frequency, were integrated with water flow–sensor data to predict daily water intake (R² = 0.81). Results revealed increased water consumption during estrus periods, highlighting the biological relevance of behavioral metrics derived from vision data.
The automated BCS framework combined multi-view image analysis and feature extraction from anatomically significant regions such as the spine, tail head, and whole body, identified by a YOLO detector. Features such as tail-head angle, spine ridge visibility, fat-knob counts, and contour roundness were used in classification models, achieving up to 0.93 accuracy with Random Forests.
Collectively, these three studies demonstrate that camera-based monitoring can provide continuous, objective, and interpretable assessment of cattle physiology, behavior, and condition. The findings establish a foundation for integrated, AI-driven livestock management systems capable of supporting early disease detection, welfare assessment, and data-driven decision-making. This research advances precision livestock farming toward autonomous, welfare-focused, and sustainable beef production
Women in Nuclear Security: The United Arab Emirates Story
No full textHistorically in the United Arab Emirates, security personnel stationed at nuclear sites were typically men with military or policing backgrounds. Although these groups bring important, transferrable skills and experience to the nuclear security mission, some Emirati stakeholders recognize the increased benefit of a greater diversity of voices and backgrounds within the nuclear security team hierarchy. By recruiting from a wider range of disciplines and encouraging gender diversity, the security team could develop broader insight into security challenges, and a greater variety of perspectives could bring forth more innovative solutions.
When aligning a diverse, multinational workforce with a common mission, all members of a security organization must fundamentally change their individual approaches to the work; the entire staff must be on the same page. This can be particularly challenging for some people who find it difficult to transition from a framework of beliefs because of past experiences based on prescriptive, exclusionary, hierarchical thought. Also, national cultural values are learned early, held deeply, and change slowly over the course of generations, and inherent biases rooted in these values can create barriers to the collective progress of a team. Creating a more open, diverse, and transparent culture for the team by accepting a unique, egalitarian, professional nuclear security culture that all members adhere to can be a challenging task for some.
In this article, I share my experiences related to professional roadblocks, personal challenges, and lessons learned, particularly those regarding the empowerment of women in science and engineering, while developing and establishing the United Arab Emirates nuclear security program. I also discuss the support (and underrepresentation) of women, including those currently in critical leadership positions, and their careers in nuclear security
Statement of Diversity and Inclusion
Get PDFThis document includes the special issue\u27s statement of diversity and inclusion
Did the Arab Spring bring a positive or negative transition to democracy in the Middle East?
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Musical Ontology as a Framework for Narrative Agency in As Dusk Falls
Get PDFInteractive narrative media demands a reevaluation of music’s narrative function, particularly in shaping player perception, moral alignment, and thematic continuity. This study investigates the musical score of As Dusk Falls (Interior/Night 2022), a choice-based interactive fiction (CBIF) that challenges traditional boundaries between linear scoring and branching narratives. Drawing from semiotics ontology, ludomusicology, and cognitive science, the research demonstrates how recurring motifs in As Dusk Falls are not fixed signifiers but fluid constructs that evolve with the player’s decisions. Central to this investigation is the conceptualization of music as an ontological system that structures and reflects the game’s mutable narrative space. Motifs operate as semiotic anchors, maintaining thematic coherence while dynamically engaging with player agency. The study explores the physiological and cognitive dimensions of musical engagement, including the role of the mirror neuron system and Husserlian protention to account for music’s immersive and anticipatory functions. By treating music as both a compositional and narratological structure, this research offers a theoretical model for understanding how scores in CBIFs function not only as accompaniment to but as dynamic agents of narrative meaning, influencing how players interpret experience and ultimately co-create the story and/or musical score
IMPACT OF PLANT POPULATION ON AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE, LABOR REQUIREMENTS, AND LEAF QUALITY IN BURLEY TOBACCO (NICOTIANA TABACUM L.)
No full textIncreased labor costs and perceived yield declines have prompted burley tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) producers to reconsider conventional plant populations. This study evaluated the effects of three planting densities, including 11,532, 17,574, and 23,065 plants ha-1,on agronomic performance, cured leaf yield, labor requirements, and leaf quality in three burley tobacco cultivars (TN90LC, KT204LC, and KT222LC). Field trials were conducted over two years at the University of Tennessee’s Northeast Tennessee (NETREC) and Highland Rim (HRREC) AgResearch and Education Centers using a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement. Key metrics assessed included plant height, leaf number, stem diameter, total yield, and USDA federal grade index, as well as labor requirements for harvest and stripping. Yield was significantly impacted by cultivar selection and plant population, with modern burley tobacco hybrids (KT204LC and KT222LC) performing better than the older cultivar, TN90LC. Results demonstrated that increasing plant population significantly improved total cured leaf yield without significantly impacting leaf quality. However, labor hours for harvest and stripping increased by 24–31% under the highest plant density. Despite improved yields, partial budget analysis revealed diminishing returns at the highest density due to the increased input costs, mostly associated with labor, resulting in negative changes in net profit. Conversely, reducing population density lowered input cost but also reduced yield and potential revenue. Under the production and market conditions of this study, the recommended population of 17,574 plants ha-1 remains the most economically and agronomically sustainable choice for burley tobacco producers; however, the increases in labor costs and decrease in labor supply could prompt tobacco producers to choose planting densities which fall between 11,532 and 17,574 plants ha-1
COMPOUND 6, A SYNTHETIC KISSPEPTIN ANALOG, INCREASES PLASMA LUTEINIZING HORMONE CONCENTRATIONS IN BEEF COWS UNDER LOW CIRCULATING PROGESTERONE CONCENTRATIONS
Get PDFReproductive performance affects profitability in the food animal industry. Estrus synchronization has improved fertility, but hormonal tools like kisspeptin (KP) have potential for further enhancement. However, KP’s short half-life limits its use in cattle. Compound 6 (C6), a synthetic KP analog, was created to improve stability and extend half-life. While C6 has stimulated reproductive responses in other species, its ability to induce LH secretion and ovulation in cattle is less understood.
The study investigated the effects of C6 on plasma LH, serum progesterone (P4), and ovarian dynamics in cattle. Ten cows underwent two treatments: control (CON; 2 mL saline IM; n=10) or C6 (100 nmol in 2 mL saline IM; n=10). Estrus synchronization was achieved using prostaglandin F2ɑ, GnRH, and internal progesterone-releasing devices (CIDR), with treatments on Day 6 of follicular wave emergence. With CIDRs in place to keep circulating P4 low, blood samples were collected hourly for 12 hours post-treatment to measure plasma LH. Additional blood samples for P4 analysis and ultrasonography of ovaries were collected at -1 and +11 hours, twice daily for four days post-treatment, and once daily thereafter for three days. C6 significantly increased plasma LH concentrations (p \u3c 0.0001) compared to CON, especially at Hours 4, 5, and 6. Luteinizing hormone levels remained elevated (p \u3c 0.0001) from Hours 4 to 7 in the C6 group. Serum P4 concentrations were higher in the CON group at baseline (p \u3c 0.0078) and decreased significantly after CIDR removal (Hours 168, 192 and 216; p \u3c 0.0001). C6 treatment led to a significant reduction in P4 at Hour 192 (p = 0.045). Ultrasonography did not show luteal tissue, but C6-treated cows were more likely (p \u3c 0.0001) to lose a dominant follicle within 36 hours of treatment. Collectively, C6 caused an increase in plasma LH concentrations and possibly promoted ovarian follicular turnover. Further research is warranted to determine if the C6 induced increase in LH consistently promotes ovarian follicular turnover and the effectiveness of integrating C6 into bovine breeding programs as an alternative or supplement to GnRH-based synchronization
The Starrs: An Early History of a Cherokee Family, 1776-1846
No full textThe Starrs were a mixed heritage Cherokee family who lived in East Tennessee prior to the Trail of Tears. In 1835, one member of the family, James, signed the Treaty of New Echota, alongside other prominent Cherokee politicians, like John Ridge, Major Ridge, and Elias Boudinot. The Starr family were supporters of Cherokee emigration and removal, and their political activism led to much bloodshed and violence in the late 1830s and 1840s in Cherokee Territory in Oklahoma. Much of that violence was politically motivated, and it resulted in the Starr family, specifically male members of the family, being hunted by their political rivals
Microbial Community Structure and Function in Intensively Managed Landscapes Compared to Restored Prairies
No full textInvestigating the impact intensively managed landscapes have on biotic-abiotic interfaces in the root zone is critical for understanding how intensive management affects microbial communities across the soil profile. The root zone comprises the soil-root-microbe system and is a hotspot of biogeochemical transformations. This critical interface regulates sub-surface biogeochemical environments as well as dynamics in the soil surface that are primarily influenced by management activities, such as artificial ditches, fertilizer applications, and tile drains. The soil’s “active root zone” is in reference to six depths: 0-10cm, 10-20cm, 20-30cm (upper active root zone), 55-65cm (lower active zone), and 105-115cm, 175-185cm (below the active root zone) within soil profiles from intensively managed systems and restored prairies in both Illinois and Nebraska. Hydrolytic enzyme activity is a technique used in microbial community studies to illustrate microbial community function while phospholipid fatty acid analysis is commonly used to identify the microbial community. Incorporating both together in addition to other abiotic and abiotic factors in the soil such as % sand, % clay, soil temperature, water content, AL2O3, nitrate, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), and soil pH can assist in illustrating a more complete depiction of what is occurring across the active root zone between systems heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities and systems that are not. Results showed that restored prairies have overall higher microbial activity compared to intensively managed systems (p\u3c 0.01). The management effects on enzyme activity were inconclusive for every enzyme except N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase which was consistently higher in prairies. This suggests nutrient cycling differences between intensively managed systems and prairies, as demonstrated by enzymatic activity results. This suggests that intensive agriculture affects nutrient dynamics and carbon cycling which is reflected by the microbial community and their functionality