201,355 research outputs found
My Favorite Place: Steven Rowley: South Portland Public Library
No full textA brief profile of author Steven Rowley. Discusses his forays into fiction and film in Palm Springs, California, and fond memories of childhood summers spent at the South Portland Public Library
Developing flexible automation for mushroom harvesting (Agaricus bisporus) : innovation report
No full textA framework for analysing crop processes and their suitability to automation was
developed in order to address the challenges of labour costs and skills availability that
UK growers face. Harvesting was found to be the function of greatest potential labour
resource savings. The framework compared those crops with the highest Home
Production Marketed value, in terms of target detection, target removal, seasonality and
environmental factors. Agaricus bisporus (common mushroom) was the crop that was
identified as the best candidate for automation.
Therefore a laboratory demonstration of a robot arm was designed and developed and
experiments conducted showed that the cycle time to pick and place three mushrooms
was 20 seconds (compared to a typical human pick rate of 12 seconds (HDC 1996)).
The model could in theory, be operated 24 hours a day, giving a picking strategy
advantage over a current single day-shift operation. The pick efficiency rate (i.e.
success rate) was found to be 69% and if all biological factors are eliminated (e.g.
elimination of air conditioning which dried out compost and fruiting bodies), the results
suggest a 92% pick success rate is theoretically feasible using the model within
optimum environmental conditions. Additionally, 85% of these mushrooms
successfully picked had no bruising damage; this results in an overall 78.2% success
rate, or 21.8% scrap rate, compared to a 5-10% scrap rate produced by human pickers
(Noble 2004), (Komatsu 2005), (Howard 2007).
The performance of the robotic harvester was tested within a simulated commercial
environment using a discrete event simulation of a UK farm. Results of experiments
conducted to compare the performance of a robotic harvesting operation to the current
labour intensive operation show that the system would require between 31 and 34 robot
harvesters to replace the current 28 humans.
The initial investment cost for the proposed fully automated harvesting and growing
system, using an Automated Storage and Retrieval System, for the UK farm was found
to be from £3.56-3.71m. The payback period for the replacement of the 28 Flexible
Full Time Harvesters currently employed was found to be 8 years. The Internal Rate of
Return (IRR) was found to be 4%. If the existing growing sheds and tray transport
system at the UK farm was kept in service and just the automated harvesting unit was
employed, the payback period reduced to 5.5 years and the IRR was found to be 10.5%.
The financial analysis provides unimpressive results; however, limitations of these
traditional financial appraisal methods were identified from this work. The nonfinancial
benefits provide a more compelling reason to go ahead with the proposed
solution as the persistent labour supply and direct labour cost issues are currently
forcing the UK growers out of business.
This work provides growers with a reliable automated harvesting solution and the
ability to determine the suitability of its application within their own operations
Sharon M. Rowley. The Old English Version of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica. Cambridge : D.S. Brewer, 2011
No full textCrépin André. Sharon M. Rowley. The Old English Version of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica. Cambridge : D.S. Brewer, 2011. In: Bulletin des anglicistes médiévistes, N°81, Été 2012. pp. 74-76
Aboriginal survey, New South Wales and South Australia, 1965: File m
No full textThe object of the surveys, conducted in New South Wales and South Australia in 1965, was to gain some idea of the social and economic situation of persons identifying as Aboriginal in the more closely settled regions of Australia. Data on households covered household composition, including sex of head of household, visitors, duration of residence, location of dwelling, type of dwelling, land ownership, rent and payments, details of type of construction, facilities, utilities, furnishings and appliances, consumer durables and books/musical instruments, interior and exterior care and maintenance and whether dwellings condemned. Data on individuals included housing, age, sex, marital status, race, relationship to household head, recent absences from home, illnesses, physical disabilities, medical advice sought, medical insurance cover, whether a ward of an organisation, hospital admissions, employment, education, sources of income and membership of community organisations. Females were asked, in addition, about pregnancies, miscarriages, stillbirths and surviving offspring, attendance at pre-natal and baby health clinics and location of other relatives. Males were asked about dependent children; military service; time spent in government institutions; ownership of vehicles, tools of trade, house, real estate, shares, livestock, insurance policies and property; and about trade union membership and hire purchase
FIGURE 1. The 5.7 m in The World's largest known Gorgonian
No full textFIGURE 1. The 5.7 m long specimen of Iridogorgia magnispiralis Watling, 2007, photographed at a depth of 1366 m on Twin Banks, Northwest Hawaiian Islands within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Inset shows laser dots spaced at 19.9 cm used for measuring colony dimensions.Published as part of Watling, Les, Rowley, Sonia & Guinotte, John, 2013, The World's largest known Gorgonian, pp. 198-199 in Zootaxa 3630 (1) on page 199, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3630.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/526142
Culicoides calexicanus Wirth and Rowley
No full textCulicoides calexicanus Wirth and Rowley (Fig. 90, 144, 221, 223, 275, 285) Culicoides calexicanus Wirth and Rowley, 1971: 156 (numerical characters; key; female, male; fig. female antenna, palpus, eye separation, spermathecae, male genitalia, parameres; California). Wirth et al. 1985: 26 (numerical characters; fig. female wing). Diagnosis. (Tables 14, 15) Wing pattern distinct and extensive; r 2 dark; prominent distal pale spots in r 3, m 1, m 2; scutellum yellowish, lighter than the brown scutum; fore and often hind tarsomeres with apical spines; spermathecae unequal by ~1.1, necks shorter than wide; ventral apodeme of gonocoxite simple; gonostylus about evenly curved, not abruptly bent, entire lateral contour convex; aedeagus V-shaped, median process tapering to tip ~0.2 as wide as basal arm spread; parameres separate, with abrupt ventro-lateral bend at ~0.8 and sharp tip often with divergent apical spines. Distribution. California, Nevada, Utah (Grand, Washington counties, new state record). Evidently, C. calexicanus is an uncommon but wide-ranging species, having been reported by Wirth and Rowley (1971) from near sea level in Imperial County, California, and from ~ 2300 m elevation in the Humboldt Mountains of Elko County, Nevada. Adult behavior. The mandibular and lacinial teeth on the female indicate it feeds on vertebrate blood; and the CO 2 - baited trap collection of the male suggests that males may seek hosts to find females for mating. Its week 14 collection datum in Table 5 is from Imperial County, California, a much warmer climate, representing much earlier activity than in Utah or Nevada. Remarks. Some of the Palmerae group females that were not identified to species may be C. calexicanus. See C. palmerae and species C remarks.Published as part of Phillips, Robert A., 2022, Culicoides Latreille and Leptoconops Skuse biting midges of the southwestern United States with emphasis on the Canyonlands of southeastern Utah (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), pp. 1-214 in Insecta Mundi 2022 (907) on pages 102-103, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.639168
Leptolalax bidoupensis Rowley, Le, Tran & Hoang, 2011, sp. nov.
No full textLeptolalax bidoupensis sp. nov. Holotype: AMS R 173133, adult male, calling on clay bank 0.2 m from 1–4 m wide, medium-high gradient, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.19225 º N, 108.71494 º E, 1730 m, Figure 1). Collected at 23: 55 h on 19 May 2008 by J. J. L. Rowley, Hoang D. H., Le T. T. D., and Tran T. A. D. Paratypes: UNS 00101 /AMS R 173135, adult male, calling on tree root 0.2 m above 2–5 m wide, mediumhigh gradient, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.19106 º N, 108.71703 º E, 1641 m), collected at 20: 25 h on 20 May 2008. UNS 00102 /AMS R 173137, metamorph, in water of swampy area adjacent to a swift, rocky stream in cloud forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.18644 º N, 108.71486 º E, 1627 m), collected at 19: 45 h on 18 May 2008. AMS R 173134, adult female, on clay bank 0.2 m from 1–4 m wide, medium-high gradient, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.19225 º N, 108.71494 º E, 1730 m), collected at 23: 50 h on 19 May 2008, in close proximity to holotype. AMS R 173136, adult male, calling on leaf litter 0.2 m from 2–5 m wide, medium-high gradient, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup- Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.19106 º N, 108.71703 º E, 1641 m), collected at 21: 40 h on 20 May 2008. NCSM 77320, adult female, in water of swampy area off swift, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.18644 º N, 108.71486 º E, 1627 m), collected at 19: 50 h on 18 May 2008. NCSM 77321, adult male, sitting in upright posture (previously calling?) in leaf litter, 0.1 m from swift, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.18644 º N, 108.71486 º E, 1627 m), collected at 21: 45 h on 18 May 2008. NCSM 77322, metamorph, on clay bank 0.5 m from 2–5 m wide, medium-high gradient, rocky stream in montane evergreen forest in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (12.19106 º N, 108.71703 º E, 1641 m), collected at 21: 30 h on 20 May 2008. All specimens were collected by J. J. L. Rowley, Hoang D. H., Le T. T. D., and Tran T. A. D. Etymology. specific epithet is in reference to the type locality of Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park. Diagnosis. Assigned to the genus Leptolalax on the basis of the following: small size, rounded finger tips, the presence of an elevated inner palmar tubercle not continuous to the thumb, presence of macroglands on body (including supra-axillary, pectoral, femoral and ventrolateral glands), vomerine teeth absent, tubercles on eyelids, anterior tip of snout with vertical white bar (Dubois 1983; Lathrop et al. 1998; Delorme et al. 2006). Leptolalax bidoupensis is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of (1) a dark brownish red ventral surface with white speckling on entire ventral surface including throat, arms and legs, often forming distinct marbling on chest and belly, (2) small size (23.6–24.6 mm in four adult males and 29.2–29.4 mm in two adult females), (3) bicoloured iris (coppery red upper half, fading to pale silver ventrally), (4) a mostly smooth skin texture with no skin ridges, and (5) relatively short tibia (male TIB:SVL 0.44–0.46). The male advertisement call of the new species, consisting of 6–9 single-pulsed notes with a dominant frequency of 1.9–3.8 kHz, is also unique among Leptolala x species for which calls are known. Description of holotype. Head slightly longer than wide; snout bluntly rounded in dorsal view and in profile, projecting slightly beyond margin of the lower jaw; nostril closer to tip of snout than eye; canthus rostralis distinct, gently rounded; lores sloping; vertical pupil; eye diameter smaller than snout length; tympanum distinct, round, diameter smaller than that of the eye; tympanic rim elevated relative to skin of temporal region; vomerine teeth absent; pineal ocellus absent; vocal sac openings oval, located posteriolaterally on floor of mouth; tongue long, moderate width, with slight notch at posterior tip; raised supratympanic ridge running from eye towards axillary gland. Tips of fingers rounded, not swollen; relative finger lengths I 9 %.Published as part of Rowley, Jodi J. L., Le, Duong Thi Thuy, Tran, Dao Thi Anh & Hoang, Huy Duc, 2011, A new species of Leptolalax (Anura: Megophryidae) from southern Vietnam, pp. 15-28 in Zootaxa 2796 on pages 17-26, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.27701
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