This study was conducted to determine threshold levels for Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force of the beef value cuts. USDA Choice and USDA Select M. biceps femoris, M. gluteus medius, M. infraspinatus, M. longissimus lumborum, M. rectus femoris, M. triceps brachii, and M. vastus lateralis steaks were evaluated for palatability characteristics and tenderness acceptability by a consumer panel (n = 205). Steaks also were evaluated by WBS analysis. The relationship between consumer tenderness-like ratings and WBS was investigated through regression analysis. Threshold WBS levels could not be determined due to the low correlation between consumer tenderness ratings and WBS. Within a muscle, percent tenderness acceptability was determined for each of the tenderness-like ratings. After analyzing the consumer ratings, tenderness acceptability, and WBS values, it was apparent that there may not be a single WBS threshold value suitable for all muscles. Research indicates that there may be muscle-specific WBS threshold levels; these values were not established from this research.

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze retail cuts from the beef rib and plate that had been identified as needing nutrient composition updates in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). Twenty beef carcasses were selected from three different regions of the United States, and the rib and plate were collected for shipment via refrigerated truck to the Rosenthal Meat Science and Technology Center. Each rib and plate was fabricated 14 to 21 d postmortem into the appropriate retail cuts to be used for this study. The cuts were dissected, either raw or cooked (braised, grilled, roasted), into four separable components: separable lean, seam fat, external fat, and refuse. Bone and heavy connective tissue were considered refuse. Percent total chemical fat, moisture, protein, and ash analyses were conducted on the separable lean component obtained from dissection. Cooking yields were evaluated for each of the three cooking methods utilized in this study. Grilled cuts had the highest numerical yield followed by roasted and braised cuts. Dissection data showed single muscle cuts had a higher percentage of separable lean than retail cuts composed of multiple muscles. Boneless and lip-off retail cuts contained a higher percentage of separable lean when compared to their bone-in and lip-on counterparts. Finally, proximate analysis data showed that as retail cuts increased in the percentage of total chemical fat, the percentage of moisture decreased. When percentage of total chemical fat was stratified by USDA quality grade, most cuts showed differences between USDA Choice and Select quality grades. This study was a collaborative project; therefore, the results and discussion of this thesis are only based on findings from Texas A and M University's data. The final project results will be published in the USDA’s National Nutrient Database SR.

Two types of fuzzy linear programming i.e. fuzzy number linear programming and interval number linear programming are used for optimization problems. In interval form of linear programming we convert the inequalities from the feasible region, containing intervals as coefficients, to two groups of inequalities characterized by real, exact coefficients values. Then classical programming has been used to achieve an optimal solution in the feasible region. In fuzzy number linear programming, α‐cuts and LR forms of fuzzy numbers as coefficients have been used to find optimal solution in the feasible region. Finally the numerical examples and their solutions are attached to provide explanations of procedures.

Complex Network Topologies (CNTs)–network holes and cuts–often occur in practical WSN deployments. Many researchers have acknowledged that CNTs adversely affect the performance of location-based routing and proposed various CNT- aware location-based routing protocols. However, although they aim to address practical issues caused by CNTs, many proposed protocols are either based on idealistic assumptions, require too much resources, or have poor performance. Additionally, proposed protocols are designed only for a single routing primitive–either unicast, multicast, or convergecast. However, as recent WSN applications require diverse traffic patterns, the need for an unified routing framework has ever increased. In this dissertation, we address these main weaknesses in the research on location- based routing. We first propose efficient algorithms for detecting and abstracting CNTs in the network. Using these algorithms, we present our CNT-aware location- based unicast routing protocol that achieves the guaranteed small path stretch with significantly reduced communication overhead. We then present our location-based multicast routing protocol that finds near optimal routing paths from a source node to multicast member nodes, with efficient mechanisms for controllable packet header size and energy-efficient recovery from packet losses. Our CNT-aware convergecast routing protocol improves the network lifetime by identifying network regions with concentrated network traffic and distributing the traffic by using the novel concept of virtual boundaries. Finally, we present the design and implementation details of our unified routing framework that seamlessly integrates proposed unicast, multicast, and convergecast routing protocols. Specifically, we discuss the issues regarding the implementation of our routing protocols on real hardware, and the design of the framework that significantly reduces the code and memory size to fit in a resource constrained sensor mote. We conclude with a proactive solution designed to cope with CNTs, where mobile nodes are used for “patching” CNTs to restore the network connectivity and to optimize the network performance.

Many real-world relations are networks that can be modelled with a kind of directed hypergraph named a forward hypergraph (F-graph). F-graphs capture the semantics of both conjunctive and disjunctive dependency relations. Logic statements are sometimes represented using AND/OR directed graphs and they directly correspond with F-graphs; we provide algorithms to convert between the two types of graph. One problem of interest in networks is determining the degree to which the network, with a priority on certain elements, depends upon individual nodes. We address this problem by providing an algorithm, AssetRank, which computes vertex ranks and takes into account network priorities, preferential dependencies, and extra-network influences. A second problem of interest in networks is optimizing the removal of nodes to separate two subcommunities (source and target) to the greatest practical degree, even when a complete disconnection is impractical. The problem is complicated by the need to consider the cost of removing nodes, a budget that constrains the degree to which separation is possible, cascading effects of removing a node, non-linear effects of removing nodes in combination, and removing nodes with the greatest impact on the subcommunities. To this end, we use F-graphs and introduce the concepts of vertex closures and closure-relation graphs. We created two partial-cut algorithms: the first one computes an optimal solution to this NP-hard optimization problem, and the second one estimates an optimization by exploring the closure-relation graph in a best-first search manner. Computer network defence provides a ready application area. Network defenders wish to understand which services and hosts are defence priorities (defence goals), and then, which configurations and vulnerabilities are the most useful to attackers in reaching the defence goals. The defenders' resources are constrained in terms of available person-hours, finances, and acceptable impacts to operations. The work in this thesis supports network defenders by providing actionable information that efficiently removes attack enablers and ensures defence priorities. We present an integration of our algorithms with commercial and open-source network security software. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-30 22:17:52.062

Autonomous Driving or self driving vehicles are concepts of vehicles knowing their environment and making driving manoeuvres without instructions from a driver. The concepts have been around for decades but has improved significantly in the last years since research in this area has made significant progress. Benefits of autonomous driving include the possibility to decrease the number of accidents in traffic and thereby saving lives. A major challenge in autonomous driving is to acquire 3D information and relations between all objects in surrounding traffic. This is referred to as \textit{spatial perception}. Stereo camera systems have become a central sensor module for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. For object detection and measurements at large distances stereo vision encounter difficulties. This includes objects being small, having low contrast and the presence of image noise. Having an accurate perception of the environment at large distances is however of high interest for many applications, especially autonomous driving. This thesis proposes a method which tries to increase the range to where generic objects are first detected using a given stereo camera setup. Objects are represented by planes in 3D space. The input image is segmented into the various objects and the 3D plane parameters are estimated jointly. The 3D plane parameters are estimated directly from the stereo image pairs. In particular, this thesis investigates methods to introduce geometric constraints to the segmentation or labeling task, i.e assigning each considered pixel in the image to a plane. The methods provided in this thesis show that despite the difficulties at large distances it is possible to exploit planar primitives in 3D space for obstacle detection at distances where other methods fail. / En autonom bil innebär att bilen har en uppfattning om sin omgivning och kan utifran det ta beslut angående hur bilen ska manövreras. Konceptet med självkörande bilar har existerat i årtionden men har utvecklats snabbt senaste åren sedan billigare datorkraft finns lättare tillgänglig. Fördelar med autonomiska bilar innebär bland annat att antalet olyckor i trafiken minskas och därmed liv räddas. En av de största utmaningarna med autonoma bilar är att få 3D information och relationer mellan objekt som finns i den omgivande trafikmiljön. Detta kallas för spatial perception och innebär att detektera alla objekt och tilldela en korrekt postition till dem. Stereo kamerasystem har fått en central roll för avancerade förarsystem och autonoma bilar. För detektion av objekt på stora avstånd träffar stereo system på svårigheter. Detta inkluderar väldigt små objekt, låg kontrast och närvaron av brus i bilden. Att ha en ackurativ perception på stora avstånd är dock vitalt för många applikationer, inte minst autonoma bilar. Den här rapporten föreslar en metod som försöker öka avståndet till där objekt först upptäcks. Objekt representeras av plan i 3D rymden. Bilder givna från stereo par segmenteras i olika object och plan parametrar estimeras samtidigt. Planens parametrar estimeras direkt från stereo bild paren. Den här rapporten utreder metoder att introducera gemoetriska begränsningar att använda vid segmenteringsuppgiften. Metoderna som presenteras i denna rapport visar att trots den höga närvaron av brus på stora avstånd är det möjligt att estimera geometriska objekt som är starka nog att möjliggöra detektion av objekt på ett avstand där andra metoder misslyckas.

SANTOS, Adrielle Albuquerque dos. Componentes carcaça e não carcaça de cordeiros Santa Inês submetidos à restrição alimentar. 2014. 57 f. Dissertação (mestrado em zootecnia)- Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza-CE, 2014. / Submitted by Elineudson Ribeiro (elineudsonr@gmail.com) on 2016-04-26T18:00:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_aasantos.pdf: 1432425 bytes, checksum: c3a7afc71c33aacad80212f0da58f069 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by José Jairo Viana de Sousa (jairo@ufc.br) on 2016-05-27T19:17:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_aasantos.pdf: 1432425 bytes, checksum: c3a7afc71c33aacad80212f0da58f069 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-27T19:17:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_aasantos.pdf: 1432425 bytes, checksum: c3a7afc71c33aacad80212f0da58f069 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of sex class(castrated and non- castrated) and levels of feed restriction (0%, 30% e 60%) on the quantitative characteristics of carcass and non-carcass components of Santa Ines lambs. We used thirty Santa Ines lambs, castrated (n=15) and non–castrated (n=15) with approximately two months of age and average initial body weight of 13 ± 1.49 kg. The lambs were assigned to a completely randomized design in a 3x2 factorial arrangement (restriction level x sex class), according to the amount of food provided (0%, 30% and 60% restriction). Experiment period was determined based in the time required for the animals of one of the groups achieved 28 kg of average body weight, when all 30 animals were slaughtered. We found the influence of sex class on quantitative traits body weight at slaughter, empty body weight, hot and cold carcass weight non castrated animals showed higher averages than the castrated animals. The weight of the leg of the non- castred animal (1,727) was biggest than the castrated animals (1,637). Was observed interaction between sex class and dietary restriction for the all of characteristics of carcass, except to leg yield and back rib. Interaction between restriction levels and genders was not observed for non-carcass components. There were differences between genders for the weights of the kidneys, paws, blood and large intestine of non-castrated animals, which had higher averages than castrated animals. A linear decreasing effect to the restriction levels were observed for blood, head, skin, paw, rumen-reticulum, abomasum, small intestine, large intestine and perirenal fat, omental fat, mesenteric and heart fats. Quantitative characteristics of carcass and non-carcass components of growing Santa Ines lambs are influenced by sex class and dietary restriction levels. / Objetivou-se com o presente estudo avaliar o efeito de classe sexual (castrado e não castrado) e níveis de restrição alimentar (0%, 30% e 60%) sobre as características quantitativas dos componentes carcaça e não carcaça de cordeiros Santa Inês. Foram utilizados 30 cordeiros, 15 castrados e 15 não castrados, com aproximadamente dois meses de idade e peso corporal inicial médio de 13 ± 1,49 kg. Os cordeiros foram distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado em arranjo fatorial 3x2 (nível de restrição x classe sexual), de acordo com a quantidade de alimento fornecida (0%, 30% e 60% de restrição). A duração do experimento foi determinada pelo tempo necessário para que a média de peso corporal dos animais de um dos tratamentos atingisse 28 kg, ocasião em que todos os 30 animais foram abatidos. Houve influência da classe sexual sobre as características quantitativas peso corporal ao abate, peso do corpo vazio, peso de carcaça quente e peso de carcaça fria, sendo os animais não castrados os que apresentaram maiores valores. O peso da perna mostrou-se maior para animais não castrados (1,727) que para os castrados (1,637). Houve interação entre classe sexual e níveis de restrição para profundidade do tórax e comprimento da perna. Houve efeito linear decrescente de acordo com o aumento dos níveis de restrição alimentar para as características e cortes de carcaça, exceto para rendimento de perna e lombo posterior. Não foi observada interação entre níveis de restrição e classe sexual para peso dos componentes não carcaça. Houve diferença entre classes sexuais para os pesos dos rins, patas, sangue e intestino grosso de animais não castrados, os quais obtiveram médias superiores aos animais castrados. Para sangue, cabeça, pele, pata, rúmen-retículo, abomaso, intestino delgado, intestino grosso e gorduras perirrenal, omental, mesentérica e do coração houve efeito linear decrescente para os níveis de restrição. As características quantitativas dos componentes carcaça e não carcaça de cordeiros Santa Inês são influenciadas pelas classes sexuais e níveis restrição alimentar.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-01-30Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:15:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ricardo_ha_me_botfmvz.pdf: 253097 bytes, checksum: 0d65dce29afe2348168a2af169bae508 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Foram utilizadas cinco meias-carcaças congeladas de cordeiros Santa Inês, obtidas 8 de um frigorífico comercial, abatidos com 35,0 kg de peso vivo, divididas em cinco cortes 9 comerciais: pescoço, paleta, costela, lombo e perna. Foram registrados o peso e as 10 porcentagens dos cortes, e avaliadas as propriedades químicas e físicas. Não houve 11 diferença entre os valores de pH para os cortes, com variação de 5,88 a 6,08. O lombo e a 12 perna apresentaram maior teor de proteína (20,79 e 20,66%), enquanto que pescoço e 13 costela apresentaram maior teor de extrato etéreo (4,44 e 4,95%). O teor de colesterol não 14 apresentou diferença entre os cortes, variando de 59,09 a 69,29 mg/100g. A composição de 15 ácidos graxos saturados e insaturados não apresentou diferença entre os cortes. Nos cortes, 16 o oléico foi o ácido graxo que mais contribuiu para o perfil total de ácidos graxos (47,55% 17 em média) enquanto que o ácido linoléico apresentou traços no pescoço, lombo e perna, 18 com teores de 0,33 e 0,35% para paleta e costela, respectivamente, e o ácido linolênico 19 apresentou traços no lombo e perna, e teores de 0,27, 0,28 e 0,14% para o pescoço, paleta e 20 costela, respectivamente. A perna apresentou maior força de cisalhamento em comparação 21 com a paleta e o lombo, enquanto que para cor, não houve diferença entre os cortes para 22 luminosidade (L*), a perna apresentou menor intensidade de vermelho (a*) e o lombo 23 maior intensidade de amarelo (b*). / Five halves frozen carcass of Santa Ines lambs, obtained from a commercial 7 slaughterhouse, slaughtered at 35.0 kg of live weight were separated in five commercial 8 cuts: neck, shoulder, ribs, loin and leg. There were recorded weight and cuts percentage 9 and evaluated chemical and physical traits. There wasn’t difference between pH values for 10 cuts, with variation of 5.88 to 6.08. Loin and leg had higher protein level (20.79 and 11 20.66%), while neck and ribs showed higher lipids levels (4.44 and 4.95%). Cholesterol 12 level wasn’t different between cuts, raging by 59.09 to 69.29 mg/100g. The composition of 13 saturated and unsaturated fatty acids didn’t showed difference between cuts. Oleic had 14 higher contribution for total fatty acid profile (mean of 47.55%), while linoleic had traces 15 in neck, loin and leg, showing for shoulder and ribs, levels of 0.33 e 0.35% respectively, 16 and linolenic showed traces in loin and leg, with levels of 0.27, 0.28 and 0.14% for neck, 17 shoulder and ribs respectively. Leg had higher shear force than shoulder and loin, and for 18 color, there wasn’t significative difference between cuts for luminosity (L*), leg showed 19 higher red intensity (a*) and loin higher yellow intensity (b*).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-11-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:16:11Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000750723.pdf: 1024259 bytes, checksum: 5d5e9a719fbf16c1879915a06796853e (MD5) / O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o efeito do método de castração (cirúrgico ou imunológico) sobre a deposição de tecido muscular e adiposo, desempenho, características da carcaça e da carne de machos F1 Aberdeen Angus x Nelore. Foram utilizados 30 animais com peso corporal de 233,0 ± 38,2 kg e 8 meses de idade, divididos em três grupos distintos: animais não castrados (NC), castrados cirurgicamente (CC) e imunocastrados (IC) com Bopriva® (anti-GnRH). Para o estudo da dinâmica de deposição de tecido muscular e adiposo foi feita ultrassonografia no início do experimento e posteriormente a cada 42 dias, juntamente com pesagem e coleta de sangue para determinar a concentração sérica de testosterona. Ao final do período experimental todos os animais foram abatidos e suas carcaças avaliadas. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualisado. Houve interação entre tratamento e período de avaliação para ganho médio diário, peso corporal, testosterona, circunferência escrotal, e deposição de musculo e gordura. Em média, as estratégias de castração reduziram o ganho em peso em 12,7 %, conferindo pesos ao abate 7 % superior aos animais não castrados. Não houve diferença significativa para a taxa de deposição de tecido muscular entre os tratamentos, porém o grupo CC teve a maior taxa de deposição de gordura, seguido do IC e NC, resultando em maior espessura de gordura final na carcaça. Os animais NC apresentaram maiores pesos de carcaça quente e fria em relação aos castrados (CC e IC). Os grupos castrados apresentaram as menores perdas por resfriamento em relação aos NC. Em relação aos cortes primários os machos NC tiveram maiores pesos absolutos e rendimentos de dianteiro e menor de ponta de agulha... / The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of castration methods (surgical or immunological) on the deposition of muscular and subcutaneous fat tissues, performance, carcass traits and meat quality traits of beef cattle F1 males Aberdeen Angus x Nellore . Thirty animals were used with body weights of 38.2 kg ± 233.0 and 8 months old. These were divided into three groups: non-castrated animals (NC), castrated (CC) and immunocastrated (IC) with Bopriva ® (anti - GnRH). To study the dynamics of deposition of muscle and adipose tissues was performed ultrasonography at baseline and then every 42 days, along with weighing and blood sampling to determine the serum testosterone concentration. At the end of the experiment all animals were slaughtered and their carcasses evaluated. The experimental design was a completely randomized design. There was an interaction between treatment and evaluation period for average daily gain, body weight, testosterone, CE, and deposition of muscle and fat. On average strategies castration reduced the weight gain of 12.7 %, giving slaughter weights 7 % higher than the uncastrated animals. There was no significant difference in the rate of deposition of muscle tissue between treatments, but the CC group had a higher rate of fat deposition, followed by the IC and NC, resulting in greater fat thickness end of the housing. NC animals showed higher hot and cold carcass than steers (CC and IC). Castrated groups presented lower cooling losses compared to NC. Regarding the primary cuts NC males had higher absolute weights and yields lower front and side cut...

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