Metrisor: A novel diagnostic method for metritis detection in cattle based on machine learning and sensors.

The Metrisor device has been developed using gas sensors for rapid, highly accurate and effective diagnosis of metritis. 513 cattle uteri were collected from abattoirs and swabs were taken for microbiological testing. The Metrisor device was used to measure intrauterine gases. The results showed a bacterial growth rate of 75.75 % in uteri with clinical metritis. In uteri positive for clinical metritis, the most commonly isolated and identified bacteria were Trueperella pyogenes, Fusobacterium necrophorum and Escherichia coli. Measurements taken with Metrisor to determine the presence of metritis in the uterus yielded the most successful results in evaluations of relevant machine learning algorithms. The ICO (Iterative Classifier Optimizer) algorithm achieved 71.22 % accuracy, 64.40 % precision and 71.20 % recall. Experiments were conducted to examine bacterial growth in the uterus and the random forest algorithm produced the most successful results with accuracy, precision and recall values of 78.16 %, 75.30 % and 78.20 % respectively. ICO also showed high performance in experiments to determine bacterial growth in metritis-positive uteri, with accuracy, precision and recall values of 78.97 %, 77.20 % and 79.00 %, respectively. In conclusion, the Metrisor device demonstrated high accuracy in detecting metritis and bacterial growth in uteri and could identify bacteria such as E. coli, S. aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, T. pyogenes, Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp. and F. necrophorum with rates up to 80 %. It provides a reliable, rapid and effective means of detecting metritis in animals in the field without the need for laboratory facilities.

The effects of novel electrical teat dipping on some mastitis parameters in dairy herds.

Electrical teat dipping (ETD) is a novel, patented method developed by the authors to control mastitis in dairy cows. Here we evaluate the efficacy of ETD in reducing the incidence of clinical mastitis and bulk tank milk somatic cell count (BTMSCC) on three dairy farms over 6 months. ETD was applied for morning and evening milking on three farms, while conventional teat dipping (CTD) was applied on the other three farms. The number of animals and quarters with clinical mastitis and monthly BTMSCC measurements were recorded. We found that the incidence of clinical mastitis was lower on farms using ETD than those using CTD. However, the BTMSCC did not significantly change throughout the study. Based on these findings, we conclude that ETD effectively reduces mastitis rates on dairy farms.

Optimized modeling of energy and environmental metrics of mixed flow turbofan engine used regional aircraft.

As a kind of gas turbine engines, turbofan engines have powered a number of aero-vehicles in aviation sector. The necessity of turbofan with higher energy efficiency has been greatly drawn attention since these are operating dependent to fossil fuels. In this study, energy and emission metrics of fifty-one mixed flow turbofan engines (MFTE) with different bypass ratio, overall pressure ratio and fuel flow are modeled with multi-regression (MR) method. The obtained models are subjected to metaheuristic approaches involving genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated annealing (SA) so as to decrease error of the models. According to MR findings, rated thrust of MFTEs is estimated with 1.4877 of minimum square error (MSE) whereas GA and SA make it lower as 1.3404 and 1.2524, respectively. On the other hand, NOx emission index of MFTEs is predicted with relatively low coefficient of determination (R2) as 0.8620. However, its accuracy is enhanced to 0.8633 (with GA) and 0.8655 (with SA). Finally, exergy efficiency of MFTEs is estimated the highest model correctness with GA. Namely, R2 of the model is computed as 0.9280 with GA and 0.9277 with SA. Without applying these methods, its R2 is obtained as 0.9263 with MR. When considering these outcomes, thanks to modeling and optimization methods, prediction of performance and emission indexes of mixed flow turbofan engines could be performed with lower error values. It is thought that the study helps in prediction of environmental effect regarding turbofan engines that are utilized at busy airports.

A novel approach in the prevention of mastitis: electrical teat dipping.

Teat dipping is widely used in dairy cattle, especially to protect against contagious mastitis. Here we determine the effect of the device called 'Electrical Teat Dipping' (ETD), which was developed by combining teat dipping application and electrical field stimulation technique on teats. For this purpose, the front teats of 100 Holstein breed milking cows were evaluated in two groups, with ETD being applied once to the left front teat of these cows, and conventional teat dipping (CTD) being applied once to the right front teat, both after milking. Ultrasonographic measurements of the teats were made before milking and after teat dipping. We found that the width of the teat canal (1.88 ± 0.07 mm) in the teat using ETD was narrower after the application compared to those with CTD (2.28 ± 0.05 mm). Based on our findings, we conclude that the effects of ETD on the teat are very positive and can potentially be used as a new approach in the preventative control of mastitis in cows.