Marine wood borers in New Zealand: an interdisciplinary study of their origins, impacts and management

Non-indigenous marine species are a major concern worldwide. For some species, insufficient historical and biogeographical data can leave their origin and patterns of dispersal difficult to determine. Among such species are marine wood borers. This thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining both historical and biological methods, to address marine borer impacts, management attempts, and their status in New Zealand. This research had two key components. Firstly, a historical review sought to improve the understanding and awareness of the historic impacts and responses to borers, with particular reference to New Zealand between 1850 and 1930. Marine wood borers have had profound impacts throughout history, responsible for significant structural and economic damage to wooden ships and marine infrastructure globally. In New Zealand, trade and economy played an important role in providing both the transportation vectors and infrastructure for marine wood borers to inhabit. Ongoing trialling of timber alternatives and chemicals for the preservation of infrastructure followed, with little success until the introduction of ferro-concrete in the early 1900s. When considered in a global context, the New Zealand case study of borer impacts and management attempts highlights their significant role in environmental history. Mitochondrial DNA (COI) sequence analyses were used to examine the questionable invasion histories and status of common marine wood borers in New Zealand. It has been assumed that many marine wood borers invaded New Zealand via wooden ships. However, these purported introductions are historic, and the specific origins of many species are unclear. Species from three families and two phyla were collected around the North Island, New Zealand; Teredinidae (Bivalvia: Mollusca), Sphaeromatidae and Limnoriidae (Isopoda: Arthropoda). Low levels of genetic divergence (0-2%) were found among the New Zealand populations of two species, Limnoria quadripunctata and Sphaeroma quoianum, suggesting a non-indigenous status. Limnoria quadripunctata also showed a close genetic affinity to populations in Chile, supporting a non-indigenous status, with its widespread distribution in New Zealand explained by multiple introductions. For Lyrodus pedicellatus, a lack of genetic affinity to conspecifics sequenced elsewhere (France), greater genetic diversity compared to the native Bankia australis, and evidence of population structuring among New Zealand locations, suggested L. pedicellatus may be native to New Zealand. Lyrodus pedicellatus from New Zealand was highly divergent (>20%) from global L. pedicellatus populations, suggesting that either identifications of specimens on global databases are incorrect, or the New Zealand species represents a morphologically undescribed cryptic congener. In conclusion, COI sequences provided a useful tool in elucidating the status of marine wood borers in New Zealand, and highlighted a need for taxonomic resolution of some species. Collectively the two chapters illustrate the knowledge gaps and lack of recognition surrounding marine wood borers, globally and in New Zealand. This research provides an extensive understanding of their significant historical role in marine environmental history and assists in re-evaluation of their current native or non-indigenous status in New Zealand

How Argentina became a super-exporter of agricultural and food products during the First Globalisation (1880–1929)

The objective of this paper is to explain, from a cliometric perspective, the determinants of the growth of Argentina’s exports between 1880 and 1929. To do this, we have constructed a gravity model with the principal products exported each year by Argentina to its most important trading partners. In this way, we believe that this study constitutes a relevant and original contribution to the analysis of economic growth from a historical perspective and specifically in explaining the factors determining the export success of the settler countries during the first wave of globalisation. Our results show that Argentina’s export-led growth must be explained from both the supply and demand sides. We also find that the reduction in trade costs and trade liberalisation, especially the latter, boosted exports. We also support the idea that Argentina had a successful agro-export sector because it offered a diverse basket of products to the different European and American countries that consumed them. To sum up, we can conclude that Argentina took advantage of a multilateral and open economic system. Within this context, the country generally found a demand for its supply, which constitutes the key to explaining the magnitude and speed of Argentina’s export growth

The improvement of antioxidant contents and fruit quality of Sukkary date cultivar using various Potassium levels and Irrigation interval

Sukkary date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) were treated with three levels of potassium fertilizer combined with three irrigation intervals regime, five replicates were allocated per treatment, to enhance better date peel color; decrease loose crust, and subsequently, improve high market ability. Potassium sulfate (49% K2O) was applied annually at a rate of 490 g (as common fertilization applied in the farm in which this experiment was carried out, therefore, it was considered as a control treatment), 735 g, or 980 g K2O per palm tree, each level was divided into three equal doses. The first dose was added one month after pollination; the other two doses were added at two month interval, whereas the irrigation treatments were as follows: 24 hrs (as common irrigation application in the farm used for this study, and it was considered as a control treatment), 48 hrs, or 72 hrs. The results showed a great decrease in the loose crust dates at harvesting time. An inverse proportional relationship between irrigation intervals and loose crust of dates was observed. The High potassium fertilizer treatment accompanied with 72 hrs irrigation interval treatment produced a significantly higher date quality regarding with bright yellow color, less darkening, and loose crust. High potassium fertilizer treatments (735, or 980 g K2O per palm) increased total yield, improved date weight, size, and color. Moreover, increasing potassium level affected significantly the date total antioxidant. This study showed that, a potential means to control peel darkening and loose date crust and improve quality of cv. Sukkary dates, which ultimately improves its market ability, through implementing appropriate potassium and irrigation regimes

Pengembangan Produk Kursi Sudut Pada UKM Pengrajin Bambu Dengan Metode Quality Function Deployment (Qfd) (Study Kasus :Ud.tiga Putri Di Gunung Sari, Nusa Tenggara Barat)

The more demands of the consumers for quality product have made the industry develop product which can satisfy the customers. This study aimed at finding out the design process and the product development which observed the customer's needs and wants, and developed the initial design to obtain the design which met customer's wants and needs.This study employed QFD method to identify the Voice of Customers (VoC). VoC was obtained through questionnaire, distibuted to 90 customers from 3 UKMs, i.e. UD Tiga Puteri, and two competitor UKMs, UKM Debu and UKM Mia Bamboo Collection. The questionnare distribution was undertaken to find the lavel of the customer's interest, so that the UKM needed to develop a new product which met the customers' satisfaction.From the three studied design, the old design (A) and the two new designs (B and C), the new desigm of chair (C) was the most appealing to the customers, with the average grade of 4.26, and the least appealing was the chair with the design (A) with the average score of 3.54. As for the bamboo chair product development according to the priority for improvement were, respectively, finishing process with priority contribution of 5.7, the strength value with the priority contribution of 2.5, durability with priority contribution of 1.9, and the aspect with the lowest priority value was colour with the score of 0.9

Optimized scheduling for repetitive construction projects

An object-oriented model is presented for optimized scheduling of repetitive construction projects such as: high-rise buildings, housing projects, highways, pipeline networks, bridges and tunnels. The model provides a number of practical features, and incorporates newly developed algorithms for scheduling of repetitive construction projects including: (1) a resource-driven scheduling algorithm for repetitive activities; (2) an interruption algorithm; and (3) an optimization procedure. The scheduling algorithm identifies the scheduled start and finish times as well as the assigned crew for each unit of a repetitive activity. The algorithm provides a schedule that complies with precedence relationships, crew availability and crew work continuity constraints, and considers the impact of a number of practical factors commonly encountered during scheduling. The interruption algorithm generates feasible interruption vectors for each repetitive activity in the project and provides added advantage over available formulations that consider arbitrary user-specified interruption vectors. The optimization procedure is based on a dynamic programming formulation. Unlike available dynamic programming formulations, the present formulation is capable of incorporating cost in the optimization process, thus offering valuable support to project team members in minimizing the overall cost of the project. For each repetitive activity in the project, the present model assists the planner in selecting the optimum crew formation and interruption vector from a set of possible alternatives. As such, the model can be used to evaluate the impact of different project acceleration strategies (i.e. multiple crews, increased crew size, overtime policies, or additional shifts) on the overall cost. The present model is implemented as a prototype software system. The system is developed as a 32-bit windows application that supports user-friendly interface including menus, dialog boxes, and windows. A number of application examples are analyzed to illustrate the use of the model and demonstrate its capabilities. The model can be used as a decision support system for generating optimized schedules for repetitive construction projects. This should contribute to cost-effective delivery of constructed projects

Synthesis, crystal structures, Hirshfeld surface analysis and physico-chemical characterization of two new ZnII and CdII halidometallates

Two new organic–inorganic hybrid materials, based on 1, 3-CycloHexaneBis-(Methyl Amine), abbreviated CHBMA, namely (H2CHBMA)ZnCl4·2H2O (CP1) and (H2CHBMA)CdI4·2H2O (CP2), have been synthesized under mild conditions in acidic media and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic techniques (13C NMR, FTIR, RAMAN) and thermal analysis. The crystal structures of the two compounds were solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Both compounds show a 3-dimensional supramolecular structure directed by various interactions between tetrahalidometallate anions (ZnCl42-, CdI42-), water molecule and organic cations (H2CHBMA)2+. For both compounds, the cyclohexane ring of the template cation is in a chair conformation with the methylammonium substituent in the equatorial positions and the two terminal ammonium groups in a cis conformation but with two different orientations (upward for CP1 and downward for CP2) which influences the supramolecular architecture of the two structures. Hirshfeld surface analysis and the associated two-dimensional finger print plots were used to explore and quantify the intermolecular interactions in the crystals

Dynamics of Tropomyosin in Muscle Fibers as Monitored by Saturation Transfer EPR of Bi-Functional Probe

The dynamics of four regions of tropomyosin was assessed using saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance in the muscle fiber. In order to fully immobilize the spin probe on the surface of tropomyosin, a bi-functional spin label was attached to i,i+4 positions via cysteine mutagenesis. The dynamics of bi-functionally labeled tropomyosin mutants decreased by three orders of magnitude when reconstituted into “ghost muscle fibers”. The rates of motion varied along the length of tropomyosin with the C-terminus position 268/272 being one order of magnitude slower then N-terminal domain or the center of the molecule. Introduction of troponin decreases the dynamics of all four sites in the muscle fiber, but there was no significant effect upon addition of calcium or myosin subfragment-1

Simple Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Paroxetine in Tablets Using 1,2-Naphthoquinone-4-Sulphonate as a Chromogenic Reagent

Simple and rapid spectrophotometric method has been developed and validated for the determination of paroxetine (PRX) in tablets. The proposed method was based on nucleophilic substitution reaction of PRX with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS) in an alkaline medium to form an orange-colored product of maximum absorption peak (λmax) at 488 nm. The stoichiometry and kinetics of the reaction were studied, and the reaction mechanism was postulated. Under the optimized reaction conditions, Beer's law correlating the absorbance (A) with PRX concentration (C) was obeyed in the range of 1–8 μg mL−1. The regression equation for the calibration data was: A = 0.0031 + 0.1609 C, with good correlation coefficients (0.9992). The molar absorptivity (ε) was 5.9 × 105 L mol−1 1 cm−1. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.3 and 0.8 μg mL−1, respectively. The precision of the method was satisfactory; the values of relative standard deviations did not exceed 2%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of PRX in its pharmaceutical tablets with good accuracy and precisions; the label claim percentage was 97.17 ± 1.06 %. The results obtained by the proposed method were comparable with those obtained by the official method

New Spectrophotometric and Fluorimetric Methods for Determination of Fluoxetine in Pharmaceutical Formulations

New simple and sensitive spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods have been developed and validated for the determination of fluoxetine hydrochloride (FLX) in its pharmaceutical formulations. The spectrophotometric method was based on the reaction of FLX with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS) in an alkaline medium (pH 11) to form an orange-colored product that was measured at 490 nm. The fluorimetric method was based on the reaction of FLX with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl) in an alkaline medium (pH 8) to form a highly fluorescent product that was measured at 545 nm after excitation at 490 nm. The variables affecting the reactions of FLX with both NQS and NBD-Cl were carefully studied and optimized. The kinetics of the reactions were investigated, and the reaction mechanisms were presented. Under the optimum reaction conditions, good linear relationships were found between the readings and the concentrations of FLX in the ranges of 0.3–6 and 0.035–0.5 μg mL−1 for the spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods, respectively. The limits of detection were 0.1 and 0.01 μg mL−1 for the spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods, respectively. Both methods were successfully applied to the determination of FLX in its pharmaceutical formulations