Conservation value of constructed reedbeds

Natural reedbed habitat in the UK has suffered severe declines in the last few centuries. With only 5,000 ha remaining and much of what remains is highly fragmented and degraded. The loss and fragmentation of reedbed habitat in the UK has had a profound effect on the species associated with it. Constructed reedbeds are artificial wetlands dominated by Phragmites australis designed to treat wastewater. They have been widespread in the UK because they are perceived to be a green solution, but their conservation value has never been assessed. This project aims to determine how they contribute to biodiversity. This study surveyed 24 sites, 12 constructed sites paired to 12 natural sites, for small mammals, moths and stem-dwelling invertebrates. Results show that there is no difference between constructed and natural sites. The indication is that constructed reedbeds, despite their small size, young age and contamination, are just as diverse as natural reedbeds. The implications of this for reedbed and wetland conservation are potentially substantial. There are over 1,000 constructed reedbeds in the UK that are just as diverse as their natural equivalents, which could provide connectivity across unsuitable agricultural and urban landscapes

Pengaruh Variasi Temperatur Uji ZEM-3 pada Properti Termoelektrik Lapisan Tipis Ti-doped ZnO

Lapisan tipis Ti-doped ZnO berhasil difabrikasi pada substrat kaca SiO2 dengan menggunakan metode DC Magnetron Sputtering. Proses sputtering dilakukan dalam waktu 30 menit dan dengan tegangan sebesar 339-349 Volt. Lapisan tipis yang terbentuk memiliki ketebalan 241.287 nm. Uji properti termoelektrik dilakukan pada temperatur 310 K, 373 K, 423 K, 473 K, 523 K, 573 K, dan 623 K. Hasilnya, nilai resistivitas listrik lapisan tipis menurun hingga 523 K, dengan nilai resistivitas terendahnya adalah 0.446 ρ (mΩ m). Nilai koefisien Seebeck yang dihasilkan adalah minus menandakan bahwa lapisan tipis merupakan semikonduktor tipe n. Nilai koefisien Seebeck selalu meningkat seiring dengan pertambahan temperatur. Semakin tinggi temperatur yang diberlakukan pada material semikonduktor, maka makin tinggi pula faktor dayanya. Faktor daya paling tinggi terjadi pada temperatur 573 K dengan 32 µWm-1K2

Penggunaan Metode DC Magnetron Sputtering dalam Pembuatan Lapisan Tipis Tipe N (AZO) Sebagai Modul Termoelektrik

Penelitian mengenai termoelektrik sedang gencar dikembangkan sejak tahun 1990. Pada tahun 2017, mulai dikembangkan termoelektrik yang menggunakan lapisan tipis. Pada penelitian ini, dilakukan fabrikasi termoelektrik lapisan tipis tipe N menggunakan material Zink Oxide (ZnO) di doping dengan Al2O3. Massa ZnO yang diperlukan sebanyak 20.680 gram dan Al2O3 10.079 gram. Proses fabrikasi lapisan tipis dilakukan menggunakan mesin DC Magnetron Sputtering. Tahapan-tahapan dalam melakukan penelitian ini terbagi ke dalam tiga tahapan utama yakni sintesis, fabrikasi (sputtering), dan pengujian. Proses sputtering dilakukan selama 10 menit dan substrat yang digunakan yakni kaca. Pengujian yang dilakukan yakni pengujian ketebalan menggunakan Tolansky Apparatus, pngujian XRD untuk mengetahui fasa yang terbentuk, pengujian ZEM-3 untuk mengetahui resistivitas, Koefisien Seebeck, dan power factor. Berdasarkan pengujian yang dilakukan, diperoleh ketebalan dari lapisan tipis yang terbentuk yakni 74.72 nm. Nilai Koefisien Seebeck dari lapisan tipis yang terbentuk semakin bertambah seiring kenaikan suhu sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa material AZO baik digunakan untuk aplikasi termoelektrik pada rentang suhu 200-350 °C

Feed intake and feeding behavior traits for gestating sows recorded using electronic sow feeders

Electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems are used to control feed delivery to individual sows that are group-housed. Feeding levels for gestating sows are typically restricted to prevent excessive body weight gain. Any alteration of intake from the allocated feeding curve or unusual feeding behavior could indicate potential health issues. The objective of this study was to use data recorded by ESF to establish and characterize novel feed intake and feeding behavior traits and to estimate their heritabilities. Raw data were available from two farms with in-house manufactured (Farm A) or commercial (Farm B) ESF. The traits derived included feed intake, time spent eating, and rate of feed consumption, averaged across or within specific time periods of gestation. Additional phenotypes included average daily number of feeding events (AFE), along with the cumulative numbers of days where sows spent longer than 30 min in the ESF (ABOVE30), missed their daily intake (MISSF), or consumed below 1 kg of feed (BELOW1). The appetite of sows was represented by averages of score (APPETITE), a binary value for allocation eaten or not (DA_bin), or the standard deviation of the difference between feed intake and allocation (SDA-I). Gilts took longer to eat than sows (15.5 ± 0.13 vs. 14.1 ± 0.11 min/d) despite a lower feed allocation (2.13 ± 0.00 vs. 2.36 ± 0.01 kg/d). The lowest heritability estimates (below 0.10) occurred for feed intake traits, due to the restriction in feed allocation, although heritabilities were slightly higher for Farm B, with restriction in the eating time. The low heritability for AFE (0.05 ± 0.02) may have reflected the lack of recording of nonfeeding visits, but repeatability was moderate (0.26 ± 0.03, Farm A). Time-related traits were moderately to highly heritable and repeatable, demonstrating genetic variation between individuals in their feeding behaviors. Heritabilities for BELOW1 (Farm A: 0.16 ± 0.04 and Farm B: 0.15 ± 0.09) and SDA-I (Farm A: 0.17 ± 0.04 and Farm B: 0.10 ± 0.08) were similar across farms. In contrast, MISSF was moderately heritable in Farm A (0.19 ± 0.04) but lowly heritable in Farm B (0.05 ± 0.07). Heritabilities for DA_bin were dissimilar between farms (Farm A: 0.02 ± 0.02 and Farm B: 0.23 ± 0.10) despite similar incidence. Individual phenotypes constructed from ESF data could be useful for genetic evaluation purposes, but equivalent capabilities to generate phenotypes were not available for both ESF systems

Fabrication and Performance Analysis of AZO and MCCO as Thin Film-Thermoelectric Generator Materials

The purpose of this research was to determine the performance of AZO and MCCO materials as constituents of the thin film-thermoelectric generator module. The method used for fabrication is DC Magnetron Sputtering. The electrode material used is Ag and the substrate used is SiO2 glass. The arrangement of the thin film used for the fabrication of the thermoelectric module is P-N-P-N-P-N-P-N-P-N (5 couples of p-n junctions). Based on the test results, the thickness of the thin film type N is 74.72 nm and type P is 90.34 nm. At the highest test temperature (300 oC), the AZO Seebeck coefficient value is -108 µV/K while the MCCO Seebeck coefficient value is 350 µV/K, and the AZO electrical resistivity value is 0.07 Ω.m while the MCCO electrical resistivity value is 0.36 Ω.m. The highest temperature difference given in the test of the AZO and MCCO thin film thermoelectric module is 1.538 °C and the thermoelectric module can produce a voltage of 1,842 ± 0.047 mV, a Seebeck coefficient of 4 µV/K, and an efficiency of 0.44%. Based on this research, it can be concluded that the performance of AZO and MCCO thin film-thermoelectric modules will have better performance at temperatures around 300 - 350 °C

Improving sow welfare and outcomes in the farrowing house by identifying early indicators from pre-farrowing assessment

Poor outcomes reflect low performance during the farrowing and lactation periods and unanticipated sow removals. Since the period around farrowing has the highest risk for sow health issues, monitoring of sows in that time-period will improve both welfare and productivity. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant risk factors for predicting poor outcomes and the implication for sow welfare. Identifying these factors could potentially enable management interventions to decrease incidences of compromised welfare or poor performance. Data from 1,103 sows sourced from two nucleus herds were recorded for a range of variables investigated as potential predictors of poor outcomes in the farrowing house. Poor outcomes (scored as binary traits) reflected three categories in a sow's lifecycle: farrowing, lactation, and removals. Univariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors in the first instance. Predictors from univariate analyses were subsequently considered together in multi-variate models. The least square means representing predicted probabilities of poor outcomes were then reported on the observed scale. Several predictors were significant across two different environments (farms) and for all three categories. These predictors included feed refusal (lack of appetite), crate fit, locomotion score, and respiration rate. Normal appetite compared to feed refusals reduced the risk of farrowing failure (13.5 vs. 22.2%, P = 0.025) and removals (10.4 vs. 20.4%, P P P = 0.025) and reduced piglet mortality (P P P = 0.014). Sows with higher respiration rates had a significantly (

Fabrication of p-type (MCCO) thin film using DC magnetron sputtering as a preparator for thermoelectric module

Based on existing research, thermoelectric efficiency can be improved through material selection. In this study, the material used is CaCO₃ doped with Mn and Co₂O₃ to form CaCo3.5Mn0.5O9 material as a p-type thermoelectric material. The substrate used is glass. The stages in this research are material synthesis, sputtering process using DC Magnetron Sputtering machine to form thin films, and testing. The synthesis process includes grinding, calcination, and sintering. Grinding is done using a Ball Mill machine with a rotation speed of 250 rpm for 5 hours. Furthermore, the calcination step was carried out by heating the sample into a furnace at a temperature of 800°C for 10 hours. Then the sintering process was carried out at a temperature of 850°C for 12 hours. After the synthesis process is complete, enter the sputtering process using a DC Magnetron Sputtering machine for approximately 10 minutes. The gas used in this research is Argon (Ar). After the sputtering process was carried out, several tests appeared, such as the XRD test to determine the type of crystal, the ZEM-3 test to determine the Seebeck coefficient and resistivity, the thickness of the thin film formed, and the power factor test to determine the maximum voltage and power generated by the module formed. Several power factor test results were obtained, consisting of 107 μW/mK² at 100°C, 108 μW/mK² at 200°C, and 332 μW/mK² at 300°C and a thickness of 90.34 nm

Dietary manipulation of local versus systemic progesterone and effects on embryo survival and litter size in gilts

Progesterone is an important driver of endometrial function and as such plays an important role in early embryo development, implantation and survival. High feeding levels during early pregnancy in gilts usually result in a decrease in the concentration of progesterone in systemic blood circulation, through an increase in hepatic metabolism, and have as a consequence been associated with a reduction in embryo survival. However, effects of feeding level on embryo survival have been equivocal with some studies finding no, or even, positive effects of an increased feeding level on embryo survival. This paradox may be due to an underestimated supply of ‘local’ progesterone (directly from the ovary to the uterus), which may be enhanced at a higher feed level. This thesis proves the importance of the contribution of this local source of progesterone for embryo survival, using a unilateral ovariectomy model, and that progesterone concentrations in the venous drainage from the reproductive organs actually increases at higher feeding levels. Across all studies presented in this thesis a high feed level was not detrimental to embryo survival and was actually beneficial in some studies. Ovarian production of progesterone may also be increased in animals on a high feed level, and therefore progesterone transferred directly from the ovary to the uterus may add considerably to systemic progesterone supplied to the uterus, and counteract a reduction in systemic progesterone when gilts are fed at a high feed level. Furthermore, a high feeding level also seemed to be beneficial in terms of growth rate which is important in gilts as they are still growing towards their mature body weight and a higher growth rate was also positively correlated to pregnancy rate.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 201

Leadership of an after-school theater program at a high school

This research question addressed is, what are the essential components needed to make an after-school theater production program thrive at the high school level and how can teachers best adapt those components to fit into their own schools? The project is a qualitative research study compiling and summarizing interviews with five high school theater directors with a diverse array of perspectives regarding the leadership of high school theater. This capstone particularly emphasizes establishing and enforcing student expectations for theater involvement, securing and managing the funding of high school theater, and choosing literature for a season of a high school theater program