An investigation of selected soil properties influencing the management and playability of New Zealand cricket pitches : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Horticultural Science in soil science, Massey University

The 1980's has been a period of growth for New Zealand cricket. The advent of the one day game plus international success has developed spectator interest and support to an unprecedented level. Cricket is certainly one game where player performance is very much dependent on the surface provided. It is perhaps fair to say that the standard of many New Zealand first class pitches has not allowed the development of entertaining cricket. As a result, pitches have been the target of increasing criticism from spectators, administrators, and players 'alike. Cricket pitch preparation has been said to be an 'art'. But the groundsman has limited scope to practice the art if the suitability of the soil used for pitch preparation is wanting. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the contribution of soil properties to good pitch preparation, the New Zealand Cricket Council and Soil Bureau of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) provided funding for a research programme. It was hoped that improved playability and pitch performance could be achieved by combining the 'art' of pitch preparation with sound scientific principles. The objectives of the research programme were: 1. To develop and standardise a set of laboratory procedures aimed at selecting soils and characterizing their suitability for cricket pitches. 2. To establish a comprehensive inventory of physical and chemical soil properties for a number of current pitch soils which can be used as a reference for selection of new pitch soils. 3. To relate sound scientific principles to field management techniques and pitch performance in an attempt to assist the groundsman with pitch preparation. 4. To investigate the contributions of playability, and their interactions with soil properties. 5. To elucidate the value of the nuclear moisture-density method for in situ measurement of pitch soil water content and bulk density. 6. To develop and implement a soil monitoring system for groundsmen who can then use it to evaluate changes in soil properties during pitch preparation. This would allow the development of specific management programmes for individual venues. 7. To suggest areas for future research. To meet these objectives a preliminary study (Cameron-Lee, 1984) was carried out to identify three soil parameters, namely clay content, clay type, and pitch soil profile, which affect pitch performance. An expansion of the findings of the preliminary study form the basis of this research programme. This investigation incorporated a field trial using four soils commonly known as the Palmerston North1 , St John, Ward, and Kakanui. The soils have different chemical and physical properties. They are all currently in use throughout New Zealand on first class pitches. In addition, three pitch soils, namely the Marton, Redhill and Naike were evaluated, along with the field trial soils in the laboratory to provide a greater comparative analysis of pitch soil properties

The spatial variation of Asian dust and marine aerosol contributions to glaciochemical signals in central Asia

Short-term (6 months to 17 years) glaciochemical records have been collected from several glacier basins in the mountains of central Asia. The spatial distribution of snow chemistry in central Asia is controlled by the influx of dust from the large expanse of arid and semiarid regions in central Asia. Glaciers in the Northern and Western Tibetan Plateau show elevated concentrations and elevated annual fluxes of calcium, sodium, chloride, sulphate and nitrate due to the influx of desert dust from nearby arid and semi-arid regions. Glaciers in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau show lower concentrations and lower annual fluxes of major ions due to longer transport distances of dust from the arid and semi-arid regions of Western China. Snow from the Karakoram and Western Himalaya show ion concentrations similar to those in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, but much higher annual fluxes suggesting that much of the aerosol and moisture transported with the westerly jet stream is removed as it ascends the Southwest margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Snow from the Southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas shows very low concentrations and very low annual fluxes of major ions, indicating that this region is relatively free from the chemical influence of Asian dust. The glaciochemical data suggest that glaciers which are removed from large source areas of mineral aerosol, such as those in the Himalaya, the Karakoram, and the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, are the ones most likely to contain longer-term glaciochemical records which detail annual to decadal variation in the strength of the Asian monsoon and long-range transport of Asian dust

Thermal mass, insulation and ventilation in sustainable housing - An investigation across climate and occupancy

Sustainable housing standards are reviewed including the UK 2005 building regulations, the UK Advanced Standard and EU Passive-house Standard. Conflicts between the standards are highlighted. The significance of insulation, orientation, ventilation, thermal mass, occupancy, gains, shading and climate on predicted energy performance is illustrated. An ESP-r model is then used to investigate these factors across a range of climates and occupancy / gains scenarios. The investigation covers both heating and cooling energy requirements. The relative importance of key factors is quantified and a matrix of results presented with conclusions. The role of simulation in informing design decisions is demonstrated as well as the importance of considering climate and occupancy/ gains patterns

Expanding evidence for the multiple dangers of epidemic abdominal obesity

The waistline of America has been expanding now for decades,1 largely as a consequence of an obesogenic environment, with a car-worshipping culture and take-away lifestyle par excellence.2 No upper limit to the prevalence or extent of obesity is yet apparent, and many countries and communities worldwide are busily following the American lead. Accumulating research evidence suggests that the personal and economic costs of the obesity epidemic are immense,3 driven by the obesity-related increases in risk for conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD), kidney disease, arthritis, cancer, asthma, and sleep-disordered breathing. In addition, decreases are apparent in self-esteem and quality of life. <br /

Design of plate panels under biaxial compression, shear and lateral pressure

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A review of Central Asian glaciochemical data

The glaciers of central Asia provide suitable locations from which to recover continuous, high-resolution glaciochemical records on a continental scale. Although the glaciochemical investigations undertaken to date in central Asia are few in number and limited in terms of spatial coverage and length of record, some preliminary observations can be made concerning regional and seasonal trends in snow chemistry in this region. The sodium chloride ratio for most snow samples collected in central Asia approaches the ratio found in sea water (0.86 in /Leq kg-I ), reflecting a marine source for these constituents. Sodium and chloride concentrations are, on average, 3-10 times higher in the Himalayas than in the Karakoram, demonstrating the greater influence of monsoonal sources of moisture in the Himalayas. Very high sodium concentrations from Khel Khod Glacier probably reflect a local crustal source from surrounding ice-free areas. Low nitrate concentrations were found in snow collected from the southern margin of the Himalayas and high concentrations in snow deposited on the north margin of the Himalayas. This strong regional trend in the spatial distribution of nitrate suggests the influx of continental aerosols, rich in nitrate, originating from the arid regions of central Asia. High calcium concentrations measured in snow from Mount Everest and the north-west corner of China are also indicative of dust derived from the arid regions of central Asia. Very high sulfate concentrations found in snow from the Tien Shan and the Bogda Shan most likely reflect local anthropogenic sources. The altitude effect on isotopic composition is not apparent from snow samples collected in central Asia. Understanding the processes which control the chemical content of snow, the local-to-regional scale complexities, and the seasonal variability are fundamental steps necessary to assess the potential for recovering representative long-term glaciochemical records from central Asia

Investigating the roles of E-T coupling and social environment in the stimulus-dependent expression of parathyroid hormone 2.

In larval zebrafish, parathyroid hormone 2 (pth2) codes for a peptide hormone that is expressed exclusively in cells near the ventral part of the posterior tuberculum, an area of the forebrain involved in sensori-motor control and social behavior. We identified pth2 in an RNA-seq experiment looking for genes regulated by voltage-gated calcium channel activity. Relative to wild type larvae, pth2 was down-regulated in larvae where the L-type Cav1.3 channel was inactivated either genetically (cav1.3a mutants) or pharmacologically (the Ca2+ channel blocker isradipine). Using mRNA in situ hybridization on cav1.3a mutant larval zebrafish and larvae treated with isradipine, we confirmed that pth2 expression in zebrafish requires Cav1.3a channel activity. Next, to characterize the regulatory region of the pth2 gene, we performed a transgenesis experiment using a 2 kbp fragment of the zebrafish genome immediately upstream of the pth2 coding sequence. This resulted in expression of GFP in cells of the posterior tuberculum and their axons. Recently, a study investigating gene expression in zebrafish showed that social isolation led to decreased levels of pth2 expression. We confirmed these results using our stable line of transgenics. Using neomycin and CuSO4, the study also showed that expression of pth2 was dependent on mechanical stimulation due to the movements of other zebrafish. These findings provided evidence that pth2 is not expressed when hair cells of the lateral line are killed using ototoxic compounds, but the study did not explore the effects on pth2 expression when lateral line function is lost genetically. To test this, we performed mRNA in-situ hybridization on lateral line mutant zebrafish raised in social or isolated environments. Interestingly, mutants raised socially expressed more pth2 than wild type fish that were isolated, despite lacking a functional lateral line. Overall, this research provides further information about the regulation of pth2 and could help elucidate its role in the social behavior of zebrafish

Ion Velocity Distribution Functions in Cutting-Edge Plasmas

Cutting-edge plasma experiments continue to push the frontiers of plasma science. Two such groups of experiments, helicon sources and laboratory magnetic reconnection, are the focus of this thesis. The relatively high plasma density achieved for modest input powers makes helicon source plasmas ideal testbeds for fusion-relevant phenomena without the complexities associated with fusion devices. Examples include plasma-material interaction (PMI) studies, divertor region studies, and boundary physics studies. As advancements in helicon source design and technology make operation at higher power for longer times possible, understanding of the plasma dynamics, particularly ion dynamics, is vital. Laboratory experiments are essential to advancing the understanding of magnetic reconnection and the associated physics. There is a wonderful synergy between theory, modeling, and simulation efforts and laboratory experiments. Results from these experiments validate and benchmark simulation and theory, while theory and simulation drive the design and goals of experiments. Naturally, this goes the other way as well; interesting results from the laboratory motivate different approaches to theory and simulations. While spacecraft observations of magnetic reconnection have been crucial to the field, laboratory experiments allow for finer control over the parameter space of the magnetic reconnection. In both of these settings, advanced diagnostics are needed to characterize the physics. Attractive for its non-perturbative nature, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is well-suited to investigate these plasmas. LIF is used to measure particle velocity distribution functions (VDFs), which in turn reveal fundamental properties of these species such as bulk flow and temperature. In this work, argon ion velocity distribution functions are measured with single-photon LIF. Advancements to the standard LIF technique are presented, and the results obtained with these techniques and their significance are discussed. First, a portable system was developed and deployed to a remote facility where argon ion temperatures in a 10 kW steady-state helicon source were measured. Second, a planar laser induced fluorescence technique with a camera as the detector was developed. Results obtained with this technique are compared with those obtained with the standard technique. Experimental efficiency with the camera technique is an order of magnitude higher than the standard technique at comparable resolution. Finally, a system using a pulsed laser was developed to measure IVDFs during magnetic reconnection. A proof-of-principle measurement with this system is presented