The re-use of water in agricultural settings

Agriculture offers considerable opportunities for the safe and sustainable re-use of water, be that water sourced from humans or animals. A key point is understanding the differences in pathogen profiles between wastewater from humans as compared with that derived from animals. Agricultural re-use also offers the opportunity to appropriately match the treatment level of the used water with the planned end-use. There is no doubt that the reuse of water in agriculture will be an increasing focus as Australian agriculture adapts to the challenges of food security in a changing world

Design and Conclusions of the Baffin Island Oil Spill Project

The Baffin Island Oil Spill (BIOS) Project sponsored multidisciplinary field studies between May 1980 and August 1983 in Canada's eastern Arctic at Cape Hatt, on the northern end of Baffin Island. Forty-five cubic metres (45,000 l) of a sweet medium gravity crude oil were released in a typical coastal arctic environment for purposes of scientific investigation. The experimental spills were monitored to quantitatively assess and compare the short- and long-term fate and effects of chemically dispersed oil and a beached oil slick, as well as the effectiveness of shoreline cleanup techniques. Hydrocarbon analyses were carried out on water samples, intertidal sediments, subtidal sediments and macrofaunal tissue. Biological measurements were made on populations of macrophytic algae, benthic infauna and epifauna and microorganisms. Oceanographic, geomorphologic and meteorologic support studies were also performed. The main conclusions of the BIOS Project relate to oil spill countermeasures for arctic nearshore and shoreline areas typified by the experimental site. First, the results offer no compelling ecological reasons to prohibit the use of chemical dispersants on oil slicks in such nearshore areas. Second, the results provide no strong ecological reasons for the cleanup of oil stranded on such shorelines. Thus consideration would be given to the use of chemical dispersants in the nearshore where prevention of shoreline contamination is warranted to protect wildlife or their critical habitat or traditional human land-use sites.Key words: Arctic, marine, oil pollution, oil spill countermeasures, chemically dispersed oilMots clés: Arctique, milieu marin, pollution par le pétrole, mesures d’intervention contre les déversements de pétrole , pétrole dispersé chimiquemen

Are point of management assays relevant for food safety in the poultry industries?

The current pandemic has ensured considerable attention has been paid to the role of the approach termed ‘Point of Care’ diagnostics. Indeed, the term ‘RAT’ (Rapid Antigen Test) and RAT hunting now have totally different meaning to that widely understood before 2020. In the veterinary field, including food safety, the term used for these types of rapid in situ assays is ‘Point of Management’ (POM) assays. In this article, we describe our recent research on low cost, low technology, in-house style POM assays in the field of food safety as applied to the poultry industries. We then discuss what are the advantages and disadvantages of these low cost, low technology POM assays

Antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from poultry in the South-East Queensland region

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns of 125 Campylobacter jejuni and 27 Campylobacter coli isolates from 39 Queensland broiler farms. Methods: Two methods, a disc diffusion assay and an agar-based MIC assay, were used. The disc diffusion was performed and interpreted as previously described (Huysmans MB, Turnidge JD. Disc susceptibility testing for thermophilic campylobacters. Pathology 1997; 29: 209–16), whereas the MIC assay was performed according to CLSI (formerly NCCLS) methods and interpreted using DANMAP criteria. Results: In both assays, no C. jejuni or C. coli isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin or chloramphenicol, no C. coli were resistant to nalidixic acid, and no C. jejuni were resistant to erythromycin. In the MIC assay, no C. jejuni isolate was resistant to nalidixic acid, whereas three isolates (2.4%) were resistant in the disc assay. The highest levels of resistance of the C. jejuni isolates were recorded for tetracycline (19.2% by MIC and 18.4% by disc) and ampicillin (19.2% by MIC and 17.6% by disc). The C. coli isolates gave very similar results (tetracycline resistance 14.8% by both MIC and disc; ampicillin resistance 7.4% by MIC and 14.8% by disc). Conclusions: This work has shown that the majority of C. jejuni and C. coli isolates were susceptible to the six antibiotics tested by both disc diffusion and MIC methods. Disc diffusion represents a suitable alternative methodology to agar-based MIC methods for poultry Campylobacter isolates

Water addition, evaporation and water holding capacity of poultry litter

Litter moisture content has been related to ammonia, dust and odour emissions as well as bird health and welfare. Improved understanding of the water holding properties of poultry litter as well as water additions to litter and evaporation from litter will contribute to improved litter moisture management during the meat chicken grow-out. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how management and environmental conditions over the course of a grow-out affect the volume of water A) applied to litter, B) able to be stored in litter, and C) evaporated from litter on a daily basis. The same unit of measurement has been used to enable direct comparison—litres of water per square metre of poultry shed floor area, L/m2, assuming a litter depth of 5 cm. An equation was developed to estimate the amount of water added to litter from bird excretion and drinking spillage, which are sources of regular water application to the litter. Using this equation showed that water applied to litter from these sources changes over the course of a grow-out, and can be as much as 3.2 L/m2/day. Over a 56 day grow-out, the total quantity of water added to the litter was estimated to be 104 L/m2. Litter porosity, water holding capacity and water evaporation rates from litter were measured experimentally. Litter porosity decreased and water holding capacity increased over the course of a grow-out due to manure addition. Water evaporation rates at 25 °C and 50% relative humidity ranged from 0.5 to 10 L/m2/day. Evaporation rates increased with litter moisture content and air speed. Maintaining dry litter at the peak of a grow-out is likely to be challenging because evaporation rates from dry litter may be insufficient to remove the quantity of water added to the litter on a daily basis

Water addition, evaporation and water holding capacity of poultry litter

Litter moisture content has been related to ammonia, dust and odour emissions as well as bird health and welfare. Improved understanding of the water holding properties of poultry litter as well as water additions to litter and evaporation from litter will contribute to improved litter moisture management during the meat chicken grow-out. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how management and environmental conditions over the course of a grow-out affect the volume of water A) applied to litter, B) able to be stored in litter, and C) evaporated from litter on a daily basis. The same unit of measurement has been used to enable direct comparison—litres of water per square metre of poultry shed floor area, L/m2, assuming a litter depth of 5 cm. An equation was developed to estimate the amount of water added to litter from bird excretion and drinking spillage, which are sources of regular water application to the litter. Using this equation showed that water applied to litter from these sources changes over the course of a grow-out, and can be as much as 3.2 L/m2/day. Over a 56 day grow-out, the total quantity of water added to the litter was estimated to be 104 L/m2. Litter porosity, water holding capacity and water evaporation rates from litter were measured experimentally. Litter porosity decreased and water holding capacity increased over the course of a grow-out due to manure addition. Water evaporation rates at 25 °C and 50% relative humidity ranged from 0.5 to 10 L/m2/day. Evaporation rates increased with litter moisture content and air speed. Maintaining dry litter at the peak of a grow-out is likely to be challenging because evaporation rates from dry litter may be insufficient to remove the quantity of water added to the litter on a daily basis

Water activity of poultry litter: Relationship to moisture content during a grow-out

Poultry grown on litter floors are in contact with their own waste products. The waste material needs to be carefully managed to reduce food safety risks and to provide conditions that are comfortable and safe for the birds. Water activity (Aw) is an important thermodynamic property that has been shown to be more closely related to microbial, chemical and physical properties of natural products than moisture content. In poultry litter, Aw is relevant for understanding microbial activity; litter handling and rheological properties; and relationships between in-shed relative humidity and litter moisture content. We measured the Aw of poultry litter collected throughout a meat chicken grow-out (from fresh pine shavings bedding material to day 52) and over a range of litter moisture content (10–60%). The Aw increased non-linearly from 0.71 to 1.0, and reached a value of 0.95 when litter moisture content was only 22–33%. Accumulation of manure during the grow-out reduced Aw for the same moisture content. These results are relevant for making decisions regarding litter re-use in multiple grow-outs as well as setting targets for litter moisture content to minimise odour, microbial risks and to ensure necessary litter physical conditions are maintained during a grow-out. Methods to predict Aw in poultry litter from moisture content are proposed

Peningkatan Aktivitas Pembelajaran dan Hasil Belajar Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan dengan Metode Diskusi Kelompok pada Siswa Kelas IV S Ekolah Dasar Negeri 03 Semayang Kabupaten Sanggau

The pourpose of the research iis to know the improving studeng activity of civics at grade IV student of SD 03 Semayang by using group discussion method. The method of this research is descriptive method using qualitative way in which the data or evidence is analyzed after collecting the data from the field. The subject of the research is 22 students of grade IV at elementary school 03 Semayang. The result of data analyzing show that after using group discussion method for 2 cycles, the student learning activity improves 19% at first cycles become 59 at second cycles. Increasing the presentage of student learning activity influences the improving students outcome in achiving KKM of Civic at school that is 60. In wich, the research shows that the student can achive KKm about 41% at first cycle increase 91% at the second cycle. So that, it can be conduded that by improving student learning activity using group discussion method can influence the improving student aoutcome at grade IV student of elementary school 03 Semayang