Clean, green and ethical pig production in Australia

The concept of ‘clean, green and ethical’ pig production is attracting growing attention around the world as producers, international traders of pig, and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of sustainable and socially acceptable animal production systems. While the terminology 'clean, green and ethical' does not lend itself readily to an all-encompassing definition, in pig production it broadly refers to a rearing system with scientifically sound and ethical practices that underpins the production of safe and wholesome pork. Both the physical environment and management of the environment, for example controlling nitrogen and phosphorus emissions, are relevant to ‘clean, green and ethical’ pig production. Outdoor housing systems used in Australia based on litter (straw, rice hulls) portray a more natural image of pig production than conventional indoor housing systems based on steel and concrete, even though many of the same practices (e.g. antibiotic injections) and problems (e.g. enteric diseases) occur in both systems. Animal welfare is also an important and often contentious issue for pig production; evidence of this includes the recent spate of announcements by large vertical integrators in the USA and Canada of plans to phase out sow stalls following intense pressure from animal rights lobbyists. Other factors to be considered in ‘clean, green and ethical’ pig production include Quality Assurance (QA), the ability to trace individual pigs to their property of origin, aspects of pig genetics, the use of feedstuffs free of genetic modification, no hormonal or antibiotic residues in pig meat, and specific-pathogen free herds. Issues associated with antibiotic use are integral to the basic premises of ‘clean, green and ethical’ pig production. Restrictions or outright bans on the use of antibiotic feed additives, as occurred in the European Union from January 1st 2006, reinforce the notion that antibiotics denigrate the notion of ‘clean, green and ethical’ production even though pig welfare is likely improved by their use. This paper reviews the practical approach that Australia has taken to the production of pigs and pig meat that will meet the discerning needs and demands of our current and future domestic and international markets. We have also used some international data and commentary to highlight certain aspects of our discussions

Raman Phonon Modes Of Zinc Blende Inxga1 - Xn Alloy Epitaxial Layers

Transverse-optical (TO) and longitudinal-optical (LO) phonons of zinc blende InxGa1 - xN (0≤x ≤0.31) layers are observed through first-order micro-Raman scattering experiments. The samples are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates, and x-ray diffraction measurements are performed to determine the epilayer alloy composition. Both the TO and LO phonons exhibit a one-mode-type behavior, and their frequencies display a linear dependence on the composition. The Raman data reported here are used to predict the A1 (TO) and E1 (TO) phonon frequencies of the hexagonal InxGa1 - xN alloy. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.75810951097Pankove, J.I., Moustakas, T., Gallium nitrides I (1998) Semiconductors and Semimetals, 50. , Academic, San Diego, CAShan, W., Walukiewicz, W., Haller, E.E., Little, B.D., Song, J.J., McCluskey, M.D., Johnson, N.M., Stall, R.A., (1998) J. Appl. Phys., 84, p. 4452Chichibu, S., Azuhata, T., Sota, T., Nakamura, S., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, p. 2822Shan, W., Perlin, P., Ager J.W. III, Walukiewicz, W., Haller, E.E., McCluskey, M.D., Johnson, N.M., Bour, D.P., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 1613Chichibu, S., Azuhata, T., Sota, T., Nakamura, S., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 4188Narukawa, Y., Kawakami, Y., Funato, M., Fujita, S., Nakamura, S., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, p. 981Orton, J.W., Foxon, C.T., (1998) Rep. Prog. Phys., 61, p. 1Abernathy, C.R., MacKenzie, J.D., Bharatan, S.R., Jones, K.S., Pearton, S.J., (1995) Appl. Phys. Lett., 66, p. 1632(1995) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 13, p. 716Müllhäuser, J.R., Jenichen, B., Wassermeier, M., Brandt, O., Ploog, K.H., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 71, p. 909Müllhäuser, J.R., Brandt, O., Trompert, A., Jenichen, B., Ploog, K.H., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 1230Holst, J., Hoffmann, A., Broser, I., Frey, T., Schöttker, B., As, D.J., Schikora, D., Lischka, K., (1999) MRS Internet J. Nitride Semicond. Res., 4 S1, pp. G23Feng, Z.C., Schurman, M., Tran, C.A., Salagaj, T., Karlicek, B., Ferguson, I., Stall, R.A., Pitt, G.D., (1998) Mater. Sci. Forum, 264-268, p. 1359Behr, D., Niebuhr, R., Obloh, H., Wagner, J., Bachem, K.H., Kaufmann, U., (1997) Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 468, p. 213Osamura, K., Naka, S., Murakami, Y., (1975) J. Appl. Phys., 46, p. 3432Tabata, A., Lima, A.P., Teles, L.K., Scolfaro, L.M.R., Leite, J.R., Lemos, V., Schöttker, B., Lischka, K., (1999) Appl. Phys. Lett., 74, p. 362Tabata, A., Enderlein, R., Leite, J.R., Da Silva, S.W., Galzerani, J.C., Schikora, D., Kloidt, M., Lischka, K., (1996) J. Appl. Phys., 79, p. 4137Strite, S., Chandrasekhar, D., Smith, D.J., Sariel, J., Chen, H., Teraguchi, N., Morkoç, H., (1993) J. Cryst. Growth, 127, p. 204Ho, I., Stringfellow, G.B., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 2701Inushima, T., Yaguchi, T., Nagase, A., Iso, A., Shiraishi, T., (1996) Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, , Bristol(1996) Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser., 142, p. 971Dyck, J.S., Kash, K., Kim, K., Lambrecht, W.R.L., Hayman, C.C., Argoitia, A., Grossner, M.T., Angus, J.C., (1998) Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 482, p. 549Yu, S., Kim, K.W., Bergman, L., Dutta, M., Stroscio, M.A., Zavada, J.M., (1998) Phys. Rev. B, 58, p. 15283Kwon, H.-J., Lee, Y.-H., Miki, O., Yamano, H., Yoshida, A., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 937Lee, M.-C., Lin, H.-C., Pan, Y.-C., Shu, C.-K., Ou, J., Chen, W.-H., Chen, W.-K., (1998) Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, p. 260

Dioctahedral mixed K-Na-micas and paragonite in diagenetic to low-temperature metamorphic terrains: bulk rock chemical, thermodynamic and textural constraints

Abstract Metamorphic mineral assemblages in low-temperature metaclastic rocks often contain paragonite and/or its precursor metastable phase (mixed K-Na-white mica). Relationships between the bulk rock major element chemistries and the formation of paragonite at seven localities from Central and SE-Europe were studied, comparing the bulk chemical characteristics with mineral assemblage, mineral chemical and metamorphic petrological data. Considerable overlaps between the projection fields of bulk chemistries of the Pg-free and Pg-bearing metaclastic rocks indicate significant differences between the actual (as analyzed) and effective bulk chemical compositions. Where inherited, clastic, inert phases/constituents were excluded, it was found that a decrease in Na/(Na+Al*) and in K/(K+Al*) ratios of rocks favors the formation and occurrence of Pg and its precursor phases (Al* denotes here the atomic quantity of aluminum in feldspars, white micas and “pure” hydrous or anhydrous aluminosilicates). In contrast to earlier suggestions, enrichment in Na and/or an increase in Na/K ratio by themselves do not lead to formation of paragonite. Bulk rock chemistries favorable to formation of paragonite and its precursor phases are characterized by enrichment in Al and depletion in Na, K, Ca (and also, Mg and Fe2+). Such bulk rock chemistries are characteristic of chemically “mature” (strongly weathered) source rocks of the pelites and may also be formed by synand post-sedimentary magmatism-related hydrothermal (leaching) activity. What part of the whole rock is active in determining the effective bulk chemistry was investigated by textural examination of diagenetic and anchizone-grade samples. It is hypothesized that although solid phases act as local sources and sinks, transport of elements such as Na through the grain boundaries have much larger communication distances. Sodium-rich white micas nucleate heterogeneously using existing phyllosilicates as templates and are distributed widely on the thin section scale. The results of modeling by THERMOCALC suggest that paragonite preferably forms at higher pressures in low-T metapelites. The stability fields of Pg-bearing assemblages increase, the Pg-in reaction line is shifted towards lower pressures, while the stability field of the Chl-Ms-Ab-Qtz assemblage decreases and is shifted towards higher temperatures with increasing Al* content and decreasing Na/(Na+Al*) and K/(K+Al*) ratios

Emoções, “stress”, ansiedade e “coping": estudo qualitativo com treinadores de nível internacional

A influência dos fatores e processos psicológicos no desempenho desportivo dos atletas está, de uma forma geral, amplamente demonstrada; todavia, poucas investigações procuraram estudar esta relação nos treinadores. Neste sentido, empregando uma entrevista semi-estruturada, a presente investigação procurou, junto de seis treinadores de elite com idades compreendidas entre os 55 e os 63 anos (M = 59 ± 3,03) de diversas modalidades, identificar as características/competências psicológicas mais importantes para o sucesso desportivo, as principais fontes de “stress” e ansiedade experienciadas e as estratégias de “coping” a que recorriam em situações estressantes e/ou problemáticas, adicionalmente, pretendeu explorar o papel de outras emoções no seu desempenho. Os resultados revelaram que: 1) a motivação era uma das competências/características psicológicas percepcionadas pelos treinadores como mais importantes para o sucesso; 2) as principais fontes de “stress” estavam relacionadas com preocupações com o desempenho dos atletas, sendo comuns a diferentes modalidades; 3) os treinadores recorriam a diversas estratégias de “coping” em simultâneo, geralmente adaptativas; e 4) para além da ansiedade, outras emoções, positivas e negativas, pareciam influenciar o desempenho dos treinadores.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT

A measurement of the tau mass and the first CPT test with tau leptons

We measure the mass of the tau lepton to be 1775.1+-1.6(stat)+-1.0(syst.) MeV using tau pairs from Z0 decays. To test CPT invariance we compare the masses of the positively and negatively charged tau leptons. The relative mass difference is found to be smaller than 3.0 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the partial widths of the Z into up- and down-type quarks

Using the entire OPAL LEP1 on-peak Z hadronic decay sample, Z -> qbarq gamma decays were selected by tagging hadronic final states with isolated photon candidates in the electromagnetic calorimeter. Combining the measured rates of Z -> qbarq gamma decays with the total rate of hadronic Z decays permits the simultaneous determination of the widths of the Z into up- and down-type quarks. The values obtained, with total errors, were Gamma u = 300 ^{+19}_{-18} MeV and Gamma d = 381 ^{+12}_{-12} MeV. The results are in good agreement with the Standard Model expectation.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.

Measurement of the Strong Coupling alpha s from Four-Jet Observables in e+e- Annihilation

Data from e+e- annihilation into hadrons at centre-of-mass energies between 91 GeV and 209 GeV collected with the OPAL detector at LEP, are used to study the four-jet rate as a function of the Durham algorithm resolution parameter ycut. The four-jet rate is compared to next-to-leading order calculations that include the resummation of large logarithms. The strong coupling measured from the four-jet rate is alphas(Mz0)= 0.1182+-0.0003(stat.)+-0.0015(exp.)+-0.0011(had.)+-0.0012(scale)+-0.0013(mass) in agreement with the world average. Next-to-leading order fits to the D-parameter and thrust minor event-shape observables are also performed for the first time. We find consistent results, but with significantly larger theoretical uncertainties.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, Submitted to Euro. Phys. J.

Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP

A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Measurement of Rb in e+e- Collisions at 182 - 209 GeV

Measurements of Rb, the ratio of the bbbar cross-section to the qqbar cross- section in e+e- collisions, are presented. The data were collected by the OPAL experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 182 GeV and 209 GeV. Lepton, lifetime and event shape information is used to tag events containing b quarks with high efficiency. The data are compatible with the Standard Model expectation. The mean ratio of the eight measurements reported here to the Standard Model prediction is 1.055+-0.031+-0.037, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts