Invasive animals and the Island Syndrome: Parasites of feral cats and black rats from Western Australia and its offshore islands

Introduced animals impact ecosystems due to predation, competition and disease transmission. The effect of introduced infectious disease on wildlife populations is particularly pronounced on islands where parasite populations are characterised by increased intensity, infra-community richness and prevalence (the “Island Syndrome”). This thesis studied parasite and bacterial pathogens of conservation and zoonotic importance in feral cats from two islands (Christmas Island, Dirk Hartog Island) and one mainland location (southwest Western Australia), and in black rats from Christmas Island. The general hypothesis tested was that Island Syndrome increases the risk of transmission of parasitic and bacterial diseases introduced/harboured by cats and rats to wildlife and human communities. To investigate the Island Syndrome, necropsies were performed on feral cats and black rats and the macro parasites identified were collected and quantified to ascertain parasite prevalence, infra-community richness and intensity. On Christmas Island, it was determined that 92% of feral cats and 84% of rats harboured helminth parasites with an infra-community richness of 0-6, and 0-7, species in cats and rats, respectively. A high intensity (number of individual parasites recovered per host) was observed for some parasite species. These findings demonstrated that three epidemiological characteristics (high prevalence, infra-community richness and intensity/abundance) conformed to the characteristics of the Island Syndrome. However, contrary to the Island Syndrome hypothesis, a high regional richness of parasites was observed on Christmas Island, with nine species of helminth recorded in cats and 10 species in rats). The parasite community characteristic observations were repeated on Dirk Hartog Island, which also exhibited the same three characteristics of Island Syndrome (high prevalence, infra-community richness and intensity/abundance), but where no difference in regional richness was observed compared with the mainland environment. Specifically, the overall prevalence was significantly higher (p≤0.01) on Dirk Hartog Island (100%) compared to southwest WA (79.6%), as was mean infra-community richness (p≤0.001) (3.61±1.41 on Dirk Hartog Island and 1.57±1.29 from southwest WA). For those parasite species occurring on Dirk Hartog Island and in southwest WA, the prevalence and abundance was found to be significantly higher on Dirk Hartog Island than the southwest WA (p≤0.019 and p≤0.003, respectively). These findings suggest that not all facets proposed by the Island Syndrome hypothesis apply to all island environments, particularly for parasite communities harboured by invasive species. Parasites of both zoonotic and conservation significance were detected in the cats and rats from both islands and from mainland Western Australia. Pathogenic bacteria of public health importance were identified; two species of Bartonella in rats (Bartonella phoceensis and an unidentified Bartonella species) on Christmas Island, two species Bartonella in cats (B. henselae and B. koehlerae) from southwest Western Australia, and Leptospira interrogans from both cats and rats on Christmas Island. The presence of Trypanosoma in cats and rats (from all three locations) and Leishmania (Christmas Island only) were investigated, with neither of these vector-borne protozoans identified at any of the locations. In summary, this thesis presents new data pertaining to parasite community structures in two invasive mammalian pest species of global importance following their introduction to islands, and the potential relationship between their parasite community structures and parasite biology, prevailing physiographic factors and faunal biology. The observations suggest that cats and rats are important in contributing to and maintaining artificially elevated parasite species’ richness within both insular and mainland environments. The findings also highlight potential threats that invasive animals pose with respect to disease transmission to susceptible ecological communities, in particular insular ecosystems, as reservoir hosts for parasitic and bacterial organisms

The Effect of Sodium Hexametaphosphate on Cottage Cheese Yields

A major concern in the cottage cheese industry is the inefficient use of the available milk proteins. Currently, the methods of cottage cheese manufacture convert an average of only 74.9% of the milk proteins into cottage cheese, while the remainder are removed in the by-product whey (43, 56). As protein is the main determinant of both the yield and nutritional value of cottage cheese, if 25% of the available protein is lost to the whey, then potential cottage cheese yield and nutrition have been lost as well. The proteins lost in the whey are mainly -lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin, which remain soluble during the conditions of cottage cheese manufacture and thus do not become part of the curd (38, 39). Although these proteins have the highest known nutritional value (21, 22, 45, 60, 71), they can be an added expense rather than a benefit to the dairy industry. The proteins as whey solids must either be processed further, disposed of, or both. Processing whey is expensive and difficult because cottage cheese whey is both dilute, 94% water, and highly acid, pH 4.6, (3, 9, 39, 65). Concurrently, the products produced by processing cottage cheese whey such as animal feeds, dried or concentrated products, and fermentation products have a limited and competitive market and are not highly profitable (39, 51). However, disposal is a less attractive and more expensive alternative because whey has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) making it 3 major pollutant requiring high levels of microbial action for treatment (3, 10). Public response to whey as a pollutant has forced the passing of statutes forbidding the disposal of untreated whey into lakes, streams, and rivers. Concurrently, whey disposal in sewage systems has become increasingly expensive (3, 9, 39). The whey protein, as part of the whey, thus present a temperamental enigma and overshadowing dilema to the cottage cheese industry: being the most nutritious proteins known, they remain virtually too unprofitable to process, but too expensive to throw away. Recovery of some of the proteins dissolved in the whey is possible by the use of polyelectrolytes that will precipitate the whey proteins, allowing them to be recovered by centrifugation (25, 28, 33, 34). The substances reported to provide the largest recovery are carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and several phosphate compounds such as sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). If the procedures for recovering proteins from the whey using polyelectrolytes could be combined with the procedures for manufacturing cottage cheese, then the finished product would include the whey proteins, providing higher yields and nutritional value. The objective of this study was to explore the possibility that polyelectrolytes may increase the yield of cottage cheese by removing proteins from the whey and adding them to the curd. The chosen additives were screened, and then the yields and composition of cottage cheese made by a widely accepted culture procedure (70) were compared with the yield and composition of cottage cheese made from milk containing 0.05 or 0.2 sodium hexamctaphosphatc

Facility Location Problem of Beverage Distribution Considering Time Window and Land Use Plan Using GIS

As the boundaries and population of urban areas expand, beverage distributors may seek to expand the capacity in their distribution centers. As a result, they may need to add new locations or increase the utilization of their existing center. This paper investigates the facility location problem through network space, considering traversable truck roads, thereby providing a strategic decision for identifying a depot location in consideration of vehicle routings from a real application. For the analysis, a geospatial tool, which is embedded in the commercial software ArcMap®, was used for routing and calibrating the model. Ten candidates from commercial and industrial zones in the cities of Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead were considered for future distribution centers. The candidate locations were analyzed to determine which site minimizes the total transportation costs and travel miles in consideration of time window, vehicle capacity, heterogeneous vehicle types, land use plan, and hours-of-service. Most attractive candidates are close to the intersections of major highways. From the analysis, the study recommends locating a distribution center at three alternatives based on the average ranking method. This study can be used by distributors as they consider new locations and extra depots to support strategic planning to deal with mid-term and long-term growth of demand in beverage markets. This study provides a ready-to-use example of how to adopt state-of-the-art spatial technology and operations research using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and bring it to state-of-practice

Modeling Investments in County and Local Roads to Support Agricultural Logistics

Investments in local roads in North Dakota to support agricultural logistics are estimated with a detailed model that predicts flows from 1,406 crop-producing zones to 317 elevators and plants, and forecasts improvements and maintenance costs for paved and unpaved roads. The study finds that (1) the average farm-to-market trip distance has increased from 12 miles in 1980 to 26 miles in 2009, (2) the estimated resurfacing cost per mile for agricultural distribution routes is 40% greater than for non-agricultural routes, and (3) the estimated cost to maintain acceptable service levels on county and local roads is roughly double historical funding levels

Crop residue gasification

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 D93Master of Scienc

Hva er sentralt for en trygg tilvenning ved oppstart i barnehagen?

Sammendrag I denne oppgaven har vi sett på hva pedagogiske ledere ser på som sentralt for at alle barn skal oppleve en trygg oppstart i barnehagen. Vi har brukt kvalitativt intervju som metode, for å få innblikk i hva pedagogiske ledere som arbeider på småbarnsavdeling ser på som viktig for å gi alle barn en opplevelse av trygg tilvenning. Vi fant at en helhetlig relasjonell forståelse, med fokus på foreldresamarbeid, å se barnet innenfra og å være emosjonelt tilstede ble sett på som sentrale faktorer i en trygg tilvenning. Disse faktorene har derfor vært viktige fokusområder gjennom oppgaven. Videre har vi også sett på pedagogiske og praktiske rammer som kontaktperson, praktiske oppgaver og faglig arbeid i personalgruppen som også spiller inn på tilvenningsperioden

Små og mellomstore bedrifters utfordringer mot Industri 4.0 : En flerkildestudie av norske bedrifter

Masteroppgave industriell økonomi og teknologiledelse IND590 - Universitetet i Agder 2019Målet med denne oppgaven er å identifisere utfordringer norske små og mellomstore bedrifter (SMB) har mot implementeringen avIndustri 4.0. Temaet har sin relevans ved at Industri 4.0 blir sagt å være den første industrielle revolusjonen til å bli spådd før den faktisk har inntrådt for fullt. Den akademiske litteraturen på området er av nyere dato, og gir dermed ikke et tydelig bilde av hvilke utfordringer bedrifter egentlig står ovenfor.Samtidig består en stor andel av det norske næringslivet av SMB, og det indikeres gjennom eksisterende litteratur at disse bedriftene ofte har andre utfordringer enn større bedrifter i denne sammenheng.Vårt arbeid kan sies å være utforskende, og vi belyser problemstillingen ved åta i bruk en flerkildestudie som bygger på: (1) å frembringe relevante utfordringer på bakgrunn av vitenskapelig litteratur som omtaler Industri 4.0 og SMB, (2) gjennomføre intervju av fire SMB og en leverandørav Industri 4.0 løsninger, og til sist ved (3) å gjennomføre en spørreundersøkelse basert på de identifiserteutfordringene.For å sikre reliabiliteten av den empiriske dataenfra intervjuene,blelitteraturens omtale av Industri 4.0 og de intervjuede bedriftenes forståelse sammenlignet. Funnene viste at forståelsen i stor grad er sammenfallende.Det blefra spørreundersøkelsen derimot indikert at SMB generelt har en mindre forståelse for Industri 4.0,sammenlignet med større bedrifter. Videre ble detgjennom litteratursøketidentifisert 17utfordringer, hvorav følgende seks utfordringer fikk særs støtte fra vår empiri: investeringer, databehandling, eksisterende produksjon, IT-infrastruktur, implementeringsløsninger og teknisk kompetanse.I tillegg trekkes også mangel på tid frem som en betydelig utfordring.Det konkluderes med atsamarbeid er viktig for SMB for å opparbeide seg forståelse for Industri 4.0. Oppgaven konkludererogså med atlitteraturen og bedriftene langt på vei er samstemte i hvilke utfordringer som er relevantevedimplementeringenavIndustri 4.0.Vi mener med dette at oppgaven er et viktig bidrag i arbeidet med å belyse utfordringer SMB har mot implementeringen av Industri 4.0

Impacts of ethanol plants on highway networks

JTLU vol 4, no 1, pp 71-81 (2011)This paper describes the impacts of the ethanol industry on existing highway infrastructure in the vicinity of an ethanol production plant. To determine the impacts of plant location, the corn and soybean draw areas are estimated on the basis of crop prices. Crop production data are extracted from satellite imagery of the crop data layer produced by National Agricultural Statistics Service and the United States Department of Agriculture. The increase in truck traffic attributable to the ethanol plant is estimated for the changed flow of feedstock. A model is run for two scenarios: i) existing corn and soybean production; and, ii) increased corn and soybean production. Based on existing pavement condition and incremental traffic changes, the funds required to maintain the affected roads at their present service levels are quantified

Cytokine release from alveolar macrophages exposed to ambient particulate matter: Heterogeneity in relation to size, city and season

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated an association between exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation seems to play an important role in the observed health effects. However, the predominant particle component(s) that drives the inflammation is still not fully clarified. In this study representative coarse (2.5–10 μm) and fine (0.1–2.5 μm) particulate samples from a western, an eastern, a northern and a southern European city (Amsterdam, Lodz, Oslo and Rome) were collected during three seasons (spring, summer and winter). All fractions were investigated with respect to cytokine-inducing potential in primary macrophages isolated from rat lung. The results were related to the physical and chemical parameters of the samples in order to disclose possible connections between inflammatory potential and specific characteristics of the particles. RESULTS: Compared on a gram-by gram basis, both site-specific and seasonal variations in the PM-induced cytokine responses were demonstrated. The samples collected in the eastern (Lodz) and southern (Rome) cities appeared to be the most potent. Seasonal variation was most obvious with the samples from Lodz, with the highest responses induced by the spring and summer samples. The site-specific or seasonal variation in cytokine release could not be attributed to variations in any of the chemical parameters. Coarse fractions from all cities were more potent to induce the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α than the corresponding fine fractions. Higher levels of specific elements such as iron and copper, some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and endotoxin/lipopolysaccaride seemed to be prevalent in the coarse fractions. However, variations in the content of these components did not reflect the variation in cytokine release induced by the different coarse fractions. Addition of polymyxin B did not affect the particle-induced cytokine release, indicating that the variations in potency among the coarse fractions are not explained by endootoxin. CONCLUSION: The inflammatory potential of ambient PM demonstrated heterogeneity in relation to city and season. The coarse particle fractions were consistently more potent than the respective fine fractions. Though a higher level of some elements, PAH and endotoxin was found in the coarse fractions, the presence of specific components was not sufficient to explain all variations in PM-induced cytokine release