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Linking Personal Values to Energy-Efficient Behaviors in the Home
Get PDFLaddering techniques are used to identify personal values underlying a range of 21 potential energy-saving behaviors or purchases. At an individual level, ladders (or means-end chains) are quite simple; when aggregated, however, they are complex and show many different paths between underlying values and behaviors. The values identified can promote energy-efficient behaviors or act as obstacles to change. The value “pleasure,” for example, was found to influence energy-efficient behavior, such as hanging the laundry on the line, and inefficient behavior, such as taking long showers. Results show that values relating to “achievement” are most influential on the way people use energy in the home. Thus, social marketing campaigns promoting energy efficiency and conservation should tap into achievement values such as capability and intelligence because these campaigns are more likely to be effective than those that use other types of appeal
University foodservices’ potential for providing environmental education to students
Get PDFUniversity foodservices are potentially well placed to foster environmental education in a non-classroom setting and so could have the power to benefit communities through producing environmentally literate graduates. Buy-in from foodservice staff is critical for realising this potential, so understanding what foodservice staff think about their foodservice engaging in the provision of environmental education is essential. The aim of this study was to identify the dominant perspectives held by university foodservice staff about the desirability and realities of fostering environmental education in their workplaces. Methods: The study design integrated two phases: (i) 36 foodservice staff conducted a card-sorting activity that revealed four dominant viewpoints; (ii) 60 foodservice staff completed a survey where they identified with one of these viewpoints. The study was conducted in Dunedin, New Zealand. The four main perspectives were The ‘Believer’, the ‘Relatively Positive Integrator’, the ‘Uncertain Contender’ and the ‘Sceptic’. All of the perspective groups, except for Sceptic, believed environmental education in their workplace was desirable. In the survey, 25% of the 60 participants self-identified with the Believer narrative, 40% with the Relatively Positive Integrator, 25% with the Uncertain Contender and 10% with the Sceptic. There were no significant differences between factors for sociodemographic characteristics. A paradigm shift in foodservice framework thinking could unlock the potential university foodservice has to assist universities whose strategic mission is to embed environmental education in both curricular and co-extracurricula activities
Exploring the role of the circadian timing system in the control of metabolism and the consequence of lighting disruptions
Get PDFThroughout history, humans have been constantly driven by the rising and setting of the sun. Being able to anticipate this consistently changing environment is encompassed in our endogenous circadian clock. This system allows for the coordination of our physiology and behaviour to suit the environment around us. Human studies within the last few decades suggest that disruptions to this system increase the prevalence of metabolic disturbance, leading to the development of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and their associated co-morbidities. Little is known about the mechanisms by which disruptions lead to an eventual degradation in the metabolic system.
This thesis first sought to characterise the effect that chronic light cycle disruptions have on metabolism. To emulate the human condition, I used a mouse model exposed to constantly shifting lighting environment, comprised of a 6-hour advance, occurring every 6 days, to chronically disrupt their circadian timing system. This treatment caused a gradual increase in body weight of 3.54 ± 0.34g after 12 phase shifts compared with mice under control lighting conditions gaining 1.97 ± 0.25g. Additionally, following the 5th phase shift, light cycle-disrupted animals showed a reversal in their diurnal pattern of energy homeostasis and locomotor activity followed by a subsequent loss of this rhythm. To investigate potential molecular mechanisms mediating these metabolic alterations, we assessed central leptin and insulin sensitivity. We discovered that light cycle-disrupted mice had a reduction in central leptin signalling sensitivity, as indicated by a reduction in the number of phosphorylated STAT3 immunoreactive cells in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. Furthermore, light cycle-disrupted animals exhibited a marked increase in fasting blood glucose from 108.8 ± 21.3mg/dl in control animals, to 269.4 ± 21.1mg/dl in animals under light disruption. Peripheral hyperglycaemia was accompanied by alterations in central insulin signalling at the level of pAkt and IRS1, suggesting that light cycle-disruption has a direct effect on metabolic signalling pathways within the brain.
Secondly, I sought to investigate the effect light cycle disruptions have on whole body glucoregulation. Mice were subjected to the same light cycle disruption schedule as previous, and glucose tolerance was assessed throughout the experiment. Glucose tolerance of mice under light cycle disruptions was altered from the 9th light cycle shift. Fasting blood glucose was elevated in animals under light cycle disruption (143.1 ± 4.8 mg/dl) in comparison to controls (110.2 ± 6.6 mg/dl), however, not to the same magnitude as in the previous cohort of mice. The loss in glucose tolerance is likely a direct result of the light cycle disruptions given that there was no increase in body weights above controls, in animals under light disruptive conditions.
Lastly, I aimed to assess the effect of disrupting either the light zeitgeber or the food intake zeitgeber, on metabolism. Additionally, I sought to ameliorate previously observed metabolic disturbances by intervening with strict feeding regimes. Mice were either fed ad libitum, restricted to the dark phase, or had a rotating window of food access, throughout the experiment. Of these, half the animals were subjected to light cycle disruptions, identical to previous experiments. Animals under light cycle disruption fed ad libitum gained 51 ± 5.3% increase in body weight compared to 40.7 ± 4.1% increase in controls, as well as an increase in fat mass relative to body weight. Interestingly, a third group of mice presented themselves during this study, that had a distinct phenotype difference when compared to wildtype animals. Animals deemed ‘NowShift’ were observed to shift their behaviour almost instantaneously following a shift in the lighting environment. These animals were also protected against light disruption induced weight gain, increasing by only 31.3 ± 6.2% across the experiment, in those fed ad libitum. Mice under light cycle disruption that had their food restricted to the dark phase gained only 21 ± 3.5% body weight from baseline, in comparison to controls that gained 27.9 ± 4.3% body weight from baseline. Animals in this group deemed as ‘NowShift’ were also unaffected by the lighting disruptions, gaining only 23.6 ± 3.8% body weight from baseline. Additionally, there were no differences in fat mass across all three groups. Animals with rotating access to food showed a reduced body weight in comparison to those fed ad libitum, likely due to a reduction in total food intake. These animals had a severely disrupted rhythm of food intake; however, little impact was seen in activity rhythms. Our findings suggest that light entrains and controls locomotor activity patterns, whereas food intake is a crucial entrainment cue for maintaining metabolic health. Forcing synchronisation of the food and light zeitgeber through time restricted feeding can ameliorate body weight increases observed in animals fed ad libitum. Finally, the spontaneous phenotype of NowShift animals was a surprise, however, the fact that these animals are protected from light disruption induced weight gain raises the question of the mechanism behind their genetic advantage. Exome sequencing was performed in these animals, however further investigation is required to identify potential genetic variants
Microbial proteases from gelatin production system for the degradation of keratin-containing materials
No full textThis study aimed to isolate microorganisms from gelatin production systems, an extreme environment, which were prospected to isolate bacteria that secreted keratin degrading proteases. Keratin protein-containing materials are major by-products of the livestock and poultry processing industries. Keratin protein may have potential applications in food and nutrition; however, keratins are resistant to degradation by many common proteases, including those in the digestive system. Prospecting for proteases that possess keratin-degrading capability would enable utilization of keratin protein. Specialized environments such as that used for gelatin production, involves alkaline pre-treatment of animal hide in conditioning baths that leads to the release of animal skin, hair, and bone debris. The bath liquor and debris may harbour bacteria that may secrete keratinases in response to keratin containing materials in the environment.
The isolation of protease-secreting microorganisms was achieved by the cultivation of the above materials at 37oC in either (1) liquid broth Tris TSB (tryptic soy broth (TSB) containing 50 mM Tris with final media pH 8.5 or 10.8), or (2) on milk TSA agar (tryptic soy agar (TSA) containing 50 mM Tris and 1% (w/v) low-fat milk with final media pH approximately 8.8). Microorganisms were not able to be isolated at pH 10.8, but some species grew on Tris TSB at pH 8.5 and on milk TSA. Microbial colonies on milk TSA were collected and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Sequence comparison with online databases showed that microorganisms isolated from conditioning bath liquors (CBLs) were primarily from Bacillus genus, while those isolated from animal hide, hair and bone debris were members of Aeromonas genus. The microbial communities associated with two types of CBLs which were used to pre-treat the animal hide for 5 and 45 days, i.e. CBL C5 and CBL D45 respectively were investigated via metagenomic 16S V3-V4 rRNA amplicon sequencing using an Illumina MiSeqTM platform. The 16S rRNA gene libraries were demultiplexed, denoised/clustered, and then taxonomically classified using reference sequences from the Silva 16S databases using Qiime2 software. The results showed that both CBLs contained numerous genera of microbes made up predominantly of Burkholderiaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Carnobacteriaceae. And, these may not be viable microorganisms. The alpha and beta diversity of CBLs were also not substantially different.
Two strains of Bacillus licheniformis that were encoded CP7 and DP1 were chosen for the studies, due to the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status of many members of this bacterial species. The strains were evaluated for optimum growth conditions and nutrient requirement for the production of extracellular proteases, assayed using either casein or extracted soluble wool keratin as substrates. The results indicated that the optimum cultivation conditions for protease production by CP7 was 50oC, pH 7.5, 200 rpm, 24 h in sucrose, wool, NaCl and K2HPO4 (SWNK) media containing (w/v) 1.5% sucrose, 0.434 % wool, 5% NaCl and 70 mM K2HPO4, and for DP1, 50oC, pH 9.0, 200 rpm and 24 h in sucrose-malt extract, NaCl and K2HPO4 (SMNK) media containing 0.5% sucrose, 0.5% malt extract, 5% NaCl, and 70 mM K2HPO4. Only CP7 was found to be capable of producing keratinase(s) with the capability to degrade native chicken feather and wool. CP7 cell pellet was also investigated but was found to have quite a low level of proteases. The secreted CP7 proteases were harvested from the growth media and concentrated by ammonium sulphate precipitation. Two major protease containing fractions were obtained by anion exchange chromatography (Q-FPLC), which exhibited the capability of degrading keratin-containing materials. The target protease fractions were further fractionated using gel permeation (S100-FPLC) and analysed by reversed-phase chromatography (RP-HPLC). The protein and hydrolytic profiles of the protease fractions were investigated using SDS-PAGE and gelatin zymography. Protein gel bands were excised and subjected to in-gel digestion and LC-MS/MS for protein identification. Two protease fractions (QP0 SP2 and QP1 SP3) analysed were found to contain protease related to B. licheniformis Subtilisin Carlsberg. The optimal activity of the proteases was found to be 60oC, pH 10.0 and pH 6.0-10.0, respectively. This research has provided further insight into culturable protease-producing microorganisms in such gelatin production alkaline environment. Although the proteases analysed in this study have similar sequence homology to subtilisin Carlsberg, they appear to require different conditions for optimal activity. Various metal ions, protease inhibitors, reducing agents, and a detergent were also used to characterize both QP0 SP2 and QP1 SP3
A Tale of New Zealand
Get PDFOrphaned and alone, the young governess Annie Barrington sail to New Zealand in search of her lost brother. In Auckland, she finds instead a man who offers her happiness, but whose past hides a dark crime. Also, trying to escape the past are Annie's employer, Mrs. Willoughby Watkins, and her stylish friend Mrs. De Costremonge, who discover that conquering colonial high society is not as easy as they hoped. Back in England, Annie's friend Laura Scott waits in vain for news of her absconded husband. When Laura receives a fatal letter from the other side of the world, it threatens to destroy all that Annie holds dear
Violence in the Theatre of Martin McDonagh
Get PDFThis thesis investigates two violent plays by the London-born playwright Martin McDonagh,
The Lieutenant of Inishmore and A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter. Considering these texts from
a post-colonial and phenomenological perspective, this thesis investigates how violence
operates within each text. Chapter One opens by establishing the playwright’s attitude towards
theatre. The thesis then defines working parameters for post-colonial theatre, presence,
phenomenology and violence. A literature review is then undertaken to outline the current field
on the playwright.
Drawing on the breadth of scholarly research already established, Chapter Two examines
violence in McDonagh’s 2001 play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. This chapter reveals the
farcical structure which contains the play’s violence. Using this, the thesis considers how this
alters the representation of the characters committing the violence. Chapter Two considers the
justification of violence within the colonial context of the play and the phenomenological
aspects which illuminate different aspects of violence within the text.
Chapter Three approaches McDonagh’s 2018 play A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter from a
similar angle and investigates the justification of violence, its colonial context and nineteenth
century Dickensian sentimentality. Because of the sparse academic research on this play, this
thesis compares and extends ideas using the conclusions reached in Chapter Two.
Lastly, the fourth chapter draws conclusions about McDonagh’s significant use of
dismemberment, the presence of violence within language and unique aspects of theatre to
determine how violence is operating in the respective texts. The thesis then proposes an answer
to why McDonagh may be choosing to return to a medium he has expressed distaste fo
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - DHB10: Hawke's Bay
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - TA15: Matamata-Piako District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - TA19: South Waikato District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
Predictors and risk stratification of inpatient gout flare in people with comorbid gout
Get PDFBackground: Inpatient gout flare is a common problem which could lead to longer length of hospital stay and higher hospital cost. However, factors associated with inpatient gout flare are not well understood.
Objectives: This thesis has three objectives: (1) to identify the predictors of inpatient gout flare in people with comorbid gout, (2) to explore the relationship between the predictors of inpatient gout flare and the length of hospital stay, and (3) to develop and validate a clinical tool to identify people who are at high risk of developing gout flare during hospital stay.
Methods: Three studies were conducted to address each of the objectives. The first study collected data from a retrospective cohort of people with comorbid gout admitted to three hospitals in the Wellington region in 2017. Fifty-two candidate variables were explored, with inpatient gout flare (yes/no) as the dependent variables. A prediction model was built using clinical knowledge-guided variable selection followed by logistic regression with shrinkage. The second study used data from a population-based cohort of people with comorbid gout admitted to New Zealand public hospitals in 2017. The association between 19 gout flare-related variables and the length of hospital stay was explored using a generalized linear model. In the third and final study, a prediction rule for inpatient gout flare was developed from the set of predictors identified in the first study. The prediction rule was then validated in an independent cohort of hospitalized people with comorbid gout (validation cohort) prospectively recruited from a hospital in Thailand.
Results: The first study (N =625) identified nine predictors of inpatient gout flare: (1) pre-admission serum urate >0.36 mmol/L, (2) tophus, (3) no pre-admission urate-lowering therapy (ULT), (4) no pre-admission gout prophylaxis, (5) ULT adjustment, (6) gout prophylaxis started/increased, (7) diuretic adjustment, (8) acute kidney injury and (9) surgery. In the second study (N =36,047), regular pre-admission ULT and urate testing were found to be associated with a shorter length of hospital stay. Loop diuretics, potassium-sparing diuretics and surgery were found to be associated with a longer length of hospital stay. People with multiple factors associated with longer length of stay were estimated to add at least four days to their hospital stay. In the third study, a prediction rule for inpatient gout flare was developed, containing four items; (1) no pre-admission GOut prophylaxis, (2) no pre-admission ULT, (3) Tophus and (4) pre-admission serum urate >0.36 mmol/L (the GOUT-36 rule). The presence of two or more items indicates that the person is at high risk of developing gout flare during hospital stay. In the validation cohort (N =184), the GOUT-36 rule has a sensitivity of 0.74, specificity of 0.69 and AUC of 0.71.
Conclusion: The thesis identified nine predictors of inpatient gout flare, as well as the association between some of the predictors and the length of hospital stay. The GOUT-36 prediction rule for inpatient gout flare was sensitive, intuitive and user-friendly. All four items in the GOUT-36 rule are assessable on the first day of admission, allowing a very early risk stratification for people with comorbid gout