Research UNE (University of New England)
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Canopy functional trait variation across Earth’s tropical forests
No full textTropical forest canopies are the biosphere’s most concentrated atmospheric interface for carbon, water and energy1,2. However, in most Earth System Models, the diverse and heterogeneous tropical forest biome is represented as a largely uniform ecosystem with either a singular or a small number of fixed canopy ecophysiological properties3. This situation arises, in part, from a lack of understanding about how and why the functional properties of tropical forest canopies vary geographically4. Here, by combining field-collected data from more than 1,800 vegetation plots and tree traits with satellite remote-sensing, terrain, climate and soil data, we predict variation across 13 morphological, structural and chemical functional traits of trees, and use this to compute and map the functional diversity of tropical forests. Our findings reveal that the tropical Americas, Africa and Asia tend to occupy different portions of the total functional trait space available across tropical forests. Tropical American forests are predicted to have 40% greater functional richness than tropical African and Asian forests. Meanwhile, African forests have the highest functional divergence—32% and 7% higher than that of tropical American and Asian forests, respectively. An uncertainty analysis highlights priority regions for further data collection, which would refine and improve these maps. Our predictions represent a ground-based and remotely enabled global analysis of how and why the functional traits of tropical forest canopies vary across space
Experience Based Decisional DNA (DDNA) to Support Sustainable Product Design
No full textThis paper presents the idea of providing engineering design knowledge to designers working on sustainable product design and development process. The new product development process often requires significant amount of design knowledge which can be saved and recalled by designers during the design process. This knowledge is very important for successful sustainable product development as it can include material selection, product geometric features and process parameters, etc. This paper presents a decision support technique for recalling engineering design knowledge which can be useful for small and medium enterprises (SMES) involved in new product design and development. Proposed system is based on smart knowledge management technique called Set of Experience Knowledge Structure (SOEKS) and Decisional DNA. The SOEKS is a flexible and structured knowledge representation structure used to gain and store the experiential knowledge. The article includes a case study explaining the presented approach. Decision-making in industrial design will benefit from this study, as it includes capturing, storing and reusing of experience and knowledge of engineering design processes
The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and existing measures of child outcomes: Is there a relationship?
No full textThe mandated Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) has guided early childhood education and care (ECEC) since 2009. The EYLF is intended to support improved learning and development outcomes for all children within a nationally consistent regulatory system. Since the implementation of the EYLF, the quality ratings of ECEC services have improved in every Australian jurisdiction. However, the absence of detailed child ECEC participation data has been an obstacle to assessing the impact of ECEC service level improvements on child learning outcomes. It is therefore reasonable to ask whether the implementation of the EYLF is associated with changes in child outcomes at a population level. We examined child-level data from five, three-yearly rounds of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) collected in the first year of formal education from 2009 to 2021, the same period over which improvements in ECEC quality standards have been documented. In all five developmental domains assessed by the AEDC, scores of children attending any form of ECEC were higher on average over every round of data collection. However, these group average differences remained stable from 2009 to 2021. Improvements in aspects of quality underpinning the EYLF and national regulatory standards may not be sufficient to reduce levels of developmental vulnerability so as to alter the developmental trajectories assessed by the AEDC in a meaningful way in the population
Birthing in the Age of Social Media: Exploring the Relationship Between Social Media Content and Fear of Childbirth and Obstetric Preferences
No full textThis study explored the social media usage of 348 Australian nulliparous pregnant women and the relationship between viewing different portrayals of childbirth and fear of childbirth (FOC) and obstetric preferences. The median daily social media usage was 5 hours, and Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube were the most popular. Although holistic features within childbirth-related content were more prominent, women who viewed predominantly technocratic features reported significantly higher FOC and were significantly more likely to prefer cesarean sections and pharmacological pain relief. The high rates of social media usage highlight the urgent need for future research to investigate the mechanisms of causality
Ciconia, Johannes
No full textCiconia fu figlio di un prete canonico presso San Giovanni Evangelista a Liegi e della sua amante, figlia di Jacques d'Heur. Un corista (duodenus) dallo stesso nome appare nei registri del collegio di San Giovanni Evangelista nel 1385, il che fa pensare a una prima formazione del compositore nelle materie di grammatica, aritmetica e musica. Nel 1391, Papa Bonifacio IX (Pietro Tomacelli, 1389–† 1404) concesse a Johannes Ciconia, clericus leodiensis, una dispensa papale per il «difetto» di essere figlio illegittimo di un prete (defectus natalium de presbitero genitus). Questa dispensa gli consentiva, in ambito ecclesiastico, di ricevere benefici e ricoprire uffici (compresi quelli del padre). Nella stessa dispensa si stabilisce..
Novelty during rearing increased inquisitive exploration but was not related to early ranging behavior of laying hens
No full textRange use by free-range laying hen flocks is heterogeneous. We hypothesized that ranging behaviour may be motivated by curiosity and thwarted by fearfulness. This project aimed to increase a hen’s motivation to explore by enriching the rearing environment and identify relationships between exploration, fear and ranging. Day-old Hy-Line chicks (n = 1700) were reared in environments that provided novel items, structures for perching or an industry standard floor rearing environment. Prior to range access, fear and exploratory behaviors were assessed at 18 weeks of age (cohort 1; n = 30 hens/treatment) via novel arena and novel object tests and at 22 weeks of age (cohort 2; n = 30 hens/treatment) using an 8-arm radial maze choice paradigm adapted from previous rodent research. Hens were trained to expect success in two arms (reward) and failure in two arms (mild punishment), the remaining four arms (ambiguous arms) were not available during training. After training, all hens were retested for 8 minutes with access to the four familiar arms only, then for four minutes with access to the ambiguous arms for the first time, in addition to the success and failure arms. Latency to enter the ambiguous arms and the number of ambiguous arms entered were assessed as an indicator of a hen’s willingness to forgo reward and risk punishment to explore a novel area. At 25 weeks of age, hens were provided with range access and individual range access was monitored for three weeks. Latency to access the range and the number of days the range was accessed was not related to rearing treatment (p > 0.05) and was only weakly correlated with behavior during the novel arena, novel object and 8-arm radial maze tests (r 0.05) and was only weakly correlated with behavior during the novel arena, novel object and 8-arm radial maze tests (
Assessing the genetic diversity of Australian goats
No full textAssessing genetic diversity and population structure of Australian goats is the first step towards establishing a genomic reference population to enable a multibreed genetic evaluation. This study explored the genetic structure of Australian goat breeds, focusing mostly on Rangeland, Boer, and Kalahari Red goats. Results revealed clear genetic distinctions between Boer, Rangeland, dairy, and fibre breeds. Rangeland goats exhibited multiple ancestries but formed distinct groups, suggesting they are a separate breed. Australian Boer goats clustered with global Boer populations, while Australian Kalahari Red goats were genetically similar to Boers, indicating little differentiation. The results highlight the genetic makeup of Australia’s diverse goat population and lay the groundwork to facilitate multibreed genetic evaluations, ultimately improving breeding strategies and accelerating genetic progress across Australian goat breeds
Genetic Risk, Inflammation, and Therapeutics: An Editorial Overview of Recent Advances in Aging Brains and Neurodegeneration
No full textNeurodegenerative disorders, including Dementia, Parkinson's disease, various Vision disorders, Multiple sclerosis, and transsynaptic degenerative changes represent a significant challenge in aging populations. This editorial synthesizes and discusses recent advancements in understanding the genetic and environmental factors contributing to these diseases. Central to these advancements is the role of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which exacerbate neuronal damage and accelerate disease progression. Emerging research underscores the significance of mitochondrial dysfunction and protein aggregation in neurodegenerative pathology, highlighting shared mechanisms across various disorders. Innovative therapeutic strategies, including gene therapy, CRISPR-Cas technology, and the use of naturally occurring antioxidant molecules, are being investigated to target and manage these conditions. Additionally, lifestyle interventions such as exercise and healthy diet have shown promise in enhancing brain plasticity and reducing neuroinflammation. Advances in neuroimaging and biomarker discovery are necessary to improve early diagnosis, while clinical and preclinical studies are essential for the translation of these novel treatments. This edition aims to bridge the gap between molecular mechanisms and therapeutic applications, offering insights into potential interventions to mitigate the impact of neurodegenerative diseases. By establishing a deeper understanding of these complex processes, we aim to move closer to effective prevention and treatment strategies, ultimately improving the quality of life for those affected by neurodegenerative disorders
Response of Broiler Chickens to Dietary Supplementation of Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Glucan or Mannan Yeast Products
No full textThe effect of varying levels of enzymatically hydrolyzed soluble yeast glucan (YG) and yeast mannan (YM) products on broiler chickens was studied. A total of 486 day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated to 9 dietary treatments consisting of YG and YM supplemented at 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, or 0.20 g/kg diet, respectively, and a control without yeast supplementation. Each treatment was replicated 6 times with 9 birds per replicate. The supplements did not affect body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the starter phase nor feed intake at any stage. However, birds especially in the 0.20 g YM/kg diet group had improved (P P P
Optimising Energy-to-Protein Ratio in Practical Reduced-Protein Diets for Laying Hens
No full textThis study evaluated the optimal energy-to-protein ratio in practical reduced-protein diets to evaluate the production performance, nutrient digestibility, and egg quality parameters of laying hens between 20 and 35 weeks of age. The best feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 2.548 was achieved at 15.5% crude protein (CP) and 100% recommended apparent metabolizable energy (AME) level with a reduced-protein diet, followed by 14% CP and 95% recommended AME levels (2.634) from 20 to 35 weeks of age (WOA) (p p p p p p p p p