A Palaeoenvironmental Investigation of Two Prehistoric Burnt Mound Sites in Northern Ireland

Funded by Road services Northern Ireland, Jacobs and Headland Archaeology

Sediment Budget for Cane Land on the Lower Herbert River Floodplain, North Queensland, Australia

Land use in the river catchments of tropical North Queensland appears to have increased the export of sediment and nutrients to the coast. Although evidence of harmful effect of sediment on coastal and riverine ecosystems is limited, there is a growing concern about its possible negative impacts. Sugarcane cultivation on the floodplains of the tropical North Queensland river catchments is thought to be an important source of excess sediment in the river drainage systems. Minimum-tillage, trash blanket harvesting has been shown to reduce erosion from sloping sugarcane fields, but in the strongly modified floodplain landscape other elements (e.g. drains, water furrows and headlands) could still be important sediment sources. The main objectives of this thesis are to quantify the amount of sediment coming from low-lying cane land and identify the important sediment sources in the landscape. The results of this thesis enable sugarcane farmers to take targeted measures for further reduction of the export of sediment and nutrients. Sediment budgets provide a useful approach to identify and quantify potential sediment sources. For this study a sediment budget is calculated for a part of the Ripple Creek catchment, which is a sub-catchment of the Lower Herbert River. The input of sediment from all potential sources in cane land and the storage of sediment within the catchment have been quantified and compared with the output of sediment from the catchment. Input from, and storage on headlands, main drains, minor drains and water furrows, was estimated from erosion pin and surface profile measurements. Input from forested upland, input from fields and the output at the outlet of the catchment was estimated with discharge data from gauged streams and flumes. Data for the sediment budget were collected during two ‘wet’-seasons: 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. The results of the sediment budget indicate that this tropical floodplain area is a net source of sediment. Plant cane fields, which do not have a protective trash cover, were the largest net source of sediment during the 1999-2000 season. Sediment input from water furrows was higher, but there was also considerable storage of sediment in this landscape element. Headlands tend to act as sinks. The source or sink function of drains is less clear, but seems to depend on their shape and vegetation cover. An important problem in this study is the high uncertainty in the estimates of the sediment budget components and is, for example, likely to be the cause of the imbalance in the sediment budget. High uncertainties have particularly affected the results from the 20002001 season. The main source of uncertainty is spatial variation in the erosion and deposition processes. Uncertainty has to be taken into consideration when interpreting the budget results. The observation of a floodplain as sediment source contradicts the general understanding that floodplains are areas of sediment storage within river catchments. A second objective of this thesis was therefore to provide an answer to the question: how can floodplains in the tropical North Queensland catchments can be a source of sediment? In geomorphic literature various factors have been pointed out, that could control floodplain erosion processes. However, their importance is not 'uniquely identified'. Among the most apparent factors are the stream power of the floodwater and the resistance of the floodplain surface both through its sedimentary composition and the vegetation cover. If the cultivated floodplains of the North Queensland catchments are considered in the light of these factors, there is a justified reason to expect them to be a sediment source. Cultivation has lowered the resistance of their surface; increased drainage has increased the drainage velocity and flood control structures have altered flooding patterns. For the Ripple Creek floodplain four qualitative scenarios have been developed that describe erosion and deposition under different flow conditions. Two of these scenarios were experienced during the budget study, involving runoff from local hillslopes and heavy rainfall, which caused floodplain erosion. In the longer term larger flood events, involving floodwater from the Herbert River, may lead to different erosion and deposition processes. The present study has shown that the tropical floodplain of the Herbert River catchment can be a source of sediment under particular flow conditions. It has also shown which elements in the sugarcane landscape are the most important sediment sources under these conditions. This understanding will enable sugarcane farmers to further reduce sediment export from cane land and prevent the negative impact this may have on the North Queensland coastal ecosystems.

Factors affecting gut metabolism and bioavailabilty of orange juice flavanones in humans

Several studies have supported a beneficial role of dietary flavonoids in reducing the risk/progression of chronic diseases (including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type-2-diabetes, cognitive dysfunction, age-related bone disease). Their beneficial properties are likely to be affected by their structure, distribution in foods, food matrix, life habits (physical activity). Most dietary polyphenols reach the colon where they are metabolized to phenolic acids by gut bacteria. Lack of knowledge of the factors affecting flavonoid metabolism and bioavailability hinders understanding of their health effects. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate the effect of factors on bioavailability and metabolism of dietary polyphenols from orange juices (OJ) in in vitro and in vivo studies. In chapter 3, the variability of orange juice polyphenolic content was assessed using in vitro models of the human gastrointestinal tract. Chapter 4 investigated the reduced urinary phenolic acids after OJ and yoghurt (Y) in humans compared to OJ alone using in vitro models of the human gut. In chapter 5, raftiline and glucose were tested for effects on metabolism of hesperidin (flavanone not OJ). In chapter 6, an intervention study of 4 weeks moderate intensity exercise determined whether exercise affected bioavailability and metabolism of OJ flavanones in healthy sedentary females. The studies in this thesis showed that food sources, food matrix and physical exercise may determine the significant variations in bioavailability and metabolism of flavonoids, seen in a number of studies. These factors could result in differences in bioactivity and bioefficacy of polyphenols, and need to be taken into account in further studies of the effects of flavanones on disease risk.

Viability of probiotic bacteria and some chemical and sensory characteristics in cornelian cherry juice during cold storage

Background: Increased popularity of vegetarianism, lactose intolerance, and the high cholesterol content in dairy products, are all factors that have recently increased the demand for nondairy probiotic products. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of refrigeration on the viability of probiotics and asses someof the chemical and sensory characteristics in cornelian cherry juice. Results: The Iranian native probiotic strain (L. casei T4) showed greater viability compared to industrial types (viable count of 8.67 log cfu/mL versus <6.0 log cfu/mL at d 28). However, this most tolerant Iranian strain, could not withstand the conditions of ‘Natural juice’ at pH 2.6 for more than 7 d. Following a pH adjusted treatment (to pH ~3.5), the viability of the strain was improved to 28 d with some evidence of increased growth of the probiotic. However, the level of antioxidant activity, anthocyanin and phenolic compounds, revealed a slight decrease during cold storage. The changes in the chemical profile of the sample containing L. casei T4 indicated fermentation activity during cold storage. Sensory evaluation results showed significant differences between samples containing L. casei TD4 and other samples in taste, odor and overall acceptance in a complimentary way. Conclusions: The results showed that low pH and presence of inhibitor phenolic compounds of cornelian cherry juice have negative effect on viability of probiotics, especially industrial strains during refrigerated storage.

Distribution of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 in soils and sugar cane crops at Corumbatai river basin, São Paulo State, Brazil

The common use of phosphate fertilizers NPK and amendments in sugar cane crops in Brazilian agriculture may increase the Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 activity concentrations in soils and their availability for plants and human food chain. Thus, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 in soils and sugar cane crops in the Corumbatai river basin, São Paulo State, Brazil. The gamma spectrometry was utilized to measure the Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 activity concentration in all samples. The soil-to-sugar cane transfer factors (TF) were quantified using the ratio between the radionuclide activity concentration in sugar cane and its activity concentration in soil. The results show that, although radionuclides incorporated in phosphate fertilizers and amendments are annually added in the sugar cane crops, if utilized in accordance with the recommended rates, their use does not lead to hazards levels in soils. The soil-to-sugar cane transfer of radionuclides occurred in the following order K-40 > Ra-226 > Th-232. Therefore, under these conditions, radionuclides intake through consumption of sugar is not hazardous to human health. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trends in vertical movement of hexazinone herbicide considering typic eutrorthox soil of Espraiado´s stream cultivated with sugar-cane crop - local and default data scenarios.

2009

Fruit juice label: what matters to the consumer?

2014

Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Hunted Wild Boars (Sus scrofa): Heart Meat Juice as an Alternative Sample to Serum for the Detection of Antibodies

Toxoplasmosis is a global zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Detection of antibodies to T. gondii in serum samples from hunted animals may represent a key step for public health protection. It is also important to assess the circulation of this parasite in wild boar population. However, in hunted animals, collection of blood is not feasible and meat juice may represent an alternative sample. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate heart meat juice of hunted wild boars as an alternative sample for post-mortem detection of antibodies to T. gondii by modified agglutination test (MAT). The agreement beyond chance between results from meat juice assessed with Cohen’s kappa coefficient revealed that the 1:20 meat juice dilution provided the highest agreement. McNemars’s test further revealed 1:10 as the most suitable meat juice dilution, as the proportion of positive paired samples (serum and meat juice from the same animal) did not differ at this dilution. All together, these results suggest a reasonable accuracy of heart meat juice to detect antibodies to T. gondii by MAT and support it as an alternative sample in post-mortem analysis in hunted wild boars.

Camp Burnt Gin

This is an informational brochure describing Camp Burnt Gin. It tells about the campers, the facilities, the program and the staff. It also gives a short history of the camp.

Fast HPLC method for anthocyanins determination in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice.

2012

Soil carbon stock and origin in tropical soil under sugar cane management afther deforestation.

2008

The Brazilian grape juice: market and prospects.

This article aims to analyze the market of Brazilian grape juice.