title: Command-line Instrument Control and Measurement Tools

authors: Ho, Cheng-Lin (Daniel)

subjects: VISA

abstract: The main purpose of this thesis is to automate laboratory instruments with
command lines. The created commands allow users to control instruments and
record measured values into a file, by using industrial standards, these commands
can communicate to the instruments through different interfaces. The users may
utilize these commands to execute an experiment remotely and records values
automatically. These commands made experiments flexible in location, reduce
the time spent for recording experiment values, and reduce any possible human
errors. The recorded values can be accepted by well-known analysis software
packages such as MATLAB, for further processing as a file. These commands
provide the users with convenience and personal safety, when executing
laboratory experiments with modern laboratory instruments.
The target of this thesis is producing a set of commands that allow users to control,
read, and record, the common instruments used on an electronics workbench.
These devices include power supplies, digital multimeters, function generators,
and oscilloscopes. The produced commands allow users to establish two
workbenches with these common laboratory instruments. The created
commands were written in C language in combination with the test and
measurement industrial standard to ensure the compatibility with instruments
from different vendors. This thesis also provides the readers with required
background knowledge that is related to the usage and development of these
commands. The target readers of this thesis are the graduates of Bachelor of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering or higher.

With these command sets, researchers do not need to spend a long time
controlling instruments and recording results from instrument manually. Apart
from setting up the hardware, they can simply enter the command, to get the result
they require.

text: Command-line Instrument Control and Measurement Tools The main purpose of this thesis is to automate laboratory instruments with
command lines. The created commands allow users to control instruments and
record measured values into a file, by using industrial standards, these commands
can communicate to the instruments through different interfaces. The users may
utilize these commands to execute an experiment remotely and records values
automatically. These commands made experiments flexible in location, reduce
the time spent for recording experiment values, and reduce any possible human
errors. The recorded values can be accepted by well-known analysis software
packages such as MATLAB, for further processing as a file. These commands
provide the users with convenience and personal safety, when executing
laboratory experiments with modern laboratory instruments.
The target of this thesis is producing a set of commands that allow users to control,
read, and record, the common instruments used on an electronics workbench.
These devices include power supplies, digital multimeters, function generators,
and oscilloscopes. The produced commands allow users to establish two
workbenches with these common laboratory instruments. The created
commands were written in C language in combination with the test and
measurement industrial standard to ensure the compatibility with instruments
from different vendors. This thesis also provides the readers with required
background knowledge that is related to the usage and development of these
commands. The target readers of this thesis are the graduates of Bachelor of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering or higher.

With these command sets, researchers do not need to spend a long time
controlling instruments and recording results from instrument manually. Apart
from setting up the hardware, they can simply enter the command, to get the result
they require.

year: 2008

title: The Diet and Nutritional Ecology of the Auckland Tree Wētā Hemideina thoracica

authors: Brown, Matthew

subjects: Wētā

abstract: Insects are the main consumers of primary production in many terrestrial ecosystems, they are involved in the upwards migration of energy to higher trophic levels, and are often extremely important in structuring their ecosystems. Despite the many important ways that insects influence their ecosystems, many of the most basic aspects of the functional ecology of many groups of insects have not been investigated, and a great deal remains to be learned about what roles they play in the structure and functioning of their ecosystems. This study focuses on the Auckland tree wētā Hemideina thoracica (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae, White, 1842), the most widespread species of tree wētā in the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the least studied species in the genus Hemideina. 
Faecal fragment analysis revealed that the diet of a population of Hemideina thoracica from a mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest was composed primarily of the leaves, fruits, and seeds, of the native plants Prumnopitys taxifolia, Podocarpus totara, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides,  Kunzia ericoides,  Melicytus sp., Pennantia corymbosa, and Coprosma rotundifolia, but the consumption of other invertebrates was also common, and formed a smaller component of the overall diet. Hemideina thoracica were also shown to feed selectively while foraging. It was determined that some plants were eaten readily by the wētā when encountered, while other plants that were equally abundant were either not consumed, or were consumed far less than would be predicted by their availability. Performing a solvent extraction, using hexane, revealed that the concentration of lipids and oils in the leaves of preferred plant species was higher than in the leaves of non-preferred species, and Hemideina thoracica may preferentially consume plants that have high lipid concentrations in their leaves. It also appeared probable that they forage on the forest floor more frequently than has been previously recognised. 
	A nutritional analysis performed in captivity revealed that H. thoracica are capable of balancing their consumption of the macronutrients protein and carbohydrates to construct an optimal diet from one or more sub-optimal sources, and strongly regulate their consumption of protein. When presented with the opportunity to construct their own diet, they consumed significantly more carbohydrates than protein, and constructed a diet with a mean protein to carbohydrate ratio of 27:73. They digested carbohydrates more efficiently than protein, but converted the protein that they consumed into biomass with a very high level of conversion efficiency. These results supported the results of the fragment analysis by demonstrating that the natural, optimal diet of H. thoracica is most likely composed of carbohydrate rich foods, but they may also be naturally omnivorous, as they utilise protein very efficiently. 
	The third, and final experiment, investigated whether H. thoracica feed on fruit in a manner that may facilitate seed dispersal for native plants in the wild. This experiment involved feeding fruit from three different native plants, Coprosma repens, Cordyline australis, and Fuchsia procumbens to a group of 40 H. thoracica, and revealed that H. thoracica frequently consume the flesh of the berry from around the seed, without ingesting the seeds themselves. When the seeds were consumed, 100 % of them were destroyed by the wētās digestive process, even in the case of very small and numerous seeds, like those of F. procumbens. It is therefore highly unlikely that H. thoracica is a seed dispersing plant-mutualist, as the seeds are either left where the fruit had fallen, or are destroyed. 
	The combined results of these studies demonstrated that Hemideina thoracica is an omnivorous polyphage, and their wild diet is composed primarily of leaves, fruits, and seeds, and the concentration of lipids and oils in the leaves appears to be an important cue in determining the palatability of different species. They are also naturally omnivorous, and protein derived from eating other insects is a common component of their overall diet They have a well developed ability to balance their consumption of protein and carbohydrates, and self-select a carbohydrate rich diet in captivity. It is also extremely unlikely that that H. thoracica act as seed dispersers for native, fruit producing plants.

text: The Diet and Nutritional Ecology of the Auckland Tree Wētā Hemideina thoracica Insects are the main consumers of primary production in many terrestrial ecosystems, they are involved in the upwards migration of energy to higher trophic levels, and are often extremely important in structuring their ecosystems. Despite the many important ways that insects influence their ecosystems, many of the most basic aspects of the functional ecology of many groups of insects have not been investigated, and a great deal remains to be learned about what roles they play in the structure and functioning of their ecosystems. This study focuses on the Auckland tree wētā Hemideina thoracica (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae, White, 1842), the most widespread species of tree wētā in the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the least studied species in the genus Hemideina. 
Faecal fragment analysis revealed that the diet of a population of Hemideina thoracica from a mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest was composed primarily of the leaves, fruits, and seeds, of the native plants Prumnopitys taxifolia, Podocarpus totara, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides,  Kunzia ericoides,  Melicytus sp., Pennantia corymbosa, and Coprosma rotundifolia, but the consumption of other invertebrates was also common, and formed a smaller component of the overall diet. Hemideina thoracica were also shown to feed selectively while foraging. It was determined that some plants were eaten readily by the wētā when encountered, while other plants that were equally abundant were either not consumed, or were consumed far less than would be predicted by their availability. Performing a solvent extraction, using hexane, revealed that the concentration of lipids and oils in the leaves of preferred plant species was higher than in the leaves of non-preferred species, and Hemideina thoracica may preferentially consume plants that have high lipid concentrations in their leaves. It also appeared probable that they forage on the forest floor more frequently than has been previously recognised. 
	A nutritional analysis performed in captivity revealed that H. thoracica are capable of balancing their consumption of the macronutrients protein and carbohydrates to construct an optimal diet from one or more sub-optimal sources, and strongly regulate their consumption of protein. When presented with the opportunity to construct their own diet, they consumed significantly more carbohydrates than protein, and constructed a diet with a mean protein to carbohydrate ratio of 27:73. They digested carbohydrates more efficiently than protein, but converted the protein that they consumed into biomass with a very high level of conversion efficiency. These results supported the results of the fragment analysis by demonstrating that the natural, optimal diet of H. thoracica is most likely composed of carbohydrate rich foods, but they may also be naturally omnivorous, as they utilise protein very efficiently. 
	The third, and final experiment, investigated whether H. thoracica feed on fruit in a manner that may facilitate seed dispersal for native plants in the wild. This experiment involved feeding fruit from three different native plants, Coprosma repens, Cordyline australis, and Fuchsia procumbens to a group of 40 H. thoracica, and revealed that H. thoracica frequently consume the flesh of the berry from around the seed, without ingesting the seeds themselves. When the seeds were consumed, 100 % of them were destroyed by the wētās digestive process, even in the case of very small and numerous seeds, like those of F. procumbens. It is therefore highly unlikely that H. thoracica is a seed dispersing plant-mutualist, as the seeds are either left where the fruit had fallen, or are destroyed. 
	The combined results of these studies demonstrated that Hemideina thoracica is an omnivorous polyphage, and their wild diet is composed primarily of leaves, fruits, and seeds, and the concentration of lipids and oils in the leaves appears to be an important cue in determining the palatability of different species. They are also naturally omnivorous, and protein derived from eating other insects is a common component of their overall diet They have a well developed ability to balance their consumption of protein and carbohydrates, and self-select a carbohydrate rich diet in captivity. It is also extremely unlikely that that H. thoracica act as seed dispersers for native, fruit producing plants.

year: 2013

title: Ngā takenga o te riri

authors: Murphy, Ēnoka

subjects: Pakanga

abstract: Ko te kaupapa ake o tēnei tuhinga, ko te whakawhāriki i ētahi kōrero mō te takenga mai o te riri, o te pakanga ki tā rā ngā kōrero a te Māori. Ko aua take mai rā kei ngā kōrero o tua whakarere, e hokia ana ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku me tā rāua hūnuku. Ko tāna e pātai ake nei, nō hea ake te riri Māori, otirā, te pakanga a te Māori? Nō hea anō hoki āna tikanga? He aha ā ērā kōrero tauiratanga mai ki te toa o te Māori ki te whawhai. Ka mutu, ko te wāhi uaua pea o ngā pātai nei, ko te āhua ki ngā kōrero a te Māori kāore nei i te tapatahi mō te oroko hīmatanga. Ahakoa rā, tērā ōna rite, ōna rerekē. Kua tuhia nuitia te kaupapa o te oroko tīmatanga mai o te ao e ngā momo o te kaituhi Pākehā, ā, tērā anō hoki ko ngā tuhinga a te Māori ake. Inā te rerekē o ngā kōrero mō te oroko hīmatanga mai o te ao, tērā noa ētahi kōrero kua tīkina hei mātaitanga mō tēnei rangahau, mō tēnei tuhinga. Ka mutu, ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he whakaatu i te takenga mai o te riri, o te matawhāura Māori.

text: Ngā takenga o te riri Ko te kaupapa ake o tēnei tuhinga, ko te whakawhāriki i ētahi kōrero mō te takenga mai o te riri, o te pakanga ki tā rā ngā kōrero a te Māori. Ko aua take mai rā kei ngā kōrero o tua whakarere, e hokia ana ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku me tā rāua hūnuku. Ko tāna e pātai ake nei, nō hea ake te riri Māori, otirā, te pakanga a te Māori? Nō hea anō hoki āna tikanga? He aha ā ērā kōrero tauiratanga mai ki te toa o te Māori ki te whawhai. Ka mutu, ko te wāhi uaua pea o ngā pātai nei, ko te āhua ki ngā kōrero a te Māori kāore nei i te tapatahi mō te oroko hīmatanga. Ahakoa rā, tērā ōna rite, ōna rerekē. Kua tuhia nuitia te kaupapa o te oroko tīmatanga mai o te ao e ngā momo o te kaituhi Pākehā, ā, tērā anō hoki ko ngā tuhinga a te Māori ake. Inā te rerekē o ngā kōrero mō te oroko hīmatanga mai o te ao, tērā noa ētahi kōrero kua tīkina hei mātaitanga mō tēnei rangahau, mō tēnei tuhinga. Ka mutu, ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he whakaatu i te takenga mai o te riri, o te matawhāura Māori.

year: 2017