title: Lowering Sperm Dose Rates in Frozen Semen for Bovine Artificial Breeding

authors: Pitt, Colin John

subjects: semen

abstract: The New Zealand Dairy industry relies on artificial breeding to produce high genetic
merit replacement stock. Proven bull semen is extended and preserved as either
ambient temperature product or as frozen doses. High fertility is essential to maintain
synchronicity of lactation with the spring surge of grass growth.
To improve efficiency in the utilization of the very best bulls producers try to lower
sperm dose rates without compromising fertility. Livestock Improvement
Corporation's (LIC) Long Last Liquid ™ (LLL) is most commonly used during the
peak season and is their most important product. However, shortfalls and specifically
targeted matings are met with frozen semen. Lowering sperm dose rates in both liquid
and frozen semen maximises the usage of elite sires increasing genetic gain, lowering
overheads and garnering premium prices for the semen producer.
A product for improving frozen semen technology was developed whereby a discrete
quantity of pretreated semen was placed alongside a beneficial post-thawing
redilution medium in a standard semen straw. This emulated a larger-scale process
developed to freeze semen in times of low demand and redilution into the LLL form
for use as an ambient temperature product. This rediluted product has been proved to
enhance semen survival and to allow fertility to be maintained at sperm dose rates
lower than the widely accepted standard for frozen semen.
The physical packaging of the semen into the industry standard single dose straw in a configuration that separated incompatible components was novel. This configuration
was essential to prevent damage to the sperm during the freezing process from low
solubility components in the post-thaw redilution medium. Separation between the
semen and diluent within the straw was achieved by the introduction of a gas partition
or air bubble between the two liquids.
A large-scale field trial showed that the new product could produce savings of up to
25% of the sperm needed for a semen dose to achieve equivalent fertility.
Furthermore, the production cost per dose was lowered in comparison to the standard
semen processing system used at LIC.

text: Lowering Sperm Dose Rates in Frozen Semen for Bovine Artificial Breeding The New Zealand Dairy industry relies on artificial breeding to produce high genetic
merit replacement stock. Proven bull semen is extended and preserved as either
ambient temperature product or as frozen doses. High fertility is essential to maintain
synchronicity of lactation with the spring surge of grass growth.
To improve efficiency in the utilization of the very best bulls producers try to lower
sperm dose rates without compromising fertility. Livestock Improvement
Corporation's (LIC) Long Last Liquid ™ (LLL) is most commonly used during the
peak season and is their most important product. However, shortfalls and specifically
targeted matings are met with frozen semen. Lowering sperm dose rates in both liquid
and frozen semen maximises the usage of elite sires increasing genetic gain, lowering
overheads and garnering premium prices for the semen producer.
A product for improving frozen semen technology was developed whereby a discrete
quantity of pretreated semen was placed alongside a beneficial post-thawing
redilution medium in a standard semen straw. This emulated a larger-scale process
developed to freeze semen in times of low demand and redilution into the LLL form
for use as an ambient temperature product. This rediluted product has been proved to
enhance semen survival and to allow fertility to be maintained at sperm dose rates
lower than the widely accepted standard for frozen semen.
The physical packaging of the semen into the industry standard single dose straw in a configuration that separated incompatible components was novel. This configuration
was essential to prevent damage to the sperm during the freezing process from low
solubility components in the post-thaw redilution medium. Separation between the
semen and diluent within the straw was achieved by the introduction of a gas partition
or air bubble between the two liquids.
A large-scale field trial showed that the new product could produce savings of up to
25% of the sperm needed for a semen dose to achieve equivalent fertility.
Furthermore, the production cost per dose was lowered in comparison to the standard
semen processing system used at LIC.

year: 2007

title: Effects of surfzone wave transformation on swash dynamics

authors: Guedes, Rafael Marcondes Carvalho

subjects: swash

abstract: Swash oscillations on two natural beaches were measured to show that the shape and magnitude of energy spectra can be largely dependent on processes occurring inside the surfzone. The observations took place on a steep, intermediate beach on the east coast (Tairua Beach), and a low-sloping, dissipative beach located on the west coast of New Zealand (Ngarunui Beach, Raglan), and aimed at improving the understanding of the effects of wave breaking, beach slope, and nonlinear wave interactions on the swash oscillations. These problems were addressed by analysing datasets obtained from field experiments undertaken at these two sites.
A field experiment at Tairua Beach showed that swash oscillations were critically dependent on the stage of the tide which controlled the degree of wave energy dissipation over the sandbar crest. Under mild, near-constant offshore wave conditions, the presence of a sandbar and the tidally-controlled water depth over its crest determined whether most of the incoming waves broke before reaching the shoreline. This forced a change in the pattern of wave energy dissipation across the surfzone between low and high tide, which was reflected by changes to swash elevation (runup) on time-scales of a few hours. Significant runup height Rs, defined as 4 times the standard deviation of the waterline time series, varied by a factor of 2 between low tide, when most of the waves were breaking over the sandbar and high tide, when the waves were barely breaking. The increase in wave energy dissipation during low tide was associated with changes in swash maxima distribution, decrease in mean swash period and increasing energy at infragravity frequencies (0.004–0.05 Hz). Bispectral analysis suggested this infragravity modulation might be connected with the presence of secondary waves at the shoreline.
Swash oscillations at Tairua were not homogeneous along the beach. Alongshore variability in Rs of up to 78% was observed and was mainly driven by changes in the sea-swell (0.05–0.4 Hz) band of the swash. This variability was predominantly controlled by alongshore changes in beach face slope, although alongshore patterning in wave breaking over the sandbar caused alongshore changes in wave dissipation and also resulted in alongshore swash variation in the sea-swell bandwidth. At infragravity frequencies, alongshore swash variability was not well associated either with changes in beach slope or wave breaking and was possibly linked to the presence of low-mode edge waves, observed from frequency-wavenumber spectra of the swash time series.
A final experiment was conducted to understand the surfzone control on incident and infragravity runup on a gently-sloping beach. The observations showed that runup saturation at infragravity frequencies can occur under mild offshore energy conditions if the beach slope is sufficiently gentle. Infragravity saturation was observed for higher-frequency (> 0.025–0.035 Hz) infragravity waves, where typically less than 5% of the (linear) energy flux was reflected from the beach and where, similar to the sea-swell band, the swash energy was independent of offshore wave energy. The infragravity frequency range of saturation was determined by the tide, with saturation extending to lower frequencies at low tide when the local beach face slope over the concave-shaped profile was gentler. Runup was strongly dominated by infragravity frequencies, which accounted on average for 96% of the runup variance, and its energy levels were entirely consistent with strong infragravity wave dissipation observed in the surfzone, particularly when including the nonlinear contributions to the wave energy fluxes. Our observations show evidence of nonlinear interactions involving infragravity and high-frequency, harmonic waves, and suggest that these harmonics could play a role in the wave energy balance near the shoreline on low-sloping, dissipative beaches.

text: Effects of surfzone wave transformation on swash dynamics Swash oscillations on two natural beaches were measured to show that the shape and magnitude of energy spectra can be largely dependent on processes occurring inside the surfzone. The observations took place on a steep, intermediate beach on the east coast (Tairua Beach), and a low-sloping, dissipative beach located on the west coast of New Zealand (Ngarunui Beach, Raglan), and aimed at improving the understanding of the effects of wave breaking, beach slope, and nonlinear wave interactions on the swash oscillations. These problems were addressed by analysing datasets obtained from field experiments undertaken at these two sites.
A field experiment at Tairua Beach showed that swash oscillations were critically dependent on the stage of the tide which controlled the degree of wave energy dissipation over the sandbar crest. Under mild, near-constant offshore wave conditions, the presence of a sandbar and the tidally-controlled water depth over its crest determined whether most of the incoming waves broke before reaching the shoreline. This forced a change in the pattern of wave energy dissipation across the surfzone between low and high tide, which was reflected by changes to swash elevation (runup) on time-scales of a few hours. Significant runup height Rs, defined as 4 times the standard deviation of the waterline time series, varied by a factor of 2 between low tide, when most of the waves were breaking over the sandbar and high tide, when the waves were barely breaking. The increase in wave energy dissipation during low tide was associated with changes in swash maxima distribution, decrease in mean swash period and increasing energy at infragravity frequencies (0.004–0.05 Hz). Bispectral analysis suggested this infragravity modulation might be connected with the presence of secondary waves at the shoreline.
Swash oscillations at Tairua were not homogeneous along the beach. Alongshore variability in Rs of up to 78% was observed and was mainly driven by changes in the sea-swell (0.05–0.4 Hz) band of the swash. This variability was predominantly controlled by alongshore changes in beach face slope, although alongshore patterning in wave breaking over the sandbar caused alongshore changes in wave dissipation and also resulted in alongshore swash variation in the sea-swell bandwidth. At infragravity frequencies, alongshore swash variability was not well associated either with changes in beach slope or wave breaking and was possibly linked to the presence of low-mode edge waves, observed from frequency-wavenumber spectra of the swash time series.
A final experiment was conducted to understand the surfzone control on incident and infragravity runup on a gently-sloping beach. The observations showed that runup saturation at infragravity frequencies can occur under mild offshore energy conditions if the beach slope is sufficiently gentle. Infragravity saturation was observed for higher-frequency (> 0.025–0.035 Hz) infragravity waves, where typically less than 5% of the (linear) energy flux was reflected from the beach and where, similar to the sea-swell band, the swash energy was independent of offshore wave energy. The infragravity frequency range of saturation was determined by the tide, with saturation extending to lower frequencies at low tide when the local beach face slope over the concave-shaped profile was gentler. Runup was strongly dominated by infragravity frequencies, which accounted on average for 96% of the runup variance, and its energy levels were entirely consistent with strong infragravity wave dissipation observed in the surfzone, particularly when including the nonlinear contributions to the wave energy fluxes. Our observations show evidence of nonlinear interactions involving infragravity and high-frequency, harmonic waves, and suggest that these harmonics could play a role in the wave energy balance near the shoreline on low-sloping, dissipative beaches.

year: 2012

title: An exploration of the ethical implications of the digitisation and dissemination of Mātauranga Māori  (with special reference to the Pei te Hurinui Jones Collection)

authors: Anderson, Michela

subjects: digitisation

abstract: At the core of this thesis is the ethical implications involved in the digitising of Mātauranga Māori. It investigated how Kaupapa Māori theory can inform this process and how issues relating to access were considered.  It is intended that this information should provide whānau, hapū, iwi and institutions with a solid foundation for the development of their own digital collections. The research reported here tracks the processes and procedures undertaken by a Research Team on a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research funded project that is being conducted to research and develop ethical processes for the digitisation of the manuscripts, works and collected taonga of one of Māoridom’s prominent scholars, the late Dr. Pei te Hurinui Jones. 

The thesis begins with an outline of the scope of the research and the approaches and methods used (Chapter 1).  This is followed by selected literature reviews on museums, libraries and archives and the influence of writing in the Aotearoa /New Zealand context (see Chapter 2), digitisation, digital libraries and Mātauranga Māori (see Chapter 3), and ethics, ethics in practice and Kaupapa Māori theory (see Chapter 4).  Chapter 5 describes the Pei te Hurinui Jones’ collections, the processes that were undertaken during the initial negotiation stages, the development of tikanga in the archiving, cataloguing, physical layout and conservation of the collection and the drafting and development of the Deed of Gift under the principle of takoha. Chapter 6 discusses the research ethics approval process, the methodology applied, and the development and analysis of the thematic categories that emerged from the focus group discussion. A conceptual model of the digitisation process is then presented. Chapter 7 provides an overview of the research and a summary of the findings, together with an indication of its limitations, research contribution, and suggestions for future research.

text: An exploration of the ethical implications of the digitisation and dissemination of Mātauranga Māori  (with special reference to the Pei te Hurinui Jones Collection) At the core of this thesis is the ethical implications involved in the digitising of Mātauranga Māori. It investigated how Kaupapa Māori theory can inform this process and how issues relating to access were considered.  It is intended that this information should provide whānau, hapū, iwi and institutions with a solid foundation for the development of their own digital collections. The research reported here tracks the processes and procedures undertaken by a Research Team on a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research funded project that is being conducted to research and develop ethical processes for the digitisation of the manuscripts, works and collected taonga of one of Māoridom’s prominent scholars, the late Dr. Pei te Hurinui Jones. 

The thesis begins with an outline of the scope of the research and the approaches and methods used (Chapter 1).  This is followed by selected literature reviews on museums, libraries and archives and the influence of writing in the Aotearoa /New Zealand context (see Chapter 2), digitisation, digital libraries and Mātauranga Māori (see Chapter 3), and ethics, ethics in practice and Kaupapa Māori theory (see Chapter 4).  Chapter 5 describes the Pei te Hurinui Jones’ collections, the processes that were undertaken during the initial negotiation stages, the development of tikanga in the archiving, cataloguing, physical layout and conservation of the collection and the drafting and development of the Deed of Gift under the principle of takoha. Chapter 6 discusses the research ethics approval process, the methodology applied, and the development and analysis of the thematic categories that emerged from the focus group discussion. A conceptual model of the digitisation process is then presented. Chapter 7 provides an overview of the research and a summary of the findings, together with an indication of its limitations, research contribution, and suggestions for future research.

year: 2012