Browsing by Author "Sun J"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Finding Meaning: a talking points brief on underemployment of service personnel
    (Post Transition and Massey University, 2019-06-17) Cardow A; Imbeau J-S; Sun J
    NZDF provides transition programmes for military personnel, these programmes have not been seen by the individual as being ‘useful’. It is this desire to be useful that makes an ex-service person a valuable employee. However most service personnel leave without a civilian or trade qualification. It takes them a long time to get a job. In addition even those that leave with a qualification that is recognised in the civilian world find themselves ‘starting over’ and their years of service ignored or discounted.
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    Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use efficiency improves alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) production and performance in alkaline desert soil.
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2025-02-18) Sun Y; Sun J; Wang X; Cartmill AD; López IF; Ma C; Zhang Q; Srivastava AK
    The deficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus is a primary constraint on the normal growth of alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.) in the alkaline desert soils of northern Xinjiang. Optimizing the combination of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers can maximally significantly enhance farmers' economic returns while concurrently mitigate soil environmental pollution. For this purpose, a field experiment based on a randomized complete block design was conducted over two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) in Shihezi, Xinjiang province, China. The WL366HQ variety of alfalfa was evaluated with four levels each of urea and monoammonium phosphate. The effects of fertilizer treatments were assessed on alfalfa yield, growth traits, nutritional quality, fertilizer use efficiency, and economic benefit. Application of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and their interaction significantly (P< 0.05) affected cumulative alfalfa dry matter (DM) yield. In general, compared to no-fertilization treatment, the application of N and P fertilizers resulted in increased plant height, stem thickness, crude protein, and ether extract of alfalfa, while neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) exhibited a decreasing trend. Additionally, while N and P fertilizer application reduced corresponding fertilizer use efficiency, it increased non-corresponding fertilizer use efficiency. During the two-year experimental period, the treatment involving the application of urea at 286.3 kg·ha-1 combined with monoammonium phosphate at 192 kg·ha-1 achieved the highest evaluation scores for production performance, fertilizer use efficiency, and total net profit, resulting in a net profit increase of 44.18% compared to the no-fertilizer treatment. These findings lay the groundwork for nuanced fertilization strategies in future alfalfa cultivation.
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    Phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of Lactobacillus and yeast isolates from a traditional New Zealand Māori potato starter culture
    (Elsevier BV, 2022-08-26) Sun J; Silander O; Rutherfurd-Markwick K; Wen D; Davy TP-P; Mutukumira AN
    Parāroa Rēwena is a traditional Māori sourdough produced by fermentation using a potato starter culture. The microbial composition of the starter culture is not well characterised, despite the long history of this product. The morphological, physiological, biochemical and genetic tests were conducted to characterise 26 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and 15 yeast isolates from a Parāroa Rēwena potato starter culture. The results of sugar fermentation tests, API 50 CHL tests, and API ID 32 C tests suggest the presence of four different LAB phenotypes and five different yeast phenotypes. 16S rRNA and 26S rRNA sequencing identified the LAB as Lacticaseibacillus paracasei and the yeast isolates as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, respectively. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of the L. paracasei isolates indicated that they had identical genotypes at the MLST loci, to L. paracasei subsp. paracasei IBB 3423 or L. paracasei subsp. paracasei F19. This study provides new insights into the microbial composition of the traditional sourdough Parāroa Rēwena starter culture.
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    Rapid Spread of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus by Parthenogenetic Asian Longhorned Ticks.
    (2022-02) Zhang X; Zhao C; Cheng C; Zhang G; Yu T; Lawrence K; Li H; Sun J; Yang Z; Ye L; Chu H; Wang Y; Han X; Jia Y; Fan S; Kanuka H; Tanaka T; Jenkins C; Gedye K; Chandra S; Price DC; Liu Q; Choi YK; Zhan X; Zhang Z; Zheng A
    Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is spreading rapidly in Asia. This virus is transmitted by the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), which has parthenogenetically and sexually reproducing populations. Parthenogenetic populations were found in ≥15 provinces in China and strongly correlated with the distribution of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome cases. However, distribution of these cases was poorly correlated with the distribution of populations of bisexual ticks. Phylogeographic analysis suggested that the parthenogenetic population spread much faster than bisexual population because colonization is independent of sexual reproduction. A higher proportion of parthenogenetic ticks was collected from migratory birds captured at an SFTSV-endemic area, implicating the contribution to the long-range movement of these ticks in China. The SFTSV susceptibility of parthenogenetic females was similar to that of bisexual females under laboratory conditions. These results suggest that parthenogenetic Asian longhorned ticks, probably transported by migratory birds, play a major role in the rapid spread of SFTSV.
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