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The aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate the effect of increasing dietary fibre level and the provision of foraging substrates on the welfare of sows housed in dynamic and static groups. To achieve this a review paper was compiled, and three experiments conducted. The aim of the review paper was to assess the effecti,:eness of increasing dietary fibre levels on the welfare of pregnant sows. Previous research found that increasing dietary fibre levels decreased activity levels and the performanc'e of stereotypic behaviour, and increased resting ~ehaviour. However the optimum fibrous ingredient, ,or combination of ingredients, and the optimum dietary inclusion rate for these ingredients remains unclear. The first experimental study assessed the effects of providing sows in large dynamic groups with access to straw in racks. Sows spent almost 10% of their time exploring the straw racks and consequently less time performing general exploratory behaviour. .Increased levels of aggression were observed in the straw treatment, and provision of straw had no effect on sham chewing behaviour. These findings suggest that welfare benefits associated with providing sows in large dynamic groups with access to straw racks are limited. The second experimental study assessed the effect of increasing fibre levels in the concentrate ration (to 15% crude fibre) on the welfare of sows housed in a large dynamic group. This resulted in less stereotypic behaviour and increased time spent resting. It also promoted the use of kennel areas by newly introduced sows to the group, and reduced some aggressive behaviours. Therefore, providing a high fibre diet had a positive effect on the welfare of dry sows housed in a large dynamic group. The third experiment assessed the effect of increasing dietary fibre levels (to 9% crude fibre) and providing straw in racks on the welfare of sows in small static groups. Sows offered the high fibre diet appeared to rest more, and additive benefits, in terms of reductions in stereotypic behaviour, where observed when the high fibre diet was combined with access to straw.

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The thesis examines the value of satellite data for terrain analysis and aspects of rangeland evaluation in Ngamiland, northern Botswana. The study area encompasses the main livestock production zone of the district. An analysis of terrain was considered integral to detailed analysis and use of satellite data for resource assessment and management. The terrain analysis was based on interpretation of multitemporal Landsat data, and aerial photography, supported by detailed field investigation. A number of classification procedures and computer based digital enhancement techniques were used to facilitate analysis and classification of the data. Terrain types were identified by relating image characteristics to terrain features, primarily vegetation patterns. Relationships between the Landsat data and various ground features related to rangeland resources were analysed. These were mainly related to vegetation parameters, including cover, structure and species composition. The most important factor investigated, was the relationship between cover values of woody vegetation and the satellite data. The results were used to develop a classification using the Landsat digital data. The usefulness of Landsat data for rangeland management, and the importance of adequate ground survey and other support data sources, is discussed in the light of results obtained.

Latest epidemiological data suggests 1.5 billion adults worldwide are either overweight or obese. With increasing weight and obesity, adipocytes increase in size. The enlargement of adipocytes has been associated with low grade chronic inflammation via elevated adipokine secretion. Previous epidemiological studies in humans and experimental studies in animals have shown that during different periods of pregnancy (gestation) the offspring that are born to maternal nutritional manipulation are more susceptible to developing metabolic diseases in later adult life. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of maternal nutritional manipulation on adipose tissue depots and in particular the consequences the effect on markers of adipokine secretion. Studies were conducted on both large and small animals (i.e. sheep and rats). Sheep studies focused on mid to late and late gestation periods of maternal nutritional restriction. Rat studies concentrated on long term fructose feeding during pregnancy and its effect on both the mother and offspring. Gene expression analysis identified an up-regulation in inflammatory related genes in pericardial and subcutaneous adipose tissue in the sheep studies. This was also seen in the rat studies with protein and gene expression displaying an up-regulation of inflammatory and metabolic related genes and proteins. The main conclusion of my thesis is that after following maternal nutrient restriction, females appear to be much more sensitive to inflammatory and metabolic adaptations compared to males, possibly due to sex hormones playing a role. Whilst fructose feeding during pregnancy concluded the possibility of homeorhesis playing a protective role against potentially detrimental inflammatory pathways being activated in the mothers, the offspring however displayed signs of low level chronic inflammation in the retroperitoneal depot from early infancy to later adult life.

As veterinary graduates will take up an ethically challenging role, initiatives fostering reflective thinking and moral development are being increasingly promoted in the veterinary curriculum. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a structured, reflective learning tool to promote ethical awareness in pre-clinical veterinary students. The Animal Welfare Associated Reflective Exercise (AWARE) focused on the ethical content of animal welfare related issues witnessed by pre-clinical students during extra mural study (EMS) placements. The AWARE had five sections: demographic information, animal welfare related event, personal reflection, ethical reflection and round up. Students were invited to identify, and give details of, a relevant incident that had an animal welfare impact. The AWARE guided students to reflect on their emotional reaction to the event, and its ethical basis, with reference to three well established ethical frameworks. A computer based teaching package was created to accompany the AWARE. The AWARE was piloted with 25 first year veterinary undergraduate students. Most students reflected on an experience on a lambing placement and feedback from the pilot study was positive with the majority of students self-reporting that their awareness of animal welfare and ethical issues had improved. Validation of the AWARE was then completed with a full cohort of first year veterinary students using a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative analysis revealed that students exhibited higher levels of reflection in the AWAREs than they did in the unstructured reflections previously completed by students following EMS placements. Ethically relevant text was also significantly increased in the AWAREs than in the unstructured reflections. However, completion of the AWARE did not improve scores on standardised measures of ethical sensitivity or moral reasoning, two components of moral development. Following validation, the AWARE was adapted for use in clinical EMS contexts. Fourth year veterinary students completed either the AWARE using a clinical situation which impacted animal welfare or a modified version of the AWARE, the Reflection on Professional Ethics (ROPE) which focused on a professional ethical dilemma. Three different frameworks were utilised in the ROPE – RCVS’s ten guiding principles, the bioethical principles and virtue ethics. Engagement with the AWARE was similar in clinical and pre-clinical students but fewer clinical students left responses blank and more considered their future actions. Findings from analyses of the ROPEs indicated that veterinary surgeons struggled to meet all of their ethical obligations in difficult situations, that respect for client autonomy was met in the majority of cases, and that virtue ethics was poorly understood by students completing the exercise. Investigations into moral reasoning abilities of vet students at various points in the curriculum were also carried out, using a well-established measure, the Defining Issues Test (DIT). First year students were found to have a wide range of moral reasoning abilities but their mean scores were similar to that expected for students of their age and stage. The moral reasoning scores of clinical stage veterinary students were no higher than those of first year veterinary students. Application of the DIT to qualified veterinary surgeons also revealed a wide range of moral reasoning ability, with practising veterinarians scoring no higher than members of the public and over a quarter relying primarily on a basic form of moral reasoning, normally reserved for pre-adolescent children. These findings raise important questions regarding the impact of veterinary education on moral reasoning and concern for animal welfare and veterinary well-being. Ethical development is an area where both undergraduates and qualified veterinarians could benefit from improved training of ethical skills. Collectively, the findings show that the AWARE reliably elicits ethically relevant content, is viewed positively by students and has several learning benefits including improved ability to recognise and reflect on animal welfare and ethical issues. The AWARE now forms part of the veterinary curriculum at the University of Glasgow and is available to other UK vet schools.

This thesis is an investigation into the moisture performance of straw bales used in the construction of buildings. The principle of taking bales of straw off the field and stacking them up on themselves to form the walls of a simple building is a practise that started over a hundred years ago. The modern form of this building method is more sophisticated, and is spreading world wide from its origins in the arid regions of America. Despite advances in modern methods of construction there has been concern and doubt over the suitability of straw bale for use as a building material in a temperate maritime climate. The main concern being that the higher levels of environmental moisture will have the potential to damage the straw over time. In order to assess the moisture performance of the straw bales in the walls of a building in this damp climate, a simple and effective means of measuring the moisture in-situ has been developed as part of this research. The overarching methodology for this research is to develop a more accurate version of a probe that uses a block of wood to measure moisture. An environmental chamber in the laboratory has been used to establish the hygrothermal relationship between the timber to be used in the probe, and samples of the straw used in construction. This is the first time that a continuous set of sorption and desorption isotherms have been created for samples of straw and timber simultaneously, a process that took six months to complete. This data was used in the design of a new wood block probe, and examples of the new probes were installed in the walls of a straw bale house with a known moisture history. The resulting readings from the new probe were compared to those from a professional agricultural straw moisture probe. These results could be checked against the readings of the relative humidity and temperature in the wall. Forty-eight pairs of the new wood block probe were calibrated in the laboratory. Fourteen diverse examples of straw bale construction were selected as case study buildings. Having been surveyed for this research, a number were then selected to have the new probes installed, and evidence of their moisture performance was recorded. Sufficient data was acquired through this process to confirm the suitability of straw bales for use in the construction of buildings, in a temperate maritime climate.

Excessive ammonia (NH3) emission, originating largely from agriculture, can affect water, air and soil quality, and through these, endanger ecosystem and human health. Since NH3 emission is strongly dependent on temperature and also influenced by other meteorological variables, the question arises: how will NH3 emission alter in a changing climate? A way to address this question and predict the subsequent environmental consequences is to construct meteorology-driven models of NH3 emission from every agricultural source. Furthermore, NH3 emission is a highly localised and dynamic process. The focus of this thesis is NH3 emission from grazing. In the first stage a new process-based model for NH3 emission from a urine patch was developed. The GAG model (Generation of Ammonia from Grazing) is capable of simulating the TAN (total ammoniacal nitrogen) and the water content of the soil under a urine patch and also soil pH dynamics. In the second stage, GAG was applied to the scale of a grazed field, combining multiple simulations of the patch-scale model including both urine-affected and unaffected (“clean”) areas. The modelled NH3 fluxes were found to be in good agreement with the observations for both model types. The sensitivity of NH3 flux was assessed to various soil physical and chemical parameters for both the patch and the field scale models. It was found that ammonia volatilization from a urine patch could be influenced by the possible restart of urea hydrolysis after a rain event as well as carbon-dioxide emissions from the soil. Over the field scale, it was shown that the temporal evolution of the NH3 exchange flux was dominated by the NH3 emission from the patches within the field. The results also suggested that NH3 fluxes over the field in a given day could be considerably affected by the NH3 emission from urine patches deposited several days earlier. In the last stage of the work, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis was carried out with a special focus on temperature, for both versions of the GAG model. It was shown that due to the different governing dynamics over the patch and the field scale, the temperature-dependence of NH3 exchange is stronger over the field scale. It was also concluded that the temperature-dependence of NH3 exchange is stronger if the sinks of NH3 are stronger within the system. Finally, it was found, that Q10, a widely-used metric to express the relative increase of trace gas emissions over a range of 10 °C, is influenced by the length of the period of investigation and the initial value of the temperature range.