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A sufficiently high composting temperature should inactivate many common pathogens likely to be present in solid animal waste. Monitoring core temperatures inside compost heaps is not straightforward, which means that heaps are not generally monitored. An alternative is to monitor surface temperatures and use those data to infer core temperatures, and thus whether pathogen inactivation has occurred. This paper describes two methods (thermal imaging and thermocouples) for the measurement of surface temperature, and a modelling approach using time series analysis to predict the temperatures obtained in the core of aerated heaps of composting pig farmyard manure (FYM) from surface temperature data. The model was able to predict core temperatures in the heap quite closely for a period of time for well insulated parts of the heap, although predictions were further from observed values close to the surface of the heap and the aeration pipe.

Courses in social work law need to ensure that students know, understand and can apply specific rules of law. However, the sheer volume of law affecting social work and the rapidity with which that law changes require courses in social work law not just to ensure that, but that they are equipped to manage changes in the law. In order to be able to do this, it is argued, the general principles underlying those individual legal rules need to be identified and understood. Students and practitioners need to have educational and professional skills at a higher level of transferability than merely acquiring knowledge of specific legal rules can provide. We use the legal framework of decision making to explain the importance of this approach. The principles of administrative law have been identified as a major component in social work law, and, despite limited exposition in social work law texts, we outline the teaching and learning strategy we have pursued in relation to this topic. |em|We argue that there are ...

The reproductive and social biology of the sergeant major,Abudefduf saxatilis, was studied for six months in ‘The Living Seas’ aquarium (the largest aquarium ever constructed). The purpose of the study was to discern possible behavioral differences between captive and wild breeding populations of this species. A total of 350 h of observation were obtained using closed circuit SCUBA, open circuit SCUBA, and remote operated vehicles. Slight differences were observed in the behavior of individuals in the sample population and those seen in wild populations. These differences may be due to the effects of a controlled closed system on the biology of these fishes.