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The unique effects of individual folate vitamers on cancer incidence and outcomes: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textThe importance of folic acid supplementation in reducing the risk of neural tube defects is well established. However, the effects of folic acid on other diseases, including cancer, are less well understood and have been the subject of several clinical trials. Folate vitamers are chemically similar substances derived from the parent compound pteroyl monoglutamic acid. Several placebo-controlled clinical trials have assessed the impact of folate vitamer supplements on cancer incidence and mortality with differing results. Meta-analyses have found an association between folate supplements and cancer outcomes with different estimates of certainty. However, we believe that differentiating between the different vitamer forms will account for much of the heterogeneity seen in the data. This protocol aims to define the methods for a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess if individual folate vitamers modify the risk of cancer incidence and cancer-associated mortality
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - DHB17: West Coast
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
Towards a living sacrifice of praise: A critical evaluation of Colin Gunton's Trinitarian theology of culture
No full textColin Gunton is a trinitarian theologian who is known for his engagement with, and theological analysis of, Western culture. His celebrated work, The One, the Three and the Many, provides a sustained analysis of the discarnate and abstractive ailments that plague western culture and proffers theological remedies that arise from his account of trinitarian theology. Recent developments in trinitarian theology now question Gunton’s analysis of culture and history as well as some of his trinitarian proposals, particularly his analogical connections between divine and human being. Whilst these critiques raise important questions regarding the veracity of some of Gunton’s claims, I maintain that Gunton’s quest for a more concrete trinitarianism remains defensible. Moreover, I argue that there is a Hauptbriefe in Gunton reception which assumes Gunton’s main writings are The One, the Three and the Many and the first edition of The Promise of Trinitarian Theology. This often results in a failure to adequately engage with his later writings and observe the progressions in his thought. In this thesis, I give particular prominence to Gunton’s later writings, which are centred in his trinitarian theology of mediation and his exploration of divine action in the economy. It is through his trinitarian theology of mediation that Gunton develops his biblical and theological account of human culture.
A close reading of Gunton’s later writings presents an account of the Son and the Spirit as the Father’s two hands who mediate the Father’s purposes in creation. In part two of this thesis, I examine the mediation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in creation to redeem and perfect that which was created very good in the beginning. Human culture is best understood in relation to the doctrine of creation and the action of the Son and the Spirit to redeem and perfect the project of creation. For Gunton, the Son and the Spirit enable faithful human culture to contribute to God’s purposes for creation and anticipate creation’s eschatological perfection. Gunton ascribes theological meaning and value to human culture because the triune God calls and enables humanity to participate as sub-agents in the divine redemption and perfection of the project of creation. Human delight in the goodness of creation and createdness is a form of embodied worship; a living sacrifice of praise which is offered to the Father through Christ and in the Spirit.
The Spirit is at work in all creation, enabling humanity to contribute to God’s creation project. Whilst the Spirit’s work is universal, it is concentrated in the body of Christ. God elects the Church to be a community of redemption whose concrete life in communion is enabled by the Spirit to anticipate the redemption of all things. The Church’s election draws attention to the Church’s sociality, polity and ethics as a form of redeemed human culture that invites reflection on the Church’s life in community. The Spirit enables the Church, from time to time, to anticipate in its common life the right human habitation of creation and offer its concrete life in communion through Christ as a living sacrifice of praise. The Church’s life together is a form of worship; a living sacrifice of praise to God that embody God’s wise purposes for creation. This worship culminates at the Church’s celebration of the Lord’s Supper where the Spirit enables the Church’s sacrifice of praise to be offered to God through Christ’s perfect sacrifice.
In chapter six, I argue that Gunton’s trinitarian theology of culture remains fruitful and his examination of the Lord’s Supper at Corinth can be further enriched by an exploration of the politics of belonging in community. If the Church’s body politic and culture is to be a living sacrifice of praise it must give witness to the power of Christ’s cross to dismantle privilege and domination, such as the hegemony of ableism, that are often sedimented in the church’s common life together. Gunton provides, therefore, not only a penetrating theological analysis of culture, but also a rich trinitarian theology of culture that remains fruitful for contemporary conversations in theology and culture
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - TA021: Taupo District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - TA025: Whakatane District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
New Zealand Deprivation Index 2018 - TA63: Ashburton District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
New Zealand Deprivation Index 2018 - TA46: Lower Hutt City
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
NZDep2018 analysis of census 2018 variables - Overall (New Zealand)
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter.
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
Quantifying habitat selection and foraging ecology of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in southern New Zealand
No full textInvestigating distribution of apex predators is essential for understanding their habitat requirements and can provide insights into community ecology. The aim of the present study was to quantify the habitat selection and foraging ecology of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in southern New Zealand. Baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs) were deployed during seven sampling trips in Te Whaka ā Te Wera (Paterson Inlet), Rakiura (Stewart Island) between February 2018 and October 2019. The number of unique individual sharks observed per deployment was used as an index of relative abundance. Habitat data hypothesised to influence shark distribution were gathered in situ and related to relative shark abundances in a multi-model inference framework using a suite of Poisson generalised additive models. Based on minimum Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), the best fitting model (deviance explained = 61%, r2 = 0.72) included positive associations with (i) water temperature, (ii) distance from the seaward entrance to the inlet, (iii) prey abundance, and (iv) coarse sediment type, and negative associations with (v) ambient light, (vi) depth, and (vii) water visibility. These results corroborate previous findings of strong seasonal patterns in abundance of sevengill sharks, with higher densities in warmer summer months, and lower densities in cooler winter months in California, Argentina, Tasmania, Washington and New Zealand.
The food web of sevengill sharks was analysed using stable isotope analysis. Isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen were measured from white muscle tissue of nine bycaught specimens, and compared to potential prey and primary producers from southern New Zealand. Mean proportion of organic matter derived from coastal macroalgae (65%) was significantly higher than mean proportion of organic matter derived from pelagic suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM; 35%), suggesting a preference for food webs linked to coastal macroalgal dominated habitats. Females held significantly higher proportions of macroalgae-derived carbon (67%) than male sharks (61%), indicating the potential residence in coastal habitats by females, corroborating studies from Tasmania, Washington and California. Trophic level estimates based on nitrogen isotopes ranged from trophic levels 3.5 – 4 (mean = 3.9), similar to previously identified high trophic levels for this species. No significant geographic or ontogenetic variability was identified using stable isotope analysis.
These results suggest a combination of multiple abiotic and biotic variables influence distributions of broadnose sevengill sharks in southern New Zealand. Therefore, future management should prioritise an ecosystem-based approach, protecting potential prey species and different habitats important for these sharks. The dominant contribution of macroalgae-derived organic matter in broadnose sevengill shark diets reiterates their likely important interaction with the wider coastal communities they inhabit in southern New Zealand. These findings will be useful for predicting the distribution and critical habitats of broadnose sevengill sharks elsewhere, in order to identify and prioritise potential areas for management and conservation priority
RCT study comparing the effectiveness of Mixed Reality, Three‐dimensional Monoscopy, and Textbook Style Learning Tools for Anatomical Education in pre‐clinical Medicine
No full textThis study, to our knowledge, was the first of its kind which compared the learning tools of textbook style, 3DM, and MR learning tools qualitatively and quantitatively in the short-term anatomy acquisition and retention over a month. It was found that the text-only group and 3DM group on average performed better than the MR group in the short-term only in nominal type questions. While none of the learning tools were superior or inferior for performance in spatial type and mixed type questions in the short-term. The MR group retained their performance in nominal and spatial type knowledge after a month, while the text-only group retained their performance only in spatial type knowledge and 3DM group was unable to retain performance in nominal or spatial type knowledge after a month. The ability to focus using the MR learning tool on average was less than the 3DM group. Despite this, the open responses from participants emphasised the use of the MR learning tool compared to the textbook style and 3DM learning tools had improved engagement, immersion, excitement, enjoyment, and was easier to understand the text and 2D images. Furthermore, exploring the EEG BIS data, the participants in the MR group also averaged a higher awakeness level during the learning session compared to the text-only and 3DM groups