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Archaeometric studies of cordyline (TI) based on ethnobotanical and archaeological research
No full textThe prehistoric utilization of Cordyline (ti) in southern New Zealand was studied using a multidisciplinary approach.
The ethnographic literature on the prehistoric use of Cordyline in the Pacific area and particularly in New Zealand was reviewed. Cordyline had several uses, the main ones being, food, cordage, medicine, and a material for plaiting.
Cordyline terminalis is the commonest species in Oceania. It was also introduced into New Zealand by Maori, but there were four endemic species which provided food for the early inhabitants.
Large earth ovens (umu ti) were used to cook Cordyline. Many earth ovens, from two to eight metres in diameter, still exist in southern New Zealand. A site surveying and excavation programme was carried out in South Canterbury to investigate these ovens.
Radiocarbon dates on excavated ovens indicate that they were used throughout the prehistoric period of Maori occupation in South Canterbury. The construction of these ovens revealed through archaeological investigations was found to be identical with ethnographic descriptions. Residue analyses on soil from large raised-rim ovens indicate they were used for cooking Cordyline australis (the commonest species of Cordyline in New Zealand). Insect remains excavated from ovens point to a late spring to autumn use for cooking.
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A thermoluminescence (TL) dating method using quartz inclusions from greywacke ovenstones was developed. A description of the equipment is given. Problems of dosimetry and measurement of TL is discussed and a recommended method of TL dating ovenstones is presented. TL dates and C-14 dates from the same ovens are compared.
A nutritional study of Cordyline was undertaken. Complete proximate analyses of C. australis plants collected over a one year period were done. Maximum carbohydrate levels in the stems of C. australis occurred in late spring. This time is coincident with the recorded times of harvesting by Maori. Ti was found to be a rich source of carbohydrates, mainly fructose with some glucose from a
glucofructofuranan type of polysaccharide. This polysaccharide required long cooking times (~24 hours) to convert it to edible sugars.
Research points to Cordyline being a useful and important plant throughout Polynesia and especially in southern New Zealand
Dietary folate intake, sources and adequacy of New Zealand adolescent males
No full textBackground: Folate is a B vitamin that plays a vital role in the synthesis and methylation of DNA and, thus, is essential for optimal growth and development. The recommended folate intake for adolescent males is difficult to meet solely through the daily consumption of natural folate-containing food sources. Fortification of food with folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, is one way to remedy this situation. New Zealand’s policy permits voluntary fortification of folic acid to certain foods, mainly breakfast cereals and breads, with an increase in fortification of breads over the several years. The impact of folic acid fortification on the usual total folate intake of New Zealand adolescent males (the highest consumers of bread), however, is unknown.
Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the usual folate intake and adequacy of a group of adolescent males aged 15-18 years in New Zealand and determine the major food group contributors of total folate, natural folate and folic acid.
Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey of 135 New Zealand male adolescents aged 15-18 years old recruited through six high schools between February and April 2020. Sociodemographic and dietary habits (including supplement use) were collected via online questionnaires, and body weight and height were measured. Dietary intake was assessed via two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls (n=102) using the multiple pass method. Daily usual folate intakes (natural food folate, folic acid and total folate intake as Dietary Folate Equivalents, DFEs) adjusted for within-person variability were estimated using FoodWorks9 comprised of the most up-to-date New Zealand food composition tables (FOODfiles 2018). The prevalence of inadequate folate intake was determined using the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-point method. The percentage contribution of folate (as natural folate, folic acid and total folate) from 33 designated food group to total folate intake were calculated and presented as the top ten food sources.
Results: The usual median (IQR) total folate intake of the population (in DFEs) was 454 (334, 715) μg/day comprised of 260 (207, 305) μg/day of natural food folate and 77 (0, 226) μg/day of folic acid intake. The prevalence of inadequate folate intake was considerably high (25%) despite greater folate intake than reported in the last national nutrition survey in 1997. No participant exceeded the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of folic acid. Asian participants had the highest prevalence of inadequacy (35%) compared to Pacific (33%), Māori (29%) and NZEO participants (19%). The percentage of participants with inadequacy varied among age groups with the prevalence being highest for the 16-year olds. The risk of inadequacy was also slightly lower among obese participants (20%) compared to normal weight (26%) or overweight (24%) but did not appear to differ among socioeconomic deprivation levels. Breakfast cereals were the highest contributor to total folate intake (25%) among New Zealand male adolescents, followed by breads (17%). Both of these food groups contain folic acid fortified products, and as such, these two food groups contributed almost 50% of the total intake of folic acid among the sample population.
Conclusion: Despite increased folic acid fortification in the food supply, New Zealand adolescent males are at risk of inadequate folate intake, particularly among certain ethnic groups. Total folate intakes in the present study appear to have increased among our sample population group compared to past national nutrition surveys, yet the prevalence of inadequacy remains a concern. Consideration of mandatory folic acid fortification is warranted given the demonstrated success in other countries to effectively improve the folic acid intake across the lifecycle of the population. Nonetheless, national nutrition survey data representative of the population food and folate intake is needed to better assess food fortification policies, including potential fortification vehicles
Identifying the Recurrence Patterns of Nonvolcanic Tremors Using a 2‐D Hidden Markov Model With Extra Zeros
No full textNonvolcanic tremor activity has been observed in many places worldwide. In some regions, their activity was observed to accompany slow slip events. Before examining whether and how nonvolcanic tremor activity is related to slow slip, it is essential to understand quantitatively the spatiotemporal migration patterns of nonvolcanic tremors. We developed a 2‐D hidden Markov model to automatically analyze and forecast the spatiotemporal behavior of tremor activity in the regions Kii and Shikoku, southwest Japan. This new automated procedure classifies the tremor source regions into distinct segments in 2‐D space and infers a clear hierarchical structure of tremor activity, where each region consists of several subsystems and each subsystem contains several segments. The segments can be quantitatively categorized into three different types according to their occurrence patterns: episodic, weak concentration, and background, extending earlier knowledge gained from handpicked tremor swarms. The Kii region can be categorized into four different subsystems, with two often linked to each other. The Shikoku region can be divided into six subsystems, with two in central Shikoku linked to each other. Moreover, a significant increase in the proportion of tremor occurrence was detected in a segment in southwest Shikoku before the 2003 and 2010 long‐term slow slip events in the Bungo channel. This highlights the possible correlation between nonvolcanic tremor and slow slip events. The model can be used to analyze tremor data from other regions.Peer Reviewe
Regulation of cardiac ryanodine receptor 2 by protein kinase CK2
No full textThe cardiac muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR2) is an intracellular Ca2+ channel responsible for the release of Ca2+ during excitation-contraction coupling. It is also implicated in pathological store-overload-induced Ca2+ release (SOICR), a common trigger for life-threatening arrhythmias. Phosphorylation plays a vital role in the modulation of RyR2 and SOICR, and recent work has outlined a possible relationship between a novel protein kinase, CK2 (formerly casein kinase II), and two RyR2 residues, S2692/93. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the interaction between these two RyR2 residues and CK2 leads to modification of RyR2 function and how this may impact SOICR susceptibility.
A knock-in heterozygous S2692/93A (S2692/93A+/-) mouse model with modified RyR2 residues preventing CK2-associated phosphorylation was generated. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that isolated S2692/93A+/- cardiomyocytes exhibited increased SOICR frequency compared with baseline. This was especially notable at lower extracellular Ca2+ levels; in these conditions, pacing induced a significantly higher SOICR frequency compared with baseline in S2692/93A+/- mice (0.082 ± 0.027 Sparks/100 μm/s, n = 8) compared with their wt littermates (0.003 ± 0.003 Sparks/100 μm/s , n = 5, p= 0.01). An in vivo analysis was conducted using both echocardiography and electrocardiogram to determine whether the cellular-level dysfunction seen in the S2692/93A+/- mice translated into an increased arrhythmia susceptibility. This analysis revealed no significant difference in key cardiac parameters at baseline or in response to acute pharmacological stress (adrenaline/caffeine) between S2692/93A+/- mice and their wt littermates. Taken together, these findings demonstrate for the first time that RyR2 can be phosphorylated at S2692/93 in vivo. Unlike previously identified RyR2-associated kinases such as calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, CK2-associated phosphorylation appears to have a cardioprotective effect, reducing SOICR propensity. Why this cellular dysfunction did not translate into an increased arrhythmic susceptibility, however, remains to be established
Jazz compositions and the electric bassist in the late 20th century: A recording, a collection of performances and an exegesis
No full textThis exegesis is tied to the CD, ‘Portrait of New York’ – an assortment of inventive musical compositions to explore diversity in electric jazz after 1970, and three multi-faceted live performances focused on electric bass from that period.
It is an investigation that examines my journey, through the CD recording, three performances, transcription, analysis and research, utilising some pivotal contemporary jazz composers and electric bassists from the late twentieth century. The electric jazz period post- 1970 was an exploratory time when composers began merging other music styles and genres with jazz in the search for new ideas and concepts. The CD recording represents the outcome of a five-year research process and a musical and personal journey to New York City to rehearse and record the CD with Omar Hakim, Mike Mainieri, Rachel Z and other well- known jazz exponents.
To develop these broad considerations, I constructed a semi-autoethnographic narrative that focuses on my creative practices, processes and discoveries as an electric bassist. The narrative is grounded in my lived experiences and research. It reveals shifts between explanation and action, discussion and personal reflection, and credits broader considerations.
Integral to the performances and exegesis research was the audio examination phase and the meticulous inspection of works and literature encompassing 1970 through to the twenty-first century. This procedure was to gain archetypal works worthy of demonstration of this period of jazz and the electric bass. This journey of intense audio investigation, practice, transcription, associations and research alignment forms the most substantial portion of the selection procedure and review. The personal findings of my journey determined the direction of the CD compositions and consequently, the performed works.
The transcriptions, analysis and review culminated in a methodical list of varied approaches, techniques, relationships and developments on electric bass connecting to rhythm, counterpoint, improvisation, interpretation, phrasing and polyrhythm, all of which are outlined in a glossary overview. This list was used and examined as a practical application guide, a structure for personal exploration, including expansions of concepts that are discussed throughout this exegesis. The facets of this journey led inevitably to its conclusion, being the effects of my studies on the three performances and the CD release.
The pivotal points of this performance-based exegesis are where the discoveries of the varied facets of research are applied, all of which stipulated the foundation of my research
Tectonic geomorphology of the Rock and Pillar Range and Taieri Ridge, Otago, New Zealand
No full textIn the South Island of New Zealand, east Otago is a region of low seismicity with many potentially active faults, and profound data gaps. I use geomorphic observations, and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating methods applied to Quaternary sediments, to constrain the geometry and quantify the slip rates of the Hyde and Taieri Ridge Faults. The two faults are significant in east Otago, and are responsible for the uplift of the Rock and Pillar Range and Taieri Ridge respectively. Across Otago, the linearity of the range fronts, ~15km spacing of the ranges, their asymmetric cross-sectional profile, and a ~15km crustal depth suggest the faults dip ~45˚NW, and are located at, or near the base of the southeast range fronts.
An earlier than expected mid-Miocene age for the initiation of substantial uplift of both ranges is postulated based on sedimentary grounds. This leads to long-term slip rates of 0.02mm/yr for Taieri Ridge, and 0.11mm/yr. for the Rock and Pillar Range, derived from the offset of the ~planar Cretaceous-Tertiary Waipounamu Erosion Surface perpendicular to the north-east-trending ranges, and assuming the faults dip at ~45˚.
A late-Quaternary slip-rate was not established for the Taieri Ridge Fault, but evidence suggesting Holocene activity at the North of the range is presented. A late Quaternary sliprate of ~0.11mm/yr is postulated for the Hyde Fault, based on offsets of late Quaternary surfaces. This consistent with the long-term slip rate of 0.11mm/yr required to produce the present-day topography, if significant uplift was initiated in the mid-Miocene (~50Ma)
Malaysian women's narratives of navigating careers following international study in New Zealand
No full textThis thesis presents a narrative study that explored 14 Malaysian women’s narratives of navigating careers in Malaysia following international study in New Zealand. The women were part of a Twinned In-Service Teacher Education Programme (TISTEP) — a collaboration between the Malaysian Government and New Zealand. These women studied at a New Zealand university from 1995 to 1998, and then returned to Malaysia.
The Malaysian Government invested significant funding in TISTEP in the 1990s, and more than 60 percent of the TISTEP participants were women. However, only a small percentage of these women were appointed to senior positions following their return to Malaysia, despite their teaching experience and international education.
This study employed a narrative approach to explore how a small cohort of TISTEP women graduates made sense of their international studies and subsequent careers. The study was informed by a constructionist-interpretivist epistemology. Data were collected in Malaysia between September 2016 and January 2017 using photo-elicitation and semi-structured interviews. Women’s narratives were analysed using a narrative analytic approach, which attended to both chronology (how women made sense of their past, present and future), and to the themes that emerged within and across their narratives. The Kaleidoscope Career Model was used as an interpretive lens for examining how ‘careers’ emerged in the women's narratives.
In this thesis, women’s narratives are considered chronologically in relation to their early career choices and decisions, international higher education experiences, interpretation of career challenges and enablers, and imagined future career trajectories. The women described parents and educators as key people who shaped their early career choices and decisions. The women’s narratives revealed unique transition experiences in New Zealand and highlighted specific challenges they encountered. Challenges included navigating family, social and academic demands. However, the women spoke positively about their exposure to new ideas and practices, new knowledge systems and new ways of thinking while studying in New Zealand. Reflecting on their return to Malaysia, the women identified career challenges related to home and family and/or workplace demands. At the same time, they also described home, family and workplace support as enabling factors that contributed to career success. The women imagined their future career trajectories in two ways — as involving staying in the system or leaving the system. When reflecting on their career pathways to date and possible future careers, the women imagined ‘career’ and ‘success’ in ways that exceeded the conflation of income and labour, or public recognition and work.
This thesis contributes to the existing literature on women educators’ career development in relation to their international education experiences. Specifically, it addresses a lack of attention to the career trajectories of TISTEP participants. It also addresses a lack of in-depth qualitative studies more broadly exploring the study experiences of non-Western women educators who studied in Western contexts before returning ‘home’ to work. In addition, this thesis addresses a lack of attention to non-Western contexts in literature on women and careers, highlighting how career theories grounded in Western contexts may be limited in their application to other contexts. The data considered in this thesis suggest a need to track the outcomes of international education for those who return ‘home’, and to address factors that may limit women’s access to career opportunities following investment in women’s education. While this thesis highlights the important role of mentors and sponsors in male-dominated work contexts, it also complicates simplistic notions of ‘career’ and ‘success’. In this regard, the thesis highlights the value of international education for its own sake, as a means for promoting personal growth, and new ways of understanding work and the world
Transgenerational plasticity and acclimation of tropical sea urchins to ocean warming and acidification
No full textAnthropogenic CO2 emissions are causing the oceans to simultaneously warm and become increasingly acidic, with rates of change that are putting evolutionary pressure on many marine organisms. As a result, both short-term responses and the ability of organisms to acclimate to rapid environmental change through phenotypic plasticity are expected to play a considerable role in persistence of many species under future ocean change. Evidence is accumulating that non-genetic inheritance and transgenerational plasticity (TGP) may be important mechanisms which may facilitate acclimation to ocean warming and acidification. This thesis tests the overarching hypothesis that TGP and parental acclimation to predicted ocean warming and acidification conditions promote greater resilience in offspring using two tropical sea urchins, Tripneustes gratilla and Echinometra sp. A, as model organisms.
Echinoderms are an ecologically important group which have been useful models for understanding responses of developmental stages to climate change stressors. However, the majority of existing studies have examined responses within a single generation, with little allowance for acclimation. To date, only a handful of studies have examined the effects of climate stressors on offspring whose parents had also experienced similar environmental conditions. Here, transgenerational responses of T. gratilla were examined in offspring derived from parents raised in ocean warming (+2C/29C) and acidification (-0.3 pH/ pHT 7.77) treatments from juveniles to mature adults, a period encompassing the entirety of gonadogenesis. This study found that although larvae generally performed best when raised in the same treatments as their parents, parental acclimation had a predominantly negative effect on larval size. When raised in control conditions, 2 day old pluteus larvae derived from parents acclimated to warming and/or acidification were consistently smaller, with reductions in postoral arm lengths of up to 21%, compared to larvae derived from parents raised in control conditions. These results indicate that acclimation to predicted warming and acidification conditions may result in fitness trade-offs during early development, which may have consequences for later developmental stages and survival in the form of negative carryover effects.
A longer-term study followed development of Echinometra sp. A progeny (throughout development to near competency) derived from parents maintained for two years in either present-day (ambient) conditions (mean = 26C/pHT 8.10) or warming (+2C/mean = 28C) and acidification (-0.3 pH/ pHT 7.80) conditions predicted for the year 2100. Egg size as well as larval survival, morphology, and respiration were quantified, and molecular analyses were performed to gain a better understanding of mechanisms underlying acclimation. Egg size was not affected by parental treatment, but larvae derived from parents acclimated to conditions predicted for the year 2100 were larger and developed faster than larvae derived from parents maintained in ambient, present-day conditions. However, offspring of urchins acclimated to predicted 2100 conditions had higher mortality than offspring of urchins cultured in present-day conditions, with up to 38% higher mortality by the time they were reaching competency at 15 days post-fertilisation. When raised in 2100 conditions, respiration rates of larvae derived from 2100 acclimated parents increased 109% while respiration rates of offspring derived from present-day parents decline 36.8%, suggesting that mortality may have been due to higher energetic consumption.
Molecular analysis found that gene expression patterns in gastrula stages were strongly influenced by the environment experienced by parents. Gastrula derived from parents acclimated to predicted 2100 conditions upregulated genes involved in biomineralisation, suggesting greater allocation of energy toward calcification, which may have influenced the higher growth rates seen in these larvae. Later stage pluteus larvae showed far fewer differences in gene expression among treatments, and in contrast to gastrula stages, differences were primarily driven by the environment experienced by larvae. These results may indicate that early developmental stages were primed for similar environments to those experienced by parents while later developmental stages may be more capable of responding to their own environmental conditions.
The research presented in this thesis partially supports the hypothesis that TGP and parental acclimation to ocean warming and acidification results in offspring that are more optimally suited to future ocean conditions. Reallocation of energy and resources may result in fitness gains in one developmental trait or stage while compromising another. Fitness trade-offs may be an important outcome and the results of these studies highlight the complex nature of transgenerational plasticity and acclimation to future ocean conditions.
Where Fact Meets Fiction - The Science Mockumentary
No full textMockumentary is a style of film that has existed since 1957, at the latest. A fictional news piece from the BBC told the story about the annual spaghetti harvest occurring in Switzerland. Presented in the style of a typical news piece, this parody went on to fool many viewers. From these humble beginnings, mockumentary (as a genre of film) has since taken a place on the world stage. Mockumentaries such as This is Spinal Tap (1984); Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006); and Summer Heights High (2007) have proved the efficiency and popularity of this film form.
Despite this popularity, there is a noticeable gap in the coverage of scientific subjects. This is especially noticeable when comparing the 3.8% of mockumentaries covering scientific subjects, with the 23.2% of documentaries that communicate science. This lack of science communication in mockumentary is something that could be changed in future filmmaking efforts, as mockumentary holds certain elements that are beneficial to science communication. The inherent humour, parody, and story elements in mockumentary all have the potential to greatly benefit science communication, as long as potential drawbacks are considered. Namely the risks of the audience missing the point, criticism of ‘tricking’ the viewers, and the reliability of the information.
These elements of mockumentary are shown to be beneficial to science communication (with the careful consideration of the potential drawbacks) through the creative component of this thesis, a scientific mockumentary Kiwis Against Birds.
Kiwis Against Birds follows Richard Duncan, the founder of a non-profit, community led organisation ‘Kiwis Against Birds’. Richard is attempting to bring more young people into ‘Kiwis Against Birds’, and enlists the help of some friends to help teach these young adults how to get rid of all of the birds. Kiwis Against Birds utilises humour, parody, and story to communicate science on how habitat destruction/degradation, irresponsible cat ownership, and commercial fisheries can negatively impact native bird populations. Kiwis Against Birds illustrates the potential of using mockumentary to communicate science
Temporal goods, divine love and the poverty of Christ: or, how Kierkegaard’s Ethic in Works of Love is Economically Apathetic
No full textAmongst the most serious objections to Kierkegaard’s ethics in Works of Love (1847) is that it does not seek to change temporal socio-economic or political conditions; on these matters, it is alleged, Kierkegaard’s thought is apathetic. After first discussing Jamie Ferreira’s widely accepted answer to this charge, this article further problematises the issue. Rather than downplaying the implications of Kierkegaard’s claims, in what follows I set the vision of Works of Love’s ethics against the intertextual backdrop of Kierkegaard’s thought on the individual’s relatedness to God, and the nature of the love which God mandates towards others. The linchpin of both these strands of thought is the figure of Jesus Christ: the self-revelation of God and “the prototype” for humanity. The result of this, I argue, is to heighten the potentially objectionable nature of Kierkegaard’s remarks.Peer Reviewe