Otago University Research Archive
Not a member yet
10699 research outputs found
Sort by
Public health organization in four rural districts in Western Samoa.
No full textIn the light of the modern world, the inhabitants of underdeveloped countries, of which Samoa in the strict sense of the word is one, of them, frequently in their lower level of knowledgeable resources, referred to foreign investments, or other collectivizing enterprises whether they would be beneficial to them or otherwise, - as exploitation.
The reactionary impressions from primitive eyes were that they had no single redeeming feature.
No one would put his ‘capital’ either economically, socially, physically or otherwise, at risks unless there is a probability of profits in return, “and the greater the risk, the greater must be expected of the turn-over”. Not infrequently their needs of repeated assurances of good returns – often demanded that the profits be shared first before it ever commenced operations, which is exactly vice versa to the logical sense of foresight of the modern world.
These contrasting elements of the primitively fashioned world had fortunately found our people in the past, if I am allowed to mix metaphors, to have “thrown out the baby with the tub water and all,” with out even the least hesitation where “angels would even have feared to tread.”
The subject of this work followed the only “road” which our Government, after years of enthusiastic comprehensive “scaling” – only to be rendered disheartened and frustrated as to pursue the only feasible work-out, - the ‘round” about – “pat on the back”, “Flower on the ear” – persuasive, talking method. […]
Through many humiliating instances, one found that public health amongst undeveloped people cannot succeed alone, without advancing the social and general standard of living and outlooks of life, which necessitated and energetic effort to improve the peoples’ productiveness – generally in education, economically, socially and general welfare. […] [Extract from Introduction
Engaging with communities for climate change adaptation: Introducing Community Development for Adaptation
No full textMany of New Zealand’s urban settlements are likely to be impacted by climate-induced hazards such as sea level rise, coastal erosion, flooding and rising groundwater levels, and some are already being affected. These communities face many physical, social, financial and emotional challenges, and there is significant potential for inequitable outcomes. To ensure successful adaptation, local authorities will need to adopt new approaches to engaging with communities that are exposed to these hazards.Peer Reviewe
Towards a Modernized Geodetic Datum for Nepal: Options for Developing an Accurate Terrestrial Reference Frame Following the April 25, 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha Earthquake
No full textAlong with the damage to buildings and infrastructure, the April 25, 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake caused significant deformation over a large area of eastern Nepal with displacements of over 2 m recorded in the vicinity of Kathmandu. In this paper we consider options for a modernized geodetic datum for Nepal that will have the capacity to correct for the earthquake displacements and ongoing tectonic deformation associated with Nepal’s location on the India/Eurasian plate boundary.
The current Nepal datum is a classical datum developed in 1984 by the Military Survey branch of the Royal (UK) Engineers in collaboration with the Nepal Survey Department. It has served Nepal well; however, the recent earthquakes have provided an impetus for developing a semi-dynamic datum that will be based on the most current available ITRF and have the capacity to correct for tectonic deformation.
In the scenario we present here, the datum would be based on ITRF2014 with a reference epoch set some time after the end of the current sequence of earthquakes. The deformation model contains a grid of the secular velocity field combined with models of the Gorkha Earthquake and the May 12 Mw7.3 aftershock. We have developed a preliminary velocity field by collating GPS derived crustal velocities from four previous studies for Nepal and adjacent parts of China and India and aligning them to the ITRF. We are currently working on developing patches for the co-seismic part of the deformation using published dislocation models. While these models do a reasonably good job of modelling the deformation, there are some significant discrepancies between their predictions and the limited GPS measurements available. We hope to improve these models by developing revised grids that will incorporate increased GPS and INSAR measurements of the deformation field.
High order control would be a CORS network based around the existing Nepal GPS Array. Coordinates for existing lower order control would be determined by readjusting existing survey measurements and these would be combined with a series of new control stations spread throughout Nepal
Some aspects of the ecology of non-native Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in headwater streams of Otago, New Zealand
No full textHumans have been altering their environment for thousands of years both intentionally and unintentionally. The alteration of freshwater ecosystems has been extensive through the transfer of species across natural barriers and outside their native range. Salmonids were introduced into the Southern Hemisphere in the mid-19th century during a worldwide frenzy of plant and animal introductions known as the Acclimatisation Movement.
Seeking to populate the streams and rivers with useful species for food or sport, brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) were introduced to New Zealand during this time along with a number of other salmonids. The introductions were haphazard and not well documented, especially as sustained, repeated introductions from hatchery stock continued well into the 20th century. This thesis examines the introduction of brook charr to New Zealand in a historical perspective, then looks at the current distribution of brook charr and some of their life history, their diet and energetics, and also competitive interactions with native galaxiids in a laboratory experiment.
The highland streams of Otago received brook charr introductions starting in the 1880s and sporadically through the 20th century. A fishery did not develop but many populations remain somewhat cryptically present in headwater streams, mostly upstream of brown trout (Salmo trutta). Some of these populations were confirmed and have a direct overlap with the native non-migratory galaxiid species complex which is threatened or endangered.
Brook charr displayed a suite of life history traits in these streams including small adult size, early or delayed maturation, and short life span. The life histories were reflective of a combination of factors at each site and were mostly shaped by temperature, growth, and interspecific competition. Growth was influenced by water temperature and light. Fish in warmer water had good growth rates and early maturation. Fish that were sympatric with brown trout had poorer growth but still had early maturation that appears to be a resource allocation strategy. Fish in the cold, high altitude water had slower growth but lived longer and had delayed maturation.
An examination of the energy available as invertebrate drift showed differences in the available energy available to fish and that was used to model growth and compare to observed growth. All sites were found to have sufficient invertebrate drift to support the populations. Diet was also examined and analyses indicate a significant overlap between charr and trout.
Competitive interactions were measured between brook charr and galaxiids in the laboratory. Galaxiids changed their behaviour in the presence of brook charr in a way that would have negative implications for a population and would make cohabitation of a stream very unlikely. Given these conclusions brook charr will persist in Otago for decades or longer and will remain a threat to native fish
Sussing out ageing: Sharing lesbian & queer women's knowledge of ageing in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textThis thesis is a qualitative study exploring how some lesbian and queer women (aged 45 to 88) conceptualise, and experience ageing, old age and the life course in Aotearoa New Zealand. Combining semi-structured interviews with fieldwork conducted in Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast, this project shares 32 participants’ insights into the importance of multifigurative (tacit and verbal) knowledge exchange in forming subjectivities at the confluence of age, sexuality, and gender.
Through personal stories of agency, adjustment, appropriation, and resistance, this multigenerational group of women discuss the changes ageing bestows on multiple levels of personhood – including changes to the body, temporal orientation, sexual drive, and one’s sense of embodiment. They offer humorous, poignant and inspiring perspectives of an ever-changing world where ‘the personal is political’ at all ages, especially when confronted by heteronormative representations of old age, deficit-based rhetoric, and gendered representations of the life course that privileges a reproductive trajectory. Amid the cacophony of ‘successful’, ‘positive’, or ‘active’ ageing discourses, alongside medicalised narratives of decline, this critical, ethnographic study makes space for lesbian and queer women’s phenomenological and social knowledge of ageing to be shared. A key insight is the importance of intra- and intergenerational encounters, friendships, older family members, lovers, and ‘peripheral role models’ for imagining alternative life paths, older age, and how to leave the world.
Participants’ stories and impressions of ageing unfold against recent attempts to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by older ‘rainbow’ citizens navigating the New Zealand health and aged care sector. Informed by a multidisciplinary body of literature and the theoretical perspectives of critical, queer, and feminist scholars interested in ageing, I contextualise women’s personal experiences against a backdrop of neoliberal, consumerist and political economic forces. I reveal how such social systems influence both participants’ fears of entering health and aged care institutions, and the language employed by advocates seeking to improve these services. I thus join an increasing number of scholars highlighting the limitations of expanding models of ‘cultural competency’ in biomedical contexts to include queer identities and suggest returning to Irihapeti Ramsden’s (2002) important work on Cultural Safety. With an increasingly diverse ageing population, I argue that lesbian and queer women’s perspectives on ageing, and their attempts to create alternative spaces for ‘ageing well’, raise important questions about the future of aged care in New Zealand for everyone
The Marvel, the Moment, and the Fullness of Time: Kierkegaard’s Mystical Explorations with John Climacus and John the Silent
No full textInterpreting the thought of Søren Kierkegaard is a notoriously difficult task. One reason for this is that some of his best-known works are written under enigmatic pseudonyms. Of interest here is Kierkegaard’s decision that two of his pseudonyms—Johannes Climacus and Johannes de Silentio—be named after early medieval saints John Climacus (579-649) and John the Silent (454-558). Historically, these figures not only lived in adjourning centuries and geographical areas, but also displayed similar preferences for long periods of monastic prayer and silence. Within Kierkegaard’s literary corpus, Johannes Climacus is first attributed to Philosophical Fragments (1844), while Johannes de Silentio is the authorial voice in Fear and Trembling (1843). This article will focus on the latter. Through an examination of concepts and motifs in Fear and Trembling and Philosophical Fragments, as well as with Kierkegaard’s self-authored Discourses, this article will suggest that Kierkegaard’s choice of medieval guises for his works may not be incidental; rather, just as the historical John Climacus and John the Silent share some poignant biographical similarities—chief among which are extensive silence and prayer before God—so too the works of their Kierkegaardian namesakes share a common message of doxological silence and divine incarnational love.Peer Reviewe
Development of traceability tools based on metabolomics for milk products
No full textFraud is endemic throughout the food industry and a major concern to producers and consumers. Adulteration or substitution with an inferior product may cause economic or health problems. Milk is a foodstuff that is widely consumed around the world; however, it is also one of the top fraudulent foods. Consumers are placing much greater value on authenticity and origin of their purchase; thus, it is important to establish methods to authenticate food. New Zealand milk is regarded to be of prime quality and hence particularly susceptible to attempts to pass of milk from other sources as being from New Zealand. Therefore, developing effective tools for verifying the geographic origin of milk is particularly important in the New Zealand context.
The aim of this work is to explore the use of metabolomic profiling as a tool for the discrimination of raw milk samples from New Zealand, Sri Lanka and China (Inner Mongolia), according to their geographic origins. Multiple advanced analytical techniques were combined, including 1H-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and Q-Tof-MS (quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry) coupled with UHPLC (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography). Over two hundred low molecular weight compounds were detected by untargeted omics-based techniques. Following proper data pre-processing, multivariate analyses such as PCA (principal component analysis) and PLS-DA (partial least squares-discriminative analysis) were applied to explore groupings in the data.
In Part I, the milk from the different countries could be completely separated while samples from different regions of New Zealand behaved similarly. The candidate biomarkers for distinguishing samples from New Zealand and Sri Lanka, or New Zealand and China/Inner Mongolia were selected, such as amino acids, organic acids or their derivatives, according to the VIP values of PLS-DA and p-values of Wilcoxon's Rank-Sum test.
In order to select the robust markers that were geographic origin-based, some factors that influence the milk metabolite profile were investigated. These factors were divided into two types, raw milk-based (Part II), e.g. raw milk from different lactation stages, and milk process-based (Part III), including pasteurization, drying processes and storage. Multivariate data analysis, PCA, PLS-DA or PLSR (partial least squares regression), were used to select the metabolites that were strongly influenced by these processes. These metabolites were not suitable for milk geographic origin discriminant analysis as they were most likely to be influenced by some other interference factors.
In Part IV, the candidate markers, selected in Part I, were further screened according to the results obtained from Part II and Part III. Some of the candidate markers were removed considering their instability and were not used for discriminant modelling. The metabolites or ions acetyl carbohydrate, citrate, lactate detected by 1H-NMR and creatinine, valporic acid, 2-methylbutyroylcarnitine, thiocyanate, 397.0020 ([M-H]-), 255.0887 ([M-H]-), 356.9826 ([M-H]-), N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, quinic acid and L-glutamic acid 5-phosphate detected by UHPLC-QToF/MS were used to distinguish the raw milk samples from New Zealand and Sri Lanka. In addition, the metabolites or ions N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, riboflavin, N(α)-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-leucine, L-glutamic acid, thiabendazole, thiocyanate, 227.9973 ([M-H]-) and 356.9826 ([M-H]-) monitored by UHPLC-QToF/MS were selected and used to differentiate the raw milk samples from New Zealand and China/Inner Mongolia. The model was also optimized further and used for commercial milk powder authentication based on their raw milk origins.
In conclusion, untargeted metabolomic analysis by NMR and MS-based techniques, combined with multivariate data analysis, proved to be effective tools for milk traceability analysis. By considering the possible interfering factors, the discriminant PLS-DA model built on the basis of the markers was successfully applied to distinguish the origins of commercial milk powder samples. However, some metabolites could not be identified or accurately quantified due to the limitations of the untargeted analysis. Future research could be carried out in improving the identity of the selected biomarkers with the aid of some other techniques or pure standards
Mechanisms of DNA demethylation
No full textWhile every cell in an organism is genetically identical, there are marked phenotypic differences between tissues and organs that are controlled by epigenetic modifications. These epigenetic modifications provide an important role in controlling the machinery of gene expression. DNA methylation is the most stable epigenetic modification and is necessary for cellular activities. Many cancers show dysregulation of DNA methylation, with significant global loss of methylation. While the phenomenon of DNA methylation is well described in mammals, the mechanisms of reversal of methylation are incompletely understood.
In previous studies, our laboratory observed rapid DNA demethylation in Jurkat cells (T cell leukaemia) after exposure to oxidative stress. This rapid effect indicated active demethylation and suggested an activation of TET (Ten Eleven Translocation) proteins may be occurring. My research investigates the mechanism of changes in DNA methylation using a barcoded hairpin-bisulfite sequencing technique. This high throughput hairpin-bisulfite assay provides a direct assessment of the methylation status of the DNA strands by linking the complementary strands together with a barcoded DNA hairpin linker. We established and developed a bioinformatic workflow to analyse hairpin-bisulfite sequencing data, initially using the Galaxy online platform and later using UNIX command line tools.
We demonstrated hemi-methylation of densely methylated promoter regions, as early as 2 h after DNA replication in cells treated with decitabine, and this hemi-methylation increased with decitabine treatment. With the power of the hairpin-bisulfite sequencing assay, we were able to describe the kinetics and pattern of DNMT1 inhibitor treatment. Even though these results were predicted by previous studies, the kinetics of decitabine-induced hemi-methylation has not been demonstrated before in such detail and clarity. We observed an increase (40%) in unmethylated hairpin reads of the PCDHGA12 promoter after treatment with ascorbate/decitabine compared to untreated controls. This observed rapid demethylation implicates a novel mechanism of active demethylation that has not yet been recognised by researchers in the field. Importantly, we demonstrated that decitabine is capable of erasing the epigenetic memory of somatic cells by full removal of methyl groups from both complementary DNA strands. This study is the first to report active demethylation in somatic cells treated with decitabine.
Furthermore, in both single-gene and global investigations, we found loss of DNA methylation in different leukaemia cell lines (Molt4, Nalm6 and HL60) following ascorbate and DNMT inhibitor treatment, as well as an increase in 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine in Jurkat cells treated with decitabine and combined ascorbate/decitabine. We performed a low-coverage methylation sequencing assay (PBAT) to detect changes in global DNA methylation. We observed a gradual loss in global DNA methylation in synchronised Jurkat cells treated with decitabine and combined ascorbate/decitabine, confirming the results from locus-specific demethylation. The clinical relevance of our study is that it supports the premise that ascorbate is necessary to enhance the efficacy of decitabine by promoting the function of TET. It is likely that the demethylation pathways that we are studying operate during the onset of cancer and the existence of molecules that alter TET activity may have implications for modification of this process. Cancer patients are often markedly ascorbate (vitamin C) deficient, so the addition of ascorbate to treatment protocols may increase the clinical efficacy (or toxicity) of such drugs in patients with leukaemia
Analysis of modulation in a wireless telephone transmitter.
No full textIt is proposed to deal with some points relating to modulation in a simple Valve Transmitter. Only the most common methods will be considered.
The work can be divided into two parts. The first dealing with the effects in the modulation transformer, which is suitable for mathematical treatment, and the second dealing with the oscillating circuit and effects due to properties of the valve. The latter part becomes essentially an experimental analysis from the results of which certain deductions can be made. No attempt has been made to analyse the effects in a microphone and it is assumed that the microphone and battery in series with the primary of the modulation transformer give a current in it which varies exactly as the pressure of the impinging sound waves. [Extact from Page 1
Smith and society in Bronze Age Thailand
No full textAdditional data available in Appendices in hardcopyA metalsmith's ability to tum stone into metal and mould metal into useable objects, is one of the most valuable production industries of any society. The conception of this metallurgical knowledge has been the major catalyst in the development of increasing socio-political complexity since the beginning of the Bronze Age (Childe, 1930).
However, when considering the prehistory of Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, it is noted that the introduction of metallurgical activity, namely copper and bronze technology, did not engender the increase in social complexity witnessed in other regions. It is suggested that the region is anomalous in that terms and concepts developed to describe and define Bronze Ages by scholars working in other regions, lack strict analogues within Southeast Asia. Muhly (1988) has famously noted the non-compliance of Southeast Asia to previous models, "In all other comers of the Bronze Age world-China, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Aegean and central Europe-we find the introduction of bronze technology associated with a complex of social, political and economic developments that mark the rise of the state. Only in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Vietnam, do these developments seem to be missing" (Muhly, 1988:16).
This "rise of the state" is associated with the development of hierarchy, inequality, and status differentiation, evidence for which, it is argued, is most explicitly articulated in mortuary contexts (Bacus, 2006). Evidence would include an intra-site restriction in access to resources, including prestige goods, and ranking, a vertical differentiation, often related to interment wealth. Thus the introduction of metallurgical technology saw copper and other prestige goods, used to entrench authority and advertise status (Coles and Harding; 1979). Such evidence has so far been absent in Bronze Age, Southeast Asian contexts. Accordingly, the usefulness of the term "Bronze Age" for describing and defining Southeast Asian assemblages has been questioned (White, 2002). However, the Ban Non Wat discovery of wealthy Bronze Age interments, with bronze grave goods restricted to the wealthiest, has furrowed the brow of many working in the region, providing evidence to at least reconsider this stance.
Despite its obvious importance in shaping Bronze Age societies around the globe, and now, significance in Northeast Thailand, very little is known of the acceptance, development, and spread of tin-bronze metallurgical techniques during the prehistory of Southeast Asia. Only a handful of investigations of archaeological sites in the region have investigated the use of metals beyond macroscopic cataloguing.
Utilising an agential framework, the Ban Non Wat bronze metallurgical evidence has been investigated as an entire assemblage, from the perspective of the individual metalsmith, in order to greater understand the industry and its impact upon the society incorporating the new technology.
Furthermore, mortuary data is investigated by means of wealth assessment, as an insight into social form throughout the corresponding period of adoption, development and spread of metallurgy.
The bivalent study of society and technology has shed light on the development of sociopolitical, and economic complexity during Bronze Age Southeast Asia, and in doing so, outlined the direct impact the metalsmiths themselves had on the supply, spread and functioning of their important industry.
Variabilities in grave 'wealth,' have been identified at Ban Non Wat. A further situation not previously encountered in Bronze Age Southeast Asia, is the restriction of bronze goods, in death, to differentiated, wealthy individuals. The existence of such individuals suggests that society during this period was rather more complex than regional precedents would suggest. I contend that it is the introduction of metallurgy, and in particular, the nature in which it was conducted that engendered these developments.
Therefore, when considering the traditional course of developing social-political complexity during the Bronze Age, it now seems that Thailand at least, is potentially, not that anomalous