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Wearable devices for jaw activity monitoring
No full textThe present work, which focuses on wearable devices for jaw activity monitoring is in a hybrid thesis format, whereby material published or sent for publication is inserted in the chapters of the thesis. The thesis is divided into six main chapters and owing to the nature of this thesis, a certain degree of overlap between chapters is inevitable.
Chapter 1 – General Introduction and Review of the Literature
A general overview of masticatory muscle activity in function, dysfunction and parafunction is presented in the first chapter. The review focusses on epidemiology, associated musculoskeletal conditions and methods for assessment of wake time oral parafunction. Instrument-based approaches for the assessment of wake time parafunction with a focus on portable devices for long-term masticatory muscle sEMG and approaches for mandibular motion tracking are included in the introductory chapter
Chapter 2 – Validation of a wearable wireless device for monitoring masticatory muscle activity in freely moving individuals
The methodological details of the validation of a newly developed smartphone assisted wearable wireless EMG device are presented in the second chapter. The chapter presents an overview of the study design, participant recruitment, examination procedure, equipment used, questionnaire surveys, data analysis and limitations.
Chapter 3 – Associations among masticatory muscle activity, physical activity & self-reported oral behaviours in adult women
Objective measurements in the natural environment of masticatory muscle activity using the validated wearable EMG device and daily physical activity using wrist accelerometers are presented in the third chapter. This chapter examines the relationship between masticatory muscle activity, self-reported oral behaviours and physical activity in adult women participants. An overview of the study design, participant recruitment, examination procedure, equipment used, data analysis and study limitations is presented in this chapter.
Chapter 4– Effect of electrode characteristics on electromyographic activity of the masseter muscle.
Limitations of sensing electrodes used with the wearable wireless EMG device for long-term muscle activity monitoring are presented in the fourth chapter. The chapter presents testing of different inter-electrode distances and electrode materials to overcome limitations and optimise electrode characteristics for long-term masticatory muscle EMG with the device. An overview of the study design, participant recruitment, examination procedure, equipment used, data analysis and study limitations is presented in this chapter.
Chapter 5– Design and prototype of a new version of the wearable wireless EMG device
The fifth chapter explains the rationale, process for development and intermediate steps leading to the development of a new design of the wireless EMG device. The chapter includes the steps involved in design and prototype of the new device.
Chapter 6 – General discussion and future research directions
The sixth and final chapter of this work includes a general discussion of the research. In particular, the limitations and future directions for research are highlighted.
Chapter 7– Appendice
Ngā Hau Āwhio o Kaihautū :The Swirling Winds of Māori Leadership
No full textThis thesis is a literary critical exploration of Māori leadership from before the impact of colonialism and follows with critical analysis and discussion of Māori leadership during and post-colonial era.
The methodology of this thesis draws, in part, on the use of autoethnographic practices and these reference points are fused through the body of the writing. The research also attempts to connect the characteristics of the pīwairaka (fantail) as a framework or metaphor for kaihautu or tangata whenua Māori leadership in both the pre and post-colonial eras. Various narratives of the pīwairaka from waiata, mōteatea, storytelling, pūrākau and tāhūhū kōrero will be drawn on to affirm the metaphor.
Chapter Two considers the literature that tracks the transformation of leadership from leadership based strongly on whakapapa imperatives to leadership models that are ongoing and ever-changing direction, like the pīwairaka.
Chapter Three will examine the filters of western critical theorists in the postcolonialism period. Religious, political, environmental and ideological factors will be examined as part of the colonialism impacts, including the postcolonial adoptions based on mimicry and cultural hybridisation. This chapter will also highlight whether there is an emerging bourgeois within Māori leadership resulting from mimicry, and what is sacrificed in the act of being what might be characterised as indigenous leaders. The need to absorb
the national and global impacts on social, economic and environmental imperatives have required leadership to assume a constant change of direction without losing balance, not dissimilar to the pīwairaka.
The thesis will, in Chapter Four, conclude with a critical discussion on the current status of Māori leadership and proposes some ideas for sustained tangata whenua leadership into the future. Again, the notion and metaphor of pīwairaka are central to the discussion
COMMD10 in epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) trafficking
No full textThe epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), is assembled as a heterotrimer composed of three homologous subunits α or δ, β, and γ and is selectively permeable to Na+ ions. ENaC plays an essential role in the regulation of sodium transport in the renal connecting tubule and collecting duct. Mutations in ENaC subunits cause various disorders including the low and high blood pressure conditions pseudohypoaldosteronism-I and Liddle syndrome respectively. In renal principal cells, ENaC cell surface population is tightly regulated by hormones such as aldosterone and vasopressin, and through protein trafficking pathways that transport ENaC to and from the cell surface.
ENaC is internalized from the plasma membrane mainly via clathrin-coated vesicles after ubiquitination of ENaC subunits. Like most endocytic cargos, ENaC can follow the degradative pathway promoted by ubiquitin fusion or a recycling pathway after deubiquitination and sorting on early endosomes (EE). One of the endosomal protein sorting machines is the retromer complex that concentrates membrane proteins into nascent tubules formed through the action of sorting nexin (SNX-BAR) proteins. Thus, on the early endosomes, retromer binds to its cargos through SNX3, then recruits Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome and SCAR homologue (WASH) complex to endosomes which mediates CCC (COMMD1-10/CCDC22/CCDC93) complex recruitment in turn. The WASH complex promotes the formation of endosomal branched F-actin networks and stabilizes recycling tubules for cargo entry. For the release of tubules, the CCC complex phosphorylates myotubularin-related protein 2 (MTMR2). MTMR2 then converts endosomal phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PI(3)P) to phosphoinositide (PI) which causes disassembling of WASH complex that likely leads to the endosomal actin depletion and thereby release of cargo tubules. Previous studies in our lab showed that all COMMD (COpper Metabolism MURR1 or COMM domain containing) family proteins of the CCC complex interact with ENaC and further studies revealed that when COMMD1, -3 and -9 were overexpressed but interestingly when COMMD10 knocked down, ENaC surface activity is reduced. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of COMMDs in ENaC trafficking.
For this study, Fischer Rat Thyroid (FRT) cells with stable COMMD10 knockdown (C10 KD), mouse cortical collecting duct (mCCDcl1), and U2OS cells were used. The C10 KD FRT epithelia were transiently transfected with αβγ-ENaC for ENaC study. Cell surface activity of ENaC was studied by Ussing assay measuring ENaC amiloride-sensitive current (Isc). Then cell surface population and internalization of ENaC was quantified by cell surface biotinylation and endocytosis assay, respectively and the results suggested that ENaC cell surface population is reduced by COMMD10 KD. Endogenous ENaC cell surface activity was also studied and the results suggested that transient COMMD10 KD also reduces ENaC cell surface activity in the mCCDcl1 cell line. Further, recycling assays suggested the reduction of ENaC cell surface population is linked with a recycling defect deriving from COMMD10 depletion. Immunocytochemistry was used to show the endosomal localization of COMMD10 on Rab5-, and Rab7-positive endosomes confirming a role for COMMD10 in endosomal sorting, while localization of COMMD10 on Rab11-positive endosomes proposes that COMMD10 may be involved in the translocation of recycling vesicles to the plasma membrane. To investigate regulation of COMMDs the effect of aldosterone on COMMD mRNA levels was tested and showed no significant changes, while aldosterone reduced protein levels of COMMD1 and 10. In contrast, calcium treatment induced protein levels of COMMD1 and 10.
The findings of this study furthers our understanding of the role of COMMD10 in ENaC trafficking, endosomal sorting and recycling of ENaC. Understanding this pathway could lead to advancing knowledge in diseases like hypertension
Model selection and model checking for hidden Markov models applied to non-volcanic tremor data
No full textHidden Markov models (HMMs) are commonly used to model time series data and are now widely applied in many fields. In the field of seismology, HMMs have recently been applied to data collected from non-volcanic tremor events. As new HMMs such as these are developed, the issues of model selection and model checking must be considered. One open question regarding model selection for HMMs is how to estimate the number of hidden states in the Markov chain. Currently, AIC and BIC are commonly used for this purpose despite some evidence of poor performance. There is also a need for new tools to check the validity of HMMs with complex structures. Here, motivated by the HMMs developed to model non-volcanic tremor, we consider both the issue of selecting the number of hidden states in an HMM and how to identify and diagnose lack of fit for a selected model. Through simulation studies, we compare the performance of various model selection information criteria when used to select the number of hidden states in HMMs. We find that AIC and BIC are not always reliable tools for selecting the number of hidden states in HMMs and that other information criteria can perform better, depending on factors such as sample size and sojourn times in each state. In addition to addressing the model selection issue, we propose new residual analysis and stochastic reconstruction methods for checking the fit of HMMs. The new methods are adapted from model checking techniques for point process models and enhance current model checking methods for HMMs. We find that 1) our residual analysis is particularly useful for models where pseudo-residuals are difficult to interpret, and 2) stochastic reconstruction is useful for diagnostic purposes. We apply the new model checking methods to our selected HMM fitted to non-volcanic tremor data and discuss future improvements of the current model for the classification of tremor events
The Ideal Australian: The role of the gum tree in an Australian collective cultural identity
No full textGum trees, or eucalypts, encompass all species belonging to the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Angophora, Stockwellia, Allosyncarpia, Eucalyptopsis and Arillastrum. They are the most abundant group of trees in Australia and have adapted to almost every Australian natural and urban landscape and climate. They have also found a significant place in the cultural landscape, featuring heavily in Australian art, books, stories, songs, poems, movies and television. Attempting to understand this collective cultural significance could provide insight into relationships between humans and nature, as well as better understand human motivations to protect or defend nature. This thesis explores how and why gum trees are such a strong part of Australian cultural identity, asking this of a particular group of Australians – academics whose discipline involves gum trees and/or Australian nature, within a science or social science field of study. There has been very limited research on the relationship between Australians and gum trees, and focusing on a group that has direct professional linkages to gum trees means potentially extracting deeper and more considered responses that can then be used for Australians outside this group in further research. An ‘audio diary’ methodology was used to extract data from eight participants in this study. This involved sending a series of eight questions out via email over a period of four weeks (two questions per week), asking participants to record their answers on a personal recording device such as a mobile telephone, and to send their recordings back each week. The types of questions asked were open-ended and experiential, encouraging emotive responses and personal stories where appropriate. The recordings were then transcribed and the resulting corpus was analysed using grounded theory and schema analysis. Central and underlining themes were extracted and their interactions were mapped in a visualisation (Figure 3). There were two themes to all of the data collected: toughness and comfort. Toughness represented the general perception of gum trees being independent, adaptable, and distinctive and giving off an impression of individualism. Comfort addressed feelings of belonging, the idea of provision and associations with home. Separate to these two central 3 themes there was also a focus of human impact amongst participants. Impacts were generally negative, and included habitat destruction, introduced species, die-back, climate change and the neglect of indigenous knowledge. This third theme introduced a level of vulnerability to gum trees that contradicted with toughness and comfort and was upsetting to the participants. It was also reflective of the participants’ specific field of study, as many of the impacts discussed were related to research that they had conducted. As such, it is likely that Australians outside of this group would not have the same focus on human impact, and perhaps the potential themes of toughness and comfort could create a sense of ambivalence in terms of the protection of nature
Evolving eusociality: Honeybee queen pheromone induces a starvation response in a non-eusocial insect
No full textEusociality is a social structure characterised by the reproductive division of labour. A reproductively dominant female or females carry out reproduction, and her subordinate female workers have their reproduction constrained. This constraint often relies on chemical cues, or pheromones. One of the most studied of these queen pheromones is Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP), produced by queen Apis mellifera (honeybees).
Eusociality has evolved independently nine times in the Hymenoptera alone. It has been suggested that existing pathways for regulating reproduction in response to environmental cues may have been co-opted to be regulated by queen pheromones, as opposed to the evolution of novel pathways each time eusociality evolves. Support for this has been shown by QMP (which has evolved in the last 55 million years) being able to repress a broad range of species, up to 560 million years diverged. This includes the non-eusocial, 350 million year diverged Drosophila melanogaster.
This thesis aimed to utilise D. melanogaster to investigate the mechanisms by which QMP is acting to repress reproduction in non-target species. I have shown that D. melanogaster that are exposed to QMP have their reproduction repressed in a way that is plastic and reversible. The mechanisms by which D. melanogaster sense QMP are likely synergistic, redundant and complex. QMP also acts on pathways which have high fitness costs when mutated, indicative of ancient conserved and essential functions. As QMP has not co-evolved with D. melanogaster, it seemed likely that QMP was mimicking an environmental regulator of reproduction. In investigating this, I have identified the first known mechanism by which QMP is acting in D. melanogaster; through the co-option of nutrition sensing pathways.
D. melanogaster which are exposed to QMP exhibit starvation-like food intake behaviour. This behaviour precedes any change in ovarian phenotype or ovarian gene expression. After this, the stage 2a/b and stage 9 oogenesis checkpoints are activated within the ovary, reducing the number of oocytes produced. Activation of these checkpoints is also consistent with a starvation response. As such, QMP appears to have co-opted existing nutrient sensing pathways in D. melanogaster.
This work also aimed to investigate the evolutionary history of QMP. To do so, I compared my novel findings in D. melanogaster to the action of QMP in A. mellifera. Worker honeybees do not exhibit the feeding behaviours characteristic of QMP exposed D. melanogaster, show a far larger changes in ovarian gene expression, and utilise Notch cell signalling in a way that differs from D. melanogaster. As such, it appears that the mechanisms of action present in D. melanogaster are potentially ancestral-like. Honeybees, however, have undergone co- evolution with QMP. This has led to the elaboration and tweaking of existing mechanisms, creating a sensitive, specific response in A. mellifera.
Overall, this thesis has identified the first known mechanism of action of QMP in a non-target species. This identification of nutrition sensing pathways ties to theories of how eusociality may have evolved, and as such aids in our understanding of this beneficial life history strategy
E-cadherin and APC in early-onset colorectal cancer
No full textColorectal cancer (CRC) is a considerable health burden being the second highest cause of cancer deaths globally. While overall cases of CRC have been declining worldwide, there has been an increase in the incidence of the disease among patients under 50 years of age. The majority of these cancers are sporadic and the increase in incidence may reflect changing lifestyle, exposing young people to more and earlier pro-oncogenic factors.
An early event in the development of CRC is the loss of normal structure of the epithelium and key to this is the loss of cell to cell contact. E-cadherin, encoded by the CDH1 gene, is a membrane-bound protein whose extracellular domains bind to E-cadherin of neighbouring cells forming adherens junctions as the primary event in intercellular contact. Loss of E-cadherin leads to the breakdown of this organised epithelial structure and can lead to the development of cancer.
The research detailed in this thesis looked at E-cadherin expression status and mutation of the CDH1 gene in two separate cohorts. Firstly tumours from young Pakistani patients with early-onset colorectal signet-ring cell carcinomas (SRCCs), due to their histological similarity to SRCCs found in hereditary diffuse gastric cancers where mutation of CDH1 is a common causative factor and, secondly a local New Zealand cohort of early-onset CRC cases.
E-cadherin was found to be absent or weak in the colorectal SRCC samples and in a small number of cases this corresponded to germline CDH1 mutation. However, the remaining SRCC samples had low levels of CDH1 mutation despite loss of E-cadherin expression, suggesting that while E-cadherin loss is common in colorectal SRCC it is not due to CDH1 mutation in most cases. Amongst the New Zealand samples, only one tumour, the sole SRCC case in the cohort, showed loss of E-cadherin but this was not correlated with CDH1 mutation which was not a common feature of this cohort.
Additionally, APC sequencing was performed on the New Zealand cohort. APC is mutated in 60-80% of sporadic CRC tumours but with reportedly lower levels in younger patients. However 72% of the New Zealand early-onset CRC cohort was found to have a mutation in APC, a higher proportion than expected. This may reflect a greater coverage of APC by the sequencing methodology employed in this study compared to previous studies with a high proportion of mutations occurring outside the commonly studied mutation cluster region of APC. Loss of heterozygosity at the APC locus was found in only three patients, all of whom had APC mutations occurring close to codon 1300, reflective of a previous studies in older-onset CRC.
While environmental and lifestyle factors are widely considered to have roles in the development of sporadic CRC, there is growing evidence of the gut microbiota being a factor in colorectal carcinogenesis. One well-studied toxin-producing bacteria is Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) that causes cleavage of E-cadherin in colonic epithelial cells. Study of the effect of the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) on colonic epithelial cells has focused on the cell line HT29 which shows a rapid morphological change upon incubation with BFT. However, HT29 cells only have truncated forms of APC. In the last part of this study one mutated APC allele in HT29 was corrected by genome editing in order to study the effects of BFT on a cell line expressing full-length APC, and thereby to increase our understanding of the role of APC in colorectal carcinogenesis.
The rapid change in morphology upon exposure to BFT in HT29 cells has been attributed to the BFT-mediated cleavage of E-cadherin. However, edited HT29 cells containing full-length APC maintained their structure after 6 hours incubation with ETBF supernatant. Moreover, fluorescent immunohistochemistry showed that cell morphology was maintained despite the cleavage of E-cadherin, suggesting that the structural integrity of the edited cells was due to some internal function of APC rather than E-cadherin cleavage.
In summary, this research found that E-cadherin loss was commonly found in colorectal SRCCs but predominantly occurred independently from CDH1 mutations. Furthermore, other than in SRCCs, E-cadherin loss was not a common feature of early-onset CRC. Conversely, APC mutation was very common, with many mutations being found outside the mutation cluster region of APC, suggesting APC sequencing strategies should be targeted more widely throughout the gene. These results suggest a role for the APC protein in stabilising the cellular morphology of HT29 cells exposed to bacterial toxin, which is independent of E-cadherin. The edited HT29 cell line is likely to be a useful tool in the study of bacterial and other environmental effects on colorectal carcinogenesis
The Health Status of Children and Young People in New Zealand 2015
No full textHaving sex for the first time is a major milestone in life that almost everyone reaches. In New Zealand, around 37% of secondary school students have had sex by the age of 16 years and around 46% by the age of 17 or more.1 Becoming sexually active brings both risks and rewards. Policy makers are generally most concerned with the risks, particularly the risks of early unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and the associated costs to society. Good sexual health, however, is more than not contracting a sexually transmitted infection and not being involved in an unintended pregnancy. It has both individual and public health dimensions, as indicated by the following broad definition of sexual health, developed in the US:
‘Sexual health is a state of well-being in relation to sexuality across the life span that involves physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions. Sexual health is an intrinsic element of human health and is based on a positive, equitable, and respectful approach to sexuality, relationships, and reproduction, that is free of coercion, fear, discrimination, stigma, shame, and violence. It includes: the ability to understand the benefits, risks, and responsibilities of sexual behaviour; the prevention and care of disease and other adverse outcomes; and the possibility of fulfilling sexual relationships. Sexual health is impacted by socioeconomic and cultural contexts—including policies, practices, and services—that support healthy outcomes for individuals, families, and their communities.’2
Supporting young people to attain sexual health as defined above is clearly not something the health system can accomplish on its own, nevertheless there is an important role for the health system in helping young people to avoid unwanted pregnancy, providing care to young pregnant women, and preventing and treating sexually transmitted infections.
This in-depth topic considers ways of improving the sexual and reproductive health of New Zealand adolescents and young adults. It focuses on the prevention of unintended teenage pregnancy but also touches on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. It does not deal with maternity services for pregnant teenagers or services for teenage parents because a previous in-depth topic in this series of reports (2012) was entitled Services and Interventions for Women Experiencing Multiple Adversities in Pregnancy and this included a substantial section on services for teenage parents.3
It begins by summarising what is known about the sexual behaviour of young people in New Zealand. It then reviews sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health services for young people, and contraceptive options for young people (with a particular focus on long-acting reversible methods). It concludes with some recommendations for improving the sexual and reproductive health of New Zealand young people and preventing unintended teenage pregnancies.
This choice of areas for review was influenced by the 2013 report of the Health Committee (one of the select committees of the New Zealand Parliament) Inquiry into improving child health outcomes and preventing child abuse with a focus from preconception until three years of age.4 One of the major recommendations which came out of the inquiry was as follows:
‘We recommend to the Government that it develop a co-ordinated cross-sectoral action plan with the objective of giving New Zealand world-leading, best-practice evidence-based sexuality and reproductive health education, contraception, sterilisation, termination, and sexual health services, distributed to cover the whole country. The plan should be developed within 12 to 18 months of this report being published, and be matched with appropriate, sustainable resourcing. The plan should also be monitored by trends in teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy, and terminations.’
It should be borne in mind that in developed countries teenage pregnancy (except in the youngest teenagers) is not so much a medical problem as a social problem.5 Many of the adverse medical outcomes attributed to teenage pregnancy, such as prematurity and low birth weight, are probably mostly due to the poor socio-economic circumstances and associated risk-taking behaviours that predispose young women to early pregnancy.6,7 It should not be assumed that if women in the most deprived communities would only delay their first birth by five years or ten years, then that alone would inevitably improve outcomes for them and their children
The impacts of marine tourism on the behaviour and movement patterns of dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) at Kaikoura, New Zealand
No full textThe increase in human activities off the coast of Kaikoura, New Zealand may be altering the behaviour and movement patterns of dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus). The primary aim of this research was to assess the influence of human activities on the movement patterns, behaviour and social groupings of dusky dolphins at Kaikoura. The secondary aim was to provide management recommendations to the Department of Conservation for dolphin watching and swimming operations. The main objectives were to: 1) document the exposure of dusky dolphins to human activities and 2) assess the short-term responses of dusky dolphins to boats and swimmers. The specific objectives were to: 1) determine if dolphins respond differently to different numbers and types of boats, 2) assess the levels of disturbance caused by these activities and 3) determine whether these activities affect dolphin behaviour differently depending on time of day.
I tracked dolphins and boats with a theodolite from a cliff top. I also recorded surface activity behaviour of the dolphins by visual scanning. I observed dolphins over 443 hours and 39 minutes from November 1993 to April 1995. At least one boat was present within 300 m of a focal dolphin pod for 72% of the total observation time. Of the 949
boat approaches observed, 84% were commercial dolphin or whale-watching boats, 10% were private boats and 6% were fishing boats. There was a significant increase in the number of commercial and private boats present with dolphins from 1994 to 1995.
Dolphins showed short-term changes in behaviour when boats approached within 300 m. In addition, there may be certain times of the day when dolphins are more susceptible to boat disturbance. This is most likely related to times when dolphins are normally resting. Aerial activity more than doubled in the presence of boats from late morning onwards; however, there was no statistically significant interaction between aerial activity and time of day. Dolphin pod dispersion was twice as high when boats were present during mid to late afternoon. There was no significant effect of the presence of boats and swimmers on dolphin pod dispersion, density, speed, number of directional changes and group envelope. There was also no significant effect of different numbers of boats on dolphin behaviour. Dolphins made more directional changes during midday and more clean leaps during late morning and midday when a combination of commercial boats with fishing and/or private boats were present. The significant effect of boat type and time of day indicates that dolphins may respond to boat behaviour and uncertainty in behaviour and that they are more susceptible to this disturbance later in the day. Dolphins responded to human activity with a noticeable change in behaviour 16 times. Reactions included faster swimming, increased aerial activity, startle reaction, and stopping, with dolphins moving in different directions. Most of these instances occurred when boats failed to abide by the conditions governing behaviour around dolphins as set out under the Marine Mammal Protection Regulations (1992).
There is a need for increased education of commercial skippers and the public on appropriate boating behaviour around dolphins. Making the behaviour of boats more consistent and predictable among commercial, fishing and private boats should reduce the effect of boat type on dolphin behaviour. A reduction in boat activity from late morning to the mid afternoon should also reduce disturbance.
There are no indications that boat activity has resulted in dolphins moving away from the Kaikoura area. Until data are available on the long-term and biological effects of dolphin watching on dusky dolphins, it would seem prudent to keep the amount of boat activity in the area at or below current levels. A precautionary approach, ensuring that boat disturbance does not increase will reduce the risk of potential long-term effects on the population
The Role of Self-Compassion in Influencing First-Year Students' Mental Health
No full textIn a recently published report, the New Zealand Student Association reported that 56% of tertiary students across New Zealand had considered dropping out at some point during their time at university. Major triggers for dropping out included academic anxiety, mental illnesses, and feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities both within and outside of class. Even more alarming is the finding that a small number of students had experienced suicidal thoughts. These findings highlight the need to understand and address mental health issues in the university student population. Results from the present study unveiled that: (1) students’ mental health did decrease in the span of first academic year, (2) self-compassion uniquely predicted students’ well-being outcomes, and (3) psychological needs satisfaction mediated the relationships between self-compassion and mental health. Findings from this study may be used to develop interventions to promote self-compassion among university students