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Investigating the role of HDAC4 in the progression of Parkinson’s Disease in Drosophila melanogaster : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Genetics at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
No full textParkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, characterised by the progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and the accumulation of α-synuclein-rich protein aggregates known as Lewy bodies. While current therapies manage symptoms, they do not halt disease progression, highlighting the urgent need for curative treatments. Emerging evidence suggests Histone Deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) plays a role in the progression of PD. HDAC4 has been detected in Lewy body inclusions and shown to undergo dysregulated nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in the presence of α-synuclein (SNCA), resulting in its nuclear accumulation and the repression of plasticity-related genes. This thesis investigates the role of HDAC4 in PD progression using a Drosophila melanogaster model. I found that HDAC4 overexpression alone mildly impairs locomotor function and nuclear accumulation. However, co-expression of HDAC4 with SNCA results in altered cellular distribution and the formation of large HDAC4 nuclear condensates. These findings suggest that while HDAC4 mislocalisation may contribute to PD pathology, HDAC4 may also play a critical role in maintaining dopaminergic neuron health
Not to exact a full look at the worst : (mis)representations of state-sanctioned violence in New Zealand poetry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
No full textThis thesis examines how local poetry written between the First World War and the early twenty-first century has represented state-sanctioned violence done in Aotearoa New Zealand and on the state’s behalf overseas. Although this period is marked by the emergence and consolidation of a distinct New Zealand literature and the New Zealand state’s deliberate involvement in major overseas conflicts, surprisingly few poems directly represent such violence. This thesis identifies and analyses poems written in English by Māori, Pacific, and Pākehā poets that do represent state-sanctioned violence: Donald H. Lea’s “Gold Stripe” from Stand Down! (1917); Allen Curnow’s Island and Time (1941); Kendrick Smithyman’s “Vignettes of the Māori Wars” from Flying to Palmerston (1968); Māori Battalion: A Poetic Sequence (2001) by Alistair Te Ariki Campbell; and Captain Cook in the Underworld (2002) by Robert Sullivan. I use a form of mimetic close reading to examine their sources, spatial and temporal renderings, attribution of agency, prosody and modes of representation, construal of legitimacy, and violence’s uses and effects. I determine how poetry’s conventions, licenses, limitations, and omissions have helped or hindered naming, understanding, and owning Aotearoa New Zealand’s state-sanctioned violence in these five poetic works. The evidence from this poetic archive testifies to a radical disjunction between state-sanctioned violence’s historical realities and how these examples of New Zealand poetry have represented of it. They have largely failed to give voice to what poet Geoffrey Hill called “the world’s real cries” by refusing to address directly the social, political, and legal sources of state-sanctioned violence’s meaningfulness and legitimisation
On the bones of Batala : exploring the colonization of the Tagalog Region through tabletop role-playing game design : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textFigure 49 is reproduced Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History.The collaborative narrative space of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) can create opportunities for the TTRPG designer, the Game Master (GM), and the players to engage in conversation about real-life issues such as the impact of colonialism in the Philippines. It can also be a vehicle for counter-hegemonic narratives (Scherff iii–iv) by allowing marginalized players to engage with their culture and folklore through anticolonial play within a fictional environment. Growing up in Metro Manila, Philippines, which historian William Manchester described as the second most destroyed Allied city after Warsaw and “one of the greatest tragedies of World War II” (413), I found little space for Filipinos to discuss colonial violence and trauma specific to the Tagalog region. This project provides an avenue to address that need thereby offering the potential for creative expression and collective healing. Reimagining the colonization of Metro Manila and the Tagalog Region through a folk-horror TTRPG allowed me to navigate and process its violent and traumatic history while offering an outlet for other Filipino players to explore their own feelings about colonialism. On the Bones of BATALA positions players as Katauhan, the human survivors in an alternate-history folk-horror setting. They survive on the Rotting Isles, an archipelago built on the corpse of the Tagalog supreme god, Batalang Maykapal, who was slain by the god-like colonizers. The game’s development was guided by the question, “How do I recontextualize my experiences with colonial violence, trauma, and hegemonic narratives through tabletop role-playing game design to enable Filipino players to regain agency over their own experiences through play?
From Partnership to Ownership: Reflections on a Community-University Research Partnership
No full textThis article presents an example of a community-university research partnership which was focused on issues of sustainability and long-term community benefit throughout. It documents a five-year relationship between an Aotearoa New Zealand based university and a number of youth and community organisations. The project aimed to co-develop tools and resources that would support youth and social service practitioners to maintain effective helping relationships with vulnerable young people. It also aimed to develop a kaitiaki (caretaker) group of community partners at the project conclusion so that they could continue to share the resources with others. The article documents reflections from both community and research partners, outlining relational processes of finding our way, negotiating and renegotiating, and shifting ownership that supported community partners to see themselves as kaitiaki of the research and the resources. The processes highlight learning that may be valuable for others working in long-term partnerships where post-project sustainability is prioritised.fals
Turf track surface interaction with speed and musculoskeletal injury risk in Thoroughbred racehorses
No full textBackground: Injury modelling based on changes in speed and stride characteristics of racehorses has become a primary industry focus for the Thoroughbred racing industry. However, speed and stride characteristics are strongly associated with track condition; therefore, reliable quantification of surface variables for use in future models is imperative.
Objectives: This study aimed to understand the interaction of objective turf track condition score (TCS) measurement with racing speed and injury in flat racing Thoroughbred horses.
Study Design: Retrospective time series analysis.
Methods: Race-day data from 16 flat racing seasons (2008/9–2023/24, n = 40,824 races) were used to compare monthly TCS (based on penetrometer measurements), the coefficient of variability (CV) for TCS, race speed (over the final 600 m) and the number of race starts. Injury data from 7 seasons (2015–17, 2019–24) were used to calculate the monthly incidence rate (IR per 1000 race starts) of musculoskeletal injury (MSI). A mixed effects linear model was used to assess the relationship between speed, TCS, race distance and horse rating.
Results: Race starts (n = 437,506), TCS and speed showed strong seasonal fluctuations, with more starts, lower and more variable TCS (4, IQR 3–5, CV = 0.44) and higher race speed (16.7 m/s, IQR 16.1–17.2) in summer compared with winter (TCS 10, IQR 8–10, CV = 0.22, p < 0.001 and speed 15.1 m/s, IQR 14.3–15.8, p < 0.001). Race speed had a strong negative quadratic relationship with TCS (β₂ = −0.03, p < 0.001), a negative linear correlation with race distance and was positively correlated with horse rating. There were 433 MSI (IR = 2.22, 95% CI 2.20–2.44), with an immediate (0 lag time) positive association with seasonal changes in TCS (r = −0.28).
Main Limitations: Low monthly numbers of MSI constrained analysis of interaction with track variables.
Conclusions: TCS provides a reliable quantitative measure of track condition which could be used to refine future models of injury risk in racing Thoroughbreds.fals
Optimizing irrigation and fertilization management enhances alfalfa seed yield components through improved soil nutrient availability and leaf photosynthetic efficiency
No full textIntroduction: Addressing the challenges of inefficient water-fertilizer utilization and suboptimal seed yield in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seed production systems, we investigated the effects of differential irrigation-fertilization regimes on soil nutrient dynamics, photosynthetic performance, and yield parameters. This study aims to optimize seed production while elucidating the response mechanisms linking soil nutrient availability, foliar photosynthetic efficiency, and seed yield outcomes. This experiment employed drip irrigation to address production constraints in alfalfa seed cultivation.
Methods: Using ‘WL354HQ’ and ‘Xinmu No.4’ as the experimental materials, a two-factor randomized block design was adopted, with three fertilization levels: F0 (no fertilizer), F1 (90 kg·ha-1 N 75 kg·ha-1 P2O5, 12 kg·ha-1 K2O), and F2 (120 kg·ha-1 N, 100 kg·ha-1 P2O5, 15 kg·ha-1 K2O), and combined with three irrigation levels W1 (1650 m3·ha-1), W2 (2500 m3·ha-1), and W3 (3350 m3·ha-1).
Results: Water and fertilizer management is a prerequisite for high yield of alfalfa seeds, and the impact of fertilization on seed yield is greater than that of irrigation. Compared to the non-fertilized control (F0W1), the F2W2 treatment significantly increased soil nutrients in the 0–20 cm layer: soil total nitrogen content (+52.17%), total phosphorus content (+18.72%), and organic carbon content (+16.85%), and available phosphorus content (+37.34%), and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content (+17.45%). Notably, F2W2 enhanced net photosynthetic rate by 35.04% despite reduced stomatal conductance (-2.14%) and intercellular CO2 concentration (-9.50%), thereby promoting assimilate partitioning to reproductive organs. Consequently, seed dimensional parameters (width: +53.02%; thickness: +21.75%) and germination rate (+23.11%) were significantly improved (P < 0.05), increasing the seed yields of WL354HQ and Xinmu No.4 by 42.76% and 49.81% respectively. Correlation analysis revealed significant (P < 0.01) positive associations between seed yield and seed length, seed width, seed thickness, chlorophyll a, carotenoids, total chlorophyll content, and net photosynthetic rate. Principal component analysis showed that the optimal fertilization level was N 120 kg·ha-1; P2O5–100 kg·ha-1; K2O 15 kg·ha-1, with an irrigation level of 2500 m3·ha-1 (F2W2) as the optimal model.
Discussion: This optimized model significantly enhanced alfalfa seed yield formation, photosynthetic characteristics, and soil nutrient availability, which provided a theoretical basis for high yield cultivation of alfalfa seed production in arid areas.fals
Cornified Epithelial Teeth of Jawless Vertebrates Contain Proteins Similar to Keratin-Associated Proteins of Mammalian Skin Appendages
No full textKeratins and keratin-associated proteins (KRTAPs) are the main components of mammalian nails and hair. Comparative genomics and gene expression studies have revealed that keratins are conserved in all vertebrates, whereas KRTAPs exist only in mammals. Recently, we found hair keratin-like cysteine-rich keratins in jawless vertebrates with confirmed expression in the cornified epithelial teeth of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Here, we report that KRTAP-like proteins are also present in the horny teeth of the lamprey. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics identified proteins that share features with KRTAPs, such as high contents of cysteine and tyrosine residues, which support intermolecular interactions, and abundant glycine residues, which endow the proteins with flexibility. Genes encoding KRTAP-like proteins are arranged in a cluster in P. marinus, and the presence of at least one KRTAP-like protein is conserved in phylogenetically diverse species of lamprey, including Lampetra fluviatilis, Lethenteron reissneri, Geotria australis, and Mordacia mordax. The KRTAP-like genes of lampreys contain two exons, whereas mammalian KRTAPs have only a single exon. Although KRTAPs and KRTAP-like proteins are products of independent evolution, their common expression in cornified skin appendages suggests that they fulfill similar functions.fals
Exploring interrelationships between lifestyle and demographic factors associated with cognitive functioning in mid-to-older New Zealanders : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
No full textAs the population ages, concerns around age-related conditions such as dementia rise. Characterised by severe cognitive impairment and thus significant reductions in cognitive functioning, beginnings of dementia can present in midlife and cause considerable challenges such as reduced functionality. The aim of the present study was to better understand the factors affecting cognitive functioning to inform a preventative focus. The present cross-sectional study investigated relationships between socioeconomic status (represented by education, income, current occupational status, and a composite variable) and cognitive functioning (measured using the ‘Kiwi’ Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised). This was assessed alongside sex and lifestyle-based modifiable risk (measured using a short-form Lifestyle for Brain Health (LIBRA) index). Data was sourced from the 2010 New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NZLSA) cohort and included a subset of participants who had undertaken the voluntary cognitive assessments (N = 869, aged 48-75, 46.7% male, 26.4% Māori). Preliminary analyses (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney) indicated that lower education, lower income, non-employment, male sex, and higher LIBRA tertile (indicative of a less brain healthy lifestyle) were associated with lower cognitive functioning. However, hierarchical multiple regression modelling indicated that, once controlling for covariates, only higher educational attainment (B = 1.48, 95% CI = [1.16, 1.80], p < 0.001), female sex (B = 1.26, 95% CI = [0.62, 1.89], p < 0.001), and lower LIBRA scores (B = -0.53, 95% CI = [-0.84, -0.22], p < 0.001) (along with covariates of younger age and non-Māori ethnicity) remained independently related to higher cognitive functioning. While the main-effects model explained 19% of variance, interaction terms testing moderation between independent variables were insignificant and unable to improve model fit. Findings suggest independent variables of education, sex, and lifestyle-based modifiable risk (LIBRA scores) all predict cognitive functioning individually, but not interactively. Thus, suggesting parallel and independent pathways of influences. Strategies to increase brain health should therefore support targeted interventions that address each factor directly and independently for healthier cognitive functioning. Future studies incorporating longitudinal data that utilises the full 12 factor LIBRA scale may be able to reveal more nuanced interactions and identify those most vulnerable
Candidate gene search for milk production and composition, milk coagulation properties, and milk protein profile in dairy sheep from a New Zealand flock
No full textThe objective of this study was to perform genome-wide association analysis and thus search for candidate genes for milk production and composition, milk coagulation properties (MCP), and milk protein profile in dairy sheep from a New Zealand flock. After quality control, 45,801 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were included in the analysis, 147 ewes, and 470 individual records. A total of 87 SNPs and 55 candidate genes were found across Ovis aries autosomes (OAR) 2, 3, 6, 16, 18, 20, 25, and 26. Of particular importance, were the candidate genes PDZRN4 for milk yield, and BMP2K for contents of αs1- and αs2-caseins. No SNPs were found in the casein genes, LALBA or PAEP. Only one SNP was significant for MCP, and overall, the genetic architecture of MCP was similar to that of ratio of casein to calcium, pH, lactose, and the ratio of casein to protein. Further studies with larger flocks and with genomic imputation are required to validate the findings of this study before incorporating markers or genes into breeding programmes.fals