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Microplastics in Macomona liliana: A Study of Bioaccumulation and Influencing Environmental Factors
No full textMicroplastic contamination in coastal ecosystems threatens benthic communities, yet quantitative tissue contamination data for ecologically important species remain scarce, particularly for endemic fauna in Southern Hemisphere coastal systems. This study addressed critical knowledge gaps by investigating microplastic presence, polymer composition, and environmental drivers of contamination in Macomona liliana, an endemic New Zealand bivalve that serves as both an ecosystem engineer and primary prey for protected shorebird populations. Field sampling across ten stations in Manukau Harbour examined spatial variation in contamination patterns. Specimens were analysed using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) for quantitative polymer identification, with the highest confidence in polypropylene measurements. Sediment characteristics were measured to assess potential drivers of tissue microplastic concentration patterns. Microplastic contamination was detected in all M. liliana specimens (n=57), with tissue concentrations ranging from 621.67 to 2353.60 μg/g dry weight. Polymer composition was dominated by polystyrene (49.4% by mass), followed by polyethylene terephthalate (38.0%), polyvinyl chloride (7.0%), and polypropylene (5.6%). Principal component analysis showed that sediment characteristics explained 81.3% variance in contamination patterns, indicating complex, multifactorial control mechanisms. This research provides the first quantitative assessment of microplastic tissue contamination in wild M. liliana populations, despite analytical challenges in biological matrices, and it establishes a foundation for mass-based analytical protocols for ongoing monitoring. These findings contribute essential baseline data for New Zealand coastal ecosystems with implications for protected species management
Targeted environmental enrichment is more effective than bipedal treadmill training after thoracic spinal cord injury
No full textRehabilitation is widely recognised as an essential component in evaluating the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention in animal models of translational spinal cord injury research. Ideally, the rehabilitation method used should be optimised for the specific injury model and severity to adequately compare the efficacy of the investigational therapy. For studies utilising thoracic spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation primarily involves bipedal or quadrupedal treadmill training aimed at restoring hindlimb function. Previously, we reported modest improvements to hindlimb motor recovery following forced bipedal treadmill training after moderate 175 kilodyne thoracic spinal cord contusion injury, which were further enhanced when combined with the microtubule-stabilizing drug epothilone B. However, during this and other studies we have noted that bipedal treadmill training presents several potential limitations, including brief periods of active rehabilitation for each animal, variability between animal handlers, animal stress, and the focus on a single movement pattern. To overcome these limitations, we investigated the effects of an environmental enrichment-based rehabilitation that differs from a general environment enrichment strategy by including task-specific training elements, something we have termed ‘targeted environmental enrichment’. This method provides longer periods of active rehabilitation, operates independently of the animal handler, thereby involves less animal handling, which minimizes stress, and encourages a wide range of movements. Our findings indicate that targeted environmental enrichment outperforms bipedal training across several behavioural measures which produced a ceiling effect that epothilone B could not overcome. Therefore, these results suggest that targeted environmental enrichment may be a more effective rehabilitation approach than bipedal treadmill training and should be considered for application in models of severe spinal cord injury
Managing PMDD with Psychedelic Microdosing: A Qualitative Inquiry into Women's Lived Experiences
No full textThis research is the first to explore the experiences of women microdosing with psychedelics specifically to manage Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). PMDD is a severe mood disorder characterized by emotional and physical symptoms that occur in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, significantly affecting the quality of life for those affected. Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic substances, when taken in microdoses, may alleviate the symptoms of mood disorders, but there is limited research specifically regarding PMDD.
This study involves in-depth interviews with 12 women who are currently or have previously microdosed with psychedelics as a way to manage their PMDD symptoms. The interviews aim to understand their motivations, experiences, perceived benefits, and potential challenges of microdosing. By analysing participants' narratives, this research seeks to shed light on the effectiveness of psychedelic microdosing as an alternative approach for managing PMDD, focusing on its impact on mood, overall well-being, and daily functioning.
The interview data were analysed following Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase approach to thematic analysis. This process resulted in the identification of seven key themes and 30 subthemes, covering two overarching areas: (1) the experience of living with PMDD and (2) the experience of utilizing microdosing as a management strategy. Participants described significant delays in PMDD diagnosis, with conventional treatments, such as antidepressants and contraceptives, frequently proving ineffective. Emotional instability, particularly irritability, was the most commonly reported symptom, followed by depression and anxiety, with over half of participants experiencing suicidal ideation.
Microdosing was described as alleviating depressive symptoms, eliminating suicidal thoughts, and improving emotional regulation by fostering active coping rather than directly reducing emotional instability. While most participants reported long-term and cumulative benefits, with one even describing themselves as "fully cured," physical symptoms showed little improvement. Negative effects were minimal.
The findings from this qualitative study aim to contribute to the growing body of literature on psychedelics and women's health, providing insight into whether microdosing could be considered a viable strategy for PMDD management
High in-vivo accuracy of a novel robotic-arm-assisted system for total knee arthroplasty
No full textPurposeRobotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been shown to improve the accuracy and precision of bony resections and implant position. However, the in vivo accuracy of the full surgical workflow has not been widely reported. The primary objective of this study is to determine the accuracy and precision of a robotic-arm-assisted system throughout the intraoperative workflow.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients who underwent primary TKA with various workflows and alignment targets by three arthroplasty-trained surgeons with previous experience using the ROSA® Knee System (Zimmer Biomet) over a 3-month follow-up period. Accuracy and precision were determined by measuring the difference between various workflow time points, including the final preoperative plan (PP), robot-validated (RV) resection angle and postoperative radiographs (PR). The absolute mean difference between the measurements determined accuracy, and the standard deviation represented precision. The lateral distal femoral angle, medial proximal tibial angle, femoral flexion angle and tibial slope were measured on postoperative coronal long-leg radiographs and true short-leg lateral radiographs.ResultsA total of 77 patients were included in the final analyses. The accuracy for the coronal femoral angle was 1.62 ± 1.11°, 0.75 ± 0.79° and 1.96 ± 1.29° for the differences between PP and PR, PP and RV and RV and PR. The tibial coronal accuracy was 1.44 ± 1.03°, 0.81 ± 0.67° and 1.57 ± 1.14° for PP/PR, PP/RV and RV/PR, respectively. Femoral flexion accuracy was 1.39 ± 1.05°, 0.83 ± 0.59° and 1.81 ± 1.21° for PP/PR, PP/RV and RV/PR, respectively. Tibial slope accuracy was 0.99 ± 0.72°, 1.19 ± 0.87° and 1.63 ± 1.11°, respectively. The proportion of patients within 3° was 93.2%, 95.3%, 97.3% and 94.6% for the distal femur, proximal tibia, femoral flexion and tibial slope angles when the final intraoperative plan was compared to PRs. No patients had a postoperative complication at the final follow-up.ConclusionsThe ROSA Knee System has acceptable accuracy and precision of coronal and sagittal plane resections with few outliers at various steps throughout the platform's entire workflow in vivo.Level of evidenceLevel III
Converting Waste Materials into High-performance Carbon-based Materials for Supercapacitors
No full textSupercapacitors offer high power density, rapid charge/discharge capabilities, and long life, making them ideal for applications that lithium-ion batteries cannot support. However, their development is hindered by high production costs and low energy density of traditional carbon materials. This study aims to address these challenges by using low-cost waste materials, disposable face masks and New Zealand forest slash, to develop high-performance, sustainable carbon materials for supercapacitor electrodes.
Initially, disposable masks are sulfurized with sulfuric acid, which increases carbon yield and maintains the fibrous structure, facilitating sulfur-doped carbon fiber synthesis. Higher carbonization temperatures improve graphitization, which enhances energy storage by reducing resistance and increasing ion diffusion. The best performance is achieved at 800℃, yielding a specific capacitance of 234 F·g-1 and energy density of 8.54 Wh·kg-1, with 96.8% capacitance retention after 15,000 cycles.
Masks were also used as templates for conducting hydrothermal reaction in soloution of glucose, ethanol, and PVP, then carbonized to produce various nanocarbon morphologies. When combined with NiCo2O4, these carbon materials reduced electrode resistance significantly, from 111 Ω to 26 Ω enhancing electrochemical performance.
The study also explored sulfurization methods for biomass slash, finding that both soaking in sulfuric acid and hydrothermal sulfurized treatment improved graphitization degree of slash derived carbon. Hydrothermally sulfurization treated slash achieved a high capacitance of 440 F·g-1 and energy density of 15.3 Wh·kg-1, with 94% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. This superior electrochemical performance is due to its more ordered structure.
In conclusion, disposable masks and biomass slash demonstrate strong potential as cost-effective, eco-friendly precursors for supercapacitor electrode materials, paving the way for sustainable energy storage solutions
Making tourism geographies: a tribute to Alan A. Lew’s lifework
No full textThis collection of responses to Alan Lew’s 2024 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting Special Lecture in Honolulu, Hawai’i, Why Travel? (Lew, 2024), reflects his enduring influence on the field of tourism geographies and its growth as a vibrant community of practice
pyRforest: a comprehensive R package for genomic data analysis featuring scikit-learn Random Forests in R
No full textRandom Forest models are widely used in genomic data analysis and can offer insights into complex biological mechanisms, particularly when features influence the target in interactive, nonlinear, or nonadditive ways. Currently, some of the most efficient Random Forest methods in terms of computational speed are implemented in Python. However, many biologists use R for genomic data analysis, as R offers a unified platform for performing additional statistical analysis and visualization. Here, we present an R package, pyRforest, which integrates Python scikit-learn "RandomForestClassifier" algorithms into the R environment. pyRforest inherits the efficient memory management and parallelization of Python, and is optimized for classification tasks on large genomic datasets, such as those from RNA-seq. pyRforest offers several additional capabilities, including a novel rank-based permutation method for biomarker identification. This method can be used to estimate and visualize P-values for individual features, allowing the researcher to identify a subset of features for which there is robust statistical evidence of an effect. In addition, pyRforest includes methods for the calculation and visualization of SHapley Additive exPlanations values. Finally, pyRforest includes support for comprehensive downstream analysis for gene ontology and pathway enrichment. pyRforest thus improves the implementation and interpretability of Random Forest models for genomic data analysis by merging the strengths of Python with R. pyRforest can be downloaded at: https://www.github.com/tkolisnik/pyRforest with an associated vignette at https://github.com/tkolisnik/pyRforest/blob/main/vignettes/pyRforest-vignette.pdf
Understanding Mechanism of Type 2 Diabetes Protection of CREBRF R457Q Variant
No full textThe CREBRF R457Q variant, found in Māori and Pacific populations, is associated with a 50% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes despite being associated with higher BMI. While CREBRF is thought to play a role in energy balance and autophagy control, its role in cellular nutritional stress adaptation and the variant's protective mechanism remains unknown, highlighting a critical knowledge gap. We aimed to investigate how the Crebrf R457Q variant regulates gene expression and autophagy activation in vitro under nutritional stress. To do this, we used mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) cells from our transgenic mouse line that carries the orthologous variant in the Crebrf gene. Cells were originally isolated from wild-type (WT) and homozygous variant carrying (KI) embryos, and a second aim of the study was to develop a method to immortalise these cell lines as they are a vital research tool for studying this variant.
Cell immortalisation was achieved through long-term (25 passages) culture in 3% oxygen (hypoxic) conditions. Crebrf and Creb3 gene expression was measured using qPCR to characterise the response to hypoxia, reoxygenation, and immortalisation. Hypoxia increased Crebrf gene expression in both genotypes; however, the responses in KI cells were muted. Immortalised cells were subjected to nutrient stress treatments as well as rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor) and Brefeldin A (Golgi stress inducer). Autophagy markers LC3-II/I, p62, and phosphorylation of ULK1 at Ser555 and Ser757 were examined using western blotting. Under nutritional stress, WT MEFs activated autophagy early, as seen by higher LC3-II/I ratios and lower ULK1 Ser757 phosphorylation, but KI MEFs responded slowly or bluntly, with minor ULK1 alterations and p62 accumulation under starvation. At 6 hours, serum-free treatment significantly raised Crebrf expression in WT MEFs, while KI showed no significant trend, and Creb3 remained steady across nutritional stress treatments.
These findings indicate that the Crebrf variant alters oxygen- and nutrient-sensitive pathways, modifying autophagy activation kinetics, which could explain its protective metabolic advantages. By understanding this mechanism, targeted medicines that mimic the benefits of the variant in those who lack it could be developed, promoting metabolic health equity for Pacific and Māori populations
Our stories begin with the trees
No full textThe legislative framework for conservation in Aotearoa, New
Zealand, has resulted in a dualistic land pattern of protectedunprotected,
where ecologically destructive activity can occur
adjacent to conservation land. The national park, Te Papakura o
Taranaki, exemplifies this land pattern, where on one side of the
fence, there is intact native forest, while on the other pastureland
dominates. The division poses significant conservation challenges
as ecosystems extend beyond park boundaries. Recognising the
limitations of legislative measures, Geoff Park advocates for a
‘Middle Landscape’ – a condition that equally supports people and
indigenous ecology. Achieving a ‘middle landscape’ will require
collective action not limited to protecting natural heritage but also
concerns how New Zealanders connect with and define their shared
landscape values. Guided by the word ‘pūrākau’ (story), built upon
the word ‘rākau’ (tree), this thesis examines how architecture can
support landscape conservation by connecting the cultural and
natural heritage values of Taranaki Maunga.
To investigate these connections, pūrākau were examined to
understand the cultural values of Taranaki Maunga, leading to the
development of a relational drawing practice. When applied within
Te Papakura o Taranaki, the drawing practice revealed insights into
the connection between culture, nature and architecture, informing
the design propositions. Alterations are then proposed to four
existing huts within the national park, with their spatial strategies
are synthesised to form the fifth proposal - a design protocol for
new hut construction. The interventions seek to heighten visitors’
awareness of the landscape’s cultural and natural heritage values,
fostering a greater appreciation for our indigenous landscapes.
By shifting landscape perceptions, architecture can encourage
the collective conservation efforts needed beyond national park
boundaries
Organisations that promote eco-human flourishing
No full textIncreasing emphasis on the interrelatedness of ecological sustainability and human wellbeing (eco-human flourishing) is evident in global initiatives such as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, initiatives that give greater attention to Indigenous worldviews, and expanding notions of wellbeing in psychology. Our literature search on organisations that promote eco-human flourishing resulted in thirty relevant articles in 2023 or 2024. Organisations were either attempting or achieving eco-human flourishing through green infrastructure, green spaces, nature-based interventions, nature-integrated experiences, ecologically focused business operation models, transformational leadership, and curriculum (in the case of higher education). We offer two reasons for optimism that integrated eco-human flourishing goals will become more normalised among organisations in the near future - one, such integration appeals to the younger generation and two, the increasing scholarship on reciprocal human-nature relationships