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Ecology of gene expression.
No full textThe fundamental importance of the expression of genes has long been recognised in biology, but understanding its role in ecology and evolution has only recently begun to gain traction. This Special Issue highlights recent developments in this field, with 43 papers focusing on transcriptional variation in ecological processes, responses to environmental gradients or stressors, and as an important phenotype affecting other measurable traits, including fitness.
This issue also highlights the rapid advancements in methods that will continue to improve our understanding of this molecular phenotype. In this Editorial, we highlight the diversity of authors in these papers and how they contribute to an improved understanding of molecular ecology. We hope that this discussion will inspire and drive progress towards equity, diversity and inclusion in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Finally, we suggest some recommendations for Molecular Ecologists to advance the research area of ecology of gene expression
’Erosion’ of the rule of law in a taxation context: reflections on recent New Zealand experience
No full textThe rule of law is a fundamental principle upon which law-making and governing are founded and is
the cornerstone of a civilised society. At its heart, is the notion that the power of the Executive is
exercised according to an independent judicial system, with that power being restricted by the law that
has been enacted by the Legislature (enhanced when this is a democratically elected body which is
answerable to the public). The rule of law is fundamental to the development and administration of a
nation’s tax laws, to prevent taxpayers being subject to arbitrary action by the government. This chapter
uses a case study approach to explore the ‘erosion’ of the rule of law in a taxation context in New
Zealand, particularly in the lead up to, during, and post the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a ‘thick’
perspective, the evaluation sheds light on the risks that may arise to the operation of the rule of law in
times when a government ‘sets aside’ or shortcuts long-established practices in developing and
implementing tax policy and legislation. These actions also facilitate a decline in trust by the general
populace in the government, their ability to understand and apply the law to their situations (along with
associated levels of tax compliance), as well as their expectations that the rule of law applies to all
Evaluating the efficacy of post-emergence herbicides on liverwort in a container nursery.
No full textLiverworts are problematic weeds in container nurseries that form a mat on the container
surface and competes with the crop tree for water, nutrients and space. This creates growth
variability within a crop and decreases the overall quality of containerised seedling stock.
A herbicide dosage trial tested the post emergence control efficacy of 5 herbicides on
liverwort. Two contact herbicides, pelargonic acid and benzalkonium chloride, and three
residual herbicides, flumioxazin, oxyfluorfen and valzine (mixture of terbuthylazine and
hexazinone) were tested at 4 concentrations to determine the lowest effective concentration
of each.
Eighty-four trays were inoculated with liverwort fragments and left to grow for 9 weeks
before treatment. Trays were imaged at 7 timepoints, beginning the day before chemical
application and concluding 8 weeks after treatment. This produced 588 images for analysis.
An excess green vegetation index was used to calculate the liverwort coverage for each tray
image.
The contact herbicides, pelargonic acid and benzalkonium chloride, provided fast knock
down reducing liverwort coverage to below 10% in the first week after treatment at
concentrations above 52.5 and 10 kg ai ha-1, respectively. Regrowth began for both
herbicides 2-4 weeks after treatment, limiting their long-term effectiveness for nursery
growers. The residual herbicides, flumioxazin and valzine, reduced liverwort coverage to
below 10% at concentrations above 0.1 and 2 kg ai ha⁻¹, respectively. Oxyfluorfen provided
partial liverwort control reducing liverwort coverage to below 40% at concentrations above
0.25 kg ai ha⁻¹ at week 8. Negligible regrowth was observed in the residual treatments
suggesting long term liverwort suppression.
Other studies looking at plant tolerances for each of the tested chemicals found a higher risk
of applying contact herbicides than residual chemicals on young crops. This makes the
residual chemicals a safer option for nursery growers, although further plant tolerance
testing on New Zealand forestry species is required before implementation of the herbicides
at scale
A principled review of the major property taxes and associated provisions in New Zealand
No full textThis thesis examines the major land taxes and related provisions using the accepted system of taxation review outlined by the TWG as the mechanism of analysis.
The TWG principles are:
Efficiency – taxes should be efficient and minimise impediments to economic growth i.e. the tax system should avoid unnecessarily distorting the use of resources.
Equity and fairness – achieving fairness, including through enhancements to ‘horizontal equity’ (the principle that people with similar income and assets should pay the same amount in taxes) and ‘vertical equity’ (the principle that those with higher income or assets should pay higher amounts of tax). Procedural fairness is also important for a tax system.
Revenue integrity – the tax system should be sustainable over time and minimise opportunities for tax avoidance and provide a sustainable revenue base for the Government.
Fiscal adequacy – the tax should raise sufficient revenue for the Government’s
requirements.
Compliance and administration costs – the tax system should seek to minimise the costs of compliance and administration and give taxpayers as much certainty as possible.
Coherence – individual reform options should make sense in the context of the entire tax system. While a measure may be acceptable in isolation, coherence considers what is the impact on the tax system as a whole
Predictability/Certainty - taxpayers should be able to understand clearly what their obligations are before those obligations arise.
The property taxes or property related provisions to be analysed are:
• the Property Speculation Tax 1973 - 1979
• the property taxing provisions currently contained in section CB 6 of the Income Tax Act 2007 and its predecessors.
• the Brightline Property Test first introduced in 2015 and the subsequent amendments
• the Residential Loss Ringfencing provisions
• the Interest Deductibility changes of 2022.
New Zealand tax policy development has operated with a Generic Tax Policy Process (GTPP) since 1994. The purpose of this process is to generally ensure high quality tax policy development through prompt analysis of key elements of the policy to assess trade- offs of proposals, such as their revenue impact, compliance and administrative costs, and economic and social objectives. A critical aspect of the process is the inclusion of external feedback consultation particularly by tax specialists with a corresponding feedback mechanism into the policy development process. Public comment is obtained at various junctures throughout.
As Inland Revenue (the Department) states “Consultation throughout the policy process contributes to greater transparency of policymaking, allowing the Government to set out the policy objectives of proposals and the trade-offs it has made in developing them. The process therefore helps the public to understand the rationale behind Government policy proposals”. i
As part of the appraisal process of each tax or related provision the impact of the GTPP will be highlighted to ascertain the benefits of this approach for developing tax policy
Risk-oriented design of base-isolated buildings in New Zealand.
No full textThis thesis evaluates the performance of base-isolated buildings designed using the recently released Guideline for the Design of Seismic Isolation Systems for Buildings. Through the design of case study buildings, key design decisions and criteria that may influence building performance are identified. The case studies include buildings with different superstructure typologies (steel MRF and RC walls), isolation systems (lead rubber bearings and double curved friction sliders), and seismic zones (Wellington and Christchurch). Three-dimensional numerical models are developed and subjected to bi-directional non-linear time history analyses. Building performance is assessed using the FEMA P-58 framework in terms of structural response, collapse risk, and monetary loss. Results indicate that the base-isolated buildings designed using the NZSEE guideline have significantly lower storey drift, floor acceleration, and expected annual loss compared to fixed-base buildings, although their annual rates of collapse are similar. The influence of several design parameters is also investigated. Findings suggest that higher superstructure inelastic spectral scaling factor (e.g. design ductility) can worsen performance, but this can be mitigated by imposing a 0.5% drift limit at the damage control limit state. Increasing the building importance level reduces both collapse risk and expected losses, provided that non-structural elements are designed accordingly.
The design process of base-isolated buildings can be iterative depending on the initial assumptions. The design also needs to be verified using the nominal, lower-bound, and upper-bound properties. This study proposes a simplified, risk-oriented design framework to streamline the design process. The framework targets design objectives such as isolation displacement and peak floor acceleration, directly incorporates isolator property variability, introduces a reliability factor to account for displacement capacity uncertainty, and provides equations for rapid isolator dimension estimation. The proposed method offers improved and more consistent collapse performance across different isolation systems, enabling more efficient and risk-informed designs
Large-Scale Pseudotsunami Testing of Novel Bridge Deck-to-Pier Connections
No full textField assessments conducted following the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku tsunami events identified a common failure mode of bridges: washout of the superstructure in the tsunami flow. This damage was consistent with large forces and overturning moments acting on the bridge deck, highlighting the vulnerability of bridges to tsunami actions. This paper proposes and experimentally tests a novel deck-to-pier connection to mitigate this failure mode. The connection features replaceable bars, which are designed to provide uplift and rotation capacity to the structure. Implementing the connection aims to delay superstructure washout and minimise damage to the bridge, reducing downtime and repair costs following a tsunami event. A one-third scale bridge deck, pier, and connection were experimentally tested to validate the structure and connection response under typical tsunami actions. Two loading cases were investigated: uplift only and combined uplift and lateral loading, with the uplift actions applied offset from the bridge centreline to simulate deck rotation. Experimental results demonstrated that this connection can (i) significantly increase the bridge’s uplift and rotation capacity, (ii) delay the washout failure of the superstructure, (iii) provide additional energy dissipation, (iv) provide self-centering capacity, and (v) minimise repair time and cost by concentrating damage in the connection. Furthermore, the results highlighted the need for a shear key to limit the shear forces induced on the bars. This
connection utilises readily available corrosion-resistant materials and conventional construction techniques, enabling the design of this connection to be adapted to a wide range of bridge geometries and configurations. As such, it provides a practical and cost-effective solution to improve bridge resilience to tsunami actions
Navigating mate huka : understanding experiences of care delivery and accessing diabetes technology for whānau Māori.
No full textDespite a long-standing history of engaging with technologies to navigate complex health challenges, significant inequities to accessing technology-enabled diabetes care fall unevenly on Māori, the Indigenous People of Aotearoa (New Zealand). While technology-enabled care may also address longstanding disparities in diabetes outcomes for Māori patients, there is limited understanding of the experiences of whānau Māori and healthcare professionals accessing and delivering these types of technologies. This study uses a kaupapa Māori research approach to understand the experiences of 21 whānau Māori and health professionals in accessing technology-enabled diabetes care and to consider the cultural contexts that influence greater adoption and health outcomes. Six themes were generated and conceptualised from the data using a reflexive thematic analysis approach including, (1) Ngā Hononga (Connections), (2) Methods and Tikanga (cultural protocols), (3) Impacts of Colonisation, (4) Akoranga (circumstances of learning), (5) Hinengaro Auaha (an innovative mind), (6) Mana Motuhake (self-determination). The study showed that the beneficial functions of technology-enabled care often extend beyond blood glucose management and insulin infusion to enhance Māori health by strengthening self-determination, connections with whānau (extended family), and diabetes-related knowledge and management. However, technology adoption requires careful consideration of social determinants of health, culturally relevant and appropriate learning environments, and recognition of people’s beliefs and attitudes to improve accessibility. The findings highlight various recommendations for building the capacity of health professionals and whānau to engage meaningfully with technology-enabled care and reduce the overall barriers to adoption
Exploring the nature of family harm violence perpetrated by young people in Aotearoa New Zealand.
No full textThis study explores the rising issue of family harm (FH) incidents perpetrated by children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Using data from the Waikato and Christchurch Integrated Safety Response interventions, the research focuses on individuals aged 25 years or younger identified as aggressors in FH police callouts during February and March 2022. The analysis examines the development of these characteristics across different age groups, the nature of relationships between victims and perpetrators, and the likelihood of recidivism.
Key findings show that male offenders are more prevalent across all age groups, while female victims are more common. Most offenders fall within the 19–25-year-old category, suggesting that older young people are more likely to commit family violence compared to minors. The types of harm remain consistent across age groups, with no significant variation in the nature of the violence as offenders age.
Substance involvement is notably higher among older age groups, with alcohol frequently implicated in these incidents. Mutual participant harm is less common among younger and intermediate age groups, but as relationship dynamics evolve, become more prevalent in older young people. Recidivism analysis reveals that 19–25-year-olds have a higher likelihood of reoffence compared to younger groups.
This research provides a deeper understanding of the drivers of youth-perpetrated FH, informing efforts for targeted rehabilitation and therapeutic services, to reduce such violence
Identifying long-term conditions in New Zealand general practice using structured and unstructured data: a cross-sectional study
No full textObjectivesThis study examined whether incorporating free-text entries into structured general practice records improves the detection of long-term conditions (LTCs) and multimorbidity (MM) in New Zealand (NZ) general practices.MethodsData from 374 071 deidentified individuals in general practices were analysed to identify 61 LTCs. Structured data were extracted using Read codes from a national master list, and clinical raters independently identified condition-related free-text, including synonyms, negation terms and common misspellings in randomised samples. Keywords were categorised and refined through ten iterative tests. Programmatic text classification was developed and assessed against gold-standard clinician ratings, using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and F1-score.ResultsA quarter of general practitioner classifications contained either unrecognised Read codes or consisted of free-text only. Clinician inter-rater reliability was high (kappa ≥0.9). Compared with clinical gold standard, text classification yielded an average sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 99% and PPV of 95%, with an F1-score range of 82%–95%. Incorporating free text increased LTC prevalence from 42.1% to 46.3%, reducing misclassification of MM diagnoses by identifying 12 626 additional patients with MM and 15 972 additional patients with at least one LTC.DiscussionIn the course of workflow, general practitioners face barriers to accurate LTC coding or may simply annotate with text-based descriptions. Programmatic text classification has demonstrated high performance and identified many more patients receiving LTC care.ConclusionsCombining structured and unstructured data optimises MM detection in NZ general practices and has the potential to improve case management, follow-up care and allocation of healthcare resources.</jats:sec
Adelic Mordell-Lang and the Brauer-Manin obstruction.
No full textLet X be a closed subvariety of an abelian variety A over a global function f ield k such that the base change of A to an algebraic closure does not have any positive dimensional isotrivial quotient. We prove that every adelic point on X which is the limit of a sequence of k-rational points on A is a limit of k-rational points on X. Assuming finiteness of the Tate-Shafarevich group of A, this implies that the rational points on X are dense in the Brauer set of X. Similar results are obtained over totally imaginary number fields, conditionally on an adelic Mordell-Lang conjecture