The potential of a population register for addressing health inequities: an observational study using data linkage to improve breast cancer screening enrolment and participation in Indigenous Māori women in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Background: Breast cancer screening in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) still has persistent inequitable coverage by ethnicity, especially for Indigenous Māori women. This project aimed to undertake systematic data linkage to identify and invite eligible Māori women to participate in breast screening.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted in Northern New Zealand between 1/01/2020 and 30/06/2021.

Machine learning with multiple modalities of brain magnetic resonance imaging data to identify the presence of bipolar disorder.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric mood disorder that is solely diagnosed based on clinical symptoms. These symptoms often overlap with other psychiatric disorders. Efforts to use machine learning (ML) to create predictive models for BD based on data from brain imaging are expanding but have often been limited using only a single modality and the exclusion of the cerebellum, which may be relevant in BD.

Impact of soil density on biomineralization using EICP and MICP techniques for earthen sites consolidation.

Enzyme-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (EICP) and microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) techniques represent emerging trends in soil stabilization. However, the impact of soil density on biomineralization, particularly in historical earthen sites, remains unclear. This study compares the consolidation effects of EICP and MICP on cylindrical samples (10 cm × 5 cm) with three densities (1.

A toolkit for capturing a representative and equitable sample in health research.

Research participants often do not represent the general population. Systematic exclusion of particular groups from research limits the generalizability of research findings and perpetuates health inequalities. Groups considered underserved by research include those whose inclusion is lower than expected based on population estimates, those with a high healthcare burden but limited research participation opportunities and those whose healthcare engagement is less than others.

Supra-second interval timing in bipolar disorder: examining the role of disorder sub-type, mood, and medication status.

Background: Widely reported by bipolar disorder (BD) patients, cognitive symptoms, including deficits in executive function, memory, attention, and timing are under-studied. Work suggests that individuals with BD show impairments in interval timing tasks, including supra-second, sub-second, and implicit motor timing compared to the neuronormative population. However, how time perception differs within individuals with BD based on disorder sub-type (BDI vs II), depressed mood, or antipsychotic medication-use has not been thoroughly investigated.

Cerebellar morphological differences and associations with extrinsic factors in bipolar disorder type I.

Background: The neural underpinnings of bipolar disorder (BD) remain poorly understood. The cerebellum is ideally positioned to modulate emotional regulation circuitry yet has been understudied in BD. Literature suggests differences in cerebellar activity and metabolism in BD, however findings on structural differences remain contradictory.

Supra-second interval timing in bipolar disorder: examining the role of disorder sub-type, mood, and medication status.

: Widely reported by bipolar disorder (BD) patients, cognitive symptoms, including deficits in executive function, memory, attention, and timing are under-studied. Work suggests that individuals with BD show impairments in interval timing tasks, including supra-second, sub-second, and implicit motor timing compared to the neuronormative population. However, how time perception differs within individuals with BD based on BD sub-type (BDI vs II), mood, or antipsychotic medication-use has not been thoroughly investigated.

Functional connectivity of the cerebellar vermis in bipolar disorder and associations with mood.

Purpose: Studies of the neural underpinnings of bipolar type I disorder have focused on the emotional control network. However, there is also growing evidence for cerebellar involvement, including abnormal structure, function, and metabolism. Here, we sought to assess functional connectivity of the cerebellar vermis with the cerebrum in bipolar disorder and to assess whether connectivity might depend on mood.

Functional Connectivity of the Cerebellar Vermis in Bipolar Disorder and Associations with Mood.

Purpose: Studies of the neural underpinnings of bipolar type I disorder have focused on the emotional control network. However, there is also growing evidence for cerebellar involvement, including abnormal structure, function, and metabolism. Here, we sought to assess functional connectivity of the cerebellum with the cerebrum in bipolar disorder and to assess whether any effects might depend on mood.

A service evaluation to explore Māori experiences of direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aims: Hepatitis C, and its associated life-limiting sequalae, disproportionately affect Māori. Despite availability of fully funded effective and well-tolerated oral direct-acting anti-viral agents (DAA), many in New Zealand remain untreated. This service evaluation aimed to explore the experiences of Māori who have received DAA treatment for hepatitis C, and their ideas for service improvement.

Association between polarity of first episode and solar insolation in bipolar I disorder.

Objective: Circadian rhythm disruption is commonly observed in bipolar disorder (BD). Daylight is the most powerful signal to entrain the human circadian clock system. This exploratory study investigated if solar insolation at the onset location was associated with the polarity of the first episode of BD I.

Moisture content and material density affects severity of frost damage in earthen heritage.

Successful conservation of earthen heritage requires an understanding of interactions between environmental and climatic conditions, soil-based materials and human interventions. Frost cycling is likely to be an important contributor to the deterioration of earthen heritage, with frost damage known to cause deterioration features such as flaking and granular disintegration. However, it is not clear how important a contribution frost cycling makes in comparison with other agents.

Metabolic abnormalities in the basal ganglia and cerebellum in bipolar disorder: A multi-modal MR study.

Aims: Bipolar type I disorder (BD) is characterized by severe mood swings and occurs in about 1% of the population. The mechanisms underlying the disorder remain unknown. Prior studies have suggested abnormalities in brain metabolism using H and P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

"If It Goes Horribly Wrong the Whole World Descends on You": The Influence of Fear, Vulnerability, and Powerlessness on Police Officers' Response to Victims of Head Injury in Domestic Violence.

Domestic violence (DV) victims face significant barriers to accessing healthcare. This is particularly concerning in cases of brain injury (BI), which is difficult to diagnose and risks severe long-term consequences for DV victims. Police may be able to identify head injury (HI) and signpost victims to healthcare.

Deterioration risk of dryland earthen heritage sites facing future climatic uncertainty.

Uncertainties over future climatic conditions pose significant challenges when selecting appropriate conservation strategies for heritage sites. Choosing effective strategies is especially important for earthen heritage sites located in dryland regions, as many are experiencing rapid environmentally-driven deterioration. We use a newly developed cellular automaton model (ViSTA-HD), to evaluate the environmental deterioration risk, over a 100-year period, under a range of potential climate and conservation scenarios.

Depression and anxiety among postpartum and adoptive mothers.

Similar to biological mothers during the postpartum period, women who adopt children experience increased stress and life changes that may put them at risk for developing depression and anxiety. The purpose of the current study was to compare levels of depression and anxiety symptoms between postpartum and adoptive women and, among adoptive women, to examine associations between specific stressors and depressive symptoms. Data from adoptive mothers (n = 147), recruited from Holt International, were compared to existing data from postpartum women (n = 147).