Assessment of a Novel Stress and Immune Gene Panel on the Development of Australasian Snapper () Larvae.

Background: Larvae development is a critical step in aquaculture, yet the development of immune and stress responses during this early phase of life is not well understood. Snapper is a species that has been selected as a candidate for aquaculture in New Zealand.

Methods: In this study we explore a set of 18 genes identified as potentially being involved in the stress and immune responses of snapper larvae during the first 30 days of development.

Refining the Allostatic Self-Efficacy Theory of Fatigue and Depression Using Causal Inference.

Allostatic self-efficacy (ASE) represents a computational theory of fatigue and depression. In brief, it postulates that (i) fatigue is a feeling state triggered by a metacognitive diagnosis of loss of control over bodily states (persistently elevated interoceptive surprise); and that (ii) generalization of low self-efficacy beliefs beyond bodily control induces depression. Here, we converted ASE theory into a structural causal model (SCM).

Differing Effects of Alcohol Use on Epigenetic and Brain Age in Adult Children of Parents with Alcohol Use Disorder.

Background: It is known that being the adult child of a parent with an alcohol use disorder (ACoA) can confer a wide variety of increased health and psychological risks, including higher rates of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Additionally, ACoAs are at greater risk of developing alcohol/substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs) than individuals from families without a history of AUDs.

Methods: ACoA individuals with risky hazardous alcohol use ( = 14) and those not engaged in hazardous use ( = 14) were compared to a group of healthy controls.

The Influence of Berry-Derived Polyphenol Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Health in Physically Active Individuals.

Numerous studies have documented that high-intensity or prolonged exercise is associated with increased oxidative stress and modification of antioxidant status. Polyphenol-rich dietary supplements seem to be the compounds that can upregulate the endogenous antioxidant defense system and consequently prevent muscle damage, support recovery. As berry fruits are at the top of the list of the richest polyphenol food sources, supplements containing berries have become the subject of interest in the context of counteracting exercise-induced oxidative stress and the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Genome-Wide In Silico Analysis of Microsatellite Loci in Rabbits.

This study aimed to characterize microsatellites in the rabbit genome using an in silico approach and to develop and validate microsatellite markers. Blood samples were collected from 15 Baladi rabbits and 18 New Zealand White (NZW rabbits). The GMATA software was used to define SSRs in the extracted sequences.

Surgeons' views on hypospadias care journey: A qualitative study.

Background: Three major parties are involved in the hypospadias treatment journey - the patient, their parents/carers, and the surgeon. There is a strong trend towards involving all three, where possible, in deriving evidence around the care pathways. Currently, there are little data available on surgeons' perspectives of distal hypospadias care.

Effect of human amniotic membrane on the consolidation during bone lengthening by distraction: Experimental study in rabbits.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the effect of implantation of fresh human amniotic membranes (HAM) on bone consolidation during distraction bone lengthening.

Methods: Ten New Zealand white rabbits were used in this study. For each rabbit, we performed a diaphyseal tibial osteotomy after installing a single-plane distraction external fixator.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the treatment of hypernatremia in adult hospitalized patients: impact on mortality, morbidity, and treatment-related side effects.

Background: Hypernatremia is relatively common in acutely ill patients and associated with mortality. Guidelines recommend a slow rate of correction (≤ 0.5 mmol/L per hour).

Redox-induced phosphorus release from critical source areas following rainfall events in New Zealand.

Critical source areas (CSAs) can act as a source of phosphorus (P) during intermittent rainfall events and contribute to dissolved P loss via runoff. Dissolved forms of P are readily accessible for plant and algal uptake; hence it is a concern in terms of the eutrophication of freshwater bodies. The potential of CSAs to release dissolved P to surface runoff upon intermittent short-term submergence caused by different rainfall events has not been studied at a field-scale in New Zealand previously.

Surface display and characterization of recombinant α-l-Rhamnosidase from Emiliania huxleyi on Pichia pastoris.

An α-l-Rhamnosidase gene with an open reading frame of 3192 bp encoding a 1036-amino acid protein (EhRha) was cloned from Emiliania huxleyi for flavonoid hydrolysis on the cell surface of Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) strain GS115 by fusing with the anchor protein (AGα1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry assays revealed that EhRha was successfully displayed on the cell surface of P.

Survey of foodborne pathogenic Vibrio species in commercial Tasmanian bivalve shellfish and predictors of risk at harvest.

There has been an increase in foodborne vibriosis outbreaks globally, with Vibrio parahaemolyticus emerging as a foodborne issue in temperate commercial shellfish growing regions, including southern Australia. The food safety concerns associated with these microorganisms have led to the need for specific guidance on potential risk management strategies for their control. This is the first Australian multi-seasonal survey of V.

Managing cardiovascular disease in pregnant people: Defining the pregnancy heart team.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for pregnant patients. A significant portion of cardiac morbidity and mortality is preventable and related to poor or delayed recognition of clinical warning signs and oversights in management. The establishment of pregnancy heart teams facilitates multidisciplinary planning to improve management of people with cardiovascular disease.

Meta-analyses of the effects of high-intensity interval training in elite athletes - part II: relationships between the mean effects on various performance measures.

Introduction: Our recent meta-analyses have demonstrated that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) causes a range of mean changes in various measures and predictors of endurance and sprint performance in athletes. Here, we extend the analyses to relationships between mean changes of these measures and consider implications for understanding and improving HIIT that were not apparent in the previous analyses.

Methods: The data were mean changes from HIIT with highly trained endurance and elite other (mainly team sport) athletes in studies where two or more measures or predictors of performance were available.

Model-based design of a pneumatic actuator for a dynamically reconfigurable socket for transtibial amputees.

In this work, a cost-effective, scalable pneumatic silicone actuator array is introduced, designed to dynamically conform to the user's skin and thereby alleviate localised pressure within a prosthetic socket. The appropriate constitutive models for developing a finite element representation of these actuators are systematically identified, parametrised, and validated. Employing this computational framework, the surface deformation fields induced by 270 variations in soft actuator array design parameters under realistic load conditions are examined, achieving predictive accuracies within 70 µm.

Intra-articular Injections of CXCR4-Overexpressing Human Cartilage-Derived Progenitor Cells Improve Meniscus Healing and Protect Against Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis in Immunocompetent Rabbits.

Background: Meniscal injuries that fail to heal instigate catabolic changes in the knee's microenvironment, posing a high risk for developing posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Previous research has suggested that human cartilage-derived progenitor cells (hCPCs) can stimulate meniscal repair in a manner that depends on stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) pathway activity.

Hypothesis: Overexpressing the SDF-1 receptor CXCR4 in hCPCs will increase cell trafficking and further improve the repair efficacy of meniscal injuries.

Effect of ketamine on anxiety: findings from the Ketamine for Adult Depression Study.

Background: Anxiety disorders and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) are often comorbid. Studies suggest ketamine has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties.

Aims: To investigate if subcutaneous racemic ketamine, delivered twice weekly for 4 weeks, reduces anxiety in people with TRD.

Paramedic assessment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to develop a comprehensive collection of information about the current processes for paramedics assessing and referring suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment.

Introduction: Patients with COVID-19 are frequently encountered by paramedics and ambulance service clinicians. Increased demand on ambulance services has resulted in many of these services developing alternative referral pathways to avoid unnecessary conveyance to emergency departments.

First Report of Postharvest Fruit Rot on Passion Fruit () caused by in the U.S.A.

The commercial production of passion fruit is geographically limited (California, Florida, and Hawaii), but the development of cold-tolerant varieties could expand it beyond warm-climate states (Stafne et.al. 2023).

Enhancement of anti-sarcoma immunity by NK cells engineered with mRNA for expression of a EphA2-targeted CAR.

Background: Paediatric sarcomas, including rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma, represent a group of malignancies that significantly contribute to cancer-related morbidity and mortality in children and young adults. These cancers share common challenges, including high rates of metastasis, recurrence or treatment resistance, leading to a 5-year survival rate of approximately 20% for patients with advanced disease stages. Despite the critical need, therapeutic advancements have been limited over the past three decades.

Reclaiming Indigenous systems of healing: experiences of disabled Māori of Māori-centric health service responses in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The impact of the pandemic on Indigenous and disabled people's access to healthcare has resulted in significant disruptions and has exacerbated longstanding inequitable healthcare service delivery. Research within Aotearoa New Zealand has demonstrated that there has been success in the provision of healthcare by Māori for their community; however, the experiences of tāngata whaikaha Māori, disabled Māori, have yet to be considered by researchers.

Methods: Underpinned by an empowerment theory and Kaupapa Māori methodology, this research explores the lived realities of tāngata whaikaha Māori or their primary caregivers.

The impact of a tailored nutrition intervention delivered for the duration of hospitalisation on daily energy delivery for patients with critical illness (INTENT): a phase II randomised controlled trial.

Background: Nutrition interventions commenced in ICU and continued through to hospital discharge have not been definitively tested in critical care to date. To commence a program of research, we aimed to determine if a tailored nutrition intervention delivered for the duration of hospitalisation delivers more energy than usual care to patients initially admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Methods: A multicentre, unblinded, parallel-group, phase II trial was conducted in twenty-two hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.

Commissioning health services for First Nations, regional, and remote populations: a scoping review.

Background: Commissioning for health services has been implemented as one approach to improve the quality and access to healthcare for First Nations, regional and remote populations. This review systematically scoped the literature for studies that described or evaluated the governance, funding, implementation and outcomes from health service commissioning targeting these groups in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States (CANZUS nations).

Methods: Seventeen databases were searched for relevant peer reviewed and grey literature studies published in English from 2010 to 2023.

NOMPC ion channel hinge forms a gating spring that initiates mechanosensation.

The sensation of mechanical stimuli is initiated by elastic gating springs that pull open mechanosensory transduction channels. Searches for gating springs have focused on force-conveying protein tethers such as the amino-terminal ankyrin tether of the Drosophila mechanosensory transduction channel NOMPC. Here, by combining protein domain duplications with mechanical measurements, electrophysiology, molecular dynamics simulations and modeling, we identify the NOMPC gating-spring as the short linker between the ankyrin tether and the channel gate.

Aberrant splicing in Huntington's disease accompanies disrupted TDP-43 activity and altered m6A RNA modification.

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the HTT gene, leading to altered gene expression. However, the mechanisms leading to disrupted RNA processing in HD remain unclear. Here we identify TDP-43 and the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) writer protein METTL3 to be upstream regulators of exon skipping in multiple HD systems.