436 results match your criteria: "School of Fundamental Sciences.[Affiliation]"

Poor water solubility and low bioavailability of hydrophobic flavonoids such as rutin remain as substantial challenges to their oral delivery via functional foods. In this study, the effect of pH and the addition of a protein (sodium caseinate; NaCas) on the aqueous solubility and stability of rutin was studied, from which an efficient delivery system for the incorporation of rutin into functional food products was developed. The aqueous solubility, chemical stability, crystallinity, and morphology of rutin (0.

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Osteoporosis is a significant public health issue around the world, with post-menopausal osteoporosis due to estrogen deficiency resulting in approximately ¾ of cases. In this study, 18 aged Merino ewes were ovariectomized, and 10 were controls. Three of the ovariectomized ewes were treated weekly with 400 mg of methylprednisolone for 5 months and three were treated weekly for 2 months, followed by a 3-month recovery period.

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Self-assembly of non-macrocyclic triangular NiLn clusters.

Dalton Trans

January 2022

School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

The synthesis and structural characterisation of four new heterometallic tetranuclear complexes is reported. Three LNiLn type complexes, where Ln = La (C1), Eu (C2), and Gd (C3), have been fully characterised including DC and AC magnetic measurements. A fourth complex featuring a diamagnetic Ba ion at its centre is also reported with structural characterisation.

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CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and rapid detection of gene-edited mutants using high-resolution melting in the apple scab fungus, Venturia inaequalis.

Fungal Biol

January 2022

Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand; The New Zealand Bio-Protection Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand. Electronic address:

Apple scab, caused by the fungal pathogen Venturia inaequalis, is the most economically important disease of apple (Malus x domestica) worldwide. To develop durable control strategies against this disease, a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying the growth, reproduction, virulence and pathogenicity of V. inaequalis is required.

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Lack of diversity in human genomics limits our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of complex traits, hinders precision medicine, and contributes to health disparities. To map genetic effects on gene regulation in the underrepresented Indonesian population, we have integrated genotype, gene expression, and CpG methylation data from 115 participants across three island populations that capture the major sources of genomic diversity in the region. In a comparison with European datasets, we identify eQTLs shared between Indonesia and Europe as well as population-specific eQTLs that exhibit differences in allele frequencies and/or overall expression levels between populations.

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Pyroclastic surges are lethal hazards from volcanoes that exhibit enormous destructiveness through dynamic pressures of 10-10 kPa inside flows capable of obliterating reinforced buildings. However, to date, there are no measurements inside these currents to quantify the dynamics of this important hazard process. Here we show, through large-scale experiments and the first field measurement of pressure inside pyroclastic surges, that dynamic pressure energy is mostly carried by large-scale coherent turbulent structures and gravity waves.

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Changes in the properties of membrane tethers in response to HP1α depletion in MCF7 cells.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun

January 2022

School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand. Electronic address:

Plasma membrane tension is known to regulate many cell functions, such as motility and membrane trafficking. Membrane tether pulling is an effective method for measuring the apparent membrane tension of cells and exploring membrane-cytoskeleton interactions. In this article, the mechanical properties of HP1α-depleted MCF7 breast cancer cells are explored in comparison to controls, by pulling membrane tethers using optical tweezers.

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, , , and are later synonyms of : transfer of , , '', and '' to as comb. nov., comb. nov., comb. nov. and comb. nov.

Int J Syst Evol Microbiol

November 2021

Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.

This paper re-examines the taxonomic positions of recently described ( and ), ('), ('') and (, ) species, and other species proposed to represent novel genera highly related to the genus . Phylogenomic and several overall genome relatedness indices (OGRIs) were applied to a total of 118 representative genomes for this purpose. Phylogenomic analyses demonstrated the clade to be distinct from other , clearly defined and containing closely related species.

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Widespread introgression across a phylogeny of 155 Drosophila genomes.

Curr Biol

January 2022

Molecular Ecology & Evolution Group, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DGA, UK. Electronic address:

Genome-scale sequence data have invigorated the study of hybridization and introgression, particularly in animals. However, outside of a few notable cases, we lack systematic tests for introgression at a larger phylogenetic scale across entire clades. Here, we leverage 155 genome assemblies from 149 species to generate a fossil-calibrated phylogeny and conduct multilocus tests for introgression across 9 monophyletic radiations within the genus Drosophila.

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We report the synthesis and crystal structure of the first quinolino[7,8-]quinoline beryllium(II) complex of the general formula [BeL2(MeCN)Br]Br·MeCN, containing the ligand 4,9-dihydroxyquinolino[7,8-]quinoline (L2). The Be(II) cation is a great size match for the dinitrogen binding pocket of the quinolino[7,8-]quinoline ligand as indicated by minimal out-of-plane displacement and ligand distortion parameters.

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Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have gained increasing attention in various biomedical and industrial sectors due to their physicochemical and magnetic properties. In the biomedical field, IONPs are being developed for enzyme/protein immobilization, magnetofection, cell labeling, DNA detection, and tissue engineering. However, in some established areas, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic drug targeting (MDT), magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH), immunomagnetic separation (IMS), and magnetic particle imaging (MPI), IONPs have crossed from the research bench, received clinical approval, and have been commercialized.

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Epichloe fungi are endophytes of cool season grasses, both wild species and commercial cultivars, where they may exhibit mutualistic or pathogenic lifestyles. The Epichloe-grass symbiosis is of great interest to agricultural research for the fungal bioprotective properties conferred to host grasses but also serves as an ideal system to study the evolution of fungal plant-pathogens in natural environments. Here, we assembled and annotated gapless chromosome-level genomes of two pathogenic Epichloe sibling species.

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The study of coastal processes is critical for the protection and development of beach amenities, infrastructure, and properties. Many studies of beach evolution rely on data collected using remote sensing and show that beach evolution can be characterized by a finite number of "beach states". However, due to practical constraints, long-term data displaying all beach states are rare.

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Transcriptome-Wide Gene Expression Plasticity in in Response to Grazing Intensity Differences.

Int J Mol Sci

November 2021

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China.

Organisms have evolved effective and distinct adaptive strategies to survive. is a representative species for studying the grazing effect on typical steppe plants in the Inner Mongolia Plateau. Although phenotypic (morphological and physiological) variations in in response to long-term grazing have been identified, the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptations and plastic responses remain largely unknown.

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The Ff family of filamentous bacteriophages infect gram-negative bacteria, but do not cause lysis of their host cell. Instead, new virions are extruded via the phage-encoded pIV protein, which has homology with bacterial secretins. Here, we determine the structure of pIV from the f1 filamentous bacteriophage at 2.

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Peripheral astral microtubules ensure asymmetric furrow positioning in neural stem cells.

Cell Rep

October 2021

Univ Rennes, CNRS, IGDR (Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes) - UMR17 6290, 35000 Rennes, France. Electronic address:

Neuroblast division is characterized by asymmetric positioning of the cleavage furrow, resulting in a large difference in size between the future daughter cells. In animal cells, furrow placement and assembly are governed by centralspindlin that accumulates at the equatorial cell cortex of the future cleavage site and at the spindle midzone. In neuroblasts, these two centralspindlin populations are spatially and temporally separated.

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Risk Factors for Hospitalisation amongst Leptospirosis Patients in New Zealand.

Trop Med Infect Dis

October 2021

Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, Hopkirk Research Institute, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand.

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions such as Oceania, which includes New Zealand. The incidence rate of leptospirosis in New Zealand remains high in comparison to other high-income countries, with over half of the notified patients hospitalised, and the factors associated with hospitalisation are poorly understood. This study aimed to estimate the risk factors for hospitalisation amongst leptospirosis patients using passive surveillance data: notifications from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2017 extracted from New Zealand's notifiable disease database.

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This experiment compared secondary hair follicles (SFs) in Tibetan cashmere goats from two different steppes that were at different altitudes and had different temperatures. Twenty-four 2-year-old goats were studied. Twelve goats were from Rikaze in Tibet which is at an altitude of above 5000 m with an average temperature of 0 °C.

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Article Synopsis
  • Epidemiological studies are increasingly using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to track infectious diseases, but analyzing large datasets can be difficult due to variations in sequencing quality.
  • Researchers developed a method for comparing genetic differences between Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a longitudinal study in a New Zealand primary school, using a matrix of "allelic differences" based on gene variations.
  • They found that isolates from the same individual tended to be closely related or identical, while siblings had similar isolates; the method proved effective for understanding genetic relationships even with imperfect sequencing data.
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Background: An Informatics Consult has been proposed in which clinicians request novel evidence from large scale health data resources, tailored to the treatment of a specific patient. However, the availability of such consultations is lacking. We seek to provide an Informatics Consult for a situation where a treatment indication and contraindication coexist in the same patient, i.

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The advent of technologies that allow the interactions of microscopic particles to be probed "" has paved the way for new experimental avenues of enquiry in colloidal systems. For example, investigating whether a particular pair of colloidal particles isolated from a macroscopic sample might adhere to each other when brought into close proximity is certainly possible. However, given the probabilistic nature of the process (different particles within the ensemble may have slightly different surface charge distributions and asperities, and interaction energies involved can be close to thermal values), it is important that many hundreds or thousands of pairs of particles are tested under each set of experimental conditions of interest.

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Objectives: This study assessed associations between occupational exposures and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) for males and females in the general and Māori populations (indigenous people of New Zealand).

Methods: Two surveys of the general adult [New Zealand Workforce Survey (NZWS); 2004-2006; n = 3003] and Māori population (Māori NZWS; 2009-2010; n = 2107), with information on occupational exposures, were linked with administrative health data and followed-up until December 2018. Cox proportional hazards regression (adjusted for age, deprivation, and smoking) was used to assess associations between organizational factors, stress, and dust, chemical and physical exposures, and IHD.

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Apoplastic effector candidates of a foliar forest pathogen trigger cell death in host and non-host plants.

Sci Rep

October 2021

Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand.

Forests are under threat from pests, pathogens, and changing climate. A major forest pathogen worldwide is the hemibiotroph Dothistroma septosporum, which causes dothistroma needle blight (DNB) of pines. While D.

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This study sought to identify the spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal clusters of COVID-19 cases in 366 cities in mainland China with the highest risks and to explore the possible influencing factors of imported risks and environmental factors on the spatiotemporal aggregation, which would be useful to the design and implementation of critical preventative measures. The retrospective analysis of temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal clustering of COVID-19 during the period (January 15 to February 25, 2020) was based on Kulldorff's time-space scanning statistics using the discrete Poisson probability model, and then the logistic regression model was used to evaluate the impact of imported risk and environmental factors on spatiotemporal aggregation. We found that the spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases was nonrandom; the Moran's I value ranged from 0.

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