Investigating the existence of an osmotic barrier between xylem fibres and vessels in sugar maple (Acer saccharum) using microCT.

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marshall) develop elevated stem pressures in springtime through the compression and expansion of gas bubbles present within xylem fibres. The stability of this gas within the fibres is hypothesised to be due to the elevated sugar concentration of maple sap and the presence of an osmotic barrier between fibres and vessels. Without this osmotic barrier gas bubbles are predicted to dissolve rapidly.

A Multimodal Bracelet to Acquire Muscular Activity and Gyroscopic Data to Study Sensor Fusion for Intent Detection.

Researchers have attempted to control robotic hands and prostheses through biosignals but could not match the human hand. Surface electromyography records electrical muscle activity using non-invasive electrodes and has been the primary method in most studies. While surface electromyography-based hand motion decoding shows promise, it has not yet met the requirements for reliable use.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Indigenous Health Curricula: Validation and Application of the NOSM CAST Instrument.

Objectives: In recent years, Indigenous health curricula have been integrated into medical education in response to international calls to improve Indigenous health care. Instruments to evaluate Indigenous health education are urgently needed. We set out to validate a tool to measure self-reported medical student preparedness to provide culturally safe care to Indigenous Peoples.

Predicting Physical Violence Against Corrections Officers Across Three Levels of Severity Using Individual and Environmental Characteristics.

Working in prisons can be a challenging job, managing a population of incarcerated people while keeping oneself, one's colleagues, and the people themselves safe. Some corrections officers may expect violence in the workplace, yet being a victim of violence is no trivial experience. In prison, violent incidents are categorized according to the severity of the violence perpetrated.

Large language models (LLMs) and the institutionalization of misinformation.

Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, flood the Internet with true and false information, crafted and delivered with techniques that psychological science suggests will encourage people to think that information is true. What's more, as people feed this misinformation back into the Internet, emerging LLMs will adopt it and feed it back in other models. Such a scenario means we could lose access to information that helps us tell what is real from unreal - to do 'reality monitoring.

Communicating health information to children: is a child-rights-based approach being adopted by nurses? An integrative review.

Background: Childhood is a time when health behaviours are established and the foundations for health literacy are cemented. In Aotearoa New Zealand nurses are responsible for communicating health messages to children at key stages in children's lives.

Objectives/aims: This review explores the ways in which nurses communicate health messages to children and adolescents in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Nature based solutions for removal of steroid estrogens in wastewater.

Estrogens are a growing problem in wastewater discharges because they are continuously entering the environment and are biologically active at extremely low concentrations. Their effects on wildlife were first identified several decades before, but the environmental limits and the remedial measures are still not completely elucidated. Most conventional treatment processes were not designed with sufficiently long retention times to effectively remove estrogens.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Risk Factors in a Multi-Ethnic National Case-Control Study.

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) continues to increase particularly for non-European women. This study aimed to identify and quantify risk factors for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes in New Zealand to identify women at higher risk.

Methods: A national dataset of 601,166 eligible women who had ≥ 1 birth in New Zealand between January 2001 and December 2010 identified 11,459 women with gestational diabetes of whom 11,447 were randomly matched with 57,235 control women for age and year of delivery.

Predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in a sample of New Zealand Māori and European male prisoners.

Numerous studies have investigated the predictive validity of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), but the majority have used samples from North America. The PCL may inform important decisions about people's futures; recognition has been growing of the importance of ensuring that its psychometric properties are established in each jurisdiction where it is used, especially for Indigenous and non-European populations. The present study examined the predictive properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; Hart et al.

A generalisability theory approach to quantifying changes in psychopathology among ultra-high-risk individuals for psychosis.

Distinguishing stable and fluctuating psychopathological features in young individuals at Ultra High Risk (UHR) for psychosis is challenging, but critical for building robust, accurate, early clinical detection and prevention capabilities. Over a 24-month period, 159 UHR individuals were assessed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). Generalisability Theory was used to validate the PANSS with this population and to investigate stable and fluctuating features, by estimating the reliability and generalisability of three factor (Positive, Negative, and General) and five factor (Positive, Negative, Cognitive, Depression, and Hostility) symptom models.

Isotopic steady state or non-steady state transpiration? Insights from whole-tree chambers.

Unravelling the complexities of transpiration can be assisted by understanding the oxygen isotope composition of transpired water vapour (δE). It is often assumed that δE is at steady state, thereby mirroring the oxygen isotope composition of source water (δsource), but this assumption has never been tested at the whole-tree scale. This study utilized the unique infrastructure of 12 whole-tree chambers enclosing Eucalyptus parramattensis E.

A cyanide-free sample preparation methodology prior to determination of vitamin B in infant milk formula using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

The analysis of vitamin B in infant formulas typically requires the use of cyanide during sample preparation to convert the unstable vitamers (hydroxocobalamin, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin) to cyanocobalamin, the most stable form of vitamin B. To eliminate the risk to laboratory analysts in handling cyanide, alternative strategies are preferred for the analysis of vitamin B. This research demonstrates the use of cobalamin-derived α-ribazole (a nucleoside moiety of vitamin B) to determine total vitamin B content.

Daily Temperatures and Child Hospital Admissions in Aotearoa New Zealand: Case Time Series Analysis.

The influence of global climate change on temperature-related health outcomes among vulnerable populations, particularly young children, is underexplored. Using a case time series design, we analysed 647,000 hospital admissions of children aged under five years old in New Zealand, born between 2000 and 2019. We explored the relationship between daily maximum temperatures and hospital admissions across 2139 statistical areas.

Navigating the long journey of heart failure-experiences of Māori and Pacific peoples.

Aims: Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand experience significant inequities in heart failure rates, treatment and outcomes compared to NZ Europeans. We aimed to understand the experiences of Māori and Pacific people living with heart failure as they navigated care across primary and secondary settings.

Methods: This research involved a secondary analysis of data collected in a wider qualitative study investigating evidence-practice gaps of cardiovascular care experienced by Māori and Pacific people.

Characteristics and outcomes of lung cancer patients presenting through the emergency department: a Waikato District Health Board study.

Aim: This research examines the characteristics and survival outcomes of patients receiving a lung cancer diagnosis after attending the emergency department (ED) of Waikato hospitals in New Zealand.

Methods: This retrospective study was based on a comprehensive database of Waikato patients recorded on the Midland Lung Cancer Register from 2011 to 2021. We compared the characteristics of patients with and without emergency presentations within 14 days before their lung cancer diagnosis.

Empowering Healthcare Professionals: Exploring Experiences Leading a Violence Prevention Course for Adults With Intellectual Disability.

Violence prevention approaches using social-ecological models inform interventions for people with intellectual disability, who often face barriers to accessing generalist courses. This study explores the experiences of healthcare professionals leading a prevention course specifically designed for adults with intellectual disability. Through semistructured interviews, 12 Norwegian course leaders highlighted the importance of raising awareness and comprehension about rights, and the social and individual factors influencing experiences of violence and its prevention.

Automated Insulin Delivery for Young People with Type 1 Diabetes and Elevated A1c.

Background: Automated insulin delivery is the treatment of choice in adults with type 1 diabetes. Data are needed on the efficacy and safety of automated insulin delivery for children and youth with diabetes and elevated glycated hemoglobin levels.

Methods: In this multicenter, open-label randomized controlled trial, we assigned patients with type 1 diabetes in a 1:1 ratio either to use an automated insulin delivery system (MiniMed 780G) or to receive usual diabetes care of multiple daily injections or non--automated pump therapy (control).

Inequity in cardiometabolic hospital admissions and blood screening in New Zealand Indigenous Māori with psychosis.

Background: People with psychosis experience worse cardiometabolic health than the same-aged general population. In New Zealand, Indigenous Māori experiencing psychosis have greater risk of cardiometabolic and other physical health problems.

Aims: To identify a cohort of adults accessing secondary mental health and addiction services in New Zealand, with a previous psychosis diagnosis as of 1 January 2018, and compare odds of hospital admission outcomes, mortality and receipt of cardiometabolic blood screening between Māori and non-Māori in the following 2 years.

Looking Beyond the Number of Repetitions: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study on Calf Raise Test Outcomes in Children Aged 10-17 Years.

Aims: The calf raise test (CRT) assesses plantarflexor strength and endurance, but normative data for children are scarce. Furthermore, contradictions exist on which factors are associated with total repetitions, with repetitions being the only metric considered. We quantified three of the main CRT outcomes (repetitions, total work, and peak height) in children 10-17 years and explored their relationship with various factors.