Molecular survey of canine parvovirus type 2: the emergence of subtype 2c in New Zealand

AIMS: To determine the genetic makeup of carnivore parvoviruses currently circulating in New Zealand; to investigate their evolutionary patterns; and to compare these viruses with those detected during the previous New Zealand-based survey (2009-2010). METHODS: Faecal samples from dogs (n = 40) with a clinical diagnosis of parvovirus enteritis were voluntarily submitted by veterinarians from throughout New Zealand. In addition, one sample was collected from a cat with comparable clinical presentation. The samples were used for DNA extraction and PCR amplification of viral protein 2 (VP2) of canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2). All samples produced amplicons of the expected sizes, which were then sequenced. The viruses were subtyped based on the presence of specific amino acids at defined locations. In addition, VP2 sequences were analysed using phylogeny and molecular network analysis. RESULTS: The majority (30/40; 75%) of CPV-2-infected dogs were younger than 6 months and 8/40 (20%) were aged between 9 months and 1 year. Most (39/41; 95%) parvoviruses were subtyped as CPV-2c, and one as the original CPV-2. The faecal sample from a cat was positive for feline panleukopenia virus. The majority (37/39; 95%) of New Zealand CPV-2c viruses were monophyletic. The remaining two New Zealand CPV-2c viruses clustered with Chinese and Sri Lankan CPV-2c viruses, separately from the main New Zealand clade. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an apparent replacement of the CPV-2a viruses with CPV-2c viruses in New Zealand between 2011 and 2019. The source of the current CPV-2c viruses remains undetermined. The monophyletic nature of the majority of viruses detected most likely reflects a country-wide spread of the most successful genotype. However, an occasional introduction of CPV-2 from overseas cannot be excluded. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Current vaccines appear to be protective against disease caused by the CPV-2c viruses currently circulating in New Zealand. Vaccination and protection from environmental sources of CPV-2 until the development of vaccine-induced immunity remains the cornerstone of protection in young dogs against parvovirus enteritis. Ongoing monitoring of the genetic changes in CPV-2 is important, as it would allow early detection of variants that may be more likely to escape vaccine-induced immunity.fals

Holding together Hope and despair: Transformative learning through virtual place-based education in Aotearoa, New Zealand

This article explores how virtual place-based education can foster transformative learning for distance students through a study of the Spatial Awareness Project, a digital storytelling film and podcast we co-created with faculty and students. We found that students engaged with the resources in complex ways, with three dominant themes emerging in qualitative surveys of their emotional engagement: feeling joy, feeling unsettled, and feeling empowered. We argue that digital media that leaves students simultaneously positively affected and unsettled can enable transformative learning through discomfort, creating space for imagining the world in new ways, and sparking new conversations and connections within and outside the classroom.fals

Whānau identification of mātauranga and tikanga Māori through the engagement and interaction with emerging technologies that are generated by AI : a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorial in Māori Cultural Studies/Tikanga Māori, Te Pūtahi a Toi at Massey University, Manawatū

This research is strategically positioned to demonstrate whānau connections to one another as an extended whānau, to our lands, to our socioeconomic situation, and to our emotional identity as Māori people raised in the Whakatōhea (see Prologue and Chapter 1). The purpose of this research was to identify mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori that have the potential to, when woven into algorithms, inform next-generation AI systems, that have the propensity to promote cultural well-being for our whānau and their futures. A critical review of selected literature was undertaken to understand the dialectic between te ao Māori and AI (see Chapter 2). The eclectic methodologies according to Kaupapa Māori theorising were outlined to aid in the identification of potential issues confronted when undertaking this research. These methodologies justify the selection of specific methods and their suitability for understanding Māori in AI-related development and their beliefs and practices (see Chapter 3). Following this, the findings are presented by addressing each question with supporting data. Subsequently, the aggregation of this data revealed critical elements and factors of transformation that would enable the promotion of cultural well-being for our whānau and their futures (see Chapter 4). Finally, this research supported the conclusion that Māori can develop transformative practices of change that has the potential to decolonise imperial-dominated AI systems. The research provided an opportunity for further exploration around developing knowledge-sharing interventions to help understand the prominence of the Western perspectives and to confront contemporary AI-related issues for our whānau (see Chapter 5)

An imagined paradise for children’s education? : new Chinese migrant families’ adaptation to New Zealand education system : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chinese Studies at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

This thesis explores new Chinese migrant families’ education-related experiences in New Zealand. It shows the perspectives of new Chinese migrant parents, children of new Chinese migrant parents, and local educators from New Zealand schools. The research is informed by epistemological constructivism, and an exploratory case study approach is employed to direct the research. This is a qualitative research in nature, and the research data is derived from in-depth one-to-one interview with three cohorts that are highly related to the research topic. In detail, 17 new Chinese migrant parents, 9 children of new Chinese migrant parents, and 12 local educators from New Zealand schools were invited to participate in this research. Research findings show that children’s education indeed play a critical role in driving new Chinese migrant families to emigrate from People’s Republic of China (PRC) to New Zealand, particularly for families arrived at New Zealand in the most recent decade. It is challenging for both the migrant parents and their children to navigate in the education system of New Zealand. For parents, they confront challenges in settling down in the host country, meanwhile, they are always concerned about their elderly parents living across the oceans. Further, they have to tackle the inter-generational divergence with their children in terms of Chinese language maintenance and disciplinary and subject areas they aspire their children to pursue. For children of Chinese migrant parents, apart from the inter-generational divergence they confront in the domain of their family, they also face challenges to adapt to the New Zealand education system. These challenges consist of English hurdle and teaching and learning style adaption. This research highlights what kind of teaching practices they aspire to seek in the context of New Zealand and what they feel dissatisfied with the education system of New Zealand compared with the education system of China. Chinese migrant parents’ unfamiliarity with the education system of New Zealand can lead to their dissatisfaction with the New Zealand education system, which consequently imposes challenges for local educators. Findings based on local educators’ accounts confirms new Chinese migrant parents’ persistence in choosing specific disciplinary and subject areas of study in higher education for their children. The underpinning reason for such a preference is that the parents believe that those study areas would bring a stable future to their children. In addition, local educators’ sense that Chinese migrant parents’ unfamiliarity with New Zealand education system makes it difficult to convince Chinese migrant parents to choose an alternative but realistic and pragmatic pathway (i.e. seeking polytechnic for their children’s post-secondary education). The new Chinese migrant parents are straddling the Chinese and New Zealand cultures. Their connections with two cultural settings intertwined to facilitate the formation of a repertoire of parenting approaches. While they would like to pass on the valued Chinese traditional virtues to children, they also aspire to draw from beneficial parenting approaches from other local parents. However, the actual process of adapting to the New Zealand education system can be challenging due to the habitus they get used to or the impact of the way they were raised by their parents. Findings also suggest that some new Chinese migrant families utilise migration to New Zealand as a strategy to opt out the fierce competition of NCEE (National College Entrance Exam) in China, and their stay in New Zealand is temporary and seek later transnational movements back to China or elsewhere to accompany their children for higher education. The pursuit of children’s education plays a critical role in shaping and reshaping the transnational trajectories of these Chinese migrant families. Once specific need of their children’s education is completed, these family may re-arrange their transnational lives. This thesis contributes to the studies of migrants’ integration into the host country in the dimension of education. Based on the findings, this study sheds light on the challenges that migrant families confront after migration to the host country, and provides insightful findings that educators or policymakers in the host country can draw from

Decarbonising cities: exploring regional energy justice implications

To meet energy demand and achieve climate and energy decarbonisation targets, cities adopt a range of mechanisms to facilitate renewable electricity development from their surrounding regions. These mechanisms are likely to have implications for regional community co-benefits, social acceptance of renewable energy projects, and energy justice. This research used document analysis to identify the procurement mechanisms being used by cities to source renewable electricity from surrounding regions and the types of actors involved. The analysis focussed on 27 cities pursuing ambitious 100% renewable energy or carbon neutrality goals and whose plans indicate engagement with their surrounding regions. The results point to eight types of mechanisms used by cities to develop renewable energy in their surrounding region. Of the 56 occurrences identified, 55 involved public actors, 25 involved private actors, and 12 involved civic actors. The findings demonstrate that cities are overcoming their local energy constraints by seeking to develop renewable electricity in their surrounding regions utilising mechanisms that are dominated by the involvement of public and private actors, leaving civic actors underrepresented. Key policy highlights - Cities with ambitious renewable energy goals require large amounts of renewable energy to decarbonise. To achieve their decarbonisation goals, cities are adopting a range of mechanisms to facilitate renewable electricity development in the regions that surround them. - This study identifies eight types of mechanisms used by cities to drive renewable energy development within their surrounding region; power purchase agreements, project acquisition, city-led project development, incumbent-city collaborative project development, niche-city collaborative project development, centralised decision making, advocacy, and market stimulation. Of the 56 occurrences identified, most were dominated by public (n = 55/56) and private actors (n = 25/56), with little involvement of civic actors (n = 12/56) such as households, citizens and community organisations. - Limited citizen involvement in renewable energy development can hinder equitable benefits and social acceptance for regional communities. Civic participation in regional energy development is essential for a just and successful energy transition.fals

Periodic solutions for a pair of delay-coupled excitable theta neurons

We consider a pair of identical theta neurons in the excitable regime, each coupled to the other via a delayed Dirac delta function with the same delay. This simple network can support different periodic solutions, and we concentrate on two important types: those for which the neurons are perfectly synchronous, and those where the neurons are exactly half a period out of phase and fire alternatingly. Owing to the specific type of pulsatile feedback, we are able to determine these solutions and their stability analytically. More specifically, (infinitely many) branches of periodic solutions of either type are created at saddle-node bifurcations, and they gain stability at symmetry-breaking bifurcations when their period as a function of the delay is at its minimum. We also determine the respective branches of symmetry-broken periodic solutions and show that they are all unstable. We demonstrate by considering smoothed pulse-like coupling that the special case of the Dirac delta function can be seen as a sort of normal form: the basic structure of the different periodic solutions of the two theta neurons is preserved, but there may be additional changes of stability along the different branches.fals

Biodiversity in mountain soils above the treeline

Biological diversity in mountain ecosystems has been increasingly studied over the last decade. This is also the case for mountain soils, but no study to date has provided an overall synthesis of the current state of knowledge. Here we fill this gap with a first global analysis of published research on cryptogams, microorganisms, and fauna in mountain soils above the treeline, and a structured synthesis of current knowledge. Based on a corpus of almost 1400 publications and the expertise of 37 mountain soil scientists worldwide, we summarise what is known about the diversity and distribution patterns of each of these organismal groups, specifically along elevation, and provide an overview of available knowledge on the drivers explaining these patterns and their changes. In particular, we document an elevation-dependent decrease in faunal diversity above the treeline, while for cryptogams there is an initial increase above the treeline, followed by a decrease towards the nival belt. Thus, our data confirm the key role that elevation plays in shaping the biodiversity and distribution of these organisms in mountain soils. The response of prokaryote diversity to elevation, in turn, was more diverse, whereas fungal diversity appeared to be substantially influenced by plants. As far as available, we describe key characteristics, adaptations, and functions of mountain soil species, and despite a lack of ecological information about the uncultivated majority of prokaryotes, fungi, and protists, we illustrate the remarkable and unique diversity of life forms and life histories encountered in alpine mountain soils. By applying rule- as well as pattern-based literature-mining approaches and semi-quantitative analyses, we identified hotspots of mountain soil research in the European Alps and Central Asia and revealed significant gaps in taxonomic coverage, particularly among biocrusts, soil protists, and soil fauna. We further report thematic priorities for research on mountain soil biodiversity above the treeline and identify unanswered research questions. Building upon the outcomes of this synthesis, we conclude with a set of research opportunities for mountain soil biodiversity research worldwide. Soils in mountain ecosystems above the treeline fulfil critical functions and make essential contributions to life on land. Accordingly, seizing these opportunities and closing knowledge gaps appears crucial to enable science-based decision making in mountain regions and formulating laws and guidelines in support of mountain soil biodiversity conservation targets.fals

Navigating precarity : Korean migrants’ experiences and resilience within formal and informal systems in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Migration has occurred throughout human history for a range of reasons. Today, various cultures and persons continue to come into closer proximity with one another through their migratory journeys; and the resulting complexities of resettlement warrant further investigation. This thesis explores the lived experiences of precariat Korean migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on how participants navigate formal (government) and informal (community) support systems to obtain necessities of life. Drawing insights from Narrative Psychology, I investigate how Korean migrants story cultural values and systemic barriers that inform their strategies for addressing the socioeconomic adversities they face as members of the emergent precariat class. This study documents the experiences of three cases from Korean migrant women who were engaged through four waves of semi-structured enhanced interviews (n=12) using drawing and photo-elicitation exercises. Key findings reveal that barriers related to government policies and systems, such as visa restrictions, precarious employment, and limited access to welfare services can exacerbate settlement challenges. Although the extent of participant engagements with Korean community support systems varied, all articulated these cultural support systems as a key source of resources for their obtaining necessities of successful resettlement. This study contributes to knowledge regarding the nuances of migrant precarity by documenting how households obtained employment, housing, food and emotional support through the re-articulation of core Confucian and Christian cultural principles, 관계 (gwangye; 關係 guanxi; relationship or connections); 인 (in; 仁 ren; benevolence); 체면 (chemyeon; 臉 lian; face); 예 (ye; 禮 li; ritual propriety); 효 (hyo; 孝 xiao; filial piety); 충 (chung; 忠 zhong; allegiance); 정 (jeong; affection and attachment); 양심 (yangshim; moral conscience) and 자비심 (jabishim; merciful heart). The informal system formed within the Korean community emerged as a source for material, psychological, spiritual and cultural buffers against precarity, underscoring the significance of re-articulations of Korean cultural values and relational practices of mutual support in diaspora. Cumulatively, insights generated from research such as this can inform future research and policy developments to enhance support for Korean and other migrant communities navigating precarity in Aotearoa New Zealand

Suspected brodifacoum poisoning in tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

Case history: Between June 2017 and April 2019, three captive tuatara from a zoological facility in the South Island of New Zealand were found unwell and admitted to veterinary care. One other tuatara from the same facility was found dead from misadventure in May 2019. Clinical findings: All three unwell tuatara showed clinical signs of lethargy, mucous membrane pallor, and dehydration, with haematoma formation/swelling in dependent parts of the body. Fine needle aspiration and cytology of the swellings showed common features of peripheral blood, with variable other cytological findings. Haematology confirmed marked anaemia in Case 1 (PCV 5%; reference range 22–53%) and Case 2 (PCV 1%) and suspected mild anaemia in Case 3 (PCV 27%). Case 1 died 6 weeks after initial presentation, whereas Cases 2 and 3 died soon after presentation. Pathological findings: Post-mortem examination showed general pallor of soft tissues in the three tuatara with clinical signs of coagulopathy. There was haemorrhage in the bladder wall of Case 1, while Cases 2 and 3 had haematomas (subcutaneous in Case 2 and peri-oesophageal in Case 3). The pathological diagnosis in Case 4 was death by asphyxiation following burrow collapse. Retrospective analysis showed brodifacoum was present in liver tissue at a concentration of 0.26 mg/kg in Case 3, and in skeletal muscle tissue at concentrations of 0.019 mg/kg in Case 2 and 0.035 mg/kg in the non-clinical case (Case 4). Diagnosis: The clinical signs and post-mortem findings were consistent with anticoagulant poisoning in three tuatara, and tissue concentrations of brodifacoum demonstrated exposure in three animals, including one animal with no clinical signs of coagulopathy (Case 4). Definitive diagnosis was prevented, however, by inconsistent toxicology testing and a limited understanding of toxicity thresholds in reptiles in general, and tuatara specifically. Clinical relevance: This case series suggests that tuatara are susceptible to anticoagulant poisoning and this has implications for both the captive management of tuatara, and also the use of rodenticides in tuatara habitat, such as offshore islands and mainland sanctuaries.fals

Understanding the current evidence base for the commonly recommended management strategies for recurrent feline idiopathic cystitis: a systematic review

Objectives: This systematic review aims to describe and understand the evidence available for commonly recommended management strategies for feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) to provide guidance for clinicians in their treatment of this condition. A subsequent objective was to identify gaps in the literature and areas where future research may be directed. Methods: A computerised search of three electronic databases (Discover, Scopus and PubMed) was performed. Results were imported into a single EndNote library and duplicates were removed. Remaining records underwent a two-stage screening process with the aim to identify peer-reviewed primary literature on therapeutic strategies for FIC. Studies were categorised according to one of seven management strategies: environmental modification, dietary manipulation, anti-inflammatory drugs, amitriptyline, glycosaminoglycans, prazosin, and intravesical lidocaine. Results: Twenty-two studies were included in the final review, with one study providing evidence in two categories. Two studies assessed environmental manipulation, with results showing encouraging evidence for multimodal environmental modification but little evidence to support the use of feline facial pheromone. Five papers examined dietary manipulation, with good evidence for the use of therapeutic urinary diets, and for increasing the moisture content of a cat’s diet. Anti-inflammatory drugs were the focus of four studies, with none providing evidence to support their use. Four papers indicated that the evidence to support glycosaminoglycans is lacking. The antispasmodic drug prazosin was purported to be useful in one retrospective paper, while three papers comparing it to a placebo showed no evidence for its use. Three studies assessed amitriptyline, with two indicating that short-term use is not supported, and one long-term study suggesting it may be useful in some refractory cases. One study on intravesical instillation of lidocaine concluded that it was not a useful treatment strategy. Conclusions: Multimodal environmental modification to reduce stress/conflict and therapeutic urinary foods (particularly if combined with an increase in moisture content of the diet) currently have the strongest evidence to support their use in managing FIC, and should, together, be considered the primary treatment approach. The evidence for other modalities, is currently insufficient to support their use. The overall lack of high quality studies emphasises the need for clinicians to be critical in their evaluation of the published literature on the management of this perplexing condition.fals