Phylogenetics, divergence and morphology of New Zealand Eleotridae (Gobiomorphus Gill) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The genus Gobiomorphus Gill (1863) is the only representative freshwater Eleotridae in New Zealand and is comprised of seven species, of which four are diadromous. The species are endemic to New Zealand and are widespread around lowland streams and coasts (with non-diadromous species penetrating further inland). The only other Gobiomorphus species are G. coxii and G. australis, which are endemic to Australia. Eleotridae are stocky fishes of small size (up to 150 mm in length) (McDowall, 1990) and are characterised by two dorsal fins, large pectoral fins, separate thoracic pelvic fins (fused in gobies) and the absence of a lateral line (McDowall. 1990; Allen et al., 2002). Gobiomorphus has had a particularly turbulent taxonomic history in the literature, spanning approximately 150 years from Gill (1863) to the present, where many species have been synonymised with one another (particularly, most Gobiomorphus species were synonymised with G. gobioides) due the plasticity of many morphological characters. Additionally, similar morphologies have led to identification difficulties. Phenotypic plasticity can also make cladistic approaches difficult (e.g. Vrijenhoek, 1998; Orti et al., 1994), for example there has been a lot of controversy surrounding G. alpinus and its species status. Furthermore, studies of evolution using morphological characters often lack an accurate perspective on relationships and origins of fish species, in particular, little information exists on the evolutionary origins of the Gobiomorphus genus. Genetic studies have contributed to resolving problems with taxonomically difficult groups by detecting diversity between morphologically similar species (where DNA variation is often not expressed phenotypically), and examining geographical divergence within species (e.g. Vrijenhoek, 1998; Kocher et al., 1989). Thus, this thesis employed two regions of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b and control region) to resolve issues surrounding species identification, morphological variation, phylogenetic relationships (including divergence), origins and the evolution of diadromy within the Gobiomorphus group. Mitochondrial DNA sequences were obtained from all seven Gobiomorphus species in New Zealand, as well as from both Australian Gobiomorphus. The morphology of both G. basalis and G. breviceps in the lower North Island was also examined. The results suggested that the Australasian Gobiomorphus are a polyphyletic group, although with the exclusion of G. australis the rest of the species formed a monophyletic group. The Australian group formed a polyphyletic group basal to the New Zealand monophyletic group. Gobiomorphus hubbsi, a diadromous species was found to be a sister group to the New Zealand Gobiomorphus. Clock calibrations indicated that the New Zealand and Australian groups have been isolated for about 6-37 Myr, suggesting that the New Zealand species dispersed here (in a single event) from Australia post-Gondwana break-up. These results are discussed in terms of New Zealand's geological history. Once in New Zealand there was a series of radiations; the most recent radiation produced the non-diadromous species (G. breviceps, and a G. basalis, G. cotidianus (although not all populations are diadromous) and G. alpinus species complex). Furthermore, G. huttoni and G. gobioides (both diadromous) formed a monophyletic group that is part of the first radiation, indicating that diadromy is a primitive feature of Gobiomorphus. Mitochondrial DNA accurately distinguished between G. breviceps and G. basalis (suggesting a genetic basis to morphological variation), and coupled with morphological data, identified pectoral fin ray counts as the best quantitative character for differentiating the species. However, within species high morphological variation was observed that did not fit expected patterns of geographical divergence. Limited time periods may have obscured subtle morphological divergence between catchments. Mitochondrial DNA revealed some unique haplotypes within both catchments, whereas some catchments shared identical haplotypes. The lack of divergence between catchments may have been due in part to connections during the Pleistocene, whereas populations with unique haplotypes may have been isolated for a greater length of time. Collectively, these studies highlighted the usefulness of mitochondrial DNA for exploring; phylogenetic relationships (including divergence) and solving problems with taxonomically difficult groups, and origins of fish species. Furthermore, the use of molecular data coupled with morphological data can be used to aid in the improvement of identification of morphologically similar species

THE ROLE OF MALADAPTIVE EMOTION SOCIALIZATION IN RISK FOR URGENCY AND PROBLEM DRINKING IN ADOLESCENTS

Negative urgency (NU; the tendency to act rashly when experiencing negative emotions) is a robust risk factor for a number of problem behaviors, including early adolescent drinking. Little is known about the factors that precede the development of NU, and hence the full etiology of this component of risk. The current study aimed to investigate the possibility that childhood maladaptive emotion socialization (MES; the tendency for children’s expressions of emotions to be met with punishment, minimized, or invoke a reaction of distress from their parents/caretakers) increases risk for the development of NU. Secondarily, the study tested whether MES predicts increased drinking over the short term among early adolescents. Self-report measures of NU, facets of MES (punitive, distress, and minimizing reactions to emotions), and problem drinking were collected from a sample of 428 high school students (mean age = 14.7), assessed twice over the course of a semester, reflecting a three-month longitudinal window. Specifically, I examined (1) whether MES would predict increases in NU (2) whether the pattern of relationships would support the possibility that NU mediates the relationship between MES and problem drinking and (3) whether these predictive pathways were invariant by race and gender. Results showed that distress emotion socialization predicted increases in NU, minimizing predicted decreases in NU, and punitive did not provide significant prediction. Additionally, results found that this process was invariant across race and gender, though differences were observed for prediction of problem drinking. Results did not support any mediational processes. Implications of these results are discussed

INFLUENCES AMONG AFFECT BASED RISK FACTORS AND PROBLEM DRINKING IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Broad negative affect has been consistently shown to predict problematic alcohol use. More specific affect-based constructs, though, have been shown to predict problem drinking above and beyond broad negative affectivity. The current study aims to investigate transactions among and predictive roles of broad negative affectivity and specific affective-based factors in relation to problem drinking among a sample of 358 students assessed twice during their first year of college. Participants were assessed for negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when highly emotional), affective lability (the tendency to experience rapid and intense shifts in mood), negative affectivity, and problem drinking via self-report measures completed online. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Negative urgency and affective lability predicted problem drinking above and beyond broad negative affect, and broad negative affect had no incremental predictive power. When considered together, negative urgency and affective lability significantly predicted problem drinking in a model in which their predictive pathways were constrained to be equal. Additionally, affective lability predicted increases in negative urgency, but the opposite was not true. Continued work toward the development of comprehensive affect-based risk models for problem drinking is needed

The Emerging Role of Osteocytes in Cancer in Bone

Advances in the last decade have established the osteocyte, the most abundant cell in bone, as a dynamic and multifunctional cell capable of controlling bone homeostasis by regulating the function of both osteoblasts and osteoclasts. In addition, accumulating evidence demonstrates that osteocyte function is altered in several skeletal disorders, and targeting osteocytes and their derived factors improves skeletal health. Despite the remarkable progress in our understanding of osteocyte biology, there has been a paucity of information regarding the role of osteocytes in the progression of cancer in bone. Exciting, recent discoveries suggest that tumor cells communicate with osteocytes to generate a microenvironment that supports the growth and survival of cancer cells and stimulates bone destruction. This review features these novel findings and discussions regarding the impact of chemotherapy on osteocyte function and the potential of targeting osteocytes for the treatment of cancer in bone. © 2019 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Promoting Human Rights through the Professions (abstract)

This paper examines the ways in which professionals in a range of fields—the health professions, education, journalism, and law to name just a few—have the capacity to engage in critical work in the promotion of human rights. Whereas the scholarly study of human rights focuses largely on formal law and governance processes, this paper explores how strategies for promoting human rights might be integrated into the everyday work lives of professionals. Our focus on this everyday lever for human rights promotion seeks to broaden the vision of what constitutes human rights and justice work by exploring the capacities of actors that are not formally part of the international human rights regime. We will focus especially on health professionals as potential advocates for human rights. To this end, our paper will include case studies of Dr. Holly Atkinson’s work with Physicians for Human Rights and her work as Director of the Human Rights Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, which trains future physicians to do basic human rights work. We also consider the role of professional associations, particularly national medical associations, as potential vehicles for advancing fundamental human rights through the setting of professional standards, norm diffusion, and lobbying

Effect of Online Modules on Pre-Service Teacher Mental Health Literacy and Efficacy toward Inclusive Practices

Mental health literacy (MHL) for pre-service teachers seeks to improve knowledge and help-seeking behaviours and decrease stigma. Increased MHL may also change perceived stress and self-efficacy for inclusive practices. This cohort study evaluates the impact of an online MHL resource for educators, embedded within a mandatory Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, on pre-service teachers’ MHL, perceived stress, and teacher efficacy toward inclusive practices. Seventy-one pre-service teachers completed the course as well as pre- and post-surveys. Results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on knowledge, help-seeking, and perceived efficacy for inclusive practices. Increased MHL may be an effective approach in meeting the requirements of inclusive education. Keywords: mental health literacy, pre-service teachers, inclusive education, self-efficacyLa littératie en santé mentale (LSM) pour les enseignants en formation initiale vise à améliorer les connaissances, les comportements de recherche d’aide et à réduire la stigmatisation. Une meilleure LSM peut également modifier la perception du stress et de l’autoefficacité vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives en enseignement. Cette étude de cohorte évalue l’impact d’une ressource de LSM en ligne pour les éducateurs, qui s’intègre à un cours obligatoire du Baccalauréat en éducation (B. Éd.), sur la LSM chez les stagiaires, leur stress perçu et leur efficacité vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives. Soixante et onze stagiaires ont suivi le cours et rempli des questionnaires avant et après l’emploi de la ressource. Les résultats ont démontré des améliorations significatives et importantes sur les connaissances, la recherche d’aide et l’autoefficacité perçue vis-à-vis des pratiques inclusives. Une amélioration de la LSM pourrait représenter une approche efficace pour répondre aux exigences de l’éducation inclusive. Mots-clés : littératie en santé mentale, stagiaires en formation à l’enseignement, éducation inclusive, autoefficacit

Educational Color Mixer

Background: The production of intermediate colors using a combination of primary colors is an important phenomenon for children to learn about. It is also desirable for children to be exposed to robotics/mechatronics at an early age. One machine could address both of these goals. Product: A device with three colored liquids or paints (red, yellow and blue) and a way to select a color from the color wheel. The device automatically dispenses the correct amounts of each colored liquid or paint into one container to produce the desired color. The electromechanical components should be easy to see, but shielded enough to maintain safety

Active dependency completion in adults and children: Representations and adaptation

This dissertation investigates the effect of language experience on syntactic predictions during real time language processing, and how these predictions develop. In particular, it focuses on filler-gap dependency processing. A prominent psycholinguistic theory suggests that incremental processing decisions are governed by statistics derived from the distribution of structures in the input. Children are an ideal testing ground for this theory because they are still acquiring this distributional information. The first part of this dissertation examines children’s syntactic predictions during the real time comprehension of filler-gap dependencies. Though adults’ active association of the filler with the verb has been robustly demonstrated, visual world eye tracking data reveals that children do not actively complete the dependency at the verb. A probabilistic account of this finding would attribute it to differential experience with gap positions. A corpus analysis of the distribution of gap positions in the input to adults, child-directed speech, and children’s spontaneous utterances revealed that this was not the case; adults and children have similar experience with gap positions. The second part of this dissertation directly manipulates adults’ recent language experience to test predictions of the probabilistic parsing model. Two eye tracking during reading experiments revealed that exposure to an improbable gap position can decrease active gap filling at the verb, but it does not increase the likelihood of predicting this alternative structure. A third experiment suggests that these effects may be due to a task-specific processing strategy. The third part of this dissertation attempts to accelerate the development of active gap filling by manipulating the statistics in children’s input. This distribution is provided by a novel picture completion task designed to elicit wh-questions. Comprehension of concentrated filler-gap dependency input had no effect on children’s syntactic predictions, but production of a less probable gap position primed predictions for the more probable one. Finally, this dissertation critically evaluates the probabilistic parsing model in light of the experiments reported within and finds that statistical information does not reliably predict parsing behaviors. An alternative model is proposed that accounts for these findings and appeals on the representational requirement imposed by the filler-gap dependency structure

Aplidin (plitidepsin) is a novel anti-myeloma agent with potent anti-resorptive activity mediated by direct effects on osteoclasts

Despite recent progress in its treatment, Multiple Myeloma (MM) remains incurable and its associated bone disease persists even after complete remission. Thus, identification of new therapeutic agents that simultaneously suppress MM growth and protect bone is an unmet need. Herein, we examined the effects of Aplidin, a novel anti-cancer marine-derived compound, on MM and bone cells. In vitro, Aplidin potently inhibited MM cell growth and induced apoptosis, effects that were enhanced by dexamethasone (Dex) and bortezomib (Btz). Aplidin modestly reduced osteocyte/osteoblast viability and decreased osteoblast mineralization, effects that were enhanced by Dex and partially prevented by Btz. Further, Aplidin markedly decreased osteoclast precursor numbers and differentiation, and reduced mature osteoclast number and resorption activity. Moreover, Aplidin reduced Dex-induced osteoclast differentiation and further decreased osteoclast number when combined with Btz. Lastly, Aplidin alone, or suboptimal doses of Aplidin combined with Dex or Btz, decreased tumor growth and bone resorption in ex vivo bone organ cultures that reproduce the 3D-organization and the cellular diversity of the MM/bone marrow niche. These results demonstrate that Aplidin has potent anti-myeloma and anti-resorptive properties, and enhances proteasome inhibitors blockade of MM growth and bone destruction