Using satellite imagery to compare land cover and water resources in two counties of the Nebraska Sandhills

The Nebraska Sandhills comprise the most intact grassland habitat in the world and 95% of land use consists of low intensity cattle grazing. Water is a key resource for cattle and for growing hay forage in this semi-arid grassland. Ranchers rely on either naturally occurring wet meadows or center pivot irrigation systems (CPIS) to produce hay. With the possibility of climate change creating more frequent extreme weather events, more flooding events or severe droughts could affect land and water resources in the Sandhills. With potentially more wet/dry extremes in the future, an understanding of the way water resources respond, and the different strategies of landowners, will be important in assessing the overall resilience of the Nebraska Sandhills in the face of a changing climate. We compared two adjacent, similarly sized, counties, Grant and Hooker, in the central Sandhills that differ in the amount of naturally occurring, ground water-fed meadows during the period 2002-2019, spanning wet and dry years. ArcGIS and the USDA’s Cropland Data Layer (known as “CropScape”), an annual, satellite imagery-derived, land cover map, were used to quantify overall landcover, especially the cover of wet meadows and the number of CPIS. In 2016, an average-to-moderate precipitation year, Grant County had approximately 10 times more open water area and 9 times more wet meadow area than Hooker County. In contrast, Hooker County had 19 times more barren ground area and nearly twice as many CPIS as Grant County. Furthermore, in drought years, the amount of barren ground increased in both counties, nearly doubling in Hooker County in 2006, a year when annual precipitation was only 66% of normal precipitation rates. Drought also increased the acreage devoted to irrigated crops, particularly in 2006 in both counties, with nearly two times as many acres in Grant County and nearly five times as many acres in Hooker County. Additionally, open water acreage decreased by nearly 50% following the 2006 drought and wetland cover types increased. This analysis showed that different Sandhill counties have contrasting water resources, with an abundance of naturally occurring wet meadows in Grant County, whereas Hooker County has fewer wet meadows and more CPIS. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the landscape changes during drought years, with a decline in wet meadows, an increase in barren ground and an increase in CPIS and other irrigated systems for crops. In a changing climate, with potentially more extremes in precipitation, the diversity of strategies exemplified by these two counties will be important to inform adaptative responses. Overall, this research will contribute to a better understanding of the sustainability of land use and the future of groundwater resources in the Nebraska Sandhills

The Official Information Act: Maori with Lived Experience of Disability, and New Zealand Disability Data: a case study

This article presents a case study of the use of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), for research commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal in 2018 into disability-related issues for Mäori. The responses of Crown organisations to OIA requests examined in this research highlight both issues with inconsistent application of the OIA, and limited access to information held and made available by Crown agencies for Mäori with lived experience of disability.1 The statutory time frame for responses to OIA requests was rarely met. Organisations also resisted providing information, while crucial information for ensuring equity for Mäori with lived experience of disability was often not able to be released because it was not collected at all. The impact of these limitations is discussed, particularly pertaining to core government roles of performance monitoring and ensuring accountability. In addition to querying who benefits from, and is privileged by, the OIA and its application, questions are raised around the necessary components of a legislation rewrite in order to deliver on a modern approach to official information that ensures equitable, high-performing and truly democratic public administration

Extensor medii proprius: A cadaveric case study

Abstract: During routine dissection of 11 cadavers that originated with the Body Donor Program at PCOM Georgia, a 69-year-old male with bilateral extensor anomalies in the dorsal forearm compartment was encountered. The distinct muscle belly, identified as the extensor medii proprius, originated from the distal ulna and inserted into the dorsal aponeurosis of the third digit. Manual traction of the right tendon resulted in extension of the third digit, suggesting functional significance of the anomalous muscle. This case study analyzes the extensor medii proprius found during dissection, its prevalence, embryologic origins, and clinical significance. The presence of the extensor medii proprius muscle and tendon must be considered when assessing pain in the dorsum of the hand and when preparing for surgical repair or tendon transfer

Informing Anti-Racism Health Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand

Racism is firmly established as a determinant of health and an underlying cause of ethnic health inequities. As an organised system, racism operates at multiple levels (including structurally and interpersonally). Racism and its many manifestations are breaches of international human rights obligations and, in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, te Tiriti o Waitangi. This article considers approaches to anti-racism in health and disability policy in the 30 years following the foundational publication Pūao-te-Ata-Tū (Ministerial Advisory Committee on a Māori Perspective for the Department of Social Welfare, 1988), which was one of the first government publications to name and call out the harmful impacts of institutional racism. The article then examines the ways in which government health and disability sector organisations have talked about and responded to racism at a national level since 1980. The results of this research urge a stronger organisational-level approach to antiracism in the health and disability system for more tangible results, requiring multi-level solutions, and transforming what is considered ‘business as usual’ in health and disability sector institutions

Mechanical Loading As Potential Treatment For Wnt inhibitor Induced Bone Loss

The Wnt signaling pathway has been shown to play a role in bone homeostasis and carcinogenesis. On the one hand, a decrease in signaling has been associated with a decrease in bone mass, on the other, an increase in signaling with cancer development. LGK974 is a Wnt signaling inhibitor currently being investigated as a potential cancer therapeutic agent. This molecule inhibits Porcupine, a transmembrane protein necessary for Wnt ligand secretion. In light of the above and based on our preliminary data, treatment with LGK974 leads to bone mass loss. Our investigation aims to address whether such bone loss can be prevented by mechanically inducing stress to the bone during the treatment. We treated twelve 16-week old C57Bl/6J male mice with LGK974 (chemical Porcupine inhibitor) and twelve with a vehicle (0.5% Methyl Cellulose, 0.5% Tween-80 in water) on weekdays for two weeks. During that time, under isoflurane-induced anesthesia, all animals underwent right forearm mechanical loading at 60 cycles per day for 3 consecutive days using a 2-Hz haversine waveform at a peak force of 2.4 N. The non-loaded left forearm served as an internal control. Both loaded and control limbs were harvested 15 days post first loading day and processed for micro-computed tomography (microCT). Also, for dynamic histomorphometry (quantitative study of the microscopic organization and structure of the bone), we injected a small group of animals with two doses of 1% calcein solution on two different days to allow for measurement of bone formation rate and matrix apposition rate (a measure of the amount of bone matrix deposited per osteoblast cluster). All procedures performed in this experiment were in accordance with the Van Andel Research Institute Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines. So far, we have analyzed half of the collected ulnas, and even though, at this point, our results have not reached statistical significance, we see a trend of increased bone area, as well as cross sectional thickness in the loaded ulnas. We are currently in the process of analyzing the rest of the samples in order to determine if, all combined, our results reach statistical significance. If not, the next step would be processing the samples for histomorphometry. In conclusion, we have successfully established a mechanical ulnar loading model in order to study if mechanical loading can offset drug induced bone loss

Trends and determinants of excess winter mortality in New Zealand: 1980 to 2000

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although many countries experience an increase in mortality during winter, the magnitude of this increase varies considerably, suggesting that some winter excess may be avoidable. Conflicting evidence has been presented on the role of gender, region and deprivation. Little has been published on the magnitude of excess winter mortality (EWM) in New Zealand (NZ) and other Southern Hemisphere countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Monthly mortality rates per 100,000 population were calculated from routinely collected national mortality data for 1980 to 2000. Generalised negative binomial regression models were used to compare mortality rates between winter (June–September) and the warmer months (October–May).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 1980–2000 around 1600 excess winter deaths occurred each year with winter mortality rates 18% higher than expected from non-winter rates. Patterns of EWM by age group showed the young and the elderly to be particularly vulnerable. After adjusting for all major covariates, the winter:non-winter mortality rate ratio from 1996–2000 in females was 9% higher than in males. Mortality caused by diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 47% of all excess winter deaths from 1996–2000 with mortality from diseases of the respiratory system accounting for 31%. There was no evidence to suggest that patterns of EWM differed by ethnicity, region or local-area based deprivation level. No decline in seasonal mortality was evident over the two decades.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>EWM in NZ is substantial and at the upper end of the range observed internationally. Interventions to reduce EWM are important, but the surprising lack of variation in EWM by ethnicity, region and deprivation, provides little guidance for how such mortality can be reduced.</p

Formation of a conceptual framework during the development of a patient-reported outcome measure for early gastrointestinal recovery: Phase I of the PRO-diGi study

Aim: Patients admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery often experience gastrointestinal dysfunction. Many studies have reported outcomes following gastrointestinal dysfunction, yet there is no unified definition of recovery or a validated patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). The first stage of PROM development requires formation of a conceptual framework to identify key themes to patients. The aim of this study was to utilize semistructured interviews to identify core themes and concepts relevant to patients to facilitate development of a conceptual framework. Method: Adult patients admitted to hospital for major gastrointestinal, urological or gynaecological surgery, in an emergency or elective setting, were eligible to participate. Patients treated nonoperatively for small bowel obstruction were also eligible. Interviews were conducted by telephone, audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed using NVivo software by two researchers and reviewed by lay members of the steering group. Interviews continued until data saturation was reached. Ethical approval was gained prior to interviews (21/WA/0231). Results: Twenty nine interviews were completed (17 men, median age 64 years) across three specialties (20 gastrointestinal, six gynaecological, three urological). Two overarching themes of ‘general recovery’ and ‘gastrointestinal symptoms’ were identified. General recovery included three themes: ‘life impact’, ‘mental impact’, including anxiety, and ‘physical impact’, including fatigue. Gastrointestinal symptoms included three themes: ‘abdominal symptoms’ such as pain, ‘diet and appetite’ and ‘expulsory function’, such as stool frequency. A total of 18 gastrointestinal symptoms were identified during patient recovery—many of which lasted several weeks following discharge. Conclusion: This study reports a range of gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal symptoms experienced by patients during early gastrointestinal recovery. Identified symptoms have been synthesized into a conceptual framework to enable development of a definitive PROM for early gastrointestinal recovery