Establishment of restoration monitoring at Tārerekautuku Yarrs Lagoon: Conservation Biology (ECOL609) project reports

Ninety percent of New Zealand’s wetlands have been lost along with the endemic plants, fish, birds, and invertebrates. Those that remain are threatened by choking weeds, suffocating sediment, pollution from livestock and continued drainage and clearance (Hansford, 2010). Therefore, all remaining wetlands, regardless of their ecological state, are precious and need to be restored and managed to maximise the biodiversity within. Tārerekautuku Yarrs Lagoon is a 76.9 ha reserve located along the Ararira/LII River between Lincoln and Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. Tārerekautuku is administered by the Selwyn District Council (SDC) who have recognised the wetland’s intrinsic value. The lagoon area was known as a significant mahinga kai (food gathering) site for Ngāi Tahu, and particularly the local hapū of Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki based at Taumutu. Mahinga kai species being gathered at this site include tuna (eel), koareare (the edible rhizome of raupō/bullrush), koukoupara (bullies), mawehe (kōaro), pārera (grey duck), pūtakitaki (paradise duck), pākura (pukeko), whio (blue duck), kaaha (shag) and aruhe (bracken fern root) (Taiaroa 1880). The cultural and biodiversity values of Tārerekautuku are significant and ecological restoration of the lagoon has a huge potential to enhance these (Boffa Miskell, 2017). Selwyn District Council, with the support of the Department of Conservation (mainly Robin Smith), received approximately $800,000 from Ministry for the Environment ‘Freshwater Improvement Fund’ towards achieving five objectives: 1. To control willows and other weeds across approximately 87 ha in the Tārerekautuku Yarrs Lagoon Wetland. 2. To undertake predator control within the wetland and surrounding catchment to target mustelids, rats, and possums 3. To reduce sediment loads through instream works (up to five sediment traps or equivalent) and waterways re-battering work (approximately 2,000 m), including installing two bridges for site access. 4. To plant at least 12,516 native plants and trees across eight ha of Tārerekautuku wetland and connecting waterways. 5. To establish a monitoring programme at the Tārerekautuku wetland for Mātauranga Māori to measure ecological change over time. With Lincoln University’s proximity and MOU (pending) between them and SDC, this project provides a win-win scenario for students to help monitor ecological changes over time (objective 5). The project summaries that follow are an integral part of the ECOL609 (Conservation Biology) course that is undertaken in the first semester of 2022 where students chose a conservation area to monitor. Vegetation quadrat monitoring intended to replicate Stammer (2010); however, access to the site was deemed unsafe to proceed. This work has been added as an Appendix in this report to allow future comparisons

The effects of age and type of carrying task on lower extremity kinematics

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age, load amount and load symmetry on lower extremity kinematics during carrying tasks. Forty-two participants in four age groups (8–10 years, 12–14 years, 15–17 years and adults) carried loads of 0%, 10% and 20% body weight (BW) in large or small buckets unilaterally and bilaterally. Reflective markers were tracked to determine total joint range of motion and maximum joint angles during the stance phase of walking. Maximum hip extension, hip adduction and hip internal rotation angles were significantly greater for each of the child/adolescent age groups as compared with adults. In addition, maximum hip internal rotation angles significantly increased when carrying a 20% BW load. The observation that the 8–10-year-old age group carried the lightest absolute loads and still displayed the highest maximum hip internal rotation angles suggests a particular necessity in setting carrying guidelines for the youngest children

Managerial and disciplinary responses to abandoned acquisitions in bidding firms: a new perspective

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Existing research suggests that internal and external corporate governance mechanisms substitute for one another to mitigate agency problems in bidding firms. This paper tests whether the interaction between these mechanisms is more complementary. Research Findings/Insights: While there is evidence for disciplinary responses to bids for unrelated targets involving strategic retrenchment and significant asset divestment, the influence of the information conveyed by this characteristic on the likelihood of post-abandonment discipline is not amplified when boards are less independent. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The results suggest that certain characteristics are used to distinguish between abandoned bidders which require discipline and those that do not. However, our findings do not suggest that interaction between internal and external governance mechanisms is contingent on board independence. Instead, these interactions between shareholders and boards seem to be contingent on a range of company, industry, and situation-specific factors. Practitioner/Policy Implications: While policy in the UK has focused on board independence as a means of effective corporate governance, our results suggest that this is not a panacea. Effective governance involves active owners, communicating their interests to boards, and boards responding accordingly. Further encouragement of such communication before, during, and after acquisitions will improve signals tomanagers that shareholders can target the necessary discipline of those whomthey perceive to need it most

Quantitative proteomics at different depths in human articular cartilage reveals unique patterns of protein distribution

The articular cartilage of synovial joints ensures friction-free mobility and attenuates mechanical impact on the joint during movement. These functions are mediated by the complex network of extracellular molecules characteristic for articular cartilage. Zonal differences in the extracellular matrix (ECM) are well recognized. However, knowledge about the precise molecular composition in the different zones remains limited. In the present study, we investigated the distribution of ECM molecules along the surface-to-bone axis, using quantitative non-targeted as well as targeted proteomics.\ In a discovery approach, iTRAQ mass spectrometry was used to identify all extractable ECM proteins in the different layers of a human lateral tibial plateau full thickness cartilage sample. A targeted MRM mass spectrometry approach was then applied to verify these findings and to extend the analysis to four medial tibial plateau samples. In the lateral tibial plateau sample, the unique distribution patterns of 70 ECM proteins were identified, revealing groups of proteins with a preferential distribution to the superficial, intermediate or deep regions of articular cartilage. The detailed analysis of selected 29 proteins confirmed these findings and revealed similar distribution patterns in the four medial tibial plateau samples. The results of this study allow, for the first time, an overview of the zonal distribution of a broad range of cartilage ECM proteins and open up further investigations of the functional roles of matrix proteins in the different zones of articular cartilage in health and disease

Neurophysiologic effects of spinal manipulation in patients with chronic low back pain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While there is growing evidence for the efficacy of SM to treat LBP, little is known on the mechanisms and physiologic effects of these treatments. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to determine whether SM alters the amplitude of the motor evoked potential (MEP) or the short-latency stretch reflex of the erector spinae muscles, and whether these physiologic responses depend on whether SM causes an audible joint sound.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used transcranial magnetic stimulation to elicit MEPs and electromechanical tapping to elicit short-latency stretch reflexes in 10 patients with chronic LBP and 10 asymptomatic controls. Neurophysiologic outcomes were measured before and after SM. Changes in MEP and stretch reflex amplitude were examined based on patient grouping (LBP vs. controls), and whether SM caused an audible joint sound.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SM did not alter the erector spinae MEP amplitude in patients with LBP (0.80 ± 0.33 vs. 0.80 ± 0.30 μV) or in asymptomatic controls (0.56 ± 0.09 vs. 0.57 ± 0.06 μV). Similarly, SM did not alter the erector spinae stretch reflex amplitude in patients with LBP (0.66 ± 0.12 vs. 0.66 ± 0.15 μV) or in asymptomatic controls (0.60 ± 0.09 vs. 0.55 ± 0.08 μV). Interestingly, study participants exhibiting an audible response exhibited a 20% decrease in the stretch reflex (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest that a single SM treatment does not systematically alter corticospinal or stretch reflex excitability of the erector spinae muscles (when assessed ~ 10-minutes following SM); however, they do indicate that the stretch reflex is attenuated when SM causes an audible response. This finding provides insight into the mechanisms of SM, and suggests that SM that produces an audible response may mechanistically act to decrease the sensitivity of the muscle spindles and/or the various segmental sites of the Ia reflex pathway.</p

Meta-analysis of several gene lists for distinct types of cancer: A simple way to reveal common prognostic markers

BACKGROUND: Although prognostic biomarkers specific for particular cancers have been discovered, microarray analysis of gene expression profiles, supported by integrative analysis algorithms, helps to identify common factors in molecular oncology. Similarities of Ordered Gene Lists (SOGL) is a recently proposed approach to meta-analysis suitable for identifying features shared by two data sets. Here we extend the idea of SOGL to the detection of significant prognostic marker genes from microarrays of multiple data sets. Three data sets for leukemia and the other six for different solid tumors are used to demonstrate our method, using established statistical techniques. RESULTS: We describe a set of significantly similar ordered gene lists, representing outcome comparisons for distinct types of cancer. This kind of similarity could improve the diagnostic accuracies of individual studies when SOGL is incorporated into the support vector machine algorithm. In particular, we investigate the similarities among three ordered gene lists pertaining to mesothelioma survival, prostate recurrence and glioma survival. The similarity-driving genes are related to the outcomes of patients with lung cancer with a hazard ratio of 4.47 (p = 0.035). Many of these genes are involved in breakdown of EMC proteins regulating angiogenesis, and may be used for further research on prognostic markers and molecular targets of gene therapy for cancers. CONCLUSION: The proposed method and its application show the potential of such meta-analyses in clinical studies of gene expression profiles