Filipino women's health study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Background: Western acculturation has been shown to be detrimental to health outcomes. Recently, more Filipinos are migrating to New Zealand, which may increase lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Furthermore, Filipino populations already have a higher incidence of chronic disease and less favourable health outcomes than their Western counterparts. Understanding their risk will assist development of public health initiatives which can be utilised to protect the health of the growing Filipino New Zealand migrant population. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease among recently immigrated Filipino women Method: 62 recently-immigrated Filipino women, aged 19-45, were recruited from Auckland, New Zealand. A health and demographic information questionnaire was completed. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist circumference) and blood pressure were measured. Both total and percent body fat were determined using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Fasting glucose, insulin, and lipids were measured. Physical activity data was monitored by accelerometers and two-day food diaries were completed. Homeostasis Model Assessment 2 was used to quantify insulin resistance. The 30-year Framingham Risk Score was used to classify participants into low-, medium-, or high-risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Programme criteria was determined. Results: Body mass index, waist circumference, and percent body fat were positively correlated with higher insulin resistance. Smokers had higher insulin resistance than non-smokers. However, 90% of participants had a low long-term risk of developing cardiovascular disease and 10% of participants met the metabolic syndrome criteria. This study was cross-sectional and provided used self-selection sampling. Conclusion: Anthropometric measures and smoking were associated with higher insulin resistance in participants. Participants with metabolic syndrome (10%) were at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study highlights the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease development, and the need for further research, in this Filipino migrant population. These findings also create a platform for improving New Zealand health programmes by targeting appropriate risk factors to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce risk of developing diabetes, and will help to raise awareness in the Filipino community

Using Rapid Alloy Prototyping to Investigate the Effects of Residual Elements in Increased Scrap Recycling

This work employs a novel, small-scale rapid alloy prototyping (RAP) method, developed throughout the project, to investigate the feasibility of using this research method to investigate the effects of residual elements. The RAP samples vary from 20g to 140g and are quick to produce, allowing an array of unique compositions with synthetic scrap additions, to be tested quickly.Residual elements are commonly introduced via steel scrap and need to be carefully monitored and controlled throughout the steelmaking process. The impact on product quality resulting from residual elements necessitates strict limits on the percentage of scrap that can be used in the manufacture of new steel products, limiting the environmental and financial benefits that come from increasing scrap use. This highlights the need for research that challenges the stringency of industrially enforced residual limits across different steel grades. There is minimal existing research in this area, predominantly on lower alloy grades, and often published several decades ago.he looming importance of the climate crisis exacerbates the urgency for research focused on reducing the environmental impact of vital industries such as steel.This work focusses on two different steels, a DP800 with high levels of alloying content where the impact of residual elements is expected to be less pronounced, and a low carbon steel with far fewer alloying additions and far more industrial concern for the impact of the residual elements.Results published in this thesis show that the RAP method can be a valuable tool in understanding the impacts of increased scrap use on steel products, demonstrating that environmentally responsible manufacturing does not necessarily require a significant compromise in product quality. Several of the sub-150g lab-scale RAP samples can be produced each week, allowing for far faster alloy research compared to the 30-60kg pilot-scale samples currently used in product development, allowing for rapid investigations into compositional variations in both new and established steel grades

An Exploratory Study Into Stakeholder Perceptions of a Proposed Geotrail in the Perth Hills

Geotourism is a form of natural area tourism that can include natural and human-made sites of geological significance. This new form of tourism provides destinations with an opportunity to provide a unique product to visitors. The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of tourism stakeholders on a proposed geotrail in the Perth Hills. Due to the limitation of appropriate frameworks and models surrounding geotourism development, Steps 1 to 5 of Gunn\u27s (2002) Site Design Steps was used for the identification and development of individual geosites within a proposed geotourism trail in the Perth Hills. Fourteen tourism stakeholders were identified using a snow-ball interview technique, with convenience sampling used to identify prospective tourists. Participants were given a \u27key stakeholder information booklet\u27 prior to the in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted between September and November 2010. The findings were combined to create a market analysis of the tourism industry in Western Australia and the eastern region of Perth. The market analysis identified the different tourism markets, characteristics of visitors, existing tourism products, established geotourism products, current major tourist attractions in Perth and the surrounding areas, and new market opportunities for geotourism and geotrails within the Perth area. The program definition of the project identified three significant geosites in the Perth Hills- the Red Hill quarry, Boya Mountain Quarry and the Zig Zag. These sites were then assessed for their on-site and off-site factors and provided to stakeholders for consideration as geosites within the proposed geotrail. Although there were differences on how each stakeholder group perceived the geotrail, each group supported the geotrail plan and viewed it as an opportunity to increase tourism in the Perth Hills. Without the input of stakeholders various concerns with the geotrail would not have been realised, relating back to the reviewed literature and influencing the amended geotrail route. Overall, stakeholders that were interviewed found the geotrail plan to be an interesting concept. However, there were some doubts as to how successful the trail would be and if there would be enough visitations to warrant the development of the trail. However, the general consensus of the interviews was that any new product that would create an increase in tourism in the Perth Hills and provide visitors with more activities would be supported by all stakeholder groups

Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death in childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most common cause of mortality in childhood onset hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Despite this, our understanding of risk factors and ability to identify those at highest risk is limited. The aims of this thesis were to perform the first systematic investigation of SCD in childhood HCM and develop a novel paediatric-specific risk model. Using a large, retrospective, international multi-centre cohort of children with HCM this thesis firstly describes the natural history of childhood onset disease. The second part of the thesis presents the results of the first systematic review and metaanalysis of clinical risk factors for SCD in childhood HCM identifying four major clinical risk factors; previous malignant arrhythmic event, unexplained syncope, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) and extreme left ventricular hypertrophy. In the third part of this thesis, the current risk stratification guidelines are shown to have only moderate discriminatory ability (C statistic 0.62 (95% CI 0.55-0.70)) with a corresponding 5-year positive and negative predictive value of 9.0% and 94.5%. Thus, a novel paediatric model is developed using pre-selected clinical variables from the meta-analysis (unexplained syncope, NSVT, left atrial diameter, maximal wall thickness and left ventricular outflow tract gradient). The model's ability to predict risk at 5 years was validated; C statistic 0.69 (95% CI, 0.66-0.72) and calibration slope 0.98 (95% CI, 0.59-1.38). In the final part of this thesis the role of additional novel risk factors, including 12-lead electrocardiograph and genotype, are explored. In summary, this thesis is the first systematic and comprehensive investigation of risk factors for SCD in childhood HCM. Important differences between adult and childhood disease are described and the first validated risk model for use in paediatric clinical care is presented

Perceptions and Practice: an Anthology of Impact Assessment Experiences

This book of stories on impact assessment, written by a journalist/editor, with guidance from an experienced development practitioner, is illustrative of CTA’s efforts to promote a culture of organisational learning. It is both entertaining and informative, conveying a serious message in a light style about what might have gone wrong with past attempts at impact assessment. Most significantly, the book shows that, with the correct approach, impact assessment studies can help to shed much-needed light on the intricate social and technical fabric that converts inputs into activities, activities into outputs, outputs into outcomes, and outcomes into impact.This book of stories on impact assessment, written by a journalist/editor, with guidance from an experienced development practitioner, is illustrative of CTA’s efforts to promote a culture of organisational learning..

Topic Maps and Entity Authority Records: an Effective Cyber Infrastructure for Digital Humanities

The implicit connections and cross-references between and within texts, which occur in all print collections, can be made explicit in a collection of electronic texts. Correctly encoded and exposed they create a framework to support resource discovery and navigation by following links between topics. This framework provides opportunities to visualise dense points of interconnection and, deployed across otherwise separate collections, can reveal unforeseen networks and associations. Thus approached, the creation and online delivery of digital texts moves from a digital library model with its goal as the provision of access, to a digital humanities model directed towards the innovative use of information technologies to derive new knowledge from our cultural inheritance. Using this approach the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre (NZETC) has developed a delivery system for its collection of over 2500 New Zealand and Pacifc Island texts using TEI XML, the ISO Topic Map technology and innovative entity authority management