Discovering New Fungal Species to Kick-Start a Passion for Science

Our recent project supported through Unlocking Curious Minds funding from New Zealand's Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment enabled us to introduce school students to the fascinating, yet frequently forgotten, fungal kingdom. In this project, we demystified the science of species discovery. We collaborated with students at three schools and initially introduced the fungal kingdom to students that ranged in age from 8–17. We then set out to find, discriminate, and describe a species new to science with each school. We communicated with the students through social media and traditional means at each step of the discovery process, which culminated with the students visiting us at Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research in Auckland. The students were given a tour of our two nationally significant collections, the New Zealand Fungarium and the International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants. During this visit we revealed the genus of the fungus that the students had discovered and the students chose the species epithets for each new fungal species. These new species were published in scientific papers in which the names of the students, and their main teachers, from each school were included. Our project enabled us not only to educate students about Fungi, which are often overlooked in school curricula, but also to introduce students to the importance of species discovery, taxonomy, and the role of collections

Sharing knowledge – Innovative Solutions from New Zealand Taxonomic Collections

Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research (MWLR) is the custodian of nearly a third of New Zealand’s nationally significant natural history collections and databases. MWLR is a New Zealand Government-owned Research Institute whose purpose is to drive innovation in the management of terrestrial biodiversity and land resources. Active research programmes are associated with the collections and innovative projects to disseminate the resulting knowledge to the public have been developed. A number of these projects have focused on two-way sharing of knowledge and information with Māori, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s first people. Examples of science projects combining collections resources, community knowledge and research to produce bilingual guides, websites and teaching tools include: Ahi Pepe | Mothnet, a citizen science project that engages teachers, students and Māori with nature and science across New Zealand What is this bug?, a web-based invertebrate identification guide with bilingual translation (He Aha Tēnei Pepeke) Ngā Hekaheka o Aotearoa, a bilingual teaching resource combining scientific research with Māori ancestral knowledge and usage of fungi. Discover New Life, a project where researchers worked with students to discover and describe species new to science National New Zealand Flax Collection (HARAKEKE) , a living plant collection of weaving varieties of harakeke (NZ flax), providing plants and associated website resources on research, cultivation and traditional usage of harakeke for Māori weavers and the broader community. These projects have allowed development of ongoing relationships and knowledge sharing between MWLR natural history collections and New Zealand communities, enriching the collections and associated data for all

Model validation image data for breakup of a liquid jet in crossflow: part I

We have applied three different imaging diagnostics: particle imaging velocimetry, high-speed shadowgraphy, and ballistic imaging, to observe the breakup of a liquid jet in a crossflow of air under a variety of conditions. The experimental system was designed to provide well-controlled conditions with minimal amounts of turbulence in the liquid jet and the gaseous crossflow. A variety of Weber numbers and momentum flux ratios were studied in order to provide a sizable data set for the validation of computational models. This paper briefly describes the three spray imaging techniques, outlines the results obtained to-date, and tabulates image statistics for each of ten spray conditions at varying distances from the spray nozzle orifice. The end result is a first installment in what will become a comprehensive model validation data set for jets in crossflow for use by computational fluid dynamics modelers

Primary Care–based, Pharmacist–physician Collaborative Medication-therapy Management of Hypertension: A Randomized, Pragmatic Trial

PurposeA collaborative pharmacist-primary care provider (PharmD-PCP) team approach to medication-therapy management (MTM), with pharmacists initiating and changing medications at separate office visits, holds promise for the cost-effective management of hypertension, but has not been evaluated in many systematic trials. The primary objective of this study was to examine blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients managed by a newly formed PharmD-PCP MTM team versus usual care in a university-based primary care clinic.MethodsThis randomized, pragmatic clinical trial was conducted in hypertensive patients randomly selected for PharmD-PCP MTM or usual care. In the PharmD-PCP MTM group, pharmacists managed drug-therapy initiation and monitoring, medication adjustments, biometric assessments, laboratory tests, and patient education. In the usual-care group, patients continued to see their PCPs. Participants were aged ≥ 18 years, were diagnosed with hypertension, had a most recent BP measurement of ≥ 140/≥ 90 mm Hg (≥ 130/≥ 80 mm Hg if codiagnosed with diabetes mellitus), were on at least 1 antihypertensive medication, and were English speaking. The primary outcome was the difference in the mean change from baseline in systolic BP at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included the percentage achieving therapeutic BP goal and the mean changes from baseline in diastolic BP and low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.FindingsA total of 166 patients were enrolled (69 men; mean age, 67.7 years; PharmD-PCP MTM group, n = 75; usual-care group, n = 91). Mean reduction in SBP was significantly greater in the PharmD-PCP MTM group at 6 months (-7.1 [19.4] vs +1.6 [21.0] mm Hg; P = 0.008), but the difference was no longer statistically significant at 9 months (-5.2 [16.9] vs -1.7 [17.7] mm Hg; P = 0.22), based on an intent-to-treat analysis. In the intervention group, greater percentages of patients who continued to see the MTM pharmacist versus those who returned to their PCP were at goal at 6 months (81% vs 44%) and at 9 months (70% vs 52%). No significant between-group differences in changes in cholesterol were detected at 6 and 9 months; however, the mean baseline values were near recommended levels. The PharmD-PCP MTM group had significantly fewer PCP visits compared with the usual-care group (1.8 [1.5] vs 4.2 [1.0]; P < 0.001).ImplicationsA PharmD-PCP collaborative MTM service was more effective in lowering BP than was usual care at 6 months in all patients and at 9 months in patients who continued to see the pharmacist. Incorporating pharmacists into the primary care team may be a successful strategy for managing medication therapy, improving patient outcomes and possibly extending the capacity of primary care. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01973556