Vegetation and peat characteristics of restiad bogs on Chatham Island (Rekohu), New Zealand

Restiad bogs dominated by Sporadanthus traversii on Chatham Island, New Zealand, were sampled to correlate vegetation patterns and peat properties, and to compare with restiad systems dominated by Sporadanthus ferrugineus and Empodisma minus in the Waikato region, North Island, New Zealand. Classification and ordination resulted in five groups that reflected a disturbance gradient. The largest S. traversii group, which comprised plots from central, relatively intact bogs, had the lowest levels of total nitrogen (mean 1.20 mg cm-3), total phosphorus (mean 0.057 mg cm-3), total potassium (mean 0.083 mg cm-3), and available phosphorus (mean 18.6 μg cm-3). Modification by drainage, stock, and fires resulted in a decline of S. traversii and an increase of Gleichenia dicarpa fern cover, together with elevated peat nutrient levels and higher bulk density. Compared with peat dominated by Sporadanthus ferrugineus or Empodisma minus in relatively unmodified Waikato restiad bogs, Chatham Island peat under S. traversii has significantly higher total potassium, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, bulk density, and von Post decomposition indices, and significantly lower pH. Sporadanthus traversii and Empodisma minus have similar ecological roles in restiad bog development, occupying a relatively wide nutrient range, and regenerating readily from seed after fire. Despite differences in root morphology, S. traversii and E. minus are the major peat formers in raised restiad bogs on Chatham Island and in Waikato, respectively, and could be regarded as ecological equivalents

‘Do i care?’ young adults' recalled experiences of early adolescent overweight and obesity: a qualitative study

<p>Objective: Individual behaviour change to reduce obesity requires awareness of, and concern about, weight. This paper therefore describes how young adults, known to have been overweight or obese during early adolescence, recalled early adolescent weight-related awareness and concerns. Associations between recalled concerns and weight-, health- and peer-related survey responses collected during adolescence are also examined.</p> <p>Design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews with young adults; data compared with responses to self-report questionnaires obtained in adolescence.</p> <p>Participants: A total of 35 participants, purposively sub-sampled at age 24 from a longitudinal study of a school year cohort, previously surveyed at ages 11, 13 and 15. Physical measures during previous surveys allowed identification of participants with a body mass index (BMI) indicative of overweight or obesity (based on British 1990 growth reference) during early adolescence. Overall, 26 had been obese, of whom 11 had BMI99.6th centile, whereas 9 had been overweight (BMI=95th–97.9th centile).</p> <p>Measures: Qualitative interview responses describing teenage life, with prompts for school-, social- and health-related concerns. Early adolescent self-report questionnaire data on weight-worries, self-esteem, friends and victimisation (closed questions).</p> <p>Results: Most, but not all recalled having been aware of their overweight. None referred to themselves as having been obese. None recalled weight-related health worries. Recollection of early adolescent obesity varied from major concerns impacting on much of an individual's life to almost no concern, with little relation to actual severity of overweight. Recalled concerns were not clearly patterned by gender, but young adult males recalling concerns had previously reported more worries about weight, lower self-esteem, fewer friends and more victimisation in early adolescence; no such pattern was seen among females. Conclusion: The popular image of the unhappy overweight teenager was not borne out. Many obese adolescents, although well aware of their overweight recalled neither major dissatisfaction nor concern. Weight-reduction behaviours are unlikely in such circumstances.</p&gt

Work ethics and general work attitudes in adolescents are related to quality of life, sense of coherence and subjective health – a Swedish questionnaire study

BACKGROUND: Working life is an important arena in most people's lives, and the working line concept is important for the development of welfare in a society. For young people, the period before permanent establishment in working life has become longer during the last two decades. Knowledge about attitudes towards work can help us to understand young people's transition to the labour market. Adolescents are the future workforce, so it seems especially important to notice their attitudes towards work, including attitudes towards the welfare system. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse upper secondary school students' work attitudes, and to explore factors related to these attitudes. METHODS: The sample consisted of 606 upper secondary school students. They all received a questionnaire including questions about quality of life (QOL), sense of coherence (SOC), subjective health and attitudes towards work. The response rate was 91%. A factor analysis established two dimensions of work attitudes. Multivariate analyses were carried out by means of logistic regression models. RESULTS: Work ethics (WE) and general work attitudes (GWA) were found to be two separate dimensions of attitudes towards work. Concerning WE the picture was similar regardless of gender or study programme. Males in theoretical programmes appeared to have more unfavourable GWA than others. Multivariate analyses revealed that good QOL, high SOC and good health were significantly related to positive WE, and high SOC was positively related to GWA. Being female was positively connected to WE and GWA, while studying on a practical programme was positively related to GWA only. Among those who received good parental support, GWA seemed more favourable. CONCLUSION: Assuming that attitudes towards work are important to the working line concept, this study points out positive factors of importance for the future welfare of the society. Individual factors such as female gender, good QOL, high SOC and good health as well as support from both parents, positive experience of school and work contacts related positively to attitudes towards work. Further planning and supportive work have to take these factors into account

Dynamic Grouping of Hippocampal Neural Activity During Cognitive Control of Two Spatial Frames

Hippocampal neurons represent two concurrent streams of spatial information by transiently organizing into subpopulations of coactive neurons and can reflect the most behaviorally relevant information at any given time

Lessons for sustainability from the world's most sustainable culture

Sustainable development is one of the key challenges faced by societies today. Yet it is not a new challenge; throughout history, societies have faced the need to live within environmental constraints. Some have done so well, and some poorly. One society which did well for tens of thousands of years is that of Aboriginal Australia. This paper explores some lessons from Aboriginal Australia which have resonance in the modern world and shows that countries which have learned those lessons are in fact more sustainable than those which have not. It thus suggests that there is much that the pantheon of human experience can teach the modern world as it endeavours to create a sustainable future

Crowdsourcing hypothesis tests: making transparent how design choices shape research results

To what extent are research results influenced by subjective decisions that scientists make as they design studies? Fifteen research teams independently designed studies to answer five original research questions related to moral judgments, negotiations, and implicit cognition. Participants from 2 separate large samples (total N > 15,000) were then randomly assigned to complete 1 version of each study. Effect sizes varied dramatically across different sets of materials designed to test the same hypothesis: Materials from different teams rendered statistically significant effects in opposite directions for 4 of 5 hypotheses, with the narrowest range in estimates being d = -0.37 to + 0.26. Meta-analysis and a Bayesian perspective on the results revealed overall support for 2 hypotheses and a lack of support for 3 hypotheses. Overall, practically none of the variability in effect sizes was attributable to the skill of the research team in designing materials, whereas considerable variability was attributable to the hypothesis being tested. In a forecasting survey, predictions of other scientists were significantly correlated with study results, both across and within hypotheses. Crowdsourced testing of research hypotheses helps reveal the true consistency of empirical support for a scientific claim.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Tibialis posterior in health and disease: a review of structure and function with specific reference to electromyographic studies

Tibialis posterior has a vital role during gait as the primary dynamic stabiliser of the medial longitudinal arch; however, the muscle and tendon are prone to dysfunction with several conditions. We present an overview of tibialis posterior muscle and tendon anatomy with images from cadaveric work on fresh frozen limbs and a review of current evidence that define normal and abnormal tibialis posterior muscle activation during gait. A video is available that demonstrates ultrasound guided intra-muscular insertion techniques for tibialis posterior electromyography

Novel mutations in TLR genes cause hyporesponsiveness to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toll like receptors (TLR) play the central role in the recognition of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Mutations in the TLR1, TLR2 and TLR4 genes may change the ability to recognize PAMPs and cause altered responsiveness to the bacterial pathogens.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study presents association between TLR gene mutations and increased susceptibility to <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP) infection. Novel mutations in TLR genes (TLR1- Ser150Gly and Val220Met; TLR2 – Phe670Leu) were statistically correlated with the hindrance in recognition of MAP legends. This correlation was confirmed subsequently by measuring the expression levels of cytokines (IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ) in the mutant and wild type moDCs (mocyte derived dendritic cells) after challenge with MAP cell lysate or LPS. Further <it>in silico </it>analysis of the TLR1 and TLR4 ectodomains (ECD) revealed the polymorphic nature of the central ECD and irregularities in the central LRR (leucine rich repeat) motifs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The most critical positions that may alter the pathogen recognition ability of TLR were: the 9^thamino acid position in LRR motif (TLR1–LRR10) and 4^thresidue downstream to LRR domain (exta-LRR region of TLR4). The study describes novel mutations in the TLRs and presents their association with the MAP infection.</p