scholarly journals The Pacific Tree-Parasitic Fungus Cyclocybe parasitica Exhibits Monokaryotic Fruiting, Showing Phenotypes Known from Bracket Fungi and from Cyclocybe aegerita

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 394
Author(s):  
Hannah Elders ◽  
Florian Hennicke
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Edible Mushroom ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Parasitic Fungus ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Physiological Trait ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Monokaryotic Fruiting ◽  
Competition Assays

Cyclocybe parasitica is a wood-destroying parasitic edible mushroom growing on diverse broad-leafed trees in New Zealand and other Pacific areas. Recent molecular systematics of European Cyclocybe aegerita, a newly delimited Asian phylum and of related species, corroborated the distinction of the chiefly saprobic cultivated edible mushroom C. aegerita from C. parasitica. Here, we show that C. parasitica exhibits a morpho-physiological trait characteristic to its European cousin, i.e., monokaryotic fruiting sensu stricto (basidiome formation without mating). Monokaryotic fruiting structures formed by C. parasitica ICMP 11668-derived monokaryons were categorized into four phenotypes. One of them displays ulcer-like structures previously reported from bracket fungi. Histology of dikaryotic and monokaryotic C. parasitica fruiting structures revealed anatomical commonalities and differences between them, and towards monokaryotic fruiting structures of C. aegerita. Mating experiments with C. parasitica strains representative of each fruiting phenotype identified compatible sibling monokaryons. Given reports on hypothetically monokaryotic basidiome field populations of ‘C. aegerita sensu lato’, it seems worthwhile to prospectively investigate whether monokaryotic fruiting s.str. occurs in nature. Sampling from such populations including karyotyping, comparative -omics, and competition assays may help to answer this question and provide evidence whether this trait may confer competitive advantages to a species capable of it.

Charles Francis Adams: diary of a young American taxidermist visiting New Zealand, 1884–1887

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Gill
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
East Indies ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Set Up ◽  
White Island

In December 1884 Charles Francis Adams (1857–1893) left Illinois, USA, by train for San Francisco and crossed the Pacific by ship to work as taxidermist at Auckland Museum, New Zealand, until February 1887. He then went to Borneo via several New Zealand ports, Melbourne and Batavia (Jakarta). This paper concerns a diary by Adams that gives a daily account of his trip to Auckland and the first six months of his employment (from January to July 1885). In this period Adams set up a workshop and diligently prepared specimens (at least 124 birds, fish, reptiles and marine invertebrates). The diary continues with three reports of trips Adams made from Auckland to Cuvier Island (November 1886), Karewa Island (December 1886) and White Island (date not stated), which are important early descriptive accounts of these small offshore islands. Events after leaving Auckland are covered discontinuously and the diary ends with part of the ship's passage through the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), apparently in April 1887. Adams's diary is important in giving a detailed account of a taxidermist's working life, and in helping to document the early years of Auckland Museum's occupation of the Princes Street building.

Cytisine as an alternative smoking cessation product for Pacific smokers in New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
Vili Nosa ◽  
Kotalo Leau ◽  
Natalie Walker
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Partial Agonist ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Liquid Form ◽  
Pacific People ◽  
The Pacific

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pacific people in New Zealand have one of the highest rates of smoking.  Cytisine is a plant-based alkaloid that has proven efficacy, effectiveness and safety compared to a placebo and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation.  Cytisine, like varenicline, is a partial agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and blocks the rewarding effects of nicotine. Cytisine is naturally found in some plants in the Pacific region, and so may appeal to Pacific smokers wanting to quit. This paper investigates the acceptability of cytisine as a smoking cessation product for Pacific smokers in New Zealand, using a qualitative study design. Methods: In December 2015, advertisements and snowball sampling was used to recruit four Pacific smokers and three Pacific smoking cessation specialists in Auckland, New Zealand. Semi-structured interviews where undertaken, whereby participants were asked about motivations to quit and their views on smoking cessation products, including cytisine (which is currently unavailable in New Zealand). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, with thematic analysis conducted manually. Findings: Pacific smokers reported wanting to quit for loved ones and family, but did not find currently available smoking cessation products effective. Almost all participants had not previously heard of cytisine, but many of the Pacific smokers were keen to try it. Participants identified with cytisine on a cultural basis (given its natural status), but noted that their use would be determined by the efficacy of the medicine, its cost, side-effects, and accessibility. They were particularly interested in cytisine being made available in liquid form, which could be added to a “smoothie” or drunk as a “traditional tea”.  Participants thought cytisine should be promoted in a culturally-appropriate way, with packaging and advertising designed to appeal to Pacific smokers. Conclusions: Cytisine is more acceptable to Pacific smokers than other smoking cessation products, because of their cultural practices of traditional medicine and the natural product status of cytisine.

scholarly journals The characteristics of behaviour change interventions used among Pacific people: a systematic search and narrative synthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amio Matenga-Ikihele ◽  
Judith McCool ◽  
Rosie Dobson ◽  
Fuafiva Fa’alau ◽  
Robyn Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Support ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Narrative Synthesis ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Behaviour Change Interventions ◽  
Pacific People ◽  
The Pacific

Abstract Background Pacific people living in New Zealand, Australia, United States, and the Pacific region continue to experience a disproportionately high burden of long-term conditions, making culturally contextualised behaviour change interventions a priority. The primary aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of behaviour change interventions designed to improve health and effect health behaviour change among Pacific people. Methods Electronic searches were carried out on OVID Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase and SCOPUS databases (initial search January 2019 and updated in January 2020) for studies describing an intervention designed to change health behaviour(s) among Pacific people. Titles and abstracts of 5699 papers were screened; 201 papers were then independently assessed. A review of full text was carried out by three of the authors resulting in 208 being included in the final review. Twenty-seven studies were included, published in six countries between 1996 and 2020. Results Important characteristics in the interventions included meaningful partnerships with Pacific communities using community-based participatory research and ensuring interventions were culturally anchored and centred on collectivism using family or social support. Most interventions used social cognitive theory, followed by popular behaviour change techniques instruction on how to perform a behaviour and social support (unspecified). Negotiating the spaces between Eurocentric behaviour change constructs and Pacific worldviews was simplified using Pacific facilitators and talanoa. This relational approach provided an essential link between academia and Pacific communities. Conclusions This systematic search and narrative synthesis provides new and important insights into potential elements and components when designing behaviour change interventions for Pacific people. The paucity of literature available outside of the United States highlights further research is required to reflect Pacific communities living in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific region. Future research needs to invest in building research capacity within Pacific communities, centering self-determining research agendas and findings to be led and owned by Pacific communities.

scholarly journals The use of mechanical restraint in Pacific Rim countries: an international epidemiological study

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Newton-Howes ◽  
M. K. Savage ◽  
R. Arnold ◽  
T. Hasegawa ◽  
V. Staggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pacific Rim ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mechanical Restraint ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Bed Days ◽  
Compare And Contrast

Abstract Aims The use of mechanical restraint is a challenging area for psychiatry. Although mechanical restraint remains accepted as standard practice in some regions, there are ethical, legal and medical reasons to minimise or abolish its use. These concerns have intensified following the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Despite national policies to reduce use, the reporting of mechanical restraint has been poor, hampering a reasonable understanding of the epidemiology of restraint. This paper aims to develop a consistent measure of mechanical restraint and compare the measure within and across countries in the Pacific Rim. Methods We used the publicly available data from four Pacific Rim countries (Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States) to compare and contrast the reported rates of mechanical restraint. Summary measures were computed so as to enable international comparisons. Variation within each jurisdiction was also analysed. Results International rates of mechanical restraint in 2017 varied from 0.03 (New Zealand) to 98.9 (Japan) restraint events per million population per day, a variation greater than 3000-fold. Restraint in Australia (0.17 events per million) and the United States (0.37 events per million) fell between these two extremes. Variation as measured by restraint events per 1000 bed-days was less extreme but still substantial. Within all four countries there was also significant variation in restraint across districts. Variation across time did not show a steady reduction in restraint in any country during the period for which data were available (starting from 2003 at the earliest). Conclusions Policies to reduce or abolish mechanical restraint do not appear to be effecting change. It is improbable that the variation in restraint within the four examined Pacific Rim countries is accountable for by psychopathology. Greater efforts at reporting, monitoring and carrying out interventions to achieve the stated aim of reducing restraint are urgently needed.

scholarly journals Manuscripts in the British Isles Relating to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific

1974 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
O. H. K. Spate ◽  
Phyllis Mander-Jones
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
British Isles ◽  
The Pacific

XII Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-227
Author(s):  
Paul Bailey ◽  
James Grayson ◽  
Michael Sturma ◽  
Peter Lineham
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Middle East ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
The Pacific

Biological Parameters of Three Populations of Triatoma dimidiata s. s. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) From Western Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Nogueda-Torres ◽  
Oziel D Montañez-Valdez ◽  
J G Michel-Parra ◽  
Diana M Martínez-Grant ◽  
J Alejandro Martínez-Ibarra
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Western Mexico ◽  
Post Feeding ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Cruzi Infection

Abstract Chagas disease is a very important vector-borne disease in México, and Triatoma dimidiata sensu stricto (Latreille) is one of the most important vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, mainly in southern and central states. In the Pacific Coast states with the highest prevalence of human T. cruzi infection, T. dimidiata s. s. is considered as a secondary vector. However, the vectorial capacity of those populations has not been studied. Therefore, the vector characteristics of three populations of T. dimidiata s. s. in western México were evaluated in this study. The populations were maintained in the laboratory at 27 ± 1°C and 75% ± 5% RH with a 12:12 h (light:dark) regime, fed on rabbits in a fortnight basis. The development times were short (172–238 d), and the number of bloodmeals to molt was low (11). Mortality was moderate (36–45%), the onset of feeding was relatively rapid (0.5–1.7 min), and feedings were extended (>15 min). More than 40% of individuals in most instars defecated in one of three categories: <1 min when feeding (5–37.9%), immediately after feeding (9–28.6%), or in <1 min post feeding (7–25.8%). The median number of laid eggs was high (over 2.5) in the three populations, as were the egg eclosion rates (>86%). Thus, the T. dimidiata s. s. in the three populations are potentially efficient vectors of T. cruzi and could contribute to the high prevalence of infection in human populations in western México.

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