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    Coronavirus: las tres lecciones de liderazgo de la primera ministra de Nueva Zelanda
    (The Conversation Media Group Ltd, 2020-04-14) Wilson S
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    Evolutionary relationships in Santalales inferred using target capture with Angiosperms353, focusing on Australasian Santalaceae sensu lato
    (CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 2025-08) Anderson BM; Edlund M; James SA; Lepschi BJ; Nickrent DL; Sultan A; Tate JA; Petersen G; Murphy D
    The angiosperm order Santalales comprises more than 2500 species, most of which are hemi- or holoparasitic on other plants, and derive water and nutrients via specialised structures that attach to host roots or stems. The parasitic lifestyle has affected the morphology and genomes of these plants, and classification of the order has been difficult, with outstanding questions about membership of and relationships between families in the order. We chose to focus on improving phylogenetic sampling in the broadly circumscribed Santalaceae sens. lat., with emphasis on Australasian members of Amphorogynaceae and Viscaceae as part of the Genomics for Australian Plants Initiative. We used target capture with the Angiosperms353 bait set to generate a dataset of 318 nuclear loci × 195 samples, including publicly available data from other Santalales families. Phylogenetic inferences using maximum likelihood concatenation and a summary coalescent approach were largely congruent and resolved relationships between most families, agreeing with much of the previous work on the order. Some relationships that have been difficult to resolve remained so, such as branching order among some families in Olacaceae sens. lat. and Santalaceae sens. lat. Denser sampling in Amphorogynaceae and Viscaceae provided new insights into species-level relationships in genera such as Leptomeria and Choretrum, and allowed testing of recent phylogenetic work in Korthalsella. Our new phylogenetic hypothesis is consistent with one origin of root hemiparasitism, two origins of holoparasitism and five origins of aerial parasitism in the order. Although Angiosperms353 was successful, some phylogenetic bias in gene recovery suggests that future studies may benefit from more specific baits and deeper sequencing, especially for Viscaceae.
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    An exploration into gender and generational differences in mental health literacy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-07-25) Dodge, Andrew
    Mental distress touches the lives of many. Society could benefit from enhancing the public’s ability to effectively assist in its identification, management, and prevention. Mental health literacy is a concept that assesses this capacity in the general population. Prior international research indicates that both gender and generational differences for this construct exist, with men and older adults typically exhibiting lower levels of mental health literacy. However, we currently lack an accurate understanding of why such patterns have emerged and an evaluation of whether these differences may be influenced by measurement bias. This study seeks to enhance our understanding of these differences. Using a cross-sectional quantitative study design, a total of 830 participants aged 18 to 76 from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia completed an online questionnaire measuring their mental health literacy and restrictive emotionality. Men demonstrated lower levels of mental health knowledge and attitudes than women, while partial support was found for a linear pattern of differences across generations for mental health attitudes (with older generations exhibiting lower mental health attitude scores than younger generations). However, given the lack of evidence to support measurement invariance, it is possible that these observed differences were influenced by differences in measurement properties. The results did not support the assertion that younger generations would be more likely to falsely detect the presence of a mental health disorder when presented with a vignette describing normal levels of distress in a difficult situation. Additionally, the study did not find evidence that restrictive emotionality mediates the relationship between gender and mental health attitudes. Overall, this study raises the possibility that gender and generational differences in mental health literacy may be influenced by measurement bias. The findings also suggest that the broad conceptualisation of mental health literacy as a multidimensional construct may fail to adequately capture the nature and strength of the relationships between the variables that it is comprised of. Additionally, these results contrast voices from concept creep literature suggesting an expanding concept of harm concerning mental health terminology among younger generations. Rather, this study suggests that perceived generational differences within this area may be exaggerated.
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    Health equity in a climate-altered world
    (y Elsevier B V on behalf of Public Health Association of Australia, 2025-08-01) Murray L; Vyas A; Reweti A; Humphrey K; Murray L; Vyas A; Reweti A; Humphrey K
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    Widespread occurrence of benzimidazole resistance single nucleotide polymorphisms in the canine hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, in Australia
    (Elsevier Ltd on behalf of the Australian Society for Parasitology Incorporated, 2025-03) Abdullah S; Stocker T; Kang H; Scott I; Hayward D; Jaensch S; Ward MP; Jones MK; Kotze AC; Šlapeta J
    Canine hookworm (Ancylostoma caninum), a gastrointestinal nematode of domestic dogs, principally infects the small intestine of dogs and has the potential to cause zoonotic disease. In greyhounds and pet dogs in the USA, A. caninum has been shown to be resistant to multiple anthelmintics. We conducted a molecular survey of benzimidazole resistance in A. caninum from dogs at veterinary diagnostic centers in Australia and New Zealand. First, we implemented an internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 rDNA deep amplicon metabarcoding sequencing approach to ascertain the species of hookworms infecting dogs in the region. Then, we evaluated the frequency of the canonical F167Y and Q134H isotype-1 β-tubulin mutations, which confer benzimidazole resistance, using the same sequencing approach. The most detected hookworm species in diagnostic samples was A. caninum (90%; 83/92); the related Northern hookworm (Uncinaria stenocephala) was identified in 11% (10/92) of the diagnostic samples. There was a single sample with coinfection by A. caninum and U. stenocephala. Both isotype-1 β-tubulin mutations were present in A. caninum, 49% and 67% for Q134H and F167Y, respectively. Mutation F167Y in the isotype-1 β-tubulin mutation was recorded in U. stenocephala for the first known time. Canonical benzimidazole resistance codons 198 and 200 mutations were absent. Egg hatch assays performed on a subset of the A. caninum samples showed significant correlation between 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) to thiabendazole and F167Y, with an increased IC50 for samples with > 75% F167Y mutation. We detected 14% of dogs with > 75% F167Y mutation in A. caninum. Given that these samples were collected from dogs across various regions of Australia, the present study suggests that benzimidazole resistance in A. caninum is widespread. Therefore, to mitigate the risk of resistance selection and further spread, adoption of a risk assessment-based approach to limit unnecessary anthelmintic use should be a key consideration for future parasite control.
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    Food Group Consumption and Nutrient Intake by Breastfeeding Women: Comparison to Current Dietary Guidelines and Nutrient Recommendations.
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-01-21) Jin Y; Coad J; Brough L; Billeaud C; Asher O
    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Optimal nutrition is essential for the health of breastfeeding women and their infants. This study aimed to assess food and nutrient intake and alignment with nutrition guidelines for breastfeeding women living in New Zealand. METHODS: Seventy-six breastfeeding women were enrolled in the longitudinal Mother and Infant Nutrition Investigation study and completed a weighed four-day diet diary including supplement use at three months postpartum. The number of servings consumed for each food group were calculated based on the 2020 Eating and Activity Guidelines for New Zealand Adults. Nutrient intakes were compared to the nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand. RESULTS: Overall, the percentages of women who met the recommended number of servings for fruits, vegetables, grain foods, meats and milk/milk products were 25%, 0%, 5%, 34%, and 13%, respectively. None of women met the current recommendations for all food groups. Many participants had intakes below the estimated average requirement or adequate intake and were at risk of nutrient inadequacy for vitamin E (55%), vitamin D (53%), manganese (61%), and selenium (55%). CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding women had a low alignment with the current dietary guidelines and were at risk of an inadequate intake of vitamin E, D, manganese, and selenium. Research to investigate the barriers and enablers of healthy food choices is needed.
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    Do climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour affect one another? : a longitudinal investigation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the qualification of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024) McLean, Tamara Alice
    Anthropogenic climate change poses a serious threat to psychological wellbeing. One particular negative emotional response gaining scholarly attention is climate anxiety: anxious feelings arising from climate change, even among people not yet personally impacted by this global environmental crisis. Research suggests that climate anxiety might be implicated in pro-environmental behaviour. Specifically, climate anxiety may motivate individuals to act in ways that, if widely adopted, could mitigate the damage caused by climate change. Furthermore, there is a common assumption that these sustainable behaviours will alleviate climate anxiety, creating a mutually beneficial cycle where pro-climate actions increase and distressing anxiety is eased. However, these ideas are not well supported by empirical and theoretical evidence. This study aimed to test the hypotheses that 1) climate anxiety causes pro-environmental behaviour to increase over time, and 2) pro-environmental behaviour causes climate anxiety to decrease over time. A sample of 700 Australian and New Zealand adults was recruited via the online research platform Prolific and surveyed monthly on five occasions. Data were analysed using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, which controlled for stable, between-person differences while focusing on dynamic within-person changes over time. The study found no evidence of a causal relationship between climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour. Higher levels of climate anxiety at one wave were not significantly associated with higher levels of pro-environmental behaviour at the following wave, and higher levels of pro-environmental behaviour at one wave were not significantly associated with lower levels of climate anxiety at the next wave. Furthermore, levels of climate anxiety were very low across the sample, indicating that climate anxiety, experienced at a level that causes clinically significant emotional and cognitive impairment, is relatively rare. These findings suggest that climate anxiety is unlikely to have the helpful side effect of increasing an individual’s engagement in pro-environmental behaviour, but neither will it deter a person from taking action. Moreover, taking action is unlikely to reduce climate anxiety. Further scholarship is needed to investigate climate anxiety and its complex relationship with pro-environmental behaviour.
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    Quality improvement interpreted as a complex adaptive system : implications and opportunities : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024-11-01) Wilson, William
    The effectiveness of quality improvement (QI) methods in healthcare has been challenged, especially under circumstances of high complexity. This thesis examines the implications for quality improvement if complex socio-technical systems such as healthcare are interpreted as complex adaptive systems (CAS). The research followed a mixed-method design. Informed by the complex systems and quality management literature, a conceptual model for quality improvement within CAS was developed — the complex quality improvement network (CQIN). An agent-based simulation model was then used to establish the plausibility and face validity of the model constructs and their interaction. Thematic analysis and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) were then used to examine the evidence for CQIN constructs within published quality improvement case studies. One applied case study was also conducted for deeper insight into the practical difficulties of interpreting a real-world quality improvement project as a CAS. Finally, the findings of the simulation modelling and the secondary data analysis were integrated into a Bayesian network model. Empirical evidence, in the form of consistency across cases and coverage within cases, was found for eleven of the twelve CQIN constructs. Multiple sets of sufficient conditions for reported improvement success were identified across cases. These sets were minimised to four strategies for successful quality improvement; i) strengthening agent network communication paths; ii) building shared understanding of problem and context amongst networked agents; iii) increasing problem-solving effectiveness; and iv) improved system signal integration. If the evolutionary foundations for CAS are in some way inhibited, the likelihood of quality improvement success is reduced. Healthcare quality improvement can be plausibly simulated using fundamental CAS principles. The first contribution to quality improvement discourse is the CQIN model, a CAS model of change applied specifically to quality improvement. A second contribution of this research is a complex quality improvement risk assessment model, the CQIN Bayesian Network. Practitioners can use this model to examine and test identified CAS-informed improvement strategies. The individual CQIN constructs make a third contribution by providing new categories of causal factors for the comparison of disparate quality improvement case studies.
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    Tail risk connectedness in the Australian National Electricity Markets: The impact of rare events
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-12-25) Pham SD; Do HX; Nepal R; Jamasb T
    The tail risks can exhibit different and important features than average measures of risk in interconnected electricity markets. This paper examines the interconnectedness of tail risks within the regionally interconnected Australian National Electricity Market. We use the Conditional Autoregressive Value-at-Risk (CAViaR) and time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) connectedness approach. Analysing historical data between 01 January 2006 and 04 February 2024. The results show significant levels of connectedness for both negative and positive tail risks, highlighting the dynamic and interdependent nature of these markets. Notably, we identify asymmetries in the transmission of tail risks and their key drivers, including oil market volatility and global geopolitical risks. Our findings show that some regions play a pivotal role in the risk dynamics across the regions of the network and the influence of energy source diversity on risk profiles. The study underscores the complexity of managing the expected increase in tail risks in interconnected electricity markets, emphasizing the need for adaptive, forward-thinking strategies tailored to evolving global and local conditions.