Housing Tenure: Pacific Families in New Zealand

Home ownership has been associated with health, social and economic benefits. However, a decline in ownership has been observed over the past decade in New Zealand. Minority groups, including Pacific people, have been disadvantaged in the housing sector. This study investigated housing tenure and the relationship between tenure and health among mothers of a birth cohort of Pacific children in New Zealand. Findings showed that most families lived in state or private rental accommodation with few (15.4 per cent) owning their own homes. Homeowners were more likely to be older, partnered and have higher incomes. Better mental health was observed for homeowners compared to renters. Findings can inform housing and public health policy for Pacific families.     

The effects of harvest maturity,ripeness and storage on kiwifruit aroma

Quantitative gas chromatographic analysis of the volatile aroma components has been used as an objective measure of the effects of maturity at harvest, ripeness and storage on the aroma volatiles of kiwifruit. Increasing ripeness is associated with a rapid increase in the levels of aroma volatiles, especially esters, while increasing storage time prior to ripening is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of aroma volatiles.     

A method for constructing decodable de Bruijn sequences

We present two related methods of construction for de Bruijn (1946) sequences, both based on interleaving “smaller” de Bruijn sequences. Sequences obtained using these construction methods have the advantage that they can be “decoded” very efficiently, i.e., the position within the sequence of any particular “window” can be found very simply. Sequences with simple decoding algorithms are of considerable practical importance in position location applications     

Accuracy of asthma treatment in schoolchildren in NSW, Australia

Insufficient use of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as inhaled corticosteroids and cromoglycate, may contribute to the disease burden associated with asthma. Conversely, aggressive treatment of mild disease may result in avoidable costs and/or adverse drug effects. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between asthma severity and inhaled corticosteroid/cromoglycate use in a large (n=4,909) random sample of children, aged 8-11 yrs, in NSW, Australia. Asthma and its treatment were assessed by questionnaire responses. Asthma, defined as diagnosis plus current wheeze, was present in 901 children (18% of the sample), of whom 225 (5%) had moderate asthma, defined as asthma plus additional symptoms (sleep disturbance), utilization (hospital, casualty), or disability (reduced activity, school absence). Use of inhaled corticosteroid/cromoglycate was reported by 636 children (13% of the sample). Determinants of use included: asthma diagnosis, current wheeze, and troublesome dry nocturnal cough. There was also a strong relationship between anti-inflammatory treatment and a multicomponent asthma severity score constructed for each child. Inhaled corticosteroids and/or cromoglycate were used by 56% of the children with asthma (24% daily) and by 76% of children with moderate asthma (42% daily). Undertreatment, defined as less than daily inhaled corticosteroids/cromoglycate in moderate asthma, was identified in 130 children (14% of those with asthma or 3% of the sample). Conversely, apparently aggressive treatment, defined as inhaled corticosteroid/cromoglycate use in children with persistent minimal symptoms (asthma severity score of less than 3) was identified in 101 children (2% of the sample). Although there were significant differences between regions in the choice of anti-inflammatory drugs and in the prevalence both of undertreatment and apparently aggressive treatment, there was no clear relationship to regional utilization of emergency and hospital services for asthma. Nevertheless, the frequency of undertreatment suggests an opportunity to reduce asthma morbidity by more consistent application of current therapeutic guidelines.     

Ozone-induced alterations of lamellar body lipid and protein during alveolar injury and repair

Alveolar Type II cells in the rat respond to severe, acute ozone injury (3 ppm ozone for eight hours) by increasing their intracellular pool of surfactant; however, the newly stored surfactant is abnormal in composition. Lamellar bodies isolated between 24 and 96 hours after ozone exposure contained significantly more cholesterol in relation to phosphatidylcholine than did controls. By contrast, the cholesterol content of surfactant isolated from alveolar lavage remained unchanged throughout an 8-day post-ozone period. The total protein content of lamellar bodies in relation to phosphatidylcholine was significantly decreased at 24 and 48 hours post-ozone. Analysis of lamellar body proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the amount of a 14 kDa proteolipid was greatly reduced at the end of the eight-hour ozone exposure and remained low for at least 48 hours. This proteolipid appeared to be a specific lamellar body component since it was not detected in extracellular surfactant. The findings indicate that oxidative alveolar stress initiates characteristic alterations in both lipid and protein constituents of stored surfactant, without perturbation in the composition of extracellular surfactant.     

Positional distribution of CLA in TAG of lamb tissues

The content and positional distribution of CLA in TAG fractions of lamb tissues was examined with either preformed CLA or the linoleic acid precursor of CLA in the diet as experimental treatments. The CLA content of phospholipid (PL) from these tissues was also examined. Thirteen lambs were randomized to the following dietary treatments: (i) control diet (no supplement); (ii) CLA supplementation (0.33 g d⁻¹ for 21 d prior to weaning) to milk-replacer of pre-ruminating lambs, or (iii) feeding linoleic acid-rich oil (6% safflower oil on a dry matter basis) to weaned ruminating lambs. At slaughter, tissue samples were procured from diaphragm, rib muscle, and subcutaneous (SC) adipose tissue. Safflower oil supplementation in the diet resulted in an increase in CLA content of the TAG from diaphragm, rib muscle, and SC adipose tissue by about threefold (P<0.05) on a mol% basis. CLA was localized to the sn-1/3 positions of TAG. Animals that received pre-formed CLA, however, had increased proportions of CLA at the sn-2 position of TAG from SC adipose tissue, suggesting that there were tissue-specific dietary effects and possible age-related effects on the mode of FA incorporation into TAG. Safflower oil supplementation in the diet had no effect on the CLA content of PL from diaphragm, rib muscle, and SC adipose tissue, suggesting that CLA was preferentially incorporated into the TAG of these tissues.     

PI k mass production and an optimal circuit for the Nečiporuk slice

Letf: {0,1} ⁿ {0,1} ^m be anm-output Boolean function inn variables.f is called ak-slice iff(x) equals the all-zero vector for allx with Hamming weight less thank andf(x) equals the all-one vector for allx with Hamming weight more thank. Wegener showed that PI _k -set circuits (set circuits over prime implicants of lengthk) are at the heart of any optimum Boolean circuit for ak-slicef. We prove that, in PI _k -set circuits, savings are possible for the mass production of anyFX, i.e., any collectionF ofm output-sets given any collectionX ofn input-sets, if their PI _k -set complexity satisfiesSC _m (FX)3n+2m. This PI _k mass production, which can be used in monotone circuits for slice functions, is then exploited in different ways to obtain a monotone circuit of complexity 3n+o(n) for the Neiporuk slice, thus disproving a conjecture by Wegener that this slice has monotone complexity (n ^3/2). Finally, the new circuit for the Neiporuk slice is proven to be asymptotically optimal, not only with respect to monotone complexity, but also with respect to combinational complexity.     

D-subgenome bias of Xcm resistance genes in tetraploid Gossypium (cotton) suggests that polyploid formation has created novel avenues for evolution

A detailed RFLP map was used to determine the chromosomal locations and subgenomic distributions of cotton (Gossypium) genes/QTLs that confer resistance to the bacterial blight pathogen, Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum (Xcm). Genetic mapping generally corroborated classic predictions regarding the number and dosage effects of genes conferring Xcm resistance. One recessive allele (b6) was a noteworthy exception to the genetic dominance of most plant resistance alleles. This recessive allele appeared to uncover additional QTLs from both resistant and ostensibly susceptible genotypes, some of which corresponded in location to resistance (R)-genes effective against other Xcm races. One putatively "defeated" resistance allele (B3) reduced severity of Xcm damage by "virulent" races. Among the six resistance genes derived from tetraploid cottons, five (83%) mapped to D-subgenome chromosomes-if each subgenome were equally likely to evolve new R-gene alleles, this level of bias would occur in only about 1.6% of cases. Possible explanations of this bias include biogeographic factors, differences in evolutionary rates between subgenomes, gene conversion or other intergenomic exchanges that escaped detection by genetic mapping, or other factors. A significant D-subgenome bias of Xcm resistance genes may suggest that polyploid formation has offered novel avenues for phenotypic response to selection.     

Visualising Errors in Animal Pedigree Genotype Data

Genetic analysis of a breeding animal population involves determining the inheritance pattern of genotypes for multiple genetic markers across the individuals in the population pedigree structure. However, experimental pedigree genotype data invariably contains errors in both the pedigree structure and in the associated individual genotypes, introducing inconsistencies into the dataset, rendering them useless for further analysis. The resolution of these errors requires consideration of genotype inheritance patterns in the context of the pedigree structure. Existing pedigree visualisations are typically more suited to human pedigrees and are less suitable for large complex animal pedigrees which may exhibit cross generational inbreeding. Similarly, table‐based viewers of genotype marker data can highlight where errors become apparent but lack the functionality and interactive visual feedback to allow users to locate the origin of errors within the pedigree. In this paper, we detail a design study steered by biologists who work with pedigree data, and describe successive iterations through approaches and prototypes for viewing genotyping errors in the context of a displayed pedigree. We describe how each approach performs with real pedigree genotype data and why eventually we deemed them unsuitable. Finally, a novel prototype visualisation for pedigrees, which we term the ‘sandwich view’, is detailed and we demonstrate how the approach effectively communicates errors in the pedigree context, supporting the biologist in the error identification task.