Crops and cultures in the Pacific: new data and new techniques for the investigation of old questions

Fifty years ago Carl Sauer suggested, controversially and on the basis of theory rather than evidence, that Southeast Asia was the source area for agriculture throughout the Old World, including the Pacific. Since then, the archaeobotanical record (macroscopic and microscopic) from the Pacific islands has increased, leading to suggestions, also still controversial, that Melanesia was a center of origin of agriculture independent of South-east Asia, based on tree fruits and nuts and vegetatively propagated starchy staples. Such crops generally lack morphological markers of domestication, so exploitation, cultivation and domestication cannot easily be distinguished in the archaeological record. Molecular studies involving techniques such as chromosome painting, DNA fingerprinting and DNA sequencing, can potentially complement the archaeological record by suggesting where species which were spread through the Pacific by man originated and by what routes they attained their present distributions. A combination of archaeobotanical and molecular studies should therefore eventually enable the rival claims of Melanesia versus South-east Asia as independent centers of invention of agriculture to be assessed.

Pil and Galia Kollectiv: solo exhibition at Te Tuhi Art Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.

The exhibition presents the full Future Trilogy which was completed in 2009. The trilogy is based on the opening of a new IKEA store in Edmonton, London in November 2005. IKEA celebrated with a twenty-four hour launch accompanied by significant price reductions on leather sofas. But when six thousand people arrived to compete for the discount a riot ensued which injured sixteen shoppers and required the store to be closed after just thirty minutes. The Future Trilogy takes this event as the starting point to speculate on a future where the popular fascination with modern designer furniture has morphed into state religions underpinned by the ideals of the early twentieth century avant-garde. The exhibition also presents their 2010 work Co-Operative Explanatory Capabilities in Organizational Design and Personnel Management which narrates a fictional story of a company that adopts highly experimental approaches to achieving worker productivity. The project investigates the place of creativity in efficiency management and the operation of bureaucratic systems in a post-industrial work environment. The Kollectiv's pseudo documentary creates a careful blend of fact and fiction through the combination of a distinctive BBC narrator's voice with imagery sourced from an online photographic archive for an early computing company. The story becomes increasingly provocative as more and more of the bizarre antics of the company employees are revealed, leading to the members of the company eventually forming a religious cult.

Using ecological niche modelling to infer past, present and future environmental suitability for Leiopelma hochstetteri, an endangered New Zealand native frog

Leiopelma hochstetteri is an endangered New Zealand frog now confined to isolated populations scattered across the North Island. A better understanding of its past, current and predicted future environmental suitability will contribute to its conservation which is in jeopardy due to human activities, feral predators, disease and climate change. Here we use ecological niche modelling with all known occurrence data (N = 1708) and six determinant environmental variables to elucidate current, pre-human and future environmental suitability of this species. Comparison among independent runs, subfossil records and a clamping method allow validation of models. Many areas identified as currently suitable do not host any known populations. This apparent discrepancy could be explained by several non exclusive hypotheses: the areas have not been adequately surveyed and undiscovered populations still remain, the model is over simplistic; the species` sensitivity to fragmentation and small population size; biotic interactions; historical events. An additional outcome is that apparently suitable, but frog-less areas could be targeted for future translocations. Surprisingly, pre-human conditions do not differ markedly highlighting the possibility that the range of the species was broadly fragmented before human arrival. Nevertheless, some populations, particularly on the west of the North Island may have disappeared as a result of human mediated habitat modification. Future conditions are marked with higher temperatures, which are predicted to be favourable to the species. However, such virtual gain in suitable range will probably not benefit the species given the highly fragmented nature of existing habitat and the low dispersal ability of this species. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Renewable energy education : Report from a field trip to Melbourne, Australia, and short visits to India and New Zealand During Nov/Dec 1992

During November and December 1992 I visited several groups involved with renewable energy, most of them dealing with education. These groups and their work are described briefly in this report. The groups in Melbourne, Australia have come a long way with education in this field and we have a lot to learn from them. Government funding is needed for large scale work, but useful work can still be done at the community level with much smaller budgets.

Morphometry of megakaryocytes in the liver of New Zealand White rabbits during intrauterine and postnatal development

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Tear production, intraocular pressure and conjunctival microbiota, cytology and histology of New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The Eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis From Infected Wildlife Populations: A New Zealand Scenario

The Animal Health Board (AHB) is the agency responsible for controlling bovine tuberculosis (Tb) in New Zealand. In 2000, the AHB embarked on a strategy designed to reduce the annual period prevalence of Tb infected cattle and farmed deer herds from 1.67% to 0.2% by 2012/13. Under current rules of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) this would allow New Zealand to claim freedom from Tb. The epidemiology of Tb in New Zealand is largely influenced by wildlife reservoirs of infection and control of Tb vector populations is central to the elimination of Tb from New Zealand’s cattle and deer herds. The AHB has classified New Zealand’s land area into Vector Risk Areas (VRAs) where Tb is established in wildlife (currently 39%) and Vector Free Areas (VFAs) where the disease is not established (61%). Within the VRAs the introduced Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is the primary wildlife maintenance host and the main source of infection for domestic cattle and deer herds. Southland is a region of New Zealand with a long history of wildlife associated Tb. Progress in reducing infected herd numbers has been impressive in recent years, primarily due to an intensive possum control program. As a result of this reduction, the focus is now shifting to that of providing increasing levels of confidence that Tb is absent from the remaining susceptible wildlife. High levels of confidence of Tb freedom in wildlife will allow the AHB to reduce the wildlife control programs and ultimately cease control altogether, with minimal risk of Tb reemerging. This paper examines the strategies being utilized to provide that confidence. The types of data, the format in which it is collected and the methods of analysis and review are outlined.

Quantification of deformation processes in the Torlesse accretionary wedge, New Zealand

Zusammenfassung:In dieser Studie werden Deformationsprozesse im mesozoischen Torlesse Akkretionskeil (Neuseeland) quantifiziert, um Aufschluß über die Dynamik in Akkretionskeilen zu erhalten. Absolute und relative Verformungsmessungen zeigen sowohl im lokalen als auch regionalen Maßstab eine stark heterogene Deformation des Torlesse Keils. Die regionale Deformation wurde mit Hilfe einer Tensordurchschnittsberechnung, unter Benutzung einzelner lokaler Verformungsdaten, als uniaxiale Verkürzung entlang einer subvertikalen, maximalen Verkürzungsachse charakterisiert. Absolute Verformungsmessungen an niedriggradigen Metasandsteinen belegen darüber hinaus durchschnittliche Volumenverluste von ca. 20% SiO2. Volumenveränderungen in tieferkrustalen Aufschlüssen wurden mittels einer geochemischen Massenbilanzanalyse abgeschätzt. Chemische Zusammensetzungen höhergradiger Zonen weichen je nach Grad der Volumenverformung von der Protolitzusammensetzung ab und zeigen somit Verluste von 15% SiO2 an. Da Speicherorte für das gelöste Material nicht bekannt sind, muss angenommen werden, dass das Material aus dem Keil abtransportiert wurde. Die Verformungsergebnisse geben weiterhin Aufschluß über den Grad der Kopplung zwischen Akkretionskeil und subduzierter Platte. Die ermittelten Scherwerte in den Gesteinen liegen deutlich unter den zu erwartenden Scherwerten, die mittels eines einfachen Modells berechnet wurden, das sowohl verschiedene Konvergenzgeschwindigkeiten als auch Exhumierungsraten berücksichtigt. Dies belegt, dass der Torlesse Keil stark von der subduzierten pazifischen Platte entkoppelt war und die Deformation hauptsächlich durch den Fluß der Sedimente in und aus dem Keil bestimmt wurde.

Mesozoic fold structure of the Otago and Alpine Schist Belt and its implications on the tectonic evolution of South Island, New Zealand

Erneute Untersuchungen der mesozoischen Faltenstruktur des Otago Schiefergürtels, Südinsel, Neuseeland, zeigen, dass diese aus zwei aufeinander folgenden, ähnlichen, asymmetrischen, offenen bis mäßig engen Großfaltengenerationen im km- Größenbereich besteht anstatt aus den vorher angenommenen Decken- oder Halbfalten. Hauptproblem der Großfaltenstruktur sind Zonen von durchgreifender Boudinage, die in der Nähe der Großfaltenscharniere entstanden sind. Vorherige Bearbeiter deuteten diese Zonen als 'starke Verformungszonen' oder Überschiebungszonen. Diese Arbeit zeigt, dass in diesen Zonen nur durch die asymmetrische Faltung die unteren liegenden Schenkel der Großfalten boudiniert und somit häufig die ansonsten typischen Faltenstrukturen des liegenden Schenkels einer symmetrischen Faltung überprägt wurden. Ein weiteres Problem dieser mesozoischen Großfaltenstruktur ist die Überprägung einer Faltengeneration auf eine frühere. Weil die Verkürzungsrichtung der überprägenden Faltengeneration nicht subparallel zur älteren Faltenachse ist, sondern einen Winkel von rund 30 Grad einschließt, ist ein Wechsel von orthogonalen zu koaxialen Interferenzmustern der Kleinfalten beobachtbar. Folglich ist die Orientierung der Scheitellinie einer überprägenden und überprägten Kleinfalte nicht unbedingt subparallel zur Orientierung der Faltenachse der Großfalte trotz zylindrischer Faltung. Im letzten Teil dieser Arbeit wird die Überprägung der mesozoischen Großfaltenstruktur durch das känozoisch entstandene, transpressionale Alpine Störungssystem, das einen zweiseitigen Falten- und Überschiebungsgürtel im Otago und im Nordwesten anschließenden Alpinen Schiefergürtel bildet, beschrieben.

Reversal of established lupus nephritis and prolonged survival of New Zealand black x New Zealand white mice treated with the topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disorder that predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Lupus-associated glomerulonephritis is a major cause of mortality in these patients. Current treatment protocols for systemic lupus erythematosus include cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil. However, in mice none of these agents alone or in combination were shown to reverse established proteinuria. Using New Zealand Black x New Zealand White F1 mice, we report that administration of the topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan from week 13 completely prevented the onset of proteinuria and prolonged survival up to at least 90 wk without detectable side effects. Furthermore, application of irinotecan to mice with established lupus nephritis, as indicated by grade 3+ (> or =300 mg/dl) and grade 4+ (> or =2000 mg/dl) proteinuria and, according to a median age of 35 wk, resulted in remission rates of 75% and 55%, respectively. Survival was significantly prolonged with 73 wk (grade 3+ and 4+ combined) versus 40 wk for control animals. Although total IgG and anti-dsDNA Abs in the serum and mesangial IgG deposits in the kidneys were not reduced in irinotecan-treated mice, subendothelial immune deposits were considerably diminished, suggesting a prevention of glomerular basement membrane disruption. This effect was accompanied by increased rates of ssDNA breaks and inhibition of renal cell apoptosis being different to what is known about irinotecan in anticancer therapy. In conclusion, our data provide evidence that irinotecan might represent an entirely new strategy for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.