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The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa. Here, we produce an updated termite classification using genomic-scale analyses. We reconstruct phylogenies under diverse substitution models with ultraconserved elements analyzed as concatenated matrices or within the multi-species coalescence framework. Our classification is further supported by analyses controlling for rogue loci and taxa, and topological tests. We show that the Neoisoptera are composed of seven family-level monophyletic lineages, including the Heterotermitidae Froggatt, Psammotermitidae Holmgren, and Termitogetonidae Holmgren, raised from subfamilial rank. The species-rich Termitidae are composed of 18 subfamily-level monophyletic lineages, including the new subfamilies Crepititermitinae, Cylindrotermitinae, Forficulitermitinae, Neocapritermitinae, Protohamitermitinae, and Promirotermitinae; and the revived Amitermitinae Kemner, Microcerotermitinae Holmgren, and Mirocapritermitinae Kemner. Building an updated taxonomic classification on the foundation of unambiguously supported monophyletic lineages makes it highly resilient to potential destabilization caused by the future availability of novel phylogenetic markers and methods. The taxonomic stability is further guaranteed by the modularity of the new termite classification, designed to accommodate as-yet undescribed species with uncertain affinities to the herein delimited monophyletic lineages in the form of new families or subfamilies.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide, and emitted from a variety of natural sources including wetlands, permafrost, mammalian guts and termites. As increases in global temperatures continue to break records, quantifying the magnitudes of key methane sources has never been more pertinent. Over the last 40 years, the contribution of termites to the global methane budget has been subject to much debate. The most recent estimates of termite emissions range between 9 and 15 Tg CH4 year-1, approximately 4% of emissions from natural sources (excluding wetlands). However, we argue that the current approach for estimating termite contributions to the global methane budget is flawed. Key parameters, namely termite methane emissions from soil, deadwood, living tree stems, epigeal mounds and arboreal nests, are largely ignored in global estimates. This omission occurs because data are lacking and research objectives, crucially, neglect variation in termite ecology. Furthermore, inconsistencies in data collection methods prohibit the pooling of data required to compute global estimates. Here, we summarise the advances made over the last 40 years and illustrate how different aspects of termite ecology can influence the termite contribution to global methane emissions. Additionally, we highlight technological advances that may help researchers investigate termite methane emissions on a larger scale. Finally, we consider dynamic feedback mechanisms of climate warming and land-use change on termite methane emissions. We conclude that ultimately the global contribution of termites to atmospheric methane remains unknown and thus present an alternative framework for estimating their emissions. To significantly improve estimates, we outline outstanding questions to guide future research efforts.

Deadwood is an important yet understudied carbon pool in tropical ecosystems. Deadwood degradation to CO2 through decomposer (microbial, termite) activities is driven by wood moisture and temperature, which are in turn strongly influenced by local climate. Thus, climate data could be used to predict CO2 fluxes from decaying wood. Given the increasing availability of gridded climate data, this link would allow for the rapid estimation of deadwood-related CO2 fluxes from tropical ecosystems worldwide. In this study, we adapted a mechanistic fuel moisture model that uses weather variables (e.g., air temperature, precipitation, solar radiation) to simulate wood moisture and temperature along a rainfall gradient in Queensland, Australia. We then developed a Bayesian statistical relationship between wood moisture and temperature and CO2 flux from pine (Pinus radiata) blocks and combined this relationship with our simulations to predict CO2 fluxes from deadwood at 1 h temporal resolution. We compared our pine-based simulations to the moisture-CO2 relationships from stems of native tree species deployed at the wettest and driest sites. Finally, we integrated fluxes over time to estimate the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere and compared these estimates to measured mass loss in pines and native stems. Our statistical model showed a positive relationship between CO2 fluxes and wood moisture and temperature. Comparing cumulative CO2 with wood mass loss, we observed that carbon from deadwood decomposition is mainly released as CO2 regardless of the precipitation regime. At the dry savanna, only about 20 % of the wood mass loss was decomposed within 48 months, compared to almost 100 % at the wet rainforest, suggesting longer residence times of deadwood compared to wetter sites. However, the amount of carbon released in situ as CO2 is lower when wood blocks are attacked by termites, especially at drier sites. These results highlight the important but understudied role of termites in the breakdown of deadwood in dry climates. Additionally, mass loss-flux relationships of decaying native stems deviated from those of pine blocks. Our results indicate that wood moisture and temperature are necessary but not sufficient for predicting CO2 fluxes from deadwood degradation. Other factors, such as wood traits (wood quality, chemical composition, and stoichiometry) and biotic processes, should be considered in future modeling efforts.

Models estimating decomposition rates of dead wood across space and time are mainly based on studies carried out in temperate zones where microbes are dominant drivers of decomposition. However, most dead wood biomass is found in tropical ecosystems, where termites are also important wood consumers. Given the dependence of microbial decomposition on moisture with termite decomposition thought to be more resilient to dry conditions, the relative importance of these decomposition agents is expected to shift along gradients in precipitation that affect wood moisture. Here, we investigated the relative roles of microbes and termites in wood decomposition across precipitation gradients in space, time and with a simulated drought experiment in tropical Australia. We deployed mesh bags with non-native pine wood blocks, allowing termite access to half the bags. Bags were collected every 6 months (end of wet and dry seasons) over a 4-year period across five sites along a rainfall gradient (ranging from savanna to wet sclerophyll to rainforest) and within a simulated drought experiment at the wettest site. We expected microbial decomposition to proceed faster in wet conditions with greater relative influence of termites in dry conditions. Consistent with expectations, microbial-mediated wood decomposition was slowest in dry savanna sites, dry seasons and simulated drought conditions. Wood blocks discovered by termites decomposed 16–36% faster than blocks undiscovered by termites regardless of precipitation levels. Concurrently, termites were 10 times more likely to discover wood in dry savanna compared with wet rainforest sites, compensating for slow microbial decomposition in savannas. For wood discovered by termites, seasonality and drought did not significantly affect decomposition rates. Taken together, we found that spatial and seasonal variation in precipitation is important in shaping wood decomposition rates as driven by termites and microbes, although these different gradients do not equally impact decomposition agents. As we better understand how climate change will affect precipitation regimes across the tropics, our results can improve predictions of how wood decomposition agents will shift with potential for altering carbon fluxes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Woody biomass is a large carbon store in terrestrial ecosystems. In calculating biomass, tree stems are assumed to be solid structures. However, decomposer agents such as microbes and insects target stem heartwood, causing internal wood decay which is poorly quantified. We investigated internal stem damage across five sites in tropical Australia along a precipitation gradient. We estimated the amount of internal aboveground biomass damaged in living trees and measured four potential stem damage predictors: wood density, stem diameter, annual precipitation, and termite pressure (measured as termite damage in downed deadwood). Stem damage increased with increasing diameter, wood density, and termite pressure and decreased with increasing precipitation. High wood density stems sustained less damage in wet sites and more damage in dry sites, likely a result of shifting decomposer communities and their differing responses to changes in tree species and wood traits across sites. Incorporating stem damage reduced aboveground biomass estimates by > 30% in Australian savannas, compared to only 3% in rainforests. Accurate estimates of carbon storage across woody plant communities are critical for understanding the global carbon budget. Future biomass estimates should consider stem damage in concert with the effects of changes in decomposer communities and abiotic conditions.

Paul Eggleton,1 Alexandra J Bishop,2 Gary R Smerdon21Institute of Biomedical & Clinical Science, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, 2DDRC Healthcare, Plymouth, UKAbstract: The breathing of pure oxygen under pressure to treat tissue damage has been employed for almost 45 years and has been investigated in prospective, retrospective, and randomized controlled trials. The physiological effects of oxygen treatment on wound tissue are profound, and include activation of immune cells, changes in cytokine production, and modulation of inflammatory and bactericidal mediators. Hyperbaric oxygen influences the biochemistry of whole cells, altering cell proliferation, angiogenesis, clotting, and tissue regeneration. The precise effects of hyperbaric oxygen on individual cell types and tissues are only beginning to be revealed in both animal and human studies. Many independent studies using hyperbaric oxygen adjunctively with standard wound care have observed improved healing, in particular for diabetic foot ulcers, and can result in a significant reduction in major amputations. Side effects occur infrequently, but myopia, ear barotrauma, and rarely oxygen toxicity have been reported. As antibiotics become less available, and clinician time and complex dressings become more expensive, use of hyperbaric oxygen as a means of treating a variety of wound types may become an increasingly appropriate option for treatment.Keywords: clinical trials, foot ulceration, non-healing wounds, oxygen

Abstract The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa. Here, we produce an updated termite classification using genomic-scale analyses. We reconstruct phylogenies under diverse substitution models with ultraconserved elements analyzed as concatenated matrices or within the multi-species coalescence framework. Our classification is further supported by analyses controlling for rogue loci and taxa, and topological tests. We show that the Neoisoptera are composed of seven family-level monophyletic lineages, including the Heterotermitidae Froggatt, Psammotermitidae Holmgren, and Termitogetonidae Holmgren, raised from subfamilial rank. The species-rich Termitidae are composed of 18 subfamily-level monophyletic lineages, including the new subfamilies Crepititermitinae, Cylindrotermitinae, Forficulitermitinae, Neocapritermitinae, Protohamitermitinae, and Promirotermitinae; and the revived Amitermitinae Kemner, Microcerotermitinae Holmgren, and Mirocapritermitinae Kemner. Building an updated taxonomic classification on the foundation of unambiguously supported monophyletic lineages makes it highly resilient to potential destabilization caused by the future availability of novel phylogenetic markers and methods. The taxonomic stability is further guaranteed by the modularity of the new termite classification, designed to accommodate as-yet undescribed species with uncertain affinities to the herein delimited monophyletic lineages in the form of new families or subfamilies.

Deadwood is an important yet understudied carbon pool in tropical ecosystems. Deadwood degradation to CO2 through decomposer (microbial, termite) activities is driven by wood moisture and temperature, which are in turn strongly influenced by local climate. Thus, climate data could be used to predict CO2 fluxes from decaying wood. Given the increasing availability of gridded climate data, this link would allow for the rapid estimation of deadwood-related CO2 fluxes from tropical ecosystems worldwide. In this study, we adapted a mechanistic fuel moisture model that uses weather variables (e.g., air temperature, precipitation, solar radiation) to simulate wood moisture and temperature along a rainfall gradient in Queensland, Australia. We then developed a Bayesian statistical relationship between wood moisture and temperature and CO2 flux from pine (Pinus radiata) blocks and combined this relationship with our simulations to predict CO2 fluxes from deadwood at 1 h temporal resolution. We compared our pine-based simulations to the moisture–CO2 relationships from stems of native tree species deployed at the wettest and driest sites. Finally, we integrated fluxes over time to estimate the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere and compared these estimates to measured mass loss in pines and native stems. Our statistical model showed a positive relationship between CO2 fluxes and wood moisture and temperature. Comparing cumulative CO2 with wood mass loss, we observed that carbon from deadwood decomposition is mainly released as CO2 regardless of the precipitation regime. At the dry savanna, only about 20 % of the wood mass loss was decomposed within 48 months, compared to almost 100 % at the wet rainforest, suggesting longer residence times of deadwood compared to wetter sites. However, the amount of carbon released in situ as CO2 is lower when wood blocks are attacked by termites, especially at drier sites. These results highlight the important but understudied role of termites in the breakdown of deadwood in dry climates. Additionally, mass loss–flux relationships of decaying native stems deviated from those of pine blocks. Our results indicate that wood moisture and temperature are necessary but not sufficient for predicting CO2 fluxes from deadwood degradation. Other factors, such as wood traits (wood quality, chemical composition, and stoichiometry) and biotic processes, should be considered in future modeling efforts.

The need for effective primary healthcare to address social and structural determinants of health and to mitigate health inequalities has been well established. Here, we report on the international forum of the 2023 NAPCRG (formerly known as North American Primary Care Research Group) Annual Meeting. The aim of the forum was to develop principles for action for the primary healthcare research community on addressing social and structural determinants of health. From this forum, 10 key recommendations for the primary care research community were identified.

Surface acoustic wave devices are ubiquitously used for signal processing and filtering, as well as mechanical, chemical, and biological sensing and show promise as quantum transducers. While surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are primarily excited and driven using electromechanical coupling and interdigital transducers, there is a strong desire for novel methods that enable the coherent excitation and detection of SAWs all-optically interfacing with photonic integrated circuits. In this work, we numerically model and experimentally demonstrate SAW excitation in integrated photonic waveguides made from GeAsSe glass via backward stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). We measure a Brillouin gain coefficient of 203 W−1 m−1 for the surface acoustic resonance at 3.81 GHz, with a linewidth narrowed to 20 MHz. Experimental access to this new regime of SBS not only opens up opportunities for novel on-chip sensing applications by harnessing the waveguide surface but also paves the way for strong Brillouin interactions in materials lacking sufficient acoustic guidance in the waveguide core, as well as the excitation of SAWs in non-piezoelectric materials.

Variation in decay rates across woody species is a key uncertainty in predicting the fate of carbon stored in deadwood, especially in the tropics. Quantifying the relative contributions of biotic decay agents, particularly microbes and termites, under different climates and across species with diverse wood traits could help explain this variation. To fill this knowledge gap, we deployed woody stems from 16 plant species native to either rainforest (n = 10) or savanna (n = 6) in northeast Australia, with and without termite access. For comparison, we also deployed standardized, non-native pine blocks at both sites. We hypothesized that termites would increase rates of deadwood decay under conditions that limit microbial activity. Specifically, termite contributions to wood decay should be greater under dry conditions and in wood species with traits that constrain microbial decomposers. Termite discovery of stems was surprisingly low with only 17.6% and 22.6% of accessible native stems discovered in the rainforest and savanna respectively. Contrary to our hypothesis, stems discovered by termites decomposed faster only in the rainforest. Termites discovered and decayed pine blocks at higher rates than native stems in both the rainforest and savanna. We found significant variation in termite discovery and microbial decay rates across native wood species within the same site. Although wood traits explained 85% of the variation in microbial decay, they did not explain termite-driven decay. For stems undiscovered by termites, decay rates were greater in species with higher wood nutrient concentrations and syringyl:guiacyl lignin ratios but lower carbon concentrations and wood densities. Synthesis. Ecosystem-scale predictions of deadwood turnover and carbon storage should account for the impact of wood traits on decomposer communities. In tropical Australia, termite-driven decay was lower than expected for native wood on the ground. Even if termites are present, they may not always increase decomposition rates of fallen native wood in tropical forests. Our study shows how the drivers of wood decay differ between Australian tropical rainforest and savanna; further research should test whether such differences apply world-wide.

Abstract Background Agriculture has greatly influenced water quality, habitats, and fish assemblages in streams of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) ecoregion. However, MAP streams have historically been understudied compared to streams in other agricultural regions of the USA. In this study, water quality, habitat, and fish assemblage composition were assessed seasonally (spring, summer, and fall) in eight representative MAP streams located across three U.S. states. The study design included four streams containing highly agricultural watersheds (herein termed “agriculture” streams) and four streams containing mostly forested watersheds (herein termed “forest” streams), which were intended to represent reference conditions for MAP streams. Results In general, forest streams contained significantly better instream and riparian habitats than agriculture streams (P = 0.010–0.040) whereas agriculture streams contained significantly greater levels of primary nutrients (P

In the rapidly evolving field of integrated photonics, integrated microwave photonics (MWP) stands out as a critical domain for on-chip signal processing applications. Over the past decade, harnessing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) has yielded remarkable progress in this area due to its frequency tunability and unique narrowband resolution that can be achieved in a small footprint. The present article offers a comprehensive review of recent research focused on Brillouin scattering in photonic integrated circuits that guide light and sound, with a specific emphasis on heterogeneous and hybrid integration techniques tailored for applications in microwave photonics. The methodologies for realizing Brillouin hybrid circuits not only enable the seamless integration of Brillouin functions into complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor CMOS-compatible circuits but also facilitate the amalgamation of various active and passive functionalities on a single chip. Our discussion encompasses an overview of the strategies employed in harnessing Brillouin interactions, along with an examination of the associated challenges and limitations. Furthermore, we delve into both the existing and potential applications of this technology within the MWP systems domain, underscoring its multifaceted impact on contemporary research and future technological landscapes.

Background Cardiac screening of elite athletes is widely recommended by Australasian sporting federations, but data are not structured to be shared. Data are lacking from underrepresented groups to inform ECG interpretation guidelines. The ARENA (Australasian Registry of Screening ECGs in National Athletes) project is a retrospective and prospective, multicenter, longitudinal, observational registry of athlete cardiac screening results and outcomes. The aim is to create a repository to improve our understanding of the diagnoses and outcomes of screening. Methods Participating sports that conduct cardiac screening of athletes will contribute data. This includes an initial collection (retrospective data, waiver of consent) and future prospective data (opt‐out consent). Data include sex, age, sport/event, screening date, ECG findings, cardiac test results, follow‐up details, sport participation status, cardiac diagnoses, and major cardiovascular outcomes defined as sudden cardiac arrest/death, cardiac syncope or implanted cardioverter defibrillator shock, cardiac hospitalization, and arrhythmias requiring intervention. Comparisons will be made between diagnoses, outcomes, and ECG features and analyzed by sport and sex. The ARENA project was developed in collaboration with sporting bodies, team physicians, and players association representatives and endorsed by the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians and Sports Medicine Australia. Conclusions The ARENA project will provide a long‐term international data repository to improve our understanding of ECG interpretation, cardiac screening and diagnoses, and the prevalence of cardiovascular outcomes in screened athletes. A unique aim is to address evidence gaps in underrepresented athlete groups, specifically female athletes and Indigenous populations. Results will inform screening policies and guidelines.

The efficacy of a sanitizer in biofilm removal may be influenced by a combination of factors such as sanitizer exposure time and concentration, bacterial species, surface topography, and shear stresses. We employed an inline biofilm reactor to investigate the interactions of these variables on biofilm removal with chlorine. The CDC bioreactor was used to grow E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes biofilms as a single species or with Ralstonia insidiosa as a dual-species biofilm on stainless steel, PTFE, and EPDM coupons at shear stresses 0.368 and 2.462 N/m2 for 48 hours. Coupons were retrieved from a CDC bioreactor and placed in an inline biofilm reactor and 100, 200, or 500 ppm of chlorine was supplied for 1- and 4 min. Bacterial populations in the biofilms were quantified pre- and posttreatment by plating on selective media. After chlorine treatment, reduction (Log CFU/cm2) in pathogen populations obtained from three replicates was analyzed for statistical significance. A 1-min chlorine treatment (500 ppm), on dual-species E. coli O157:H7 biofilms grown at high shear stress of 2.462 N/m2 resulted in significant E. coli O157:H7 reductions on SS 316L (2.79 log CFU/cm2) and PTFE (1.76 log CFU/cm2). Similar trend was also observed for biofilm removal after a 4-min chlorine treatment. Single species E. coli O157:H7 biofilms exhibited higher resistance to chlorine when biofilms were developed at high shear stress. The effect of chlorine in L. monocytogenes removal from dual-species biofilms was dependent primarily on the shear stress at which they were formed rather than the surface topography of materials. Besides surface topography, shear stresses at which biofilms were formed also influenced the effect of sanitizer. The removal of E. coli O157:H7 biofilms from EPDM material may require critical interventions due to difficulty in removing this pathogen. The inline biofilm reactor is a novel tool to evaluate the efficacy of a sanitizer in bacterial biofilm removal.

Abstract Background Since the late 1990s, bigheaded carps (largely silver carp [Hypophthalmichthys molitrix] but also bighead carp [H. nobilis]) have established throughout the lower Mississippi River basin. Using previously studied oxbow lakes in the lower White River basin, Arkansas, we compared current (2017, “post-carp” establishment) fish assemblages to historical (2002, “pre-carp” establishment) fish assemblages. Fish assemblages were comprehensively assessed using multiple gears, including boat electrofishing, mini-fyke nets, and experimental small-mesh gill nets. Results T-tests suggested that fish assemblage indices of richness, diversity, evenness, and dominance were often greater (P 0.05) between the pre-carp and post-carp period with fish assemblages depicted using mini-fyke nets. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analyses indicated that fish assemblages differed structurally between pre-carp and post-carp periods. Assemblage differences were linked to both small and large abundance changes for more than 20 species. Abundances of gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), pugnose minnow (Opsopoeodus emiliae), crappies (Pomoxis spp.), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), orangespotted sunfish (L. humilis), and yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) declined between the pre-carp and post-carp periods. Conversely, abundances of weed shiner (N. texanus), pallid shiner (Hybopsis amnis), longear sunfish (L. megalotis), buffalofishes (Ictiobus spp.), and gars (Lepisosteus spp.) generally increased during the same period. Conclusions Although not possible to conclude assemblage shifts were entirely related to bigheaded carps due to the absence of an appropriate reference system where carps did not establish, the wide establishment of these carps is one of the most pervasive changes to have occurred in the lower White River ecosystem during the past two decades. Thus, it is probable to conclude that post-carp establishment observations from this study were at least, in part, attributable to bigheaded carp establishment. Impacts of further range expansions by bigheaded carps in the White River and other lower Mississippi River sub-basins are unclear, though this study suggests probable effects on native fish assemblages, underscoring the need for further research and monitoring.

Abstract Community-based primary care, such as general practice (GP) or urgent care, serves as the primary point of access to healthcare for most Australians and New Zealanders. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created significant and ongoing disruptions to primary care. Traditional research methods have contributed to gaps in understanding the experiences of primary care workers during the pandemic. This paper describes a novel research design and method that intended to capture the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care workers in Australia and New Zealand. Recurrent, rapid cycle surveys were fielded from May 2020 through December 2021 in Australia, and May 2020 through February 2021 in New Zealand. Rapid survey development, fielding, triangulated analysis and dissemination of results allowed close to real-time communication of relevant issues among general practice workers, researchers and policy-makers. A conceptual model is presented to support longitudinal analysis of primary care worker experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, and key learnings from applying this novel method are discussed. This paper will assist future research teams in development and execution of policy-relevant research in times of change and may inform further areas of interest for COVID-19 research in primary care.

Efficient and extended light storage mechanisms are pivotal in photonics, particularly in optical communications, microwave photonics, and quantum networks, as they offer a direct route to circumvent electrical conversion losses and surmount bandwidth constraints. Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is an established method to store optical information by transferring it to the acoustic domain, but current on-chip SBS efforts have limited bandwidth or storage time due to the phonon lifetime of several nanoseconds. An alternate approach known as quasi-light storage (QLS), which involves the creation of delayed replicas of optical data pulses via SBS in conjunction with a frequency comb, has been proposed to lift the storage time constraint; however, its realization has been confined to lengthy optical fibers, constraining integration with on-chip optical elements and form factors. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of QLS on a photonic chip leveraging the large SBS gain of chalcogenide glass, achieving delays of up to 500 ns for 1 ns long signal pulses, surpassing typical Brillouin storage processes' acoustic lifetime by more than an order of magnitude and waveguide transit time by two orders of magnitude. We experimentally and numerically investigate the dynamics of on-chip QLS and reveal that the interplay between the acoustic wave that stores the optical signal and subsequent optical pump pulses leads to a reshaping of the acoustic field. Our demonstrations illustrate the potential for achieving ultra-long storage times of individual pulses by several hundred pulse widths, marking a significant stride toward advancing the field of all-optical storage and delay mechanisms.

Introduction: Māori (the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) are disproportionately represented in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates, and are less likely to receive evidence-based CVD health care. Rural Māori experience additional barriers to treatment access, poorer health outcomes and a greater burden of CVD risk factors compared to Non-Māori and Māori living in urban areas. Importantly, these inequities are similarly experienced by Indigenous Peoples in other nations impacted by colonisation. Given the scarcity of available literature, a systematic scoping review was conducted on literature exploring barriers and facilitators in accessing CVD health care for rural Māori and other Indigenous Peoples in nations impacted by colonisation. Methods: The review was underpinned by Kaupapa Māori Research methodology and was conducted utilising Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) methodological framework. A database search of MEDLINE (OVID), PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, CINAHL Plus, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre and NZResearch.org was used to explore empirical research literature. A grey literature search was also conducted. Literature based in any healthcare setting providing care to adults for CVD was included. Rural or remote Indigenous Peoples from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US were included. Literature was included if it addressed cardiovascular conditions and reported barriers and facilitators to healthcare access in any care setting. Results: A total of 363 articles were identified from the database search. An additional 19 reports were identified in the grey literature search. Following screening, 16 articles were included from the database search and 5 articles from the grey literature search. The literature was summarised using the Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) Framework principles: tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), partnership, active protection, equity and options. Themes elucidated from the literature were described as key drivers of CVD healthcare access for rural Indigenous Peoples. Key driver themes included input from rural Indigenous Peoples on healthcare service design and delivery, adequate resourcing and support of indigenous and rural healthcare services, addressing systemic racism and historical trauma, providing culturally appropriate health care, rural Indigenous Peoples' access to family and wellbeing support, rural Indigenous Peoples' differential access to the wider social determinants of health, effective interservice linkages and communication, and equity-driven and congruent data systems. Conclusion: The findings are consistent with other literature exploring access to health care for rural Indigenous Peoples. This review offers a novel approach to summarising literature by situating the themes within the context of equity and rights for Indigenous Peoples. This review also highlighted the need for further research in this area to be conducted in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Introduction: Health disparities between rural and urban areas in Aotearoa New Zealand are exacerbated by rural workforce issues. Traditionally, undergraduate medical programs are urban-based, and reconfiguring the curriculum to meet the needs of rural communities is challenging. The aim of this project is explore how urban-located universities might develop and implement a rural strategy. Evaluation of a rural strategy may lead to the strategy's ongoing improvements designed to increase the rural workforce. Methods: This is a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with purposively selected key stakeholders. Enquiry included the systematic identification of processes required to develop a rural strategy, including possible facilitators and challenges to be addressed. Qualitative analysis of de-identified data was conducted using a thematic approach. Results: Fourteen stakeholders were interviewed: four rural GPs, two rural hospital doctors, four administrators involved in placing students, and four senior medical academics with involvement in the regional and rural programs. Five overarching themes were identified: (1) developing rural pathways into medical school, (2) improving and expanding rural exposures, (3) developing rural GP pathways, (4) implementing interprofessional education and (5) having a social mission. Conclusion: These findings align with the literature relating to developing rural strategies for universities. However, this study also suggested that rural health interprofessional programs may have a role. A key finding was that the social mission of a university may not be visible to rural stakeholders. Reorientating an urban-located university to having a rural strategy requires moving past having policy around social accountability to operationalising it.

Abstract Microwave photonics (MWP) has unlocked a new paradigm for Radio Frequency (RF) signal processing by harnessing the inherent broadband and tunable nature of photonic components. Despite numerous efforts made to implement integrated MWP filters, a key RF processing functionality, it remains a long-standing challenge to achieve a fully integrated photonic circuit that can merge the megahertz-level spectral resolution required for RF applications with key electro-optic components. Here, we overcome this challenge by introducing a compact 5 mm × 5 mm chip-scale MWP filter with active E-O components, demonstrating 37 MHz spectral resolution. We achieved this device by heterogeneously integrating chalcogenide waveguides, which provide Brillouin gain, in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) foundry-manufactured silicon photonic chip containing integrated modulators and photodetectors. This work paves the way towards a new generation of compact, high-resolution RF photonic filters with wideband frequency tunability demanded by future applications, such as air and spaceborne RF communication payloads.

The infiltration of immune cells into the central nervous system mediates the development of autoimmune neuroinflammatory diseases. We previously showed that the loss of either Fabp5 or calnexin causes resistance to the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice, an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we show that brain endothelial cells lacking either Fabp5 or calnexin have an increased abundance of cell surface CD200 and soluble CD200 (sCD200) as well as decreased T-cell adhesion. In a tissue culture model of the blood–brain barrier, antagonizing the interaction of CD200 and sCD200 with T-cell CD200 receptor (CD200R1) via anti-CD200 blocking antibodies or the RNAi-mediated inhibition of CD200 production by endothelial cells increased T-cell adhesion and transmigration across monolayers of endothelial cells. Our findings demonstrate that sCD200 produced by brain endothelial cells regulates immune cell trafficking through the blood–brain barrier and is primarily responsible for preventing activated T-cells from entering the brain.

Objective To determine the socio-demographic profile of all students enrolled to study medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).Design and setting Observational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought from the Universities of Auckland and Otago, the two NZ tertiary education institutions providing medical education, for the period 2016–2020 inclusive. These data are a subset of the larger project ‘Mirror on Society’ examining all regulated health professional enrolled students in NZ. Variables of interest: gender, citizenship, ethnicity, rural classification, socioeconomic deprivation, school type and school socioeconomic scores. NZ denominator population data (18–29 years) were sourced from the 2018 census.Participants 2858 students were enrolled to study medicine between 2016 and 2020 inclusive.Results There were more women (59.1%) enrolled to study medicine than men (40.9%) and the majority (96.5%) were in the 18–29 years age range. Māori students (rate ratio 0.92; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.0) and Pacific students (rate ratio 0.85; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.98) had lower overall rates of enrolment. For all ethnic groups, irrespective of rural or urban origin, enrolment rates had a nearly log-linear negative relationship with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. Enrolments were lower for students from rural areas compared with those from urban areas (rate ratio 0.53; 95% CI 0.46–0.61). Overall NZ’s medical students do not reflect the diverse communities they will serve, with under-representation of Māori and Pacific students and students who come from low socioeconomic and rural backgrounds.Conclusions To meaningfully address these issues, we suggest the following policy changes: universities commit and act to Indigenise institutional ways of knowing and being; selection policies are reviewed to ensure that communities in greatest need of doctors are prioritised for enrolment into medicine (specifically, the impact of low socioeconomic status should be factored into selection decisions); and the government fund more New Zealanders to study medicine.

Termites are important ecosystem engineers in tropical habitats, with different feeding groups able to decompose wood, grass, litter, and soil organic matter. In most tropical regions, termite abundance and species diversity are assumed to increase with rainfall, with highest levels found in rainforests. However, in the Australian tropics, this pattern is thought to be reversed, with lower species richness and termite abundance found in rainforest than drier habitats. The potential mechanisms underlying this pattern remain unclear. We compared termite assemblages (abundance, activity, diversity, and feeding group composition) across five sites along a precipitation gradient (ranging from ∼800 to 4,000 mm annual rainfall), spanning dry and wet savanna habitats, wet sclerophyll, and lowland and upland rainforests in tropical North Queensland. Moving from dry to wet habitats, we observed dramatic decreases in termite abundance in both mounds and dead wood occupancy, with greater abundance and activity at savanna sites (low precipitation) compared with rainforest or sclerophyll sites (high precipitation). We also observed a turnover in termite species and feeding group diversity across sites that were close together, but in different habitats. Termite species and feeding group richness were highest in savanna sites, with 13 termite species from wood-, litter-, grass-, dung-, and soil-feeding groups, while only five termite species were encountered in rainforest and wet sclerophyll sites—all wood feeders. These results suggest that the Australian termite diversity anomaly may be partly driven by how specific feeding groups colonized habitats across Australia. Consequently, termites in Australian rainforests may be less important in ecosystem processes, such as carbon and nutrient cycling during decomposition, compared with termites in other tropical rainforests.