School of Science

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Research at AUT's School of Science is focused on key scientific issues with regional and global significance. The common theme connecting all research areas is sustainability – in the broadest sense as it relates to environmental and human health. Our research is closely allied to teaching and learning opportunities at undergraduate and postgraduate level within the school. Research is organised in three thematic areas:

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 252
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    Research Into Land Atmosphere Interactions Supports the Sustainable Development Agenda
    (Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2024-02-14) Hayman, G; Poulter, B; Ghude, SD; Blyth, E; Sinha, V; Archibald, S; Ashworth, K; Barlow, V; Fares, S; Feig, G; Hiyama, T; Jin, J; Juhola, S; Lee, M; Leuzinger, S; Mahecha, MD; Meng, X; Odee, D; Purser, G; Sato, H; Saxena, P; Semeena, VS; Steiner, A; Wang, X; Wolff, S
    Greenhouse-gas emissions from human activities and land use change (from deforestation, forest degradation and agricultural intensification) are contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss. Afforestation, reforestation or growing bioenergy crops (with carbon capture and storage) are important land-based strategies to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and to enhance biodiversity. The effectiveness of these actions depends on terrestrial ecosystems and their role in controlling or moderating the exchange of water, heat and chemical compounds between the land surface and the atmosphere. The integrated Land Ecosystems Atmospheric Processes Study (iLEAPS), a Global Research Network of Future Earth, enables the international community to communicate and remain up to date with developments and concepts about terrestrial ecosystems and their role in global water, energy and biogeochemical cycles. Covering critically important topics such as fire, forestry, wetlands, methane emissions, urban areas, pollution and climate change, the iLEAPS Global Research Programme sits centre stage for some of the most important environmental questions facing humanity. In this paper, we outline the new challenges and opportunities for land-atmosphere interaction research and its role in supporting the broader sustainable development agenda.
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    Role of Dietary Antioxidants in Diabetes: An Overview
    (Elsevier BV, 2024-06-01) Shafras, M; Sabaragamuwa, R; Suwair, M
    Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a devastating medical condition which has become one of the top ten causes of most deaths, with a 70 % increase since 2000. DM is characterised by elevated plasma glucose levels. The excess glucose levels have been found to have a causal link with the development of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress. Failure of the body's intracellular antioxidant system to compensate for increased oxidative stress results in the activation of stress-sensitive intracellular signalling pathways and ultimately cellular damage, which leads to the pathogenesis of DM. It is evident that naturally occurring dietary antioxidants such as vitamins E, A, and C, plant polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoids, glutathione, alpha-lipoic acid, and polyamines all provide significant protection against diabetes. According to research, antioxidant therapy protects the beta-cell against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis, preserves beta-cell function, and reduces diabetic-related complications. As a result, the use of naturally occurring antioxidants has increased dramatically, not only because of their natural therapeutic effects, but also because of the safety concerns associated with synthetic antioxidants, as well as their affordability and availability. This paper compiled the current research on the role of oxidative stress in diabetes and the significance of natural dietary antioxidants in mitigating that effect.
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    Product Categorization of Korean Rice Wine (makgeolli) Compared to Beer and Wine Using Sensory Evaluation Methods
    (Wiley, 2024-03-12) Kam, Rothman; Wong, Barry; Phillips, Megan
    This study aims to investigate the product categorization and characterization of makgeolli (Korean rice wine [KRW]) among beer and wine samples. Projective mapping with ultra-flash profiling (PM with UFP) (n = 68) was conducted with 12 alcoholic beverage samples, including wines, beers, and makgeolli, and showed that participants characterized wine based on fruitiness, beer on bitterness, and makgeolli on sourness. s showed that PM with UFP had a combined explained variance of 47.4% with beer, wine, and makgeolli grouped separately. However, when participants were separated based on wine knowledge, low wine knowledge participants placed Shiraz close to makgeolli indicating participants were using a different metric in grouping the alcoholic beverage samples. When participants were tasked with using polarized sensory positioning (n = 91) to characterize makgeolli and wines, participants regardless of wine knowledge showed that wine and makgeolli had unique sensory traits and thus should be categorized differently.
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    Propagating Uncertainty in Predicting Individuals and Means Illustrated with Foliar Chemistry and Forest Biomass
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-01-22) Yanai, RD; Drake, JE; Buckley, HL; Case, BS; Lilly, PJ; Woollons, RC; Gamarra, JGP
    Quantifying uncertainty is important to establishing the significance of comparisons, to making predictions with known confidence, and to identifying priorities for investment. However, uncertainty can be difficult to quantify correctly. While sampling error is commonly reported based on replicate measurements, the uncertainty in regression models used to estimate forest biomass from tree dimensions is commonly ignored and has sometimes been reported incorrectly, due either to lack of clarity in recommended procedures or to incentives to underestimate uncertainties. Even more rarely are the uncertainty in predicting individuals and the uncertainty in the mean both recognized for their contributions to overall uncertainty. In this paper, we demonstrate the effect of propagating these two sources of uncertainty using a simple example of calcium concentration of sugar maple foliage, which does not require regression, then the mass of foliage and calcium content of foliage, and finally an entire forest with multiple species and tissue types. The uncertainty due to predicting individuals is greater than the uncertainty in the mean for studies with few trees—up to 30 trees for foliar calcium concentration and 50 trees for foliar mass and calcium content in the data set we analyzed from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. The most correct analysis will take both sources of uncertainty into account, but for practical purposes, country-level reports of uncertainty in carbon stocks can safely ignore the uncertainty in individuals, which becomes negligible with large enough numbers of trees. Ignoring the uncertainty in the mean will result in exaggerated confidence in estimates of forest biomass and carbon and nutrient contents.
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    Interactive Effects of Elevated Temperature and Photobacterium swingsii Infection on the Survival and Immune Response of Marine Mussels (Perna canaliculus): A Summer Mortality Scenario
    (Elsevier BV, 2024-02-03) Azizan, Awanis; Venter, Leonie; Zhang, Jingjing; Young, Tim; Ericson, Jessica A; Delorme, Natalí J; Ragg, Norman LC; Alfaro, Andrea C
    The New Zealand Greenshell™ mussel (Perna canaliculus) is an economically important aquaculture species. Prolonged increases in seawater temperature above mussel thermotolerance ranges pose a significant threat to mussel survival and health, potentially increasing susceptibility to bacterial infections. Using challenge experiments, this study examined the combined effects of increased seawater temperature and bacterial (Photobacterium swingsii) infection on animal survival, haemocyte and biochemical responses of adult mussels. Mussels maintained at three temperatures (16, 20 and 24 °C) for seven days were either not injected (control), injected with sterile marine broth (injection control) or P. swingsii (challenged with medium and high doses) and monitored daily for five days. Haemolymph and tissue samples were collected at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 h post-challenge and analysed to quantify bacterial colonies, haemocyte responses and biochemical responses. Mussels infected with P. swingsii exhibited mortalities at 20 and 24 °C, likely due to a compromised immune system, but no mortalities were observed when temperature was the only stressor. Bacterial colony counts in haemolymph decreased over time, suggesting bacterial clearance followed by the activation of immune signalling pathways. Total haemocyte counts and viability data supports haemocyte defence functions being stimulated in the presence of high pathogen loads at 24 °C. In the gill tissue, oxidative stress responses, measured as total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, were higher in infected mussels (compared to the controls) after 24h and 120h post-challenge at the lowest (16 °C) and highest temperatures (24 °C), indicating the presence of oxidative stress due to temperature and pathogen stressors. Overall, this work confirms that Photobacterium swingsii is pathogenic to P. canaliculus and indicates that mussels may be more vulnerable to bacterial pathogens under conditions of elevated temperature, such as those predicted under future climate change scenarios.
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