Cow’s milk is the primary source of calcium in the NZ diet(1). The absence of dietary planning in a vegan diet can result in the individual unknowingly obtaining low intakes of calcium. Prolonged low calcium intakes can result in negative implications on bone mineral density by increasing the risk of osteoporosis later in life. The measurement of bone health parameters in NZ vegan adults have not been investigated. Therefore, we measured bone mineral density, markers of calcium homeostasis and assessed intake of essential nutrients for optimal bone health in vegans. This cross-sectional study included adults (>18yrs), who followed a vegan diet for 2 years minimum. Demographic and lifestyle information was obtained from questionnaires including previous history of bone fractures and background of familial osteoporosis. A 4-day food record was completed for analysis of calcium, zinc, protein, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin C intake and compared to the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)(2). Weight, height and BMI were obtained, bone mineral density was measured at the hip and spine via dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and reported as Z and T scores. Plasma calcium concentrations were corrected for albumin. All values are presented as mean and standard deviation. The study included 212 participants, aged 39 ± 12.38 years, 71% female. T scores at the lumbar spine and femoral neck were −0.63 ± 1.22 (Z score: −0.29 ± 1.12) and −0.66 ± 1.00 (Z score: −0.24 ± 0.89), respectively. Nine participants had a Z-score of <-2.0 at the lumbar spine, and three at the femoral neck. Corrected calcium concentrations were 2.21 ± 0.33 mmol/L. Calcium intake was 917 ± 347.23 (range 195 to 2,429 mg/day) in all participants, which exceeded the EAR of 840 mg/day for adults aged 19-50 years. Men had higher intakes of calcium than women, 1,051 ± 363.7 mg/day (range 382 to 2,267 mg/day) vs. 867 ± 328.04 mg/day (range 194 to 2,428 mg/day), P-value <0.001. The main source of calcium in the vegan diet was tofu. The intake of protein (77 ± 27.80) g/day, magnesium (569 ± 181.05) mg/day, and vitamin C (145 ± 96.94) mg/day met the EAR, excluding vitamin and mineral supplements. However, the intake of phosphorus (1,472 ± 459.98) mg/day and zinc (10.6 ± 4.01) mg/day were below the EAR. The findings of this study suggest that bone health of vegans are not negatively affected by the exclusion of dairy in the diet, provided that appropriate dietary planning is included to avoid nutrient deficiencies associated with poor bone health. Despite mean intake of calcium exceeding the EAR, very low intakes demonstrated significant variations between participants.

Iron salts react readily with calcite in oxidizing calcareous environments to produce solid phase Fe-oxides. These reactions represent important processes in aqueous, geologic, and pedogenic environments. In the present investigation, Fe-oxides were precipitated from Fe(ClO4)2 solutions on undisturbed calcite grains in aqueous suspension. In this way it was possible to investigate the sequence of events in the crystallization process. Following an initial precipitation on the calcite grains, a period of slow growth of lepidocrocite was noted wherein 4-μm euhedral platelets formed with uniform orientation perpendicular to the calcite surface. The slow growth and highly crystalline nature of the Fe-oxide product may be partially due to the diffusion barrier formed by the growing oxide crystal mass which influenced rate of movement of HCO3− to the dissolved Fe phase and Fe ions and H+ towards the calcite surface. Upon continued aging, the supernate became noticeably opaque. As the suspended nuclei settled, new surfaces for crystal growth were provided which resulted in somewhat less crystalline lepidocrocite and goethite.

To investigate the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, their dynamics and their discriminatory power for the disease using longitudinally, prospectively collected information reported at the time of their occurrence. We have analysed data from a large phase 3 clinical UK COVID-19 vaccine trial. The alpha variant was the predominant strain. Participants were assessed for SARS-CoV-2 infection via nasal/throat PCR at recruitment, vaccination appointments, and when symptomatic. Statistical techniques were implemented to infer estimates representative of the UK population, accounting for multiple symptomatic episodes associated with one individual. An optimal diagnostic model for SARS-CoV-2 infection was derived. The 4-month prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 2.1%; increasing to 19.4% (16.0%–22.7%) in participants reporting loss of appetite and 31.9% (27.1%–36.8%) in those with anosmia/ageusia. The model identified anosmia and/or ageusia, fever, congestion, and cough to be significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Symptoms’ dynamics were vastly different in the two groups; after a slow start peaking later and lasting longer in PCR+ participants, whilst exhibiting a consistent decline in PCR- participants, with, on average, fewer than 3 days of symptoms reported. Anosmia/ageusia peaked late in confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (day 12), indicating a low discrimination power for early disease diagnosis.

We present the results of a set of experiments designed to measure the dispersion of non-spherical particles in a wave–current flow. We released negatively buoyant discs, rods and unit-aspect-ratio cylinders into a flow both with and without waves and analysed their respective landing positions to quantify how much they had dispersed while in the flow. We found that the presence of waves significantly increased the dispersion of the particles, and that the magnitude of this increase depends on particle shape and volume. In particular, thinner rods and thinner discs have greater relative dispersion than thicker rods and thicker discs, respectively, and smaller particles have greater relative dispersion than larger particles. Although the particles travelled farther in the presence of waves, the increase in dispersion was much greater than could be explained solely by increased transport distance. These results indicate that models of microplastic transport must account for waves as well as particle characteristics.

Over the last 25 years, radiowave detection of neutrino-generated signals, using cold polar ice as the neutrino target, has emerged as perhaps the most promising technique for detection of extragalactic ultra-high energy neutrinos (corresponding to neutrino energies in excess of 0.01 Joules, or 1017 electron volts). During the summer of 2021 and in tandem with the initial deployment of the Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G), we conducted radioglaciological measurements at Summit Station, Greenland to refine our understanding of the ice target. We report the result of one such measurement, the radio-frequency electric field attenuation length $L_\alpha$. We find an approximately linear dependence of $L_\alpha$ on frequency with the best fit of the average field attenuation for the upper 1500 m of ice: $\langle L_\alpha \rangle = ( ( 1154 \pm 121) - ( 0.81 \pm 0.14) \, ( \nu /{\rm MHz}) ) \,{\rm m}$ for frequencies ν ∈ [145 − 350] MHz.

We present the most sensitive and detailed view of the neutral hydrogen (${\rm H\small I}$) emission associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), through the combination of data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Parkes (Murriyang), as part of the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (GASKAP) pilot survey. These GASKAP-HI pilot observations, for the first time, reveal ${\rm H\small I}$ in the SMC on similar physical scales as other important tracers of the interstellar medium, such as molecular gas and dust. The resultant image cube possesses an rms noise level of 1.1 K ($1.6\,\mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$) $\mathrm{per}\ 0.98\,\mathrm{km\ s}^{-1}$ spectral channel with an angular resolution of $30^{\prime\prime}$ (${\sim}10\,\mathrm{pc}$). We discuss the calibration scheme and the custom imaging pipeline that utilises a joint deconvolution approach, efficiently distributed across a computing cluster, to accurately recover the emission extending across the entire ${\sim}25\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ field-of-view. We provide an overview of the data products and characterise several aspects including the noise properties as a function of angular resolution and the represented spatial scales by deriving the global transfer function over the full spectral range. A preliminary spatial power spectrum analysis on individual spectral channels reveals that the power law nature of the density distribution extends down to scales of 10 pc. We highlight the scientific potential of these data by comparing the properties of an outflowing high-velocity cloud with previous ASKAP+Parkes ${\rm H\small I}$ test observations.

Gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars encode information about nuclear matter at extreme densities, inaccessible by laboratory experiments. The late inspiral is influenced by the presence of tides, which depend on the neutron star equation of state. Neutron star mergers are expected to often produce rapidly rotating remnant neutron stars that emit gravitational waves. These will provide clues to the extremely hot post-merger environment. This signature of nuclear matter in gravitational waves contains most information in the 2–4 kHz frequency band, which is outside of the most sensitive band of current detectors. We present the design concept and science case for a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory (NEMO): a gravitational-wave interferometer optimised to study nuclear physics with merging neutron stars. The concept uses high-circulating laser power, quantum squeezing, and a detector topology specifically designed to achieve the high-frequency sensitivity necessary to probe nuclear matter using gravitational waves. Above 1 kHz, the proposed strain sensitivity is comparable to full third-generation detectors at a fraction of the cost. Such sensitivity changes expected event rates for detection of post-merger remnants from approximately one per few decades with two A+ detectors to a few per year and potentially allow for the first gravitational-wave observations of supernovae, isolated neutron stars, and other exotica.

Prospectively acquired Canadian cerebrospinal fluid samples were used to assess the performance characteristics of three ante-mortem tests commonly used to support diagnoses of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. The utility of the end-point quaking-induced conversion assay as a test for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease diagnoses was compared to that of immunoassays designed to detect increased amounts of the surrogate markers 14-3-3γ and hTau. The positive predictive values of the end-point quaking-induced conversion, 14-3-3γ, and hTau tests conducted at the Prion Diseases Section of the Public Health Agency of Canada were 96%, 68%, and 66%, respectively.

Introduction: Hyperkalemia is a common electrolyte disturbance associated with morbidity and mortality. Commonly used therapies for hyperkalemia include IV calcium, sodium bicarbonate, insulin, beta-adrenergic agents, ion-exchange resins, diuretics and hemodialysis. This study aims to evaluate which treatments are more commonly used to treat hyperkalemia and to examine factors which influence those clinical decisions. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of all cases of hyperkalemia encountered in 2017 at a Canadian adult ED. Potassium values were classified as mild (5.5 - 6.5 mEq/L), moderate (>6.5 - 7.5 mEq/L) and severe (>7.5 mEq/L). Treatment choices were then recorded and matched to hemodynamic stability, degree of hyperkalemia and ECG findings. More statistical methods to test correlation between treatment and specific variables will be performed over the next 2 months, including logistic regression to highlight potential determinants of treatment and Chi-square tests to verify randomness and to construct 95% confidence intervals. Results: 1867 ED visits were identified, of which 479 met the inclusion criteria. 89.1% of hyperkalemia cases were mild, 8.2% were moderate, and 2.7% were severe. IV insulin was used in 22.1% of cases, followed by Kayexalate in 20.5%, sodium bicarbonate in 12.3%, IV calcium in 9.4%, frusemide in 7.3%, salbutamol in 2.7%, and dialysis in 1.9%. Moderate and severe hyperkalemia were associated with higher use of insulin (79.5% and 64.3% respectively), IV calcium (41% and 64.3% respectively), sodium bicarbonate (56.4% and 85.7% respectively). Bradycardia was associated with higher insulin and IV calcium use (46.7% and 33.3% respectively). Hypotension was associated with a similar increase in use of insulin and IV calcium (34.2% and 23.7% respectively). There were only 15 cases of cardiac arrest in which sodium bicarbonate and IV calcium were more frequently used (80% and 60% respectively). Conclusion: This study demonstrates variability in the ED management of hyperkalemia. We found that Insulin and Kayexalate were the 2 most common interventions, with degree of hyperkalemia, bradycardia and hypotension influencing rates of treatment. Overuse of kayexalate for emergent treatment of hyperkalemia is evident despite weak supporting evidence. Paradoxically, beta adrenergic agents were underutilized despite their rapid effect and safer profile. The development of a widely accepted guideline may help narrow the differences in practice and potentially improve outcomes.

Additional crystallographic data are given for the recently reported mineral middlebackite, which has been described for discoveries at Iron Knob in South Australia and Passo di San Lugano near Trento, Italy. The material examined in the present study was from a third finding of the mineral, viz. from a quartz outcrop at Mooloo Downs Station in Western Australia within which it was co-located with the chemically- and structurally-related mineral moolooite, CuIIC2O4·nH2O, reported by Clarke and Williams (1986). In this study, the crystal structure was elucidated independently of the other studies using a combination of the a priori charge flipping and simulated annealing methods with synchrotron radiation diffraction (SRD) powder data. The principal crystal data for the Mooloo Downs material are: space group P21/c with lattice parameters a = 7.2659(18) Å, b = 5.7460(11) Å, c = 5.6806(11) Å, β = 104.588(3)°; Vc = 229.46(18) Å3; empirical formula CuII2C2O4(OH)2 with 2 formula units per unit cell; and calculated density = 3.605 g cm−3. The lattice parameters agree approximately with values given for the other studies, but not within the reported error estimates. The atom coordinates, interatomic distances, and angles for the Mooloo Downs material are compared with those from the other studies using single crystal data, with the values from all three studies agreeing approximately, but again not within the reported uncertainties. The crystal chemistry found for middlebackite received strong confirmation through the synthesis for the first time of di-copper oxalate di-hydroxide. Laboratory X-ray diffraction powder data for the synthetic form of the mineral from this study agree closely with the SRD data for the natural mineral.