The IFITM5 Ser40Leu variant can manifest as prenatal Caffey disease.

We report on a female neonate with a clinico-radiological presentation in keeping with a lethal form of prenatal Caffey disease (PCH). She had antenatal and postnatal features of severely bowed long bones, small chest, diaphyseal hyperostosis and polyhydramnios and died shortly after birth. Initial testing excluded COL1A1-related PCH, as an OI gene panel, consisting of COL1A1, COL1A2, CRTAP, and P3H1 genes, was negative. Targeted sequencing using a gene panel was performed and a de novo heterozygous, likely pathogenic variant in IFITM5: c.119C > T(p.Ser40Leu) was identified, which was previously described to cause a severe form of progressively deforming osteogenesis imperfect (OI). To our knowledge, variants in IFITM5 have not been reported in infantile Caffey disease (ICH) or PCH. Given that the pathogenesis of PCH is largely unknown, we postulate that a subset of PCH may be associated with variants in IFITM5.

Gibberellins Promote Seed Conditioning by Up-Regulating Strigolactone Receptors in the Parasitic Plant Striga hermonthica.

Dormant seeds of the root parasitic plant Striga hermonthica sense strigolactones from host plants as environmental cues for germination. This process is mediated by a diversified member of the strigolactone receptors encoded by HYPOSENSITIVE TO LIGHT/KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 genes. It is known that warm and moist treatment during seed conditioning gradually makes dormant Striga seeds competent to respond to strigolactones, although the mechanism behind it is poorly understood. In this report, we show that plant hormone gibberellins increase strigolactone competence by up-regulating mRNA expression of the major strigolactone receptors during the conditioning period. This idea was supported by a poor germination phenotype in which gibberellin biosynthesis was depleted by paclobutrazol during conditioning. Moreover, live imaging with a fluorogenic strigolactone mimic, yoshimulactone green W, revealed that paclobutrazol treatment during conditioning caused aberrant dynamics of strigolactone perception after germination. These observations revealed an indirect role of gibberellins in seed germination in Striga, which contrasts with their roles as dominant germination-stimulating hormones in non-parasitic plants. We propose a model of how the role of gibberellins became indirect during the evolution of parasitism in plants. Our work also highlights the potential role for gibberellins in field applications, for instance, in elevating the sensitivity of seeds toward strigolactones in the current suicidal germination approach to alleviate the agricultural threats caused by this parasite in Africa.

Evolutionary processes in an undescribed eucalypt: implications for the translocation of a critically endangered species.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Knowledge of the evolutionary processes responsible for the distribution of threatened and highly localized species is important for their conservation. Population genomics can provide insights into evolutionary processes to inform management practices, including the translocation of threatened plant species. In this study, we focus on a critically endangered eucalypt, Eucalyptus sp. Cattai, which is restricted to a 40-km2 area of Sydney, Australia, and is threatened by increased urbanization. Eucalyptus sp. Cattai has yet to be formally described in part due to its suspected hybrid origin. Here, we examined evolutionary processes and species boundaries in E. sp. Cattai to determine whether translocation was warranted. METHODS: We used genome-wide scans to investigate the evolutionary relationships of E. sp. Cattai with related species, and to assess levels of genetic health and admixture. Morphological trait and genomic data were obtained from seedlings of E. sp. Cattai propagated in a common garden to assess their genetic provenance and hybrid status. KEY RESULTS: All analyses revealed that E. sp. Cattai was strongly supported as a distinct species. Genetic diversity varied across populations, and clonality was unexpectedly high. Interspecific hybridization was detected, and was more prevalent in seedlings compared to in situ adult plants, indicating that post-zygotic barriers may restrict the establishment of hybrids. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple evolutionary processes (e.g. hybridization and clonality) can operate within one rare and restricted species. Insights regarding evolutionary processes from our study were used to assist with the translocation of genetically 'pure' and healthy ex situ seedlings to nearby suitable habitat. Our findings demonstrate that it is vital to provide an understanding of evolutionary relationships and processes with an examination of population genomics in the design and implementation of an effective translocation strategy.

A turn in species conservation for hairpin banksias: demonstration of oversplitting leads to better management of diversity.

PREMISE: Understanding evolutionary history and classifying discrete units of organisms remain overwhelming tasks, and lags in this workload concomitantly impede an accurate documentation of biodiversity and conservation management. Rapid advances and improved accessibility of sensitive high-throughput sequencing tools are fortunately quickening the resolution of morphological complexes and   thereby improving the estimation of species diversity. The recently described and critically endangered Banksia vincentia is morphologically similar to the hairpin banksia complex (B. spinulosa s.l.), a group of eastern Australian flowering shrubs whose continuum of morphological diversity has been responsible for taxonomic controversy and possibly questionable conservation initiatives. METHODS: To assist conservation while testing the current taxonomy of this group, we used high-throughput sequencing to infer a population-scale evolutionary scenario for a sample set that is comprehensive in its representation of morphological diversity and a 2500-km distribution. RESULTS: Banksia spinulosa s.l. represents two clades, each with an internal genetic structure shaped through historical separation by biogeographic barriers. This structure conflicts with the existing taxonomy for the group. Corroboration between phylogeny and population statistics aligns with the hypothesis that B. collina, B. neoanglica, and B. vincentia should not be classified as species. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern here supports how morphological diversity can be indicative of a locally expressed suite of traits rather than relationship. Oversplitting in the hairpin banksias is atypical since genomic analyses often reveal that species diversity is underestimated. However, we show that erring on overestimation can yield negative consequences, such as the disproportionate prioritization of a geographically anomalous population.

Predicting height from ulna length for the determination of weight status in New Zealand adolescents: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of height is crucial for weight status assessment. When standing height is difficult to measure, ulna length may offer a convenient and accurate surrogate of height measure. Adolescence is a period of accelerated linear growth; hence, the validation of age-specific equations that predict height from ulna length in adolescents is warranted. The present study aimed to develop and validate age- and sex-specific equations for predicting height from ulna length in New Zealand adolescents. METHODS: Height, weight and ulna length were measured in 364 adolescents (n = 110 males, n = 254 females) aged 15.0-18.8 years, who were enrolled in the SuNDiAL (Survey of Nutrition Dietary Assessment and Lifestyle) project, a cross-sectional survey performed in 2019 and 2020. Regression models were used to determine equations to predict height from ulna length. Agreement between measured and predicted height, body mass index (BMI) and BMI z-score was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for classifying obesity. RESULTS: Strong agreement was found between predicted and measured height (ICC = 0.78; mean difference = 0; 95% confidence interval = -0.5 to 0.5 cm) and BMI (ICC = 0.95; mean difference = 0; 95% confidence interval = -0.1 to 0.1 kg m-2 ). Predicted height was 88.1% accurate when classifiying weight status, showing high sensitivity (93.8%) and specificity (99.4%) for classifying obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Ulna length measurement can accurately estimate height and subsequently weight status in New Zealand adolescents aged 15-18 years.

Stability evaluation and formula optimization of cellulose-based scaffold for the air-liquid interface cultivation of Navicula incerta.

Culture scaffolds allow microalgae cultivation with minimum water requirement using the air-liquid interface approach. However, the stability of cellulose-based scaffolds in microalgae cultivation remains questionable. In this study, the stability of regenerated cellulose culture scaffolds was enhanced by adjusting TiO2 loading and casting gap. The membrane scaffolds were synthesized using cellulose dissolved in NaOH/urea aqueous solution with various loading of TiO2 nanoparticles. The TiO2 nanoparticles were embedded into the porous membrane scaffolds as proven by Fourier transform infrared spectra, scanning electron microscopic images, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectra. Although surface hydrophilicity and porosity were enhanced by increasing TiO2 and casting gap, the scaffold pore size was reduced. Cellulose membrane scaffold with 0.05 wt% of TiO2 concentration and thickness of 100 µm attained the highest percentage of Navicula incerta growth rate, up to 37.4%. The membrane scaffolds remained stable in terms of weight, porosity and pore size even they were immersed in acidic solution, hydrogen peroxide or autoclaved at 121 °C for 15 min. The optimal cellulose membrane scaffold is with TiO2 loading of 0.5 wt% and thickness of 100 µm, resulting in supporting the highest N. incerta growth rate and and exhibits good membrane stability.

Novel use of laparoscopic-guided TAP block in total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block is a peripheral nerve block designed to anaesthetise the nerves supplying the anterolateral abdominal wall (T6 to L1). We introduced laparoscopic TAP block at Ninewells Hospital in 2014 and present a retrospective study assessing its efficacy. To our knowledge, there is limited study done on laparoscopic-guided TAP block whilst there are abundant literatures available on ultrasound-guided TAP block. AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopic-guided TAP block as postoperative analgesia following total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). METHODOLOGY: A retrospective study was done between November 2014 to October 2016 (24 months) comparing patients who had TLH with TAP block (Group 1; n = 45) and patients who had TLH without TAP block (Group 2; n = 31) in our gynaecology unit. Patients were identified from theatre database. Data was collected from clinical portal and medical notes. The data included demographic information, BMI, METS score, intra-operative opiates use, post-operative pain scores, opiate requirements and use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), total dose of opiates used and day of discharge. The outcomes were analysed using means, odds ratios (OR), Mann-Whitney U-test and Fisher's exact or Chi-square test with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Patients in Group 1 were older (mean age of 64.4, range 38-87) when compared to Group 2 (mean age of 49.3, range 37-81). Group 1 and 2 had comparable mean BMI (30.34 vs. 30.02) and METS score (6.77 vs. 7.76). Mean post-operative pain scores were lower in Group 1 within 4 hours, in periods of 4-12 hours, 12-24 hours and 24-48 hours post-op. Smaller proportion of patients in Group 1 required opiates post-operatively in all periods as compared to Group 2. This was statistically significant in the periods of 12-24 hours post-op (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.82; p = .01). PCA use was significantly lower in Group 1 (OR 0.02, 95% CI 0.0014-0.46; p = .01). Group 1 had lower mean total dose of opiates used (27.182 mg, range 0-102 mg) than Group 2 (59.452 mg, range 0-240 mg), which was statistically significant (p < .0001). Average post-op hospital stay was 1.3 and 1.8 days in Group 1 and 2, respectively. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic-guided TAP block delivered as post-operative analgesia following TLH results in reduced opiate requirement at post-operative period 12-24 hours, reduced PCA use and lower total dose of opiates used.

From ratites to rats: the size of fleshy fruits shapes species' distributions and continental rainforest assembly.

Seed dispersal is a key process in plant spatial dynamics. However, consistently applicable generalizations about dispersal across scales are mostly absent because of the constraints on measuring propagule dispersal distances for many species. Here, we focus on fleshy-fruited taxa, specifically taxa with large fleshy fruits and their dispersers across an entire continental rainforest biome. We compare species-level results of whole-chloroplast DNA analyses in sister taxa with large and small fruits, to regional plot-based samples (310 plots), and whole-continent patterns for the distribution of woody species with either large (more than 30 mm) or smaller fleshy fruits (1093 taxa). The pairwise genomic comparison found higher genetic distances between populations and between regions in the large-fruited species (Endiandra globosa), but higher overall diversity within the small-fruited species (Endiandra discolor). Floristic comparisons among plots confirmed lower numbers of large-fruited species in areas where more extreme rainforest contraction occurred, and re-colonization by small-fruited species readily dispersed by the available fauna. Species' distribution patterns showed that larger-fruited species had smaller geographical ranges than smaller-fruited species and locations with stable refugia (and high endemism) aligned with concentrations of large fleshy-fruited taxa, making them a potentially valuable conservation-planning indicator.

Assessing Seed Germination Response of Parasitic Plant Striga hermonthica with Small-Molecule Probes.

Seed germination of a parasitic plant Striga hermonthica is elicited by strigolactones which are exuded from roots of host plants. Here, we describe a high-throughput germination assay and a method for visualizing in vivo strigolactone receptor functions with a fluorogenic probe.

Enhanced photocatalytic regeneration of carboxymethyl cellulose/lignin/ZnO complex hydrogel after methylene blue adsorption.

The biodegradable, nontoxic, and renewable carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) hydrogel has been developed into a green adsorbent. However, the weak chemical interaction limits its adsorption capability and reusability. This work incorporated lignin with complex structure and ZnO nanoparticles with photocatalytic properties into CMC hydrogel beads to improve the removal of methylene blue (MB) through chemical interaction. Scanning electron microscopic images and Fourier-transform infrared spectra confirmed the compatibility between lignin and ZnO nanoparticles as well as the increment of active sites for dye removal. The MB adsorption on CMC hydrogel beads was more significantly affected by the temperate and initial concentration compared to contact time, pH, and adsorbent dosage. The MB adsorption capacity of CMC hydrogel was improved to 276.79 mg/g after incorporating lignin and ZnO nanoparticles. The adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, indicating chemical adsorption. After 6 cycles, the adsorption capacity was reduced by about 15 %. The UV irradiation could recover and improve MB adsorption capacity of CMC hydrogel beads containing ZnO nanoparticles due to the introduction of reactive oxygen species.

Environmental and Biogeographic Drivers behind Alpine Plant Thermal Tolerance and Genetic Variation.

In alpine ecosystems, elevation broadly functions as a steep thermal gradient, with plant communities exposed to regular fluctuations in hot and cold temperatures. These conditions lead to selective filtering, potentially contributing to species-level variation in thermal tolerance and population-level genetic divergence. Few studies have explored the breadth of alpine plant thermal tolerances across a thermal gradient or the underlying genetic variation thereof. We measured photosystem heat (Tcrit-hot) and cold (Tcrit-cold) thresholds of ten Australian alpine species across elevation gradients and characterised their neutral genetic variation. To reveal the biogeographical drivers of present-day genetic signatures, we also reconstructed temporal changes in habitat suitability across potential distributional ranges. We found intraspecific variation in thermal thresholds, but this was not associated with elevation, nor underpinned by genetic differentiation on a local scale. Instead, regional population differentiation and considerable homozygosity within populations may, in part, be driven by distributional contractions, long-term persistence, and migrations following habitat suitability. Our habitat suitability models suggest that cool-climate-distributed alpine plants may be threatened by a warming climate. Yet, the observed wide thermal tolerances did not reflect this vulnerability. Conservation efforts should seek to understand variations in species-level thermal tolerance across alpine microclimates.

Carboxymethyl cellulose/sodium alginate beads incorporated with calcium carbonate nanoparticles and bentonite for phosphate recovery.

Although anionic polyelectrolyte hydrogel beads offer attractive adsorption of cationic dyes, phosphate adsorption is limited by electrostatic interactions. In this work, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel beads were modified with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and/or bentonite (Be). The compatibility between CaCO3 and Be was proven by the homogeneous surface, as shown in the scanning electron microscopic images. Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray diffraction spectra further confirmed the existence of inorganic filler in the hydrogel beads. Although CMC/SA/Be/CaCO3 hydrogel beads attained the highest methylene blue and phosphate adsorption capacities (142.15 MB mg/g, 90.31 P mg/g), phosphate adsorption was significantly improved once CaCO3 nanoparticles were incorporated into CMC/SA/CaCO3 hydrogel beads. The kinetics of MB adsorption by CMC/SA hydrogel beads with or without inorganic fillers could be described by the pseudo-second-order model under chemical interactions. The phosphate adsorption by CMC/SA/Be/CaCO3 hydrogel beads could be explained by the Elovich model due to heterogeneous properties. The incorporation of Be and CaCO3 also improved the phosphate adsorption through chemical interaction since Langmuir isotherm fitted the phosphate adsorption by CMC/SA/Be/CaCO3 hydrogel beads. Unlike MB adsorption, the reusability of these hydrogel beads in phosphate adsorption reduced slightly after 5 cycles.

Determining a common understanding of interprofessional competencies for pre-registration health professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Delphi study.

There is growing awareness that factors such as the growing incidence of co-morbidity and increasing complexity of patient health needs cannot be addressed by health professionals practicing in isolation. Given this, there is an increasing emphasis on preparing students in health-related programs for effective interprofessional practice. Less clear, however, are the specific skills and clinical or learning opportunities necessary for students to develop effectiveness in interprofessional practice. These factors drove a team associated with a tertiary health education provider in Hamilton, New Zealand to transform traditional clinical student experiences in the form of an interprofessional student-assisted clinic. The clinic was intended, in part, to provide students with opportunities to learn and experience interprofessionalism in practice but was hampered by limited information available regarding the specific skill requirements necessary for students in New Zealand to learn in this context. In this Delphi study, we synthesize national expert opinion on student competency indicators necessary for effective interprofessional practice. The resultant set of indicators is presented and opportunities for application and further research discussed. The paper offers guidance to others seeking to innovate health curricula, develop novel service-oriented learning experiences for students, and foster interprofessional practice competence in the future health workforce.

Plant collections for conservation and restoration: Can they be adapted and adaptable?

Plant collections are important for the conservation of threatened species, and can provide material for ecological restoration. Typically we want collections to have high genetic diversity so populations founded from it are adaptable to future challenges. Sometimes, we have additional objectives for collections, such as enrichment for desirable traits controlled by adaptive alleles. We used landscape genomic data sets for two plants, Westringia fruticosa and Wilkiea huegeliana, to design collections that are genetically diverse, and that are adapted to warming climates. We characterized temperature adaptation by: (i) using the mean annual temperature of the sites of origin of the plants, and (ii) using the representation of alleles that are associated with warm temperatures. In Westringia fruticosa, there was a negative correlation, or tradeoff, between designing a collection that was both genetically diverse and adapted to warm temperatures. This tradeoff was weaker in Wilkiea huegeliana. We hypothesized this was because neutral genetic variation was strongly correlated with temperature in Westringia fruticosa, and not in Wilkiea huegeliana. Accordingly, when we shuffled the temperature data, breaking up the covariance between Westringia fruticosa genetic variation and temperature, there was a relaxation of the observed tradeoff. In summary, we explore tradeoffs between promoting genetic diversity and selecting for a specific trait in plant collections, and show that the strength of this tradeoff varies between two species. This represents a useful step towards understanding when selection will have a large cost in genetic diversity, and when it will be possible to design a collection that is both adapted and adaptable.

Air-liquid interface cultivation of Navicula incerta using hollow fiber membranes.

Microalgae cultivation in open ponds requires a large footprint, while most photobioreactors need improvement in the ratio of surface to volume and energy consumption. In this study, polyethersulfone (PES) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes with a large surface area were rearranged into open-ended and dead-ended configurations to improve the air-liquid interface cultivation of Navicula incerta. N. incerta were successfully grown on the porous membrane surface with the nutrients circulating inside the lumen. Fourier-transform infrared spectra showed the accumulation of polysaccharides, proteins and humic acids. Hydrophilic polysaccharides reduced water contact angles on PES and PVDF membranes to 37.2 ± 2.6° and 55.7 ± 3.3°, respectively. However, the porosity of PES (80.1 ± 1.1%) and PVDF (61.3 ± 4.5%) membranes were not significantly affected even after cultivation and harvesting of N. incerta. Scanning electron images further confirmed that N. incerta, cell debris and extracellular organic matter accumulated on the membrane. With large pores and a hydrophobic surface, PVDF hollow fiber membranes offered a greater improvement in N. incerta cell growth rate compared to PES hollow fiber membranes despite using different configurations. In the dead-ended configuration, they even attained the greatest improvement in N. incerta growth rate, up to 54.0%. However, PES hollow fiber membranes only achieved improvement in harvesting efficiency within the range of 18.7-38.0% due to weak cell adhesion. PVDF hollow fiber membranes significantly promoted the growth of microalgae N. incerta through the air-liquid interface system, leading to potential applications in wastewater treatment.

Tracking habitat or testing its suitability? Similar distributional patterns can hide very different histories of persistence versus nonequilibrium dynamics.

The expansions and contractions of a species' range in response to temporal changes in selective filters leave genetic signatures that can inform a more accurate reconstruction of their evolutionary history across the landscape. After a long period of continental decline, Australian rainforests settled into localized patterns of contraction or expansion during the climatic fluctuations of the Quaternary. The environmental impacts of recurring glacial and interglacial periods also intensified the arrival of new lineages from the Sunda shelf, and it can be expected that immigrant versus locally persistent taxa responded to environmental challenges in quantifiably different manner. To investigate how such differences impact on species' distribution, we contrast landscape genomic patterns and changes in habitat availability between a species with a long continental history on Doryphora sassafras and a Sunda-derived species (Toona ciliata), across a distributional overlap. Extensive landscape-level homogeneity across chloroplast and nuclear genomes for the Sunda-derived T. ciliata, characterize the genetic signature of a very recent invasion and a rapid southern "exploratory" expansion that had not been previously recorded in the Australian flora (i.e., of Gondwanan origin or Sahul-derived). In contrast, D. sassafras is consistent with other Sahul-derived species characterized by strong geographical divergence and regional differentiation. Interestingly, our findings suggest that admixture between genetically divergent populations during expansion events might be a contributing factor to the successful colonization of novel habitats. Overall, this study identifies some of the mechanisms regulating the rearrangements in species distributions and assemblage composition that follow major environmental shifts, and reminds us how a species' current range might not necessarily define species' habitat preference, with the consequence that estimates of past or future range might not always be reliable.

Recent advances of natural biopolymeric culture scaffold: synthesis and modification.

Traditionally existing 2D culture scaffold has been inappropriately validated due to the failure in generating the precise therapeutic response. Therefore, this leads to the fabrication of 3D culture scaffold resolving the limitations in the in vivo environment. In recent years, tissue engineering played an important role in the field of bio-medical engineering. Biopolymer material, a novel natural material with excellent properties of nontoxic and biodegradable merits can be served as culture scaffold. This review summarizes the modifications of natural biopolymeric culture scaffold with different crosslinkers and their application. In addition, this review provides the recent progress of natural biopolymeric culture scaffold mainly focusing on their properties, synthesizing and modification and application.

Chromosome-level de novo genome assembly of Telopea speciosissima (New South Wales waratah) using long-reads, linked-reads and Hi-C.

Telopea speciosissima, the New South Wales waratah, is an Australian endemic woody shrub in the family Proteaceae. Waratahs have great potential as a model clade to better understand processes of speciation, introgression and adaptation, and are significant from a horticultural perspective. Here, we report the first chromosome-level genome for T. speciosissima. Combining Oxford Nanopore long-reads, 10x Genomics Chromium linked-reads and Hi-C data, the assembly spans 823 Mb (scaffold N50 of 69.0 Mb) with 97.8% of Embryophyta BUSCOs "Complete". We present a new method in Diploidocus (https://github.com/slimsuite/diploidocus) for classifying, curating and QC-filtering scaffolds, which combines read depths, k-mer frequencies and BUSCO predictions. We also present a new tool, DepthSizer (https://github.com/slimsuite/depthsizer), for genome size estimation from the read depth of single-copy orthologues and estimate the genome size to be approximately 900 Mb. The largest 11 scaffolds contained 94.1% of the assembly, conforming to the expected number of chromosomes (2n = 22). Genome annotation predicted 40,158 protein-coding genes, 351 rRNAs and 728 tRNAs. We investigated CYCLOIDEA (CYC) genes, which have a role in determination of floral symmetry, and confirm the presence of two copies in the genome. Read depth analysis of 180 "Duplicated" BUSCO genes using a new tool, DepthKopy (https://github.com/slimsuite/depthkopy), suggests almost all are real duplications, increasing confidence in the annotation and highlighting a possible need to revise the BUSCO set for this lineage. The chromosome-level T. speciosissima reference genome (Tspe_v1) provides an important new genomic resource of Proteaceae to support the conservation of flora in Australia and further afield.

Effectiveness of technology-based psychosocial interventions on diabetes distress and health-relevant outcomes among type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Poor management of type 2 diabetes mellitus may affect individuals' physical and emotional health. Access to ongoing psychosocial interventions through technological platforms may potentially minimise diabetes complications and improve health-related outcomes. However, little is known about the effectiveness of such interventions on diabetes distress and health-related outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To synthesise the best available evidence concerning the effectiveness of technology-based psychosocial interventions on diabetes distress, self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, and HbA1c level in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A search of eleven databases was conducted to identify randomised controlled trials that examined the effects of technology-based psychosocial interventions on the outcomes. Randomised controlled trials reported in English from 2010 to 2020 were included. Selection of studies, quality appraisal, and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers independently. Meta-analyses, subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis were performed using Review Manager. Intervention effects was measured using standardise mean difference. RESULTS: Twenty randomised controlled trials fulfilled the eligibility criteria and 18 randomised controlled trials were included in meta-analysis. technology-based psychosocial interventions improved diabetes distress, self-efficacy and HbA1c levels with significant and small effect sizes. Subgroup analyses revealed greater improvement in health-related quality of life for participants with comorbid depression and lower HbA1c levels for studies with lesser than 100 participants. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review increase knowledge on the effectiveness of technology-based psychosocial interventions on diabetes distress and self-efficacy. However, evidence to support the effects of technology-based psychosocial interventions on HbA1c and health-related quality of life was not strong. More research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the psychosocial interventions delivered through mobile applications or virtual reality.

Conserving the genetic diversity of condemned populations: Optimizing collections and translocation.

We consider approaches for conserving genetic diversity from plant populations whose destruction is imminent. We do this using SNP genotype data from two endangered species, Pimelea spicata and Eucalyptus sp. Cattai. For both species, we genotyped plants from a 'condemned' population and designed ex situ collections, characterizing how the size and composition of the collection affected the genetic diversity preserved. Consistent with previous observations, populations where genetic diversity was optimized captured more alleles than populations of equal size chosen at random. This benefit of optimization was larger when the propagation population was small. That is, small numbers of individuals (e.g. 20) needed to be selected carefully to capture a comparable proportion of alleles to optimized populations, but larger random populations (e.g. >48) captured almost as many alleles as optimized populations. We then examined strategies for generating translocation populations based on the horticultural constraints presented by each species. In P. spicata, which is readily grown from cuttings, we designed translocation populations of different sizes, using different numbers of ramets from each member of propagation populations. We then performed simulations to predict the loss of alleles from these populations over 10 generations. Large translocation populations were predicted to maintain a greater proportion of source population alleles than smaller translocation populations, but this effect was saturated beyond 200 individuals. In E. sp. Cattai, we examined strategies to promote the diversity of progeny from a conservation planting scenario with 36 individuals. This included the optimization of the spatial arrangement of the planting and supplementing the diversity of the condemned population with individuals from additional sites. In sum, we studied approaches for designing genetically diverse translocations of condemned populations for two species that require contrasting methods of propagation, illustrating the application of approaches that were useful in different circumstances.