Ancient DNA recovers the origins of Māori feather cloaks

Feather cloaks ("kakahu"), particularly those adorned with kiwi feathers, are treasured items or "taonga" to the Māori people of "Aotearoa"/New Zealand. They are considered iconic expression of Māori culture. Despite their status, much of our knowledge of the materials used to construct cloaks, the provenance of cloaks, and the origins of cloak making itself, has been lost. We used ancient DNA methods to recover mitochondrial DNA sequences from 849 feather samples taken from 109 cloaks. We show that almost all (>99%) of the cloaks were constructed using feathers from North Island brown kiwi. Molecular sexing of nuclear DNA recovered from 92 feather cloak samples also revealed that the sex ratio of birds deviated from a ratio of 1:1 observed in reference populations. Additionally, we constructed a database of 185 mitochondrial control region DNA sequences of kiwi feathers comprising samples collected from 26 North Island locations together with data available from the literature. Genetic subdivision (G(ST)), nucleotide subdivision (N(ST)) and Spatial Analysis of Molecular Variants (SAMOVA) analyses revealed high levels of genetic structuring in North Island brown kiwi. Together with sequence data from previously studied ancient and modern kiwi samples, we were able to determine the geographic provenance of 847 cloak feathers from 108 cloaks. A surprising proportion (15%) of cloaks were found to contain feathers from different geographic locations, providing evidence of kiwi trading among Māori tribes or organized hunting trips into other tribal areas. Our data also suggest that the east of the North Island of New Zealand was the most prolific of all kiwi cloak making areas, with over 50% of all cloaks analyzed originating from this region. Similar molecular approaches have the potential to discover a wealth of lost information from artifacts of endemic cultures worldwide.     

Biotechnology: the language of multiple views in Māori communities

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the government funded studies on communicating biotechnology to different sectors in the community from 2003 to 2006. Subsequently, a researcher covering the Māori sector performed a content analysis of data gathered in the community. Qualitative analysis methods included examining text from participant interviews, focus groups, government documents, newspapers, Internet sites, and current literature. Content was coded by identifying common themes in the English and the Māori language. Words like genetic modification (GM), genetic engineering (GE), and biotechnology were explained to provide a basic understanding between the communities and researcher. The terminology applied in the research was essential to achieve communication between the researcher and the community. The resultant themes represented seven views to interpret the communities association with biotechnology: purist Māori, religious Māori, anti Māori, pro Māori, no Māori, uncertain Māori, and middle Māori views. The themes are taken from the analysis of data compiled after 3 years of completing different stages of a research project. The views indicate that a common understanding can be achieved in the diverse range of Māori tribal communities providing those communicating biotechnology can identify the view and interpretations communities associate with biotechnology. This knowledge is essential for government agencies, researchers, community practitioners, scientist, and businesses that desire to dialogue with Māori communities in the language of biotechnology.     

Māori Culture on Stage: Authenticity and Identity in Tourist Interactions1

Cultural tourism is often described as inciting visited populations to adapt elements of their culture to the visitors' tastes instead of displaying their real way of life or identity. Even when researchers adopt a constructivist approach to authenticity, they often assume that it is defined according to the criteria or expectations of the tourists. In this paper, I analyse three Māori cultural shows in New Zealand, and explore the way cultural authenticity is defined in tourist interactions. I review the arguments in favour of rejecting the opposition between ‘inauthentic’ staged culture and ‘authentic’ daily life. My study tends to indicate that if authenticity is better described as a social construction, the host society might be more active in this process than visitors.     

Modeling Harvest Intensity of Sooty Shearwater Chicks by Rakiura Māori in New Zealand

Abstract: Cultural evidence suggests that sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) chicks have been harvested by Rakiura Māori on islands in southern New Zealand since prehistoric times. Concerns exist that modern harvests may be impacting sooty shearwater abundance. We modeled human-related and ecological determinants of harvest (total no. of individuals harvested) of sooty shearwater chicks on 11 islands and examined the relationship between shearwater abundance and harvesting rates (chicks/hr) and harvester behavior throughout the harvesting season. Models best explaining variation in harvest between harvesting areas (manu), for both the early and late parts of the harvesting season, included harvester-days (included in all models with change in deviance information criteria [ΔDIC], ΔDIC < 8.36 and ΔDIC < 11.5, for the early and late periods, respectively). Other harvest determinants included shearwater density, size of the manu, and number of people helping harvesters (all included in the top 5 models within ΔDIC = 2.25 for the late period). Areas harvested by several families under a common-property harvesting system had higher harvest intensity for their size (24% points higher, 95% credible interval 11–36%) than those managed as an exclusive resource for one family. The slowest harvesters spent more time harvesting but on average only harvested 36% (95% credible interval 15–65%) and 34% (95% credible interval 12–63%) of the harvest taken by the fastest harvesters during the early and late periods, respectively. Our results highlight the possibility of elevated harvest intensity as the population of harvesters increases. However, our models suggested that a corresponding reduction in harvesting rate at low prey densities during the most productive period could potentially regulate harvest intensity. Future research will integrate these results into prospective shearwater demographic models to assess the utility of a range of harvesting strategies in ensuring harvest sustainability.     

French Ambivalence Towards the Concept of ‘Indigenous People’: Museums and the Māori

ABSTRACT

Museums around the globe have experienced important changes in recent years in response to decolonisation processes and the demands of indigenous peoples. French museums are no exception, but the transformations have certain French hallmarks. This article explores the way France is dealing with its colonial legacy and, by means of two case studies, unravels the diverse political and historical particularities of the French context. The first looks at the results of a comparative analysis of the French and Québécois public’s response to the travelling exhibition E tū ake: Standing Strong produced by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The second focuses on the repatriation ceremony of Māori toi moko (tattooed preserved heads) that took place in Paris in January 2012. These two case studies examine the French uses of concepts such as ‘community’, ‘minority’, and ‘indigeneity’ as well as the complex relations between religion and rationality, ancestral presence and materialism in French public life. The article investigates how these concepts participate in the fabric of French society, and thus in shaping contemporary museum landscapes.     

Genetic investigation into an increased susceptibility to biliary atresia in an extended New Zealand Māori family

Background

Biliary atresia (BA), a fibrosing disorder of the developing biliary tract leading to liver failure in infancy, has an elevated incidence in indigenous New Zealand (NZ) Māori. We investigated a high rate of BA in a group of children (n?=?12) belonging to a single Māori iwi (or ‘tribe’, related through a remote ancestor).

Methods

Population and geographical data was used to estimate the rate of BA in Māori sub-groups, and a pedigree linking most of the affected children was constructed from oral and documented history. Array genotyping was used to examine hypotheses about the inheritance of a possible genetic risk factor, and the history of the affected population, and Exome Sequencing to search for candidate genes.

Results

Most of these affected children (n?=?7) link to a self-reported pedigree and carry a 50-fold increase in BA risk over unrelated Māori (χ²?=?296P?< 0.001, 95% CI 23–111). Genetic analysis using FEstim and SNP array genotypes revealed no evidence for elevated consanguinity between parents of affected children (FEstim: F (2,21)?=?0.469, P?> 0.63). Genome-wide quantitation of intervals of contiguous, homozygous-by-state markers reached a similar conclusion (F (2,399)?=?1.99, P?=?0.138). Principal component analysis and investigation with STRUCTURE found no evidence of increased allele frequency of either a recessive variant, or additive, low-risk variants due to reproductive isolation. To identify candidate causal factors, Exome Sequencing datasets were scrutinised for shared rare coding variants across 8 affected individuals. No rare, non-synonymous, phylogenetically conserved variants were common to 6 or more affected children.

Conclusion

The substantially elevated risk for development of BA in this subgroup could be mediated by genetic factors, but the iwi exhibits no properties indicative of recent or remote reproductive isolation. Resolution of any risk loci may rely on extensive genomic sequencing studies in this iwi or investigation of other mechnaisms such as copy number variation.

     

KIR diversity in Māori and Polynesians: populations in which HLA-B is not a significant KIR ligand

HLA class I molecules and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) form a diverse system of ligands and receptors that individualize human immune systems in ways that improve the survival of individuals and populations. Human settlement of Oceania by island-hopping East and Southeast Asian migrants started ~3,500 years ago. Subsequently, New Zealand was reached ~750 years ago by ancestral Māori. To examine how this history impacted KIR and HLA diversity, and their functional interaction, we defined at high resolution the allelic and haplotype diversity of the 13 expressed KIR genes in 49 Māori and 34 Polynesians. Eighty KIR variants, including four ‘new’ alleles, were defined, as were 35 centromeric and 22 telomeric KIR region haplotypes, which combine to give >50 full-length KIR haplotypes. Two new and divergent variant KIR form part of a telomeric KIR haplotype, which appears derived from Papua New Guinea and was probably obtained by the Asian migrants en route to Polynesia. Māori and Polynesian KIR are very similar, but differ significantly from African, European, Japanese, and Amerindian KIR. Māori and Polynesians have high KIR haplotype diversity with corresponding allotype diversity being maintained throughout the KIR locus. Within the population, each individual has a unique combination of HLA class I and KIR. Characterizing Māori and Polynesians is a paucity of HLA-B allotypes recognized by KIR. Compensating for this deficiency are high frequencies (>50 %) of HLA-A allotypes recognized by KIR. These HLA-A allotypes are ones that modern humans likely acquired from archaic humans at a much earlier time.     

What Limits the Number of Tītī (Puffinus griseus) Harvested by Rakiura Māori?

Mori continue a centuries old harvest of tt chicks (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) on islands adjacent to Rakiura (Stewart Island). This study measured time limits on the number of Tttaken each day from Putauhinu Island. In the first period of the harvest (nanao) the chicks are extracted from the breeding burrows during daytime. In the second period of harvest (rama) the chicks are caught at night after they have emerged from their nesting burrows. Capture rate is much higher during the rama than the nanao. More time is spent processing (plucking, cutting-up, gutting, and packing) chicks during rama than the nanao because of a 1.3–1.7 increase in the number of chicks caught. Recently introduced motorized plucking machines decrease the time required to pluck each chick and make plucking less physically demanding and less painful. However, motorized pluckers did not increase the number of chicks harvested on Putauhinu. Other social limits may control harvest intensity and influence sustainability of muttonbirding.     

‘I Have Māori in Me’: Shades of Commitment and Negotiation of Subjectivity in an Aotearoa/New Zealand School

ABSTRACT

Based on ethnographic fieldwork (1997–1998) at a secondary school with a Māori?English bilingual unit in Aotearoa/New Zealand, this article examines two different ways students with Māori ancestry identified themselves contextually: those in the bilingual unit identified themselves mostly as being Māori, while those in mainstream classes identified themselves mostly as Pākehā (white New Zealander) but occasionally as being Pākehā but having Māori in them. Existing analytical frameworks, such as symbolic ethnicity (Gans 1999) or citizenship (Ong 2003), fail to capture the contextual and dialogic display of these different shades of identification practices. Applying the notion of commitment and its disavowal proposed by Doerr for this special issue (2013), this article analyses these two identification practices as a proactive commitment and a hedging commitment linked to institutional belonging to the bilingual unit and mainstream classes, respectively, and to the wider cultural politics of the official yet tokenistic biculturalism of Aotearoa/New Zealand.     

A ‘Parallel process’? beginning a constructive conversation about a Mäori methodology

This paper documents the beginning of a conversation about what it means to be Maori within a larger, mainstream research project. This larger project was conceived by a team of researchers that included a Maori principal investigator, and funding was gained from a funding agency that has established criteria for Maori responsiveness. The Maori component of the project was, however, not initially conceived of as separate from the non-Maori component. Discussions about this were initiated approximately one year into the project in response to Maori team members' desires to undertake Kaupapa Maori research. This effectively means that the Maori team collects and analyses the Maori research data prior to re-engaging with the full research team. While there is a level of uncertainty about how this process will play itself out, there is a commitment to continue a constructive conversation within the team and to journey together in good faith and trust.     

支原体基因组中ori和ter位点的松弛平衡

支原体(Mycoplasma)是一类没有细胞壁的特殊细菌, 其基因组较小, 公认支原体经历了较大规模的消减进化. 在消减进化中基因组复制起点(ori)和终点(ter)之间的平衡很可能被破坏. 由于支原体基因组中的复制起点和终点用常规方法如GC Skew等不易确定, 因此本研究采用Z曲线检加以测, 并据此计算出支原体基因组中复制起点和终点的距离. 我们发现, 支原体基因组多数处于不平衡的状态. 这可能是由于支原体的特殊生存环境所致. 在其生存环境中, 竞争压力较小, 基因组无需快速复制以争夺生存资源, 从而在长期进化后复制起点和终点之间失去了平衡.     

支原体基因组中ori和ter位点的松弛平衡

支原体(Mycoplasma)是一类没有细胞壁的特殊细菌, 其基因组较小, 公认支原体经历了较大规模的消减进化. 在消减进化中基因组复制起点(ori)和终点(ter)之间的平衡很可能被破坏. 由于支原体基因组中的复制起点和终点用常规方法如GC Skew等不易确定, 因此本研究采用Z曲线检加以测, 并据此计算出支原体基因组中复制起点和终点的距离. 我们发现, 支原体基因组多数处于不平衡的状态. 这可能是由于支原体的特殊生存环境所致. 在其生存环境中, 竞争压力较小, 基因组无需快速复制以争夺生存资源, 从而在长期进化后复制起点和终点之间失去了平衡.     

Vb infixed plurals in Jebbāli

Quite a large number of nouns in Jebbāli exhibit infixation of Vb in their plural formation. The locus of the Vb infix, which systematically occurs in the middle of a CVCCVC stem, is unusual as it differs from the cross-linguistically common loci of infixation. According to Yu (A natural history of infixation, 2006), a survey of 154 infixation patterns in more than 100 languages “revealed that infixes invariably appear near one of the edges of a stem or next to a stressed unit… [and] 137 of these infixes (i.e. 89 %) are edge-oriented” (p. 3). In Jebbāli, the placement of infixation is driven by two forces. First, the plural forms are constrained to begin and end with stem material (i.e. material in correspondence to the singular), barring the Vb affix from occurring as a prefix or suffix. Second, the Vb infix is prosodically constrained, so that it cannot span two syllables. This paper provides a new theoretical approach to a less common pattern of infix placement, using the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky in Optimality theory, RUCCS TR-2, 1993, Optimality theory: constraint interaction in generative grammar, 2004). Since the locus of infixation in Jebbāli is not determined by a desire to be near a word edge or prosodically prominent position, and there is a tendency in the language to limit affixes to maximally one syllable, the analysis incorporates Affix≤σ which simultaneously addresses infix placement and size, ensuring that the analysis is extendable to other affixes in the language.     

Bill morphology reflects adaptation to a fibrous diet in the kākāpō (Strigops: Psittaciformes)

We describe the upper portion of the bill sheath (rhinotheca) of the kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) from three adult female specimens. The external buccal surface of the rhinotheca is deeply concave with a prominent palatal stop and hardened chevrons creating a ‘milling apparatus’ that the kākāpō uses to grind food. The palatal stop presents a working face of 40–50?mm². The internal surface of the rhinotheca mirrors the overlying premaxilla and provides a distinct thickened abutment consistent with resistance against the increased workload of the mandibles (gnathotheca) due to the kākāpō’s fibrous diet and chewing style. Along the midline, the rhinotheca at the abutment is up to 5.6?mm thick, compared with as thin as 2.1?mm elsewhere on the midline. The closely related Nestor parrots have less developed palatal stops, chevrons and abutments on their rhinothecas consistent with their lower preference for fibrous plant material. The form of the rhinotheca agrees with the kākāpō’s feeding ecology as a generalist herbivore that grinds locally available fibrous material to assist digestion.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌拟步行甲亚种质粒复制子ori165的克隆

以苏云金芽胞杆菌拟步行甲亚种菌株 (Bacillusthuringiensissubsp.tenebrionis)YBT 1 76 5作为出发菌株 ,克隆了一个包含复制子的EcoRI酶切片段 ,大小约为 1 1kb ,称为ori1 6 5。这是国内外从此亚种中克隆到的第一个复制子。缩小到 8kb左右后仍然能够复制。杂交结果显示 ,此复制子来源于菌株YBT 1 76 5可以检测到的分子量最大的质粒。以此复制子构建的穿梭载体pBMB6 0 71在不同受体菌中的稳定性差异很大 ,其中在以色列亚种无晶体突变株 4Q7中 ,传 40后代 ,稳定性 1 0 0 %。质粒pBMB6 0 71与含ori1 0 3 0和ori2 0 6 2在库斯塔克亚种无晶体突变株BMB1 71中是相容的     

载脂蛋白M

载脂蛋白M(apoM)是一类在血液中主要与高密度脂蛋白（HDL）结合的载脂蛋白,呈组织特异性表达且有着众多生物学功能.体内外多种因素可从转录或转录后水平对其表达进行调控:肝细胞核因子-1α,4α（HNF-1α,4α）、肝受体同系物-1（LRH-1）、叉头框转录因子a2（Foxa2）、血小板活化因子（PAF）等可上调其表达;肝X受体（LXR）、维甲酸X受体（RXR）、法尼酯X受体（FXR）、小异源二聚体-1(SHP-1)以及绝大多数细胞因子可下调其表达,具体调节机制复杂. 结构上,apoM含有一个特征性的疏水性信号肽,可结合1 磷酸鞘氨醇（S1P）等小的生物活性脂,以此介导多项生命活动. 功能上,apoM能促进preβ-HDL的生成,并提高其一系列抗动脉粥样硬化的生物活性,如胆固醇逆向转运、抗炎、以及低密度脂蛋白（LDL）的抗氧化等.在一些糖尿病病人体内,apoM的含量也显著降低,而apoM含量的提高可以降低血糖含量,增加胰岛素分泌以及改善胰岛素抵抗,不少学者将其视为该病发生发展的一项预测指标.本文就近年来对apoM的生物学特性,特别是其表达调控机制和功能的研究进展进行综述.     

改进的IWAO M—M模型

按照Iwao,倘若?_b/m_b是常数,?=α+βm是线性的。但在自然界,?-m。往往不是线性的,β也不是常数,因此,Iwao的模型有明显的局限性。 我们将β做为m的函数:β=β′+γm。这样,改进模型就是: ,?=α′+β′m+γm~2其中; α′:每个基本成分中个体数的分布的平均拥挤度。 β′:在低密度下基本成分分布的相对聚集度。 γ:基本成分的分布的相对聚集度随种群密度而变化的速率。 本文以温室白粉虱及棉铃虫种群做了例证研究。 结论是: (1)改进的Iwao模型克服了Iwao方法的局限性。既可用于?—m呈线性关系时,也可以应用于?—m呈非线性关系时。因此,改进模型能更准确地描述?和m之间的关系。(2)某种群属随机分布若近似于随机分布时(α′→0,β′→1,γ→0),改进模型可以被原Iwao模型所代替或近似。若在某些种群中,种群密度对基本成分的相对聚集度没有影响(即γ=0),则改进模型就是原Iwao模型。由此可见,Iwao模型是改进模型的一个特例。(3)改进模型的3个参数α′、β′、γ均有其特定的生物学含义,可用于探讨和分析种群的空间格局。此方法不但能提供有关分布的基本成分,基本成分的分布的情况,而且能提供有关基本成分的分布随密度而变化的信息。     

M通道研究进展

M通道是一种电压依赖性非失活的钾离子通道,属于KCNQ家族,主要分布于神经细胞、平滑肌细胞、内耳毛细胞等,该通道在调节神经兴奋性、平滑肌张力和听觉等方面发挥作用。越来越多的研究证实KCNQ基因突变或M通道功能失调与许多疾病有关,并且已经发现一些药物可以通过调节M通道达到治疗作用。本文着重从电生理学、分子生物学、病理生理学等方面介绍了M通道的研究进展。