title: Te Whānau Mārama

authors: Tuahine, Hōhepa

subjects: Whānau mārama

abstract: Ko te rā, ko te marama, ko te whetū, ko te auahitūroa, ko te kōtiritiri anō i tapaina e te Māori ko te Whānau Mārama.  Ko te whānau nei ka heke i a Tangotango rāua ko Wainui, he tamariki nā Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, he atua. I whakaako motuhaketia ngā āhuatanga katoa o te Whānau Mārama ki te whare kōkōrangi.  Ko ana whakapapa, ko ana karakia, ko ana waiata, ko ana whakataukī maha.  Ko ngā kai mārō o taua whare wānanga e hoki ana ki te orokotīmatanga mai o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, heke iho mai ki te tangata me te ao tūroa e mōhiotia ana i tēnei rangi.  He tipua ngā tohunga o te whare kōkōrangi ki te whakamāori i ngā nekehanga me ngā āhuatanga rere kē o te Whānau Mārama nei.  Ka nui ngā tohutohu a te Whānau Mārama e tōnui ai te noho a te Māori ki te whenua.  Heoi anō, kei te āhua tonu o tā te whetū nekehanga i te rangi, kei te āhua tonu o tōna hikohiko mai, otirā kei te āhua tonu o tā te Whānau Mārama taunekeneke atu, taunekeneke mai ki a rātau anō.  Katoa ngā āhuatanga o te Whānau Mārama he mea hei ārahi i te Māori, me te aha, ko ngā mātauranga o te whare nei hei kāpehu ki te tohunga whakatere waka, hei tohu nō Tū ki te ope tauā, hei maramataka ki te ihu oneone, hei kai mārō ki te tauira, hei aha noa atu.  Ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he tūhura i ngā kōrero mō te Whānau Mārama me tana whare wānanga.  Ka titiro ki ngā kōrero kua whakamoanahia i roto i ngā tau maha me te whakamārama i te whakamahia o tēnei mātauranga e kui mā, e koro mā i te wā i a rātau.

text: Te Whānau Mārama Ko te rā, ko te marama, ko te whetū, ko te auahitūroa, ko te kōtiritiri anō i tapaina e te Māori ko te Whānau Mārama.  Ko te whānau nei ka heke i a Tangotango rāua ko Wainui, he tamariki nā Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, he atua. I whakaako motuhaketia ngā āhuatanga katoa o te Whānau Mārama ki te whare kōkōrangi.  Ko ana whakapapa, ko ana karakia, ko ana waiata, ko ana whakataukī maha.  Ko ngā kai mārō o taua whare wānanga e hoki ana ki te orokotīmatanga mai o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, heke iho mai ki te tangata me te ao tūroa e mōhiotia ana i tēnei rangi.  He tipua ngā tohunga o te whare kōkōrangi ki te whakamāori i ngā nekehanga me ngā āhuatanga rere kē o te Whānau Mārama nei.  Ka nui ngā tohutohu a te Whānau Mārama e tōnui ai te noho a te Māori ki te whenua.  Heoi anō, kei te āhua tonu o tā te whetū nekehanga i te rangi, kei te āhua tonu o tōna hikohiko mai, otirā kei te āhua tonu o tā te Whānau Mārama taunekeneke atu, taunekeneke mai ki a rātau anō.  Katoa ngā āhuatanga o te Whānau Mārama he mea hei ārahi i te Māori, me te aha, ko ngā mātauranga o te whare nei hei kāpehu ki te tohunga whakatere waka, hei tohu nō Tū ki te ope tauā, hei maramataka ki te ihu oneone, hei kai mārō ki te tauira, hei aha noa atu.  Ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he tūhura i ngā kōrero mō te Whānau Mārama me tana whare wānanga.  Ka titiro ki ngā kōrero kua whakamoanahia i roto i ngā tau maha me te whakamārama i te whakamahia o tēnei mātauranga e kui mā, e koro mā i te wā i a rātau.

year: 2016

title: Violation of te whare tangata - the maternal body: Young women's journeys through pregnancy and partner terrorism

authors: Marsh, Tuihana M.

subjects: Partner Terrorism

abstract: Partner terrorism is a leading social issue in Aotearoa. It occurs with such frequency and ferocity that it is often considered an epidemic. This has placed us in the shameful position of being the highest ranked nation in the western world for the prevalence of intimate partner violence. This research explored young women’s experiences of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Eleven women aged 14 - 17 years when pregnant were interviewed. A mana wāhine theoretical perspective was employed, guided by a kaupapa Māori research methodology. Pūrākau was used as a method to present and validate the women’s voices.
The key findings identified that these relationships began with the potential of any other relationship. However, they typically followed a pattern of co-habituation and entrapment through pregnancy and financial dependence. It was evident the partner terrorism was brought into these relationships by the terrorist partners, and was the first experience of this violence for many of the women. The terrorism continued to escalate. Separating from their terrorist partners did not result in the women being any safer, with some continuing to experience life-threatening acts of terrorism post separation. Pregnancy did not serve as a protective factor: the violation of te whare tangata generally occurred before, during and after pregnancy. Often, the acts of terrorism escalated following the birth of their pēpī, with their partner’s terrorism being a direct assault on ūkaipō, disrupting bonding and mothering practices. Many of the women were able to recognise the terrorism to which they were subjected only in hindsight. Despite this, they showed ingenuity and resilience in the ways they resisted the terrorism in efforts to keep themselves and their pēpī safe. Breaking free of these relationships demanded intervention and support from outsiders. The women remain strongly committed to the welfare of their pēpī.

text: Violation of te whare tangata - the maternal body: Young women's journeys through pregnancy and partner terrorism Partner terrorism is a leading social issue in Aotearoa. It occurs with such frequency and ferocity that it is often considered an epidemic. This has placed us in the shameful position of being the highest ranked nation in the western world for the prevalence of intimate partner violence. This research explored young women’s experiences of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Eleven women aged 14 - 17 years when pregnant were interviewed. A mana wāhine theoretical perspective was employed, guided by a kaupapa Māori research methodology. Pūrākau was used as a method to present and validate the women’s voices.
The key findings identified that these relationships began with the potential of any other relationship. However, they typically followed a pattern of co-habituation and entrapment through pregnancy and financial dependence. It was evident the partner terrorism was brought into these relationships by the terrorist partners, and was the first experience of this violence for many of the women. The terrorism continued to escalate. Separating from their terrorist partners did not result in the women being any safer, with some continuing to experience life-threatening acts of terrorism post separation. Pregnancy did not serve as a protective factor: the violation of te whare tangata generally occurred before, during and after pregnancy. Often, the acts of terrorism escalated following the birth of their pēpī, with their partner’s terrorism being a direct assault on ūkaipō, disrupting bonding and mothering practices. Many of the women were able to recognise the terrorism to which they were subjected only in hindsight. Despite this, they showed ingenuity and resilience in the ways they resisted the terrorism in efforts to keep themselves and their pēpī safe. Breaking free of these relationships demanded intervention and support from outsiders. The women remain strongly committed to the welfare of their pēpī.

year: 2019

title: The Breakdown of Skeletal Muscle in Dairy Cows During Peak Lactation

authors: Gray, Tarra Stacee

subjects: dairy cows

abstract: The decline in fertility in dairy cows is of international concern. Since 1950, milk production demands have increased while first service rates of conception have decreased. It is unclear why fertility has decreased, however current dairy management practice requires cows to be kept on a tight yearly calving schedule to ensure maximum milk production over the lifetime of the cow. The current postulate suggests that this regime places a high metabolic burden on the cows, which in turn requires the breakdown of tissues such as fat and muscle to provide substrates to meet the increased energy demands of lactation.

Immediately after calving, dairy cows enter a state of negative energy balance (EB), as they cannot consume enough energy to sustain lactation. During this period of negative EB, fat is mobilised in the form of non-esterified fatty acids to help supply the body with the extra energy it needs, but fat mobilisation decreases after four weeks while cows remain in a state of negative EB for several more weeks. It is unclear whether or not muscle breakdown occurs and plays a role in the restoration of EB in lactating cows during peak lactation. I hypothesized that the breakdown of muscle does occur in cows during peak lactation, and that it occurs to a greater extent in cows producing higher amounts of milk.

Dairy cows from three strains, NZL, NZH and OSH, representing cows with differing milk production abilities (low, intermediate and high, respectively), were studied for 12 weeks postpartum. Blood was drawn at weekly intervals and muscle biopsies taken at -1, 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postpartum.

Analysis of plasma revealed an increase in the abundance of troponin I-fs (a marker of muscle breakdown) over the period of study, suggesting that breakdown of skeletal muscle was occurring. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that expression of the ubiquitin-proteasome (UbP) ligases atrogin-1 (atro1) and muscle ring finger protein 1 (murf1) increased initially, but returned to normal levels by four weeks postpartum. Concentration of mRNA of the lysosomal proteases, cathepsin B, D, H and L, did not change over the period of study. Therefore, the UbP pathway may contribute to the breakdown of muscle detected by troponin I-fs in plasma.

Proteins involved in translation initiation were examined by Western blotting. The ratio of phosphorylated over total eIF2alpha and 4E-BP1 remained unchanged throughout the study, indicating that the breakdown of muscle was not a result of decreased protein synthesis. However, there was a greater ratio of phosphorylated to total eIF2alpha in NZL cows compared with NZH and OSH, suggesting that protein synthesis was less overall in NZL cows than other strains. Measurement of myosin heavy chain composition indicated there was no change in the abundance of type I and type IIx muscle fibres and plasma myostatin levels did not change over the period of study. However, the OSH cows had less myostatin in their plasma than the NZL and NZH cows, suggesting that there may be inhibition of muscle growth occurring in this strain.

The results of this study suggest that breakdown of muscle could be important in restoring the EB in high-producing dairy cows during peak lactation. Upregulation of the UbP pathway during the first four weeks of lactation may contribute to this muscle breakdown. However, it remains unclear what processes then continue to regulate breakdown of skeletal muscle to maintain the elevated abundance of troponin I-fs in plasma from four to 12 weeks postpartum in lactating dairy cows.

text: The Breakdown of Skeletal Muscle in Dairy Cows During Peak Lactation The decline in fertility in dairy cows is of international concern. Since 1950, milk production demands have increased while first service rates of conception have decreased. It is unclear why fertility has decreased, however current dairy management practice requires cows to be kept on a tight yearly calving schedule to ensure maximum milk production over the lifetime of the cow. The current postulate suggests that this regime places a high metabolic burden on the cows, which in turn requires the breakdown of tissues such as fat and muscle to provide substrates to meet the increased energy demands of lactation.

Immediately after calving, dairy cows enter a state of negative energy balance (EB), as they cannot consume enough energy to sustain lactation. During this period of negative EB, fat is mobilised in the form of non-esterified fatty acids to help supply the body with the extra energy it needs, but fat mobilisation decreases after four weeks while cows remain in a state of negative EB for several more weeks. It is unclear whether or not muscle breakdown occurs and plays a role in the restoration of EB in lactating cows during peak lactation. I hypothesized that the breakdown of muscle does occur in cows during peak lactation, and that it occurs to a greater extent in cows producing higher amounts of milk.

Dairy cows from three strains, NZL, NZH and OSH, representing cows with differing milk production abilities (low, intermediate and high, respectively), were studied for 12 weeks postpartum. Blood was drawn at weekly intervals and muscle biopsies taken at -1, 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postpartum.

Analysis of plasma revealed an increase in the abundance of troponin I-fs (a marker of muscle breakdown) over the period of study, suggesting that breakdown of skeletal muscle was occurring. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that expression of the ubiquitin-proteasome (UbP) ligases atrogin-1 (atro1) and muscle ring finger protein 1 (murf1) increased initially, but returned to normal levels by four weeks postpartum. Concentration of mRNA of the lysosomal proteases, cathepsin B, D, H and L, did not change over the period of study. Therefore, the UbP pathway may contribute to the breakdown of muscle detected by troponin I-fs in plasma.

Proteins involved in translation initiation were examined by Western blotting. The ratio of phosphorylated over total eIF2alpha and 4E-BP1 remained unchanged throughout the study, indicating that the breakdown of muscle was not a result of decreased protein synthesis. However, there was a greater ratio of phosphorylated to total eIF2alpha in NZL cows compared with NZH and OSH, suggesting that protein synthesis was less overall in NZL cows than other strains. Measurement of myosin heavy chain composition indicated there was no change in the abundance of type I and type IIx muscle fibres and plasma myostatin levels did not change over the period of study. However, the OSH cows had less myostatin in their plasma than the NZL and NZH cows, suggesting that there may be inhibition of muscle growth occurring in this strain.

The results of this study suggest that breakdown of muscle could be important in restoring the EB in high-producing dairy cows during peak lactation. Upregulation of the UbP pathway during the first four weeks of lactation may contribute to this muscle breakdown. However, it remains unclear what processes then continue to regulate breakdown of skeletal muscle to maintain the elevated abundance of troponin I-fs in plasma from four to 12 weeks postpartum in lactating dairy cows.

year: 2008