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This paper focuses on the curriculum links between statistics and science that teachers need to understand and apply in order to be effective teachers of the two fields of study. Meaningful statistics does not exist without context and science is the context for this paper. Although curriculum documents differ from country to country, this paper uses extracts from three countries: Australia, New Zealand and the USA. The statistical ideas from the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics," the "New Zealand Mathematics and Statistics" Curriculum and the US "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" are linked to the relevant parts of the "Australian Curriculum: Science," the New Zealand "Science" Curriculum and the US "Next Generation Science Standards for States, by States." Teachers of mathematics need to be aware of the potential of science to provide meaningful contexts within which to set statistical investigations. Similarly, teachers of science, who are developing methods for implementing investigations and experiments in their classrooms, need to be aware of the close ties to statistical tools for decision-making.

Purpose: Excellent metabolic improvement following one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) remains compromised by the risk of esophageal bile reflux and theoretical carcinogenic potential. No 'gold standard' investigation exists for esophageal bile reflux, with diverse methods employed in the few studies evaluating it post-obesity surgery. As such, data on the incidence and severity of esophageal bile reflux is limited, with comparative studies lacking. This study aims to use specifically tailored biliary scintigraphy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy protocols to evaluate esophageal bile reflux after OAGB, sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Methods: Fifty-eight participants underwent OAGB (20), SG (15) or RYGB (23) between November 2018 and July 2020. Pre-operative reflux symptom assessment and gastroscopy were performed and repeated post-operatively at 6 months along with biliary scintigraphy. Results: Gastric reflux of bile was identified by biliary scintigraphy in 14 OAGB (70%), one RYGB (5%) and four SG participants (31%), with a mean of 2.9% (SD 1.5) reflux (% of total radioactivity). One participant (OAGB) demonstrated esophageal bile reflux. De novo macro- or microscopic gastroesophagitis occurred in 11 OAGB (58%), 8 SG (57%) and 7 RYGB (30%) participants. Thirteen participants had worsened reflux symptoms post-operatively (OAGB, 4; SG, 7; RYGB, 2). Scintigraphic esophageal bile reflux bore no statistical association with de novo gastroesophagitis or reflux symptoms. Conclusion: Despite high incidence of gastric bile reflux post-OAGB, esophageal bile reflux is rare. With scarce literature of tumour development post-OAGB, frequent low-volume gastric bile reflux likely bears little clinical consequence; however, longer-term studies are needed. Clinical Trial Registry: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number ACTRN12618000806268. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow avalanches pose a hazard in alpine environments. There is a need to improve monitoring capabilities in order to reliably detect and locate avalanche activity, which will help to validate avalanche hazard assessments. Recent work has demonstrated the utility of infrasound as it can provide continuous monitoring and broad geographic coverage. Here, we present the first use of infrasound to monitor snow avalanche activity in a maritime climate along the Milford Road in Fiordland, New Zealand (Aotearoa). Size 4 (or larger) plunging avalanches frequently occur along the Milford Road, which travels through a glacial-carved valley with steep cliffs (slope angles can exceed 50 ∘ ) that are over 1000 m tall. We deployed two infrasound arrays on the eastern side of the Homer Tunnel and recorded triggered and natural avalanches during our month-long field campaign. We use array processing to identify avalanche signals, calculate back-azimuths, and triangulate source locations. Source locations are well constrained for avalanches that are in-network but are worse for avalanches that occur out-of-network, likely due to topographic scattering of acoustic waves from the steep valley walls. The infrasound amplitudes are substantially larger than previously recorded at other locations with a maximum peak-to-peak amplitude of 37 Pa detected for a large triggered avalanche, which reflects the unique dynamics of the avalanches along the Milford Road. This study demonstrates the utility of infrasound for snow avalanche monitoring in maritime climates and showcases an efficient processing workflow that could be easily operationalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia and New Zealand have achieved excellent community control of COVID‐19 infection. In light of the imminent COVID‐19 vaccination roll out in both countries, representatives of all adult and paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy (TCT) centres as well as representatives from autologous transplant only centres in Australia and New Zealand collaborated with infectious diseases specialists with expertise in TCT on this consensus position statement regarding COVID‐19 vaccination in TCT patients in Australia and New Zealand. It is our recommendation that TCT patients, should have expedited access to high‐efficacy COVID‐19 vaccines given that these patients are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID‐19 infection. We also recommend prioritising vaccination of TCT healthcare workers and household members of TCT patients. Vaccination should not replace other public health measures in TCT patients given the effectiveness of COVID‐19 vaccination in TCT patients is unknown. Furthermore, given the limited available data, prospective collection of safety and efficacy data of COVID‐19 vaccination in this patient group is a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the COVID-19 consensus position statement of Bone Marrow Transplant Society of Australia and New Zealand. Topics mentioned include cryopreservation of all unrelated donor products before starting conditioning, exclusion of donors who have developed COVID-19 for at least three months, and screening of donors and recipients for symptoms of COVID-19 prior to commencement of donor mobilisation and recipient conditioning.

Background: Interleukin (IL)‐6 signalling has been implicated in allergic asthma by animal, genetic association and clinical studies. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that tocilizumab (TCZ), a human monoclonal antibody that blocks IL‐6 signalling, can prevent the development of allergen‐induced bronchoconstriction in humans. Methods: We performed a randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study, with eligible participants completing two allergen inhalation challenge tests, conducted before and after treatment with a single dose of TCZ or placebo. The primary efficacy endpoint was the magnitude of the late asthmatic response recorded between 3 and 7 after allergen challenge. The secondary efficacy endpoint was the early asthmatic response, measured 20 min to 2 h after allergen challenge. Results: A total of 66 patients enrolled between September 2014 and August 2017, when the trial was stopped for futility based on results from an interim analysis. Eleven patients fulfilled all eligibility criteria assessed at baseline and were subsequently randomised to the TCZ (n = 6) or placebo (n = 5) groups. Both the primary and secondary efficacy endpoints were not significantly different between the two groups. Five patients reported adverse events (AEs), three in the TCZ group (11 AEs) and two in the placebo group (four AEs). Only one AE was TCZ‐related (mild neutropenia), and there were no serious AEs. Significant treatment effects were observed for serum levels of C‐reactive protein, IL‐6 and soluble IL‐6R levels. Conclusion: In a small proof‐of‐concept clinical trial, we found no evidence that a single dose of tocilizumab was able to prevent allergen‐induced bronchoconstriction. (Trial registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, number ACTRN12614000123640). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Various systems for rating secondary safety of particular makes and models of vehicles have been developed internationally. These measures generally evaluate crashworthiness (the ability of the vehicle to protect its own occupants in the event of a crash) separately from aggressivity (the harm a vehicle is liable to impose on other road users into which it crashes). This paper describes an approach using Australian and New Zealand data that combines these two facets of secondary safety into one ‘Total Secondary Safety Index’ estimated from real world crash outcomes. The Index estimates the risk of death or serious injury to all key road users in crashes involving light passenger vehicles across the full range of crash types. This paper describes the rationale and method for producing this Index, together with some estimates for common Australian and New Zealand makes and models of light passenger vehicles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]