diff --git a/blob.go b/blob.go
index a30abf6..5ecc35f 100644
--- a/blob.go
+++ b/blob.go
@@ -118,8 +118,8 @@ func (b *Blob) WriteTo(w io.Writer) (n int64, err error) {
 		return 0, nil
 	}
 
+	want := int64(1024 * 1024)
 	avail := b.bytes - b.offset
-	want := int64(65536)
 	if want > avail {
 		want = avail
 	}
@@ -175,8 +175,11 @@ func (b *Blob) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
 //
 // https://www.sqlite.org/c3ref/blob_write.html
 func (b *Blob) ReadFrom(r io.Reader) (n int64, err error) {
+	want := int64(1024 * 1024)
 	avail := b.bytes - b.offset
-	want := int64(65536)
+	if l, ok := r.(*io.LimitedReader); ok && want > l.N {
+		want = l.N
+	}
 	if want > avail {
 		want = avail
 	}
diff --git a/driver/driver.go b/driver/driver.go
index f788be4..2b733f0 100644
--- a/driver/driver.go
+++ b/driver/driver.go
@@ -479,11 +479,7 @@ func (r *rows) Next(dest []driver.Value) error {
 		case sqlite3.TEXT:
 			dest[i] = stringOrTime(r.Stmt.ColumnRawText(i))
 		case sqlite3.NULL:
-			if buf, ok := dest[i].([]byte); ok {
-				dest[i] = buf[0:0]
-			} else {
-				dest[i] = nil
-			}
+			dest[i] = nil
 		default:
 			panic(util.AssertErr())
 		}
diff --git a/embed/README.md b/embed/README.md
index e5a64c4..d55a7b9 100644
--- a/embed/README.md
+++ b/embed/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Embeddable WASM build of SQLite
 
-This folder includes an embeddable WASM build of SQLite 3.43.2 for use with
+This folder includes an embeddable WASM build of SQLite 3.44.0 for use with
 [`github.com/ncruces/go-sqlite3`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/ncruces/go-sqlite3).
 
 The following optional features are compiled in:
diff --git a/embed/sqlite3.wasm b/embed/sqlite3.wasm
index e2633ef..6901953 100755
Binary files a/embed/sqlite3.wasm and b/embed/sqlite3.wasm differ
diff --git a/sqlite3/date.patch b/sqlite3/date.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 4b29c69..0000000
--- a/sqlite3/date.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
---- sqlite3.c.orig
-+++ sqlite3.c
-@@ -340,6 +340,7 @@ static int setDateTimeToCurrent(sqlite3_context *context, DateTime *p){
-   p->iJD = sqlite3StmtCurrentTime(context);
-   if( p->iJD>0 ){
-     p->validJD = 1;
-+    p->tzSet = 1;
-     return 0;
-   }else{
-     return 1;
-@@ -355,6 +356,7 @@ static int setDateTimeToCurrent(sqlite3_context *context, DateTime *p){
- static void setRawDateNumber(DateTime *p, double r){
-   p->s = r;
-   p->rawS = 1;
-+  p->tzSet = 1;
-   if( r>=0.0 && r<5373484.5 ){
-     p->iJD = (sqlite3_int64)(r*86400000.0 + 0.5);
-     p->validJD = 1;
-@@ -572,6 +574,7 @@ static int toLocaltime(
-   time_t t;
-   struct tm sLocal;
-   int iYearDiff;
-+  DateTime x;
- 
-   /* Initialize the contents of sLocal to avoid a compiler warning. */
-   memset(&sLocal, 0, sizeof(sLocal));
-@@ -585,7 +588,7 @@ static int toLocaltime(
-     ** SQLite attempts to map the year into an equivalent year within this
-     ** range, do the calculation, then map the year back.
-     */
--    DateTime x = *p;
-+    x = *p;
-     computeYMD_HMS(&x);
-     iYearDiff = (2000 + x.Y%4) - x.Y;
-     x.Y += iYearDiff;
-@@ -610,8 +613,13 @@ static int toLocaltime(
-   p->validHMS = 1;
-   p->validJD = 0;
-   p->rawS = 0;
-+  p->tzSet = 0;
-   p->validTZ = 0;
-   p->isError = 0;
-+  x = *p;
-+  computeJD(&x);
-+  p->tz = (x.iJD-p->iJD)/60000;
-+  if( abs(p->tz)>= 900 ) p->tz = 0;
-   return SQLITE_OK;
- }
- #endif /* SQLITE_OMIT_LOCALTIME */
-@@ -781,6 +789,7 @@ static int parseModifier(
-           p->validJD = 1;
-           p->tzSet = 1;
-         }
-+        p->tz = 0;
-         rc = SQLITE_OK;
-       }
- #endif
diff --git a/sqlite3/download.sh b/sqlite3/download.sh
index 020407b..0e8bb91 100755
--- a/sqlite3/download.sh
+++ b/sqlite3/download.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 cd -P -- "$(dirname -- "$0")"
 
-curl -#OL "https://sqlite.org/2023/sqlite-amalgamation-3430200.zip"
+curl -#OL "https://sqlite.org/2023/sqlite-amalgamation-3440000.zip"
 unzip -d . sqlite-amalgamation-*.zip
 mv sqlite-amalgamation-*/sqlite3* .
 rm -rf sqlite-amalgamation-*
@@ -12,24 +12,24 @@ cat *.patch | patch --posix
 
 mkdir -p ext/
 cd ext/
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/decimal.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/uint.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/uuid.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/base64.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/regexp.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/series.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/ext/misc/anycollseq.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/decimal.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/uint.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/uuid.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/base64.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/regexp.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/series.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/ext/misc/anycollseq.c"
 cd ~-
 
 cd ../vfs/tests/mptest/testdata/
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/mptest.c"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/config01.test"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/config02.test"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/crash01.test"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/crash02.subtest"
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/mptest/multiwrite01.test"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/mptest.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/config01.test"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/config02.test"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/crash01.test"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/crash02.subtest"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/mptest/multiwrite01.test"
 cd ~-
 
 cd ../vfs/tests/speedtest1/testdata/
-curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.43.2/test/speedtest1.c"
+curl -#OL "https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/raw/version-3.44.0/test/speedtest1.c"
 cd ~-
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sqlite3/isoweek.patch b/sqlite3/isoweek.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2aade5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sqlite3/isoweek.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# ISO week date specifiers.
+# https://sqlite.org/forum/forumpost/73d99e4497e8e6a7
+--- sqlite3.c.orig
++++ sqlite3.c
+@@ -1373,6 +1373,29 @@ static void strftimeFunc(
+         sqlite3_str_appendchar(&sRes, 1, c);
+         break;
+       }
++      case 'V':  /* Fall thru */
++      case 'G': {
++        DateTime y = x;
++        computeJD(&y);
++        y.validYMD = 0;
++        /* Adjust date to Thursday this week:
++           The number in parentheses is 0 for Monday, 3 for Thursday */
++        y.iJD += (3 - (((y.iJD+43200000)/86400000) % 7))*86400000;
++        computeYMD(&y);
++        if( cf=='G' ){
++          sqlite3_str_appendf(&sRes,"%04d",y.Y);
++        }else{
++          int nDay;             /* Number of days since 1st day of year */
++          i64 tJD = y.iJD;
++          y.validJD = 0;
++          y.M = 1;
++          y.D = 1;
++          computeJD(&y);
++          nDay = (int)((tJD-y.iJD+43200000)/86400000);
++          sqlite3_str_appendf(&sRes,"%02d",nDay/7+1);
++        }
++        break;
++      }
+       case 'Y': {
+         sqlite3_str_appendf(&sRes,"%04d",x.Y);
+         break;
diff --git a/sqlite3/time.c b/sqlite3/time.c
index 890c4aa..44e40ca 100644
--- a/sqlite3/time.c
+++ b/sqlite3/time.c
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ static int time_collation(void *pArg, int nKey1, const void *pKey1, int nKey2,
 }
 
 static void json_time_func(sqlite3_context *context, int argc,
-                          sqlite3_value **argv) {
+                           sqlite3_value **argv) {
   DateTime x;
   if (isDate(context, argc, argv, &x)) return;
   if (x.tzSet && x.tz) {
diff --git a/sqlite3/timezone.patch b/sqlite3/timezone.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9063c90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sqlite3/timezone.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# Set UTC timezone, compute local offset.
+--- sqlite3.c.orig
++++ sqlite3.c
+@@ -340,6 +340,7 @@ static int setDateTimeToCurrent(sqlite3_context *context, DateTime *p){
+   p->iJD = sqlite3StmtCurrentTime(context);
+   if( p->iJD>0 ){
+     p->validJD = 1;
++    p->tzSet = 1;
+     return 0;
+   }else{
+     return 1;
+@@ -355,6 +356,7 @@ static int setDateTimeToCurrent(sqlite3_context *context, DateTime *p){
+ static void setRawDateNumber(DateTime *p, double r){
+   p->s = r;
+   p->rawS = 1;
++  p->tzSet = 1;
+   if( r>=0.0 && r<5373484.5 ){
+     p->iJD = (sqlite3_int64)(r*86400000.0 + 0.5);
+     p->validJD = 1;
+@@ -731,7 +733,16 @@ static int parseModifier(
+       ** show local time.
+       */
+       if( sqlite3_stricmp(z, "localtime")==0 && sqlite3NotPureFunc(pCtx) ){
+-        rc = toLocaltime(p, pCtx);
++        if( p->tzSet!=0 || p->tz==0 ) {
++          rc = toLocaltime(p, pCtx);
++          i64 iOrigJD = p->iJD;
++          p->tzSet = 0;
++          computeJD(p);
++          p->tz = (p->iJD-iOrigJD)/60000;
++          if( abs(p->tz)>= 900 ) p->tz = 0;
++        } else {
++          rc = 0;
++        }
+       }
+       break;
+     }
+@@ -781,6 +792,7 @@ static int parseModifier(
+           p->validJD = 1;
+           p->tzSet = 1;
+         }
++        p->tz = 0;
+         rc = SQLITE_OK;
+       }
+ #endif
diff --git a/tests/time_test.go b/tests/time_test.go
index 0b398df..27b750c 100644
--- a/tests/time_test.go
+++ b/tests/time_test.go
@@ -207,52 +207,6 @@ func TestDB_timeCollation(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestDB_jsonTime(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Parallel()
-
-	reference := time.Date(2013, 10, 7, 4, 23, 19, 120_000_000, time.FixedZone("", -4*3600))
-
-	db, err := driver.Open(":memory:", nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer db.Close()
-
-	_, err = db.Exec(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS times (tstamp)`)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	_, err = db.Exec(`INSERT INTO times VALUES (?), (?), (?)`,
-		reference,
-		sqlite3.TimeFormatUnixFrac.Encode(reference),
-		sqlite3.TimeFormatJulianDay.Encode(reference))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	rows, err := db.Query(`
-		SELECT
-			json_time(tstamp, 'auto', 'subsec'),
-			json_time(tstamp, 'auto')
-		FROM times`)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer rows.Close()
-
-	for rows.Next() {
-		var t0, t1 time.Time
-		rows.Scan(&t0, &t1)
-		if want := reference; !t0.Equal(want) {
-			t.Errorf("got %v, want %v", t0, want)
-		}
-		if want := reference.Truncate(time.Second); !t1.Equal(want) {
-			t.Errorf("got %v, want %v", t1, want)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 func TestDB_isoWeek(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
diff --git a/vfs/tests/mptest/testdata/mptest.wasm.bz2 b/vfs/tests/mptest/testdata/mptest.wasm.bz2
index b0061cb..0d973a6 100644
--- a/vfs/tests/mptest/testdata/mptest.wasm.bz2
+++ b/vfs/tests/mptest/testdata/mptest.wasm.bz2
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
-oid sha256:25ccdde5ddab41213abda7ecf6dd95c2966acaef5a645f9f35c170a84697556e
-size 509445
+oid sha256:74294bf19d213056ef5ffb7a980c3a7de5d029d0621ded53394d3055dfc4f604
+size 513604
diff --git a/vfs/tests/speedtest1/testdata/speedtest1.wasm.bz2 b/vfs/tests/speedtest1/testdata/speedtest1.wasm.bz2
index a776a2e..33ab49a 100644
--- a/vfs/tests/speedtest1/testdata/speedtest1.wasm.bz2
+++ b/vfs/tests/speedtest1/testdata/speedtest1.wasm.bz2
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
-oid sha256:4306d2a8c460f24955bb944923837800c887ee4080d725777392b834b7567bab
-size 524003
+oid sha256:966754393264cc43eb931ece22941d0d607e7e776e26c26b548209d2264d01a1
+size 527530