title: Fia Ola: Grief recovery following a tsunami disaster in Samoa

authors: Seiuli, Byron Malaela Sotiata

subjects: galulolo

abstract: Natural disasters provide humanity with a setting in which to examine core dimensions of life. How people respond to and make sense of their experiences due to the ruptures of trauma and devastation remains vital in grief recovery. An earthquake of 8.3 magnitudes on 29 October 2009 triggered a galulolo (tsunami wave) that devastated parts of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. This calamity provided an ideal setting for a case study examination of how those directly impacted recovered from the devastation. In this article, the experiences of one couple in the context of Samoan grieving processes becomes the key focus. Disaster and grieving literature is examined to inform and provide interpretation to their experiences. It is through such an examination that this article seeks to makes an important contribution to understanding the complexities of loss and culturally patterned responses of Samoan people, like this couple, to disaster recovery.

text: Fia Ola: Grief recovery following a tsunami disaster in Samoa Natural disasters provide humanity with a setting in which to examine core dimensions of life. How people respond to and make sense of their experiences due to the ruptures of trauma and devastation remains vital in grief recovery. An earthquake of 8.3 magnitudes on 29 October 2009 triggered a galulolo (tsunami wave) that devastated parts of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. This calamity provided an ideal setting for a case study examination of how those directly impacted recovered from the devastation. In this article, the experiences of one couple in the context of Samoan grieving processes becomes the key focus. Disaster and grieving literature is examined to inform and provide interpretation to their experiences. It is through such an examination that this article seeks to makes an important contribution to understanding the complexities of loss and culturally patterned responses of Samoan people, like this couple, to disaster recovery.

year: 2016

title: A flexible suite of programs for modelling the cortex with a mean-field scheme

authors: Chang, Yuan-Kuei

subjects: cortex modelling

abstract: The cerebral cortex contains many neurons. The neuron is part of the nervous system
and it receives and transmits the electrical signals. These signals are significant
to a human's behaviour. Since the neurons are charged, these charges produce electrical
fields, so these neural signals can be measured by using scalp electrodes in
electroencephalography (EEG). As long as the brain is not dead, the spontaneous
activities of neurons will produce a series of EEG signals.
There are many models that have been developed for simulating the cortical signal,
and mostly each model is focused towards a different purpose or application.
Often, a different computer code has to be written for each different application, and
this can be inefficient. Therefore, this project aims to develop a software system for
simulating cortical signals where the model used for the system can be changed easily.
Furthermore, the system is requested to be versatile and easy-to-use for many
applications.
The developed system is written in MATLAB in response to a user requirement
and mostly applies to any model which uses a mean-field approach. Only the specific
inputs need to be modified for changing the model. This thesis details how this
system is developed. The main limitation of the system is computational resources,
much the same as other cortical modelling. However, all the user requirements had
been satisfied. The system can simulate the response of the neurons for any condition
and generate simulated EEG data to the user. The user can analyze the cortical
activities using the standard signal processing techniques such as a power spectrum.
This software is very helpful for the research of sleep and anaesthesia.

text: A flexible suite of programs for modelling the cortex with a mean-field scheme The cerebral cortex contains many neurons. The neuron is part of the nervous system
and it receives and transmits the electrical signals. These signals are significant
to a human's behaviour. Since the neurons are charged, these charges produce electrical
fields, so these neural signals can be measured by using scalp electrodes in
electroencephalography (EEG). As long as the brain is not dead, the spontaneous
activities of neurons will produce a series of EEG signals.
There are many models that have been developed for simulating the cortical signal,
and mostly each model is focused towards a different purpose or application.
Often, a different computer code has to be written for each different application, and
this can be inefficient. Therefore, this project aims to develop a software system for
simulating cortical signals where the model used for the system can be changed easily.
Furthermore, the system is requested to be versatile and easy-to-use for many
applications.
The developed system is written in MATLAB in response to a user requirement
and mostly applies to any model which uses a mean-field approach. Only the specific
inputs need to be modified for changing the model. This thesis details how this
system is developed. The main limitation of the system is computational resources,
much the same as other cortical modelling. However, all the user requirements had
been satisfied. The system can simulate the response of the neurons for any condition
and generate simulated EEG data to the user. The user can analyze the cortical
activities using the standard signal processing techniques such as a power spectrum.
This software is very helpful for the research of sleep and anaesthesia.

year: 2007

title: Treatment and survival disparities by ethnicity in New Zealand women with stage I-III breast cancer tumour subtypes

authors: Lawrenson, Ross

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Purpose
This study aims to look at the distribution of different subtypes of stage I–III breast cancer in Māori and Pacific versus non-Māori/Pacific women, and to examine cancer outcomes by ethnicity within these different subtypes.

Method
This study included 9,015 women diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer between June 2000 and May 2013, recorded in the combined Waikato and Auckland Breast Cancer Registers, who had complete data on ER, PR and HER2 status. Five ER/PR/HER2 subtypes were defined. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used to examine ethnic disparities in breast cancer-specific survival.

Results
Of the 9,015 women, 891 were Māori, 548 were Pacific and 7,576 others. Both Māori and Pacific women were less likely to have triple negative breast cancer compared to others (8.6, 8.9 vs. 13.0%). Pacific women were more than twice as likely to have ER−, PR− and HER2+ cancer than Māori and others (14.2 vs. 6.0%, 6.7%). After adjustment for age, year of diagnosis, stage, grade and treatment, the hazard ratios of breast cancer-specific mortality for Māori and Pacific women with ER+, PR+ and HER2− were 1.52 (95% CI 1.06–2.18) and 1.55 (95% CI 1.04–2.31) compared to others, respectively. Māori women with HER2+ cancer were twice more likely to die of their cancer than others.

Conclusions
Outcomes for Māori and Pacific women could be improved by better treatment regimens especially for those with HER2+ breast cancer and for women with ER+, PR+ and HER2− breast cancer.

text: Treatment and survival disparities by ethnicity in New Zealand women with stage I-III breast cancer tumour subtypes Purpose
This study aims to look at the distribution of different subtypes of stage I–III breast cancer in Māori and Pacific versus non-Māori/Pacific women, and to examine cancer outcomes by ethnicity within these different subtypes.

Method
This study included 9,015 women diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer between June 2000 and May 2013, recorded in the combined Waikato and Auckland Breast Cancer Registers, who had complete data on ER, PR and HER2 status. Five ER/PR/HER2 subtypes were defined. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used to examine ethnic disparities in breast cancer-specific survival.

Results
Of the 9,015 women, 891 were Māori, 548 were Pacific and 7,576 others. Both Māori and Pacific women were less likely to have triple negative breast cancer compared to others (8.6, 8.9 vs. 13.0%). Pacific women were more than twice as likely to have ER−, PR− and HER2+ cancer than Māori and others (14.2 vs. 6.0%, 6.7%). After adjustment for age, year of diagnosis, stage, grade and treatment, the hazard ratios of breast cancer-specific mortality for Māori and Pacific women with ER+, PR+ and HER2− were 1.52 (95% CI 1.06–2.18) and 1.55 (95% CI 1.04–2.31) compared to others, respectively. Māori women with HER2+ cancer were twice more likely to die of their cancer than others.

Conclusions
Outcomes for Māori and Pacific women could be improved by better treatment regimens especially for those with HER2+ breast cancer and for women with ER+, PR+ and HER2− breast cancer.

year: 2017