title: Urban Rural Differences in Breast Cancer in New Zealand

authors: Lawrenson, Ross

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Many rural communities have poor access to health services due to a combination of distance from specialist services and a relative shortage of general practitioners. Our aims were to compare the characteristics of urban and rural women with breast cancer in New Zealand, to assess breast cancer-specific and all-cause survival using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model, and to assess whether the impact of rurality is different for Māori and New Zealand (NZ) European women. We found that rural women tended to be older and were more likely to be Māori. Overall there were no differences between urban and rural women with regards their survival. Rural Māori tended to be older, more likely to be diagnosed with metastatic disease and less likely to be screen detected than urban Māori. Rural Māori women had inferior breast cancer-specific survival and all-cause survival at 10 years at 72.1% and 55.8% compared to 77.9% and 64.9% for urban Māori. The study shows that rather than being concerned that more needs to be done for rural women in general it is rural Māori women where we need to make extra efforts to ensure early stage at diagnosis and optimum treatment.

text: Urban Rural Differences in Breast Cancer in New Zealand Many rural communities have poor access to health services due to a combination of distance from specialist services and a relative shortage of general practitioners. Our aims were to compare the characteristics of urban and rural women with breast cancer in New Zealand, to assess breast cancer-specific and all-cause survival using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model, and to assess whether the impact of rurality is different for Māori and New Zealand (NZ) European women. We found that rural women tended to be older and were more likely to be Māori. Overall there were no differences between urban and rural women with regards their survival. Rural Māori tended to be older, more likely to be diagnosed with metastatic disease and less likely to be screen detected than urban Māori. Rural Māori women had inferior breast cancer-specific survival and all-cause survival at 10 years at 72.1% and 55.8% compared to 77.9% and 64.9% for urban Māori. The study shows that rather than being concerned that more needs to be done for rural women in general it is rural Māori women where we need to make extra efforts to ensure early stage at diagnosis and optimum treatment.

year: 2016

title: Tatari, tautoko, tauawhi - Hei awhina tamariki ki te panui pukapuka: Some preliminary findings

authors: Glynn, Ted

subjects: Maori

abstract: The Tatari, Tautoko, Tauawhi reading tutoring procedures have been adapted from the procedures known as Pause, Prompt, Praise, first developed in Mangere in 1977. The first author offered the procedures as a koha at a Special Education Service hui at Poho o Rawiri in 1991. The second author took up the koha and obtained the support of kaumatua and kuia at Hairini marae Tauranga Moana, and the support of senior Maori staff of the Special Education Service National Office to produce a Maori language video and training booklet. This began an important bicultural journey through the processes of producing instructional materials and trailing and evaluating them in ways that are biculturally appropriate. This paper reports on that journey and presents some preliminary data on the implementation of Tatari, Tautoko, Tauawhi by seven tuakana - teina pairs in a bi-lingual classroom.

text: Tatari, tautoko, tauawhi - Hei awhina tamariki ki te panui pukapuka: Some preliminary findings The Tatari, Tautoko, Tauawhi reading tutoring procedures have been adapted from the procedures known as Pause, Prompt, Praise, first developed in Mangere in 1977. The first author offered the procedures as a koha at a Special Education Service hui at Poho o Rawiri in 1991. The second author took up the koha and obtained the support of kaumatua and kuia at Hairini marae Tauranga Moana, and the support of senior Maori staff of the Special Education Service National Office to produce a Maori language video and training booklet. This began an important bicultural journey through the processes of producing instructional materials and trailing and evaluating them in ways that are biculturally appropriate. This paper reports on that journey and presents some preliminary data on the implementation of Tatari, Tautoko, Tauawhi by seven tuakana - teina pairs in a bi-lingual classroom.

year: 1993

title: Within-mat variability in anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a production among benthic Phormidium (cyanobacteria) strains.

authors: Wood, Susanna A.

subjects: 16S rRNA gene sequence

abstract: Benthic Phormidium mats can contain high concentrations of the neurotoxins anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a. However, little is known about the co-occurrence of anatoxin-producing and non-anatoxin-producing strains within mats. There is also no data on variation in anatoxin content among toxic genotypes isolated from the same mat. In this study, 30 Phormidium strains were isolated from 1 cm(2) sections of Phormidium-dominated mats collected from three different sites. Strains were grown to stationary phase and their anatoxin-a, homoanatoxin-a, dihydroanatoxin-a and dihydrohomoanatoxin-a concentrations determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Each strain was characterized using morphological and molecular (16S rRNA gene sequences) techniques. Eighteen strains produced anatoxin-a, dihydroanatoxin-a or homoanatoxin-a. Strains isolated from each mat either all produced toxins, or were a mixture of anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing genotypes. Based on morphology these genotypes could not be separated. The 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons showed a difference of at least 17 nucleotides among anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing strains and these formed two separate sub-clades during phylogenetic analysis. The total anatoxin concentration among toxic strains varied from 2.21 to 211.88 mg kg(-1) (freeze dried weight), representing a 100 fold variation in toxin content. These data indicate that both the relative abundance of anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing genotypes, and variations in anatoxin producing capability, can influence the overall toxin concentration of benthic Phormidium mat samples.

text: Within-mat variability in anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a production among benthic Phormidium (cyanobacteria) strains. Benthic Phormidium mats can contain high concentrations of the neurotoxins anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a. However, little is known about the co-occurrence of anatoxin-producing and non-anatoxin-producing strains within mats. There is also no data on variation in anatoxin content among toxic genotypes isolated from the same mat. In this study, 30 Phormidium strains were isolated from 1 cm(2) sections of Phormidium-dominated mats collected from three different sites. Strains were grown to stationary phase and their anatoxin-a, homoanatoxin-a, dihydroanatoxin-a and dihydrohomoanatoxin-a concentrations determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Each strain was characterized using morphological and molecular (16S rRNA gene sequences) techniques. Eighteen strains produced anatoxin-a, dihydroanatoxin-a or homoanatoxin-a. Strains isolated from each mat either all produced toxins, or were a mixture of anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing genotypes. Based on morphology these genotypes could not be separated. The 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons showed a difference of at least 17 nucleotides among anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing strains and these formed two separate sub-clades during phylogenetic analysis. The total anatoxin concentration among toxic strains varied from 2.21 to 211.88 mg kg(-1) (freeze dried weight), representing a 100 fold variation in toxin content. These data indicate that both the relative abundance of anatoxin and non-anatoxin-producing genotypes, and variations in anatoxin producing capability, can influence the overall toxin concentration of benthic Phormidium mat samples.

year: 2012-10