title: Mobile support for diagnosis of communicable diseases in remote locations

authors: Cesario, Manuel

subjects: Communicable disease

abstract: Surveillance and diagnosis of new and emerging communicable diseases in remote regions, such as the Amazon, is a challenging task. These regions can be difficult to reach, are sparsely populated, and have limited medical and ICT infrastructure. Medical practitioners and community health agents who work in such regions often have very basic qualifications, and therefore have limited knowledge of new and emerging diseases. The increasing capabilities of mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, have made them a useful platform for delivery of medical services in remote locations. In this paper we introduce a system that could potentially support diagnosis of vector-borne diseases such as Bartonellosis and Leishmaniasis in areas where specialist healthcare is scarce. In particular, we focus on the image analysis and classification component of this system, which aims to reduce the chance of misdiagnosing these less common diseases as malaria.

text: Mobile support for diagnosis of communicable diseases in remote locations Surveillance and diagnosis of new and emerging communicable diseases in remote regions, such as the Amazon, is a challenging task. These regions can be difficult to reach, are sparsely populated, and have limited medical and ICT infrastructure. Medical practitioners and community health agents who work in such regions often have very basic qualifications, and therefore have limited knowledge of new and emerging diseases. The increasing capabilities of mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, have made them a useful platform for delivery of medical services in remote locations. In this paper we introduce a system that could potentially support diagnosis of vector-borne diseases such as Bartonellosis and Leishmaniasis in areas where specialist healthcare is scarce. In particular, we focus on the image analysis and classification component of this system, which aims to reduce the chance of misdiagnosing these less common diseases as malaria.

year: 2012

title: "Be feared, or live in fear": A descriptive model of institutional gang violence

authors: Brennan-Tupara, Nicola Dawn

subjects: Gang

abstract: Prison violence is a significant concern both in New Zealand and across the globe. While past theories and empirical research have highlighted several risk factors implicated in prison violence, we continue to have a limited understanding of what happens, and why it happens, during a prison violence event (PVE). Furthermore, we have even less of an understanding about the involvement of gangs in prison violence despite research suggesting that gang members are over-represented when it comes to involvement in such incidents. Previous research on gang violence in prison also focuses heavily on prisons in the United States of America which have different cultural, social, and judicial dimensions and may not generalise to the New Zealand prison population. This research project aimed to fill some of these gaps by taking an exploratory approach to induce new ideas following interviews with gang members who have first-hand experience with perpetrating prison violence. We used Grounded Theory to collect and analyse event descriptions to build a descriptive model of institutional gang violence which describes the distal and proximal features of the PVE process. The resulting model contributes to a better understanding of the function of PVEs involving gang members and the extent to which these events differ when carried out for or on behalf of the gang. It also highlights the role of past trauma and the prison ecology in the perpetuation of these events.

text: "Be feared, or live in fear": A descriptive model of institutional gang violence Prison violence is a significant concern both in New Zealand and across the globe. While past theories and empirical research have highlighted several risk factors implicated in prison violence, we continue to have a limited understanding of what happens, and why it happens, during a prison violence event (PVE). Furthermore, we have even less of an understanding about the involvement of gangs in prison violence despite research suggesting that gang members are over-represented when it comes to involvement in such incidents. Previous research on gang violence in prison also focuses heavily on prisons in the United States of America which have different cultural, social, and judicial dimensions and may not generalise to the New Zealand prison population. This research project aimed to fill some of these gaps by taking an exploratory approach to induce new ideas following interviews with gang members who have first-hand experience with perpetrating prison violence. We used Grounded Theory to collect and analyse event descriptions to build a descriptive model of institutional gang violence which describes the distal and proximal features of the PVE process. The resulting model contributes to a better understanding of the function of PVEs involving gang members and the extent to which these events differ when carried out for or on behalf of the gang. It also highlights the role of past trauma and the prison ecology in the perpetuation of these events.

year: 2023

title: In vitro cell culture to study microglial inflammation

authors: Newland, Julia

subjects: CNs

abstract: Inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) characterised by release of cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) is an event that is often detrimental to neuronal cells and is thought to contribute to the neuronal loss observed during neurodegeneration.
One objective of this study was to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory properties of kawakawa leaf extracts using in vitro model cell systems. Kawakawa leaf extracts anti-inflammatory properties have anecdotally been documented in traditional Maori medicinal practices (Rangoa). However, before this aspect could be carried out, experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects the kawakawa leaf extracts had on the growth rates of two mammalian cell lines (HeLa and THP-1 cells).
Interestingly, the growth assays showed that the extracts to have both a stimulatory and inhibitory effect on cell growth. Toxicity of cells can be categorised as either necrotic or apoptotic cell death. In this study, HeLa cells and THP-1 cells were incubated under standard growth conditions with various concentrations (10 to 100ug/ml) of Kawakawa leave extracts prepared at room temperature or 60OC.
Growth data as seen in figures 2 and 3 typically have a long lag phase before they start to reach exponential growth between days 4 and 5. The extract having the largest stimulatory effect on HeLa cells as shown by figure 6 was 25 ug/ml at 60OC and the largest inhibitory effect seen on HeLa cells was seen at 50 ug/ml RT shown by figure 6. The extract which has the largest stimulatory effect on THP-1 cells is 25 ug/ml 60OC as shown by figure 11 whereas the extract producing the largest inhibitory effect is 25 ug/ml RT.

Apoptotic and necrotic cell death mechanisms were examined by using in vitro biochemistry techniques. Assessments were largely made based on biochemical changes of HeLa cells and THP-1 cells post treatment of Kawakawa leave extracts.
Measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH assays) in the growth media of cells that were shown to be growth inhibited during exposure to Kawakawa extracts indicated that the growth inhibition resulting from exposure to the extracts was not due to necrotic cell death processes. (ie that cells maintained their membrane integrity) When compared to the control, a lower amount of cytosolic LDH was seen in THP-1 cell lines. However, HeLa cell lines produced a high level of cytosolic LDH which may be due to mycoplasma contamination. On average, Kawakawa concentrations at 12.5ug/ml and 25ug/ml yielded less lysed cells percentage across both cell lines.
The demonstrated cell growth inhibition was unlikely to be due to necrosis and because of this it was decided to see if cell death was caused by mitochondrial processes that would further support apoptotic cell death. The biochemical assay MTT indirectly measures mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity in the presence of kawakawa leave extracts.
The MTT data illustrated mitochondrial impairment where HeLa cells exposed to Kawakawa 60OC concentrations 6.25 ug/ml and 12.5 ug/ml had the lowest average mitochondrial activity. THP-1 cells exposed to Kawakawa 60OC concentrations 12.5 ug/ml and 50 ug/ml had the lowest average mitochondrial activity.
The main results of this study include, the treatment of HeLa and THP-1 cells with kawakawa extracts demonstrated that cytotoxicity was not due to necrosis. The most interesting finding of this study is when kawakawa extracts inhibit cell growth there is no increase in LDH. This is suggestive that the cellular membrane remains intact when exposed to the extract.

text: In vitro cell culture to study microglial inflammation Inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) characterised by release of cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) is an event that is often detrimental to neuronal cells and is thought to contribute to the neuronal loss observed during neurodegeneration.
One objective of this study was to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory properties of kawakawa leaf extracts using in vitro model cell systems. Kawakawa leaf extracts anti-inflammatory properties have anecdotally been documented in traditional Maori medicinal practices (Rangoa). However, before this aspect could be carried out, experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects the kawakawa leaf extracts had on the growth rates of two mammalian cell lines (HeLa and THP-1 cells).
Interestingly, the growth assays showed that the extracts to have both a stimulatory and inhibitory effect on cell growth. Toxicity of cells can be categorised as either necrotic or apoptotic cell death. In this study, HeLa cells and THP-1 cells were incubated under standard growth conditions with various concentrations (10 to 100ug/ml) of Kawakawa leave extracts prepared at room temperature or 60OC.
Growth data as seen in figures 2 and 3 typically have a long lag phase before they start to reach exponential growth between days 4 and 5. The extract having the largest stimulatory effect on HeLa cells as shown by figure 6 was 25 ug/ml at 60OC and the largest inhibitory effect seen on HeLa cells was seen at 50 ug/ml RT shown by figure 6. The extract which has the largest stimulatory effect on THP-1 cells is 25 ug/ml 60OC as shown by figure 11 whereas the extract producing the largest inhibitory effect is 25 ug/ml RT.

Apoptotic and necrotic cell death mechanisms were examined by using in vitro biochemistry techniques. Assessments were largely made based on biochemical changes of HeLa cells and THP-1 cells post treatment of Kawakawa leave extracts.
Measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH assays) in the growth media of cells that were shown to be growth inhibited during exposure to Kawakawa extracts indicated that the growth inhibition resulting from exposure to the extracts was not due to necrotic cell death processes. (ie that cells maintained their membrane integrity) When compared to the control, a lower amount of cytosolic LDH was seen in THP-1 cell lines. However, HeLa cell lines produced a high level of cytosolic LDH which may be due to mycoplasma contamination. On average, Kawakawa concentrations at 12.5ug/ml and 25ug/ml yielded less lysed cells percentage across both cell lines.
The demonstrated cell growth inhibition was unlikely to be due to necrosis and because of this it was decided to see if cell death was caused by mitochondrial processes that would further support apoptotic cell death. The biochemical assay MTT indirectly measures mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity in the presence of kawakawa leave extracts.
The MTT data illustrated mitochondrial impairment where HeLa cells exposed to Kawakawa 60OC concentrations 6.25 ug/ml and 12.5 ug/ml had the lowest average mitochondrial activity. THP-1 cells exposed to Kawakawa 60OC concentrations 12.5 ug/ml and 50 ug/ml had the lowest average mitochondrial activity.
The main results of this study include, the treatment of HeLa and THP-1 cells with kawakawa extracts demonstrated that cytotoxicity was not due to necrosis. The most interesting finding of this study is when kawakawa extracts inhibit cell growth there is no increase in LDH. This is suggestive that the cellular membrane remains intact when exposed to the extract.

year: 2016