title: James Alexander Pond: an Auckland chemist involved in mining

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Born in London, James Alexander Pond arrived in New Zealand at the age of 18. With a background in chemistry, he was interested in scientific topics from an early age. Although his first experience of life in the colony was as a small farmer, from 1868 onwards he was involved in mining, first at Thames, an involvement that would continue for the rest of his life.
After becoming a chemist in Auckland in the 1860s, he was appointed a public analyst two decades later. From the 1880s onwards he was involved in a wide range of scientific investigations, and was active in the New Zealand and Auckland Institutes. Much of his research was intended to assist farmers. He invented a butter box that was so successful that his patent was stolen in Victoria, and the private company that manufactured them was very profitable. Like others with fond memories of ‘Home’, he assisted acclimatization.
One of his many scientific interests was geology, which involved his assaying ore and assisting mining on many fields; he was an early enthusiast for the use of cyanide in treating ore. From 1880 onwards he was associated, on and off, with mining in the Te Aroha district, analyzing its ore, being consulted about treatment processes, and from 1888 onwards acquiring interests in claims. Other mining investments covered most of the Hauraki fields. From 1907 onwards, he was involved in two under-capitalized failures at Waiorongomai, the Waitawheta Gold Prospecting Company and the Waitawheta Gold Mining Company. Subsequently he invested in the Bendigo mine and battery there, which was no more successful. He introduced the oil flotation process to this battery, which he would retain (because he could not sell it) until his death. Although participating in the renewed mining of the district during the Depression, his mining was minimal, and although he died a relatively well-off man, this was not because of his involvement in Te Aroha mining.

text: James Alexander Pond: an Auckland chemist involved in mining Born in London, James Alexander Pond arrived in New Zealand at the age of 18. With a background in chemistry, he was interested in scientific topics from an early age. Although his first experience of life in the colony was as a small farmer, from 1868 onwards he was involved in mining, first at Thames, an involvement that would continue for the rest of his life.
After becoming a chemist in Auckland in the 1860s, he was appointed a public analyst two decades later. From the 1880s onwards he was involved in a wide range of scientific investigations, and was active in the New Zealand and Auckland Institutes. Much of his research was intended to assist farmers. He invented a butter box that was so successful that his patent was stolen in Victoria, and the private company that manufactured them was very profitable. Like others with fond memories of ‘Home’, he assisted acclimatization.
One of his many scientific interests was geology, which involved his assaying ore and assisting mining on many fields; he was an early enthusiast for the use of cyanide in treating ore. From 1880 onwards he was associated, on and off, with mining in the Te Aroha district, analyzing its ore, being consulted about treatment processes, and from 1888 onwards acquiring interests in claims. Other mining investments covered most of the Hauraki fields. From 1907 onwards, he was involved in two under-capitalized failures at Waiorongomai, the Waitawheta Gold Prospecting Company and the Waitawheta Gold Mining Company. Subsequently he invested in the Bendigo mine and battery there, which was no more successful. He introduced the oil flotation process to this battery, which he would retain (because he could not sell it) until his death. Although participating in the renewed mining of the district during the Depression, his mining was minimal, and although he died a relatively well-off man, this was not because of his involvement in Te Aroha mining.

year: 2016

title: Numerical modelling of plasticity induced by Quadri-pulse stimulation

authors: Sorkhabi, Majid Memarian

subjects: Transcranial magnetic stimulation

abstract: Quadri-pulse stimulation (QPS), a type of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can induce a considerable aftereffect on cortical synapses. Human experiments have shown that the type of effect on synaptic efficiency (in terms of potentiation or depression) depends on the time interval between pulses. The maturation of biophysically-based models, which describe the physiological properties of plasticity mathematically, offers a beneficial framework to explore induced plasticity for new stimulation protocols. To model the QPS paradigm, a phenomenological model based on the knowledge of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) mechanisms of synaptic plasticity was utilized where the cortex builds upon the platform of neuronal population modeling. Induced cortical plasticity was modeled for both conventional monophasic pulses and unidirectional pulses generated by the cTMS device, in a total of 117 different scenarios. For the conventional monophasic stimuli, the results of the predictive model broadly follow what is typically seen in human experiments. Unidirectional pulses can produce a similar range of plasticity. Additionally, changing the pulse width had a considerable effect on the plasticity (approximately 20% increase). As the width of the positive phase increases, the size of the potentiation will also increase. The proposed model can generate predictions to guide future plasticity experiments. Estimating the plasticity and optimizing the rTMS protocols might effectively improve the safety implications of TMS experiments by reducing the number of delivered pulses to participants. Finding the optimal stimulation protocol with the maximum potentiation/depression can lead to the design of a new TMS pulse generator device with targeted hardware and control algorithms.

text: Numerical modelling of plasticity induced by Quadri-pulse stimulation Quadri-pulse stimulation (QPS), a type of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can induce a considerable aftereffect on cortical synapses. Human experiments have shown that the type of effect on synaptic efficiency (in terms of potentiation or depression) depends on the time interval between pulses. The maturation of biophysically-based models, which describe the physiological properties of plasticity mathematically, offers a beneficial framework to explore induced plasticity for new stimulation protocols. To model the QPS paradigm, a phenomenological model based on the knowledge of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) mechanisms of synaptic plasticity was utilized where the cortex builds upon the platform of neuronal population modeling. Induced cortical plasticity was modeled for both conventional monophasic pulses and unidirectional pulses generated by the cTMS device, in a total of 117 different scenarios. For the conventional monophasic stimuli, the results of the predictive model broadly follow what is typically seen in human experiments. Unidirectional pulses can produce a similar range of plasticity. Additionally, changing the pulse width had a considerable effect on the plasticity (approximately 20% increase). As the width of the positive phase increases, the size of the potentiation will also increase. The proposed model can generate predictions to guide future plasticity experiments. Estimating the plasticity and optimizing the rTMS protocols might effectively improve the safety implications of TMS experiments by reducing the number of delivered pulses to participants. Finding the optimal stimulation protocol with the maximum potentiation/depression can lead to the design of a new TMS pulse generator device with targeted hardware and control algorithms.

year: 2021

title: “Papatuanuku/papa:” Some thoughts on the oppositional grounds of the doctoral experience

authors: Mika, Carl Te Hira

subjects: Kaupapa

abstract: There are significant challenges that face Māori students and supervisors as a “doctoral team.” Perhaps the most fundamental of these is that there is a metaphysics at work in writing and talking that Māori are encouraged to speculate on and reclaim. One term for this metaphysics, “Papatūānuku” (often abbreviated to “Papa”), signifies an active entity that rejects strict definition but influences both doctoral text and team. This article proposes that student and supervisor must simultaneously glance towards the conventions of academic writing and recollect Papatūānuku as potential being in the doctoral process.

text: “Papatuanuku/papa:” Some thoughts on the oppositional grounds of the doctoral experience There are significant challenges that face Māori students and supervisors as a “doctoral team.” Perhaps the most fundamental of these is that there is a metaphysics at work in writing and talking that Māori are encouraged to speculate on and reclaim. One term for this metaphysics, “Papatūānuku” (often abbreviated to “Papa”), signifies an active entity that rejects strict definition but influences both doctoral text and team. This article proposes that student and supervisor must simultaneously glance towards the conventions of academic writing and recollect Papatūānuku as potential being in the doctoral process.

year: 2016