title: Portimine: a bioactive metabolite from the benthic dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum

authors: Selwood, Andrew I.

subjects: pinnatoxin

abstract: Portimine, a new polycyclic ether toxin containing a cyclic imine moiety, was isolated from the marine benthic dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum collected from Northland, New Zealand. The structure of portimine, including the relative configurations, was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. The cyclic imine moiety consists of an unprecedented five-membered ring with a spiro-link to a cyclohexene ring. This is the only structural similarity to the pinnatoxin group of polycyclic ethers also produced by V. rugosum, which all contain a six-membered cyclic imine ring. The LD50 of portimine to mice by intraperitoneal injection was 1570 μg/kg, indicating a much lower toxicity than many other cyclic imine shellfish toxins. In contrast, portimine was highly toxic to mammalian cells in vitro with an LC50 to P388 cells of 2.7 nM, and activation of caspases indicating apoptotic activity.

text: Portimine: a bioactive metabolite from the benthic dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum Portimine, a new polycyclic ether toxin containing a cyclic imine moiety, was isolated from the marine benthic dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum collected from Northland, New Zealand. The structure of portimine, including the relative configurations, was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. The cyclic imine moiety consists of an unprecedented five-membered ring with a spiro-link to a cyclohexene ring. This is the only structural similarity to the pinnatoxin group of polycyclic ethers also produced by V. rugosum, which all contain a six-membered cyclic imine ring. The LD50 of portimine to mice by intraperitoneal injection was 1570 μg/kg, indicating a much lower toxicity than many other cyclic imine shellfish toxins. In contrast, portimine was highly toxic to mammalian cells in vitro with an LC50 to P388 cells of 2.7 nM, and activation of caspases indicating apoptotic activity.

year: 2013

title: Tourism sense-making: the role of the senses and travel journalism

authors: Pan, Steve

subjects: sensory experiences

abstract: The tourist experience is corporeal and multisensory. Tourism organizations, therefore, need to pay attention to the sensual content of promotional messages conveyed to potential tourists to provide incentives for seeking enriched experiences of place. Together with other image formation agents, travelogues (travel articles published in newspapers and magazines) offer information on and prompt imagination about destinations that help frame visitors' expectations and influence their subsequent travel decisions and behaviors. This article content-analyzed 199 travelogues about New Zealand to identify relationships between regions and perceptions based on sensory allusions. It was found that the reporting of New Zealand as a whole by visiting journalists tended to utilize an appeal to all senses, but this was not true of individual destinations. It is suggested that urban destinations such as Auckland and Wellington possess potential for a wider sense appeal than is currently used through products based on urban adventure tourism and culinary tourism. An “ideal” itinerary is proposed that would permit journalists to capture a sensory experience of New Zealand.

text: Tourism sense-making: the role of the senses and travel journalism The tourist experience is corporeal and multisensory. Tourism organizations, therefore, need to pay attention to the sensual content of promotional messages conveyed to potential tourists to provide incentives for seeking enriched experiences of place. Together with other image formation agents, travelogues (travel articles published in newspapers and magazines) offer information on and prompt imagination about destinations that help frame visitors' expectations and influence their subsequent travel decisions and behaviors. This article content-analyzed 199 travelogues about New Zealand to identify relationships between regions and perceptions based on sensory allusions. It was found that the reporting of New Zealand as a whole by visiting journalists tended to utilize an appeal to all senses, but this was not true of individual destinations. It is suggested that urban destinations such as Auckland and Wellington possess potential for a wider sense appeal than is currently used through products based on urban adventure tourism and culinary tourism. An “ideal” itinerary is proposed that would permit journalists to capture a sensory experience of New Zealand.

year: 2009

title: Understanding the context of hospital transfers and away-from-home hospitalisations for Māori

authors: Cormack, Donna

subjects: Humans

abstract: In Aotearoa New Zealand, people regularly travel away from their home to receive hospital care. While the role of whānau support for patients in hospital is critical for Māori, there is little information about away-from-home hospitalisations. This paper describes the frequency and patterning of away-from-home hospitalisations and inter-hospital transfers for Māori. Data from the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS), for the 6-year period of 1 January 2009-31 December 2014, were analysed. Basic frequencies, means and descriptive statistics were produced using SAS software. We found that more than 10% of all routine hospitalisations constituted an away-from-home hospitalisation for Māori; that is, a hospitalisation that was in a district health board (DHB) other than the DHB of usual residence for the patient. One quarter (25.19%) of transfer hospitalisations were to a DHB other than the patient's DHB of domicile. Away-from-home hospital admissions increase for Māori as deprivation increases for both routine and transfer admissions, with over half of Māori hospital admissions among people who live in areas of high deprivation. This analysis aids in understanding away-from-home hospitalisations for Māori whānau, the characteristics associated with these types of hospitalisations and supports the development and implementation of policies which better meet whānau Māori needs. The cumulative impact of the need to travel to hospital for care, levels of poverty and a primarily reimbursement-based travel assistance system all perpetuate an unequal cost burden placed upon Māori whānau.

text: Understanding the context of hospital transfers and away-from-home hospitalisations for Māori In Aotearoa New Zealand, people regularly travel away from their home to receive hospital care. While the role of whānau support for patients in hospital is critical for Māori, there is little information about away-from-home hospitalisations. This paper describes the frequency and patterning of away-from-home hospitalisations and inter-hospital transfers for Māori. Data from the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS), for the 6-year period of 1 January 2009-31 December 2014, were analysed. Basic frequencies, means and descriptive statistics were produced using SAS software. We found that more than 10% of all routine hospitalisations constituted an away-from-home hospitalisation for Māori; that is, a hospitalisation that was in a district health board (DHB) other than the DHB of usual residence for the patient. One quarter (25.19%) of transfer hospitalisations were to a DHB other than the patient's DHB of domicile. Away-from-home hospital admissions increase for Māori as deprivation increases for both routine and transfer admissions, with over half of Māori hospital admissions among people who live in areas of high deprivation. This analysis aids in understanding away-from-home hospitalisations for Māori whānau, the characteristics associated with these types of hospitalisations and supports the development and implementation of policies which better meet whānau Māori needs. The cumulative impact of the need to travel to hospital for care, levels of poverty and a primarily reimbursement-based travel assistance system all perpetuate an unequal cost burden placed upon Māori whānau.

year: 2022-11-11