title: Motility of the reticulum and rumen of sheep given juice-extracted pasture

authors: McLeay, Lance M.

abstract: 1. Sheep were fed on different diets of juice-extracted herbage to determine what effect juice-extraction had on reticulo-rumen motility.
2. The frequency of A and B sequences of contraction of the reticulo-rumen were recorded during eating, rumination and inactivity for continuous periods of 24–72 h by using integrated electromyograms obtained from electrodes implanted in the musculature of the reticulum and cranial dorsal rumen.
3. Animals were fed on herbage in which approximately 200 g/kg dry matter had been removed in juice extracted from ryegrass (Lolium perenne), white clover (Trifolium repens), mixed ryegrass–white clover and lucerne (Medicago saliva).
4. Over all the frequency of A sequences of contraction did not differ in animals fed on pressed herbage or the unpressed material from which it was derived, although it was slower during rumination on some of the pressed material. In contrast, the frequency of B sequences was higher on the pressed material. The frequencies of contraction of A and B sequences in animals fed on pressed herbage was related to the activity of the animals in the order eating > rumination > inactivity.
5. Changes in reticulo-rumen motility due to juice extraction were small and the frequencies of A and B sequences of contraction in sheep fed on pressed herbage were in the range encountered in ruminants consuming more conventional foods.

text: Motility of the reticulum and rumen of sheep given juice-extracted pasture 1. Sheep were fed on different diets of juice-extracted herbage to determine what effect juice-extraction had on reticulo-rumen motility.
2. The frequency of A and B sequences of contraction of the reticulo-rumen were recorded during eating, rumination and inactivity for continuous periods of 24–72 h by using integrated electromyograms obtained from electrodes implanted in the musculature of the reticulum and cranial dorsal rumen.
3. Animals were fed on herbage in which approximately 200 g/kg dry matter had been removed in juice extracted from ryegrass (Lolium perenne), white clover (Trifolium repens), mixed ryegrass–white clover and lucerne (Medicago saliva).
4. Over all the frequency of A sequences of contraction did not differ in animals fed on pressed herbage or the unpressed material from which it was derived, although it was slower during rumination on some of the pressed material. In contrast, the frequency of B sequences was higher on the pressed material. The frequencies of contraction of A and B sequences in animals fed on pressed herbage was related to the activity of the animals in the order eating > rumination > inactivity.
5. Changes in reticulo-rumen motility due to juice extraction were small and the frequencies of A and B sequences of contraction in sheep fed on pressed herbage were in the range encountered in ruminants consuming more conventional foods.

year: 1982

title: Enhanced targeting of triplex forming oligonucleotides

authors: Peters, Linda M.

abstract: Oligonucleotides offer the potential to inhibit the expression of specific genes within living cells by binding to the major groove of the DNA helix in a sequence-specific manner to form a DNA triple helix. The ultimate application of such oligonucleotides is to act as selective therapeutic tools to suppress transcription, inhibit replication and induce site specific mutations in mammalian genes. However, to date, most triplex experiments have utilised simple in vitro systems and it has proved rather more difficult to demonstrate selective actions in vivo.

In this study, a series of psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides (10-17 nt) were designed to target specific bovine repetitive sequences in the male Y chromosome. Repetitive Y chromosome sequences described by Reed et al., 1995 and Grobet et al., 1996 were investigated for efficient DNA triplex formation. The rationale in this approach was that the presence of several hundred copies rather than just one target per genome would greatly enhance the efficiency of DNA triplex formation in vivo. Psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides designed to these sequences were screened by performing DNA triplex binding assays and analysing photoadduct formation by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA).

Six psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides were found to selectively and efficiently intercalate to their bovine dsDNA target sequences (38-49 bp) in vitro after irradiation with UV light (360 nm), forming covalent DNA photoadducts. Stable photoadducts were also detected when these oligonucleotides were targeted to larger dsDNA targets, ranging from 0.1 to 3 Kb in size. In general, a small UV dose (0.03 J/cm²) was sufficient to form monoadducts, with crosslinks forming after fifteen minutes of UV irradiation (1 J/cm²). The efficiency of bovine monoadduct formation was similar to that in the well-publicised supF DNA triplex system.

PCR and Southern blot analyses also showed that the repetitive Y-chromosomal DNA region (100-400 bp) was indeed male specific and present in multiple copies. However, when Southern blot analyses were carried out using oligonucleotide probes (16-49 nt) which corresponded to the triplex target sequence within this region, relatively weak hybridisation was observed, suggesting that these specific sequences were not present in such high copies. Although this data indicates that the male specific repeat regions must contain segments of consensual rather than exact sequences, high quality non-degenerate DNA sequencing data in the triplex targeting region was obtained from the male specific PCR products. Clearly, the exact nature of these male specific repeats requires further investigation to establish the effects of targeting psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides to male genomic DNA as opposed to female genomic DNA.

text: Enhanced targeting of triplex forming oligonucleotides Oligonucleotides offer the potential to inhibit the expression of specific genes within living cells by binding to the major groove of the DNA helix in a sequence-specific manner to form a DNA triple helix. The ultimate application of such oligonucleotides is to act as selective therapeutic tools to suppress transcription, inhibit replication and induce site specific mutations in mammalian genes. However, to date, most triplex experiments have utilised simple in vitro systems and it has proved rather more difficult to demonstrate selective actions in vivo.

In this study, a series of psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides (10-17 nt) were designed to target specific bovine repetitive sequences in the male Y chromosome. Repetitive Y chromosome sequences described by Reed et al., 1995 and Grobet et al., 1996 were investigated for efficient DNA triplex formation. The rationale in this approach was that the presence of several hundred copies rather than just one target per genome would greatly enhance the efficiency of DNA triplex formation in vivo. Psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides designed to these sequences were screened by performing DNA triplex binding assays and analysing photoadduct formation by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA).

Six psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides were found to selectively and efficiently intercalate to their bovine dsDNA target sequences (38-49 bp) in vitro after irradiation with UV light (360 nm), forming covalent DNA photoadducts. Stable photoadducts were also detected when these oligonucleotides were targeted to larger dsDNA targets, ranging from 0.1 to 3 Kb in size. In general, a small UV dose (0.03 J/cm²) was sufficient to form monoadducts, with crosslinks forming after fifteen minutes of UV irradiation (1 J/cm²). The efficiency of bovine monoadduct formation was similar to that in the well-publicised supF DNA triplex system.

PCR and Southern blot analyses also showed that the repetitive Y-chromosomal DNA region (100-400 bp) was indeed male specific and present in multiple copies. However, when Southern blot analyses were carried out using oligonucleotide probes (16-49 nt) which corresponded to the triplex target sequence within this region, relatively weak hybridisation was observed, suggesting that these specific sequences were not present in such high copies. Although this data indicates that the male specific repeat regions must contain segments of consensual rather than exact sequences, high quality non-degenerate DNA sequencing data in the triplex targeting region was obtained from the male specific PCR products. Clearly, the exact nature of these male specific repeats requires further investigation to establish the effects of targeting psoralen-conjugated oligonucleotides to male genomic DNA as opposed to female genomic DNA.

year: 1999

title: “It was… like a fight and rape club”: A foucauldian discourse analysis of New Zealand’s abuse in care inquiry, exploring child sexual abuse in residential care

authors: Simpson, Karen

subjects: child sexual abuse

abstract: Children and adolescents brought to the attention of New Zealand care and protection authorities are sometimes removed from their homes and placed into State-run residential care facilities. While the aim placing young people into residences is to improve their wellbeing, child sexual abuse is common in this setting and more pronounced than in the general population. There are many psychological theories, perspectives and movements which have attempted to explain child sexual abuse spanning from the 1800s to the present day. These partial and, at times, unsupported understandings of abuse have been shaped by socio-cultural and socio-political conditions. This has had serious implications for our collective (mis)understanding of child sexual abuse and the ways in which we respond to abuse with dominant discourse often transcending into policy, law, and the courtroom where social (in)justice occurs. In addition, despite there being three centuries of child sexual abuse research, to-date there has been limited exploration of the phenomenon in residential care settings both globally and within Aotearoa. However, the opportunity to explore child sexual abuse in this setting has availed itself with the New Zealand Government launching a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in 2018 to better understand abuse across State and faith-based settings between 1950 and 1999. This thesis aims to provide additional insights to the inquiry by exploring the different ways in which child sexual abuse in residential care is understood as well as the conditions which legitimise or silence these understandings.

A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis was used to analyse 47 publicly available documents from the inquiry including statements, transcripts, and evidence briefs from survivors, survivor advocates, counsel, and representatives from institutions that provide care and protection for young people. Analysis found six discourses: control and punishment, fabrication, harmful, power and oppression, shameful, and State and institutional failure. These discourses reaffirm previous findings in sexual abuse research including sexual abuse as shameful and notions of fabrication. New insights were also found and include the use of sexual abuse as a method of controlling and punishing young people; predatory sexual behaviour in young people as a method of self-protection; cultural genocide and intergenerational care placement as victim sequelae; and the development of adaptive survival behaviours in residents in response to the State’s failures to protect them. In addition, systemic failures were uncovered including inadequacies in internal and external monitoring, failures in vetting, poor investment in professional capabilities of frontline workers, and a culture of tolerance toward abuse. Overall, the analysis found cultures of sexual violence and cultures of tolerance toward abuse within residential care, which emerge from the young person’s status as a State Ward.

text: “It was… like a fight and rape club”: A foucauldian discourse analysis of New Zealand’s abuse in care inquiry, exploring child sexual abuse in residential care Children and adolescents brought to the attention of New Zealand care and protection authorities are sometimes removed from their homes and placed into State-run residential care facilities. While the aim placing young people into residences is to improve their wellbeing, child sexual abuse is common in this setting and more pronounced than in the general population. There are many psychological theories, perspectives and movements which have attempted to explain child sexual abuse spanning from the 1800s to the present day. These partial and, at times, unsupported understandings of abuse have been shaped by socio-cultural and socio-political conditions. This has had serious implications for our collective (mis)understanding of child sexual abuse and the ways in which we respond to abuse with dominant discourse often transcending into policy, law, and the courtroom where social (in)justice occurs. In addition, despite there being three centuries of child sexual abuse research, to-date there has been limited exploration of the phenomenon in residential care settings both globally and within Aotearoa. However, the opportunity to explore child sexual abuse in this setting has availed itself with the New Zealand Government launching a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in 2018 to better understand abuse across State and faith-based settings between 1950 and 1999. This thesis aims to provide additional insights to the inquiry by exploring the different ways in which child sexual abuse in residential care is understood as well as the conditions which legitimise or silence these understandings.

A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis was used to analyse 47 publicly available documents from the inquiry including statements, transcripts, and evidence briefs from survivors, survivor advocates, counsel, and representatives from institutions that provide care and protection for young people. Analysis found six discourses: control and punishment, fabrication, harmful, power and oppression, shameful, and State and institutional failure. These discourses reaffirm previous findings in sexual abuse research including sexual abuse as shameful and notions of fabrication. New insights were also found and include the use of sexual abuse as a method of controlling and punishing young people; predatory sexual behaviour in young people as a method of self-protection; cultural genocide and intergenerational care placement as victim sequelae; and the development of adaptive survival behaviours in residents in response to the State’s failures to protect them. In addition, systemic failures were uncovered including inadequacies in internal and external monitoring, failures in vetting, poor investment in professional capabilities of frontline workers, and a culture of tolerance toward abuse. Overall, the analysis found cultures of sexual violence and cultures of tolerance toward abuse within residential care, which emerge from the young person’s status as a State Ward.

year: 2024-02-25