title: Clinical usage of honey as a wound dressing: An update

authors: Molan, Peter C.

subjects: biology

abstract: Honey is an ancient treatment that is increasingly earning its place in modern wound care. Evidence suggests it compares with other dressings in terms of its antibacterial properties, ease of use and ability to promote a moist environment

text: Clinical usage of honey as a wound dressing: An update Honey is an ancient treatment that is increasingly earning its place in modern wound care. Evidence suggests it compares with other dressings in terms of its antibacterial properties, ease of use and ability to promote a moist environment

year: 2004

title: Fish-finding Fido; Can domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) offer a solution for detecting an invasive freshwater catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus)

authors: Little, Lauren Amber

subjects: Scent detection

abstract: Invasive species now dominate many aquatic landscapes in most parts of the world, displacing native plants and animals by disrupting and altering ecosystems. The brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) has been significantly correlated with regime shifts from macrophyte‐dominated clear water states to de‐vegetated turbid states, population declines of endemic species, and the disruption of food webs in New Zealand lakes. Conventional detection methods (e.g., visual surveys, fyke netting, electrofishing, and eDNA) for catfish are limited by their cost, invasiveness, time- consumption, and potential to be prone to error. Given that scent detection dogs are a well-established tool across a variety of fields, it was hypothesised that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) may be able to detect the presence of catfish from water samples that have contained these fish. This could provide a new potential biosecurity monitoring tool.
In this study, five pet dogs were trained to operate an automated apparatus that presented water samples for evaluation. Water samples were presented to dogs from aquaria that had previously contained, catfish, goldfish (Carassius auratus), or no fish. Experiment 1 evaluated if dogs could discriminate between samples that had contained catfish or no fish. In Experiment 2, it was evaluated if dogs can discriminate between fish species (i.e., catfish and goldfish), and at what fish biomass concentrations they can do so. Experiment 3 evaluated if dogs could indicate the presence of catfish when samples were presented at two different biomass concentrations in the same session. It was found that dogs were able to correctly identify water that had contained catfish and largely reject water samples that had contained either no fish or goldfish at above 80% accuracy at biomasses equivalent to environmental biomasses of 4.6 x 1,000 kg/ha. Preliminarily investigations of lower detection limit thresholds were investigated in the study. These results suggest further investigation is warranted to confirm the dogs’ ability to detect catfish at biologically relevant concentrations comparable to real-world sample scenarios. However, these findings support the suggestion that dogs may have an important role to play in waterway conservation and management.

text: Fish-finding Fido; Can domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) offer a solution for detecting an invasive freshwater catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) Invasive species now dominate many aquatic landscapes in most parts of the world, displacing native plants and animals by disrupting and altering ecosystems. The brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) has been significantly correlated with regime shifts from macrophyte‐dominated clear water states to de‐vegetated turbid states, population declines of endemic species, and the disruption of food webs in New Zealand lakes. Conventional detection methods (e.g., visual surveys, fyke netting, electrofishing, and eDNA) for catfish are limited by their cost, invasiveness, time- consumption, and potential to be prone to error. Given that scent detection dogs are a well-established tool across a variety of fields, it was hypothesised that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) may be able to detect the presence of catfish from water samples that have contained these fish. This could provide a new potential biosecurity monitoring tool.
In this study, five pet dogs were trained to operate an automated apparatus that presented water samples for evaluation. Water samples were presented to dogs from aquaria that had previously contained, catfish, goldfish (Carassius auratus), or no fish. Experiment 1 evaluated if dogs could discriminate between samples that had contained catfish or no fish. In Experiment 2, it was evaluated if dogs can discriminate between fish species (i.e., catfish and goldfish), and at what fish biomass concentrations they can do so. Experiment 3 evaluated if dogs could indicate the presence of catfish when samples were presented at two different biomass concentrations in the same session. It was found that dogs were able to correctly identify water that had contained catfish and largely reject water samples that had contained either no fish or goldfish at above 80% accuracy at biomasses equivalent to environmental biomasses of 4.6 x 1,000 kg/ha. Preliminarily investigations of lower detection limit thresholds were investigated in the study. These results suggest further investigation is warranted to confirm the dogs’ ability to detect catfish at biologically relevant concentrations comparable to real-world sample scenarios. However, these findings support the suggestion that dogs may have an important role to play in waterway conservation and management.

year: 2020

title: Indigenous people with disabilities: The argument for representation in human rights legislation (with specific reference to the development stage of the United Nations International Disability Convention)

authors: Hickey, Huhana

subjects: Tangata whaikaha

abstract: Until comparatively recently, human rights legislation was largely based on a universalist analysis. In treating all human beings alike, in failing to acknowledge the need for special measures to combat the marginalisation and oppression of particular groups, such as indigenous people and people with disabilities, it actually contributed to their invisibility and, hence, to their marginalisation and oppression. More recently, however, there has been a global trend towards the recognition of marginalised groups in human rights legislation. Even so, universalism, and the prejudice that so often accompanies it, is still in evidence. For example, although the United Nations is currently involved in drafting a Disabled Persons Convention, indigenous people with disabilities are not specifically represented. Their particular situation, one that involves a dual form of oppression (as indigenous people and as people with disabilities) is not acknowledged. Unless this situation is remedied, the Convention will inevitably be both less acceptable and less useful than would otherwise be the case.

text: Indigenous people with disabilities: The argument for representation in human rights legislation (with specific reference to the development stage of the United Nations International Disability Convention) Until comparatively recently, human rights legislation was largely based on a universalist analysis. In treating all human beings alike, in failing to acknowledge the need for special measures to combat the marginalisation and oppression of particular groups, such as indigenous people and people with disabilities, it actually contributed to their invisibility and, hence, to their marginalisation and oppression. More recently, however, there has been a global trend towards the recognition of marginalised groups in human rights legislation. Even so, universalism, and the prejudice that so often accompanies it, is still in evidence. For example, although the United Nations is currently involved in drafting a Disabled Persons Convention, indigenous people with disabilities are not specifically represented. Their particular situation, one that involves a dual form of oppression (as indigenous people and as people with disabilities) is not acknowledged. Unless this situation is remedied, the Convention will inevitably be both less acceptable and less useful than would otherwise be the case.

year: 2005-09