title: Mutations of p53 gene and SV40 sequences in asbestos associated and non- asbestos-associated mesotheliomas

authors: Mayall, Frederick G.

subjects: mesothelioma

abstract: AIM: To examine mesotheliomas for a possible relation between p53 immunostaining, p53 gene mutation, simian virus 40 (SV40), and asbestos exposure. METHODS: Paraffin sections from 11 mesotheliomas were used for p53 immunostaining and also to extract DNA. This was analysed for the presence of mutations in exons 5 to 8 of the p53 gene using a "cold" single strand conformational polymorphism method, together with sequencing. The DNA from the paraffin sections was also used to search for SV40 sequences. A 105 base pair segment at the 3' of the SV40 large T antigen (Tag) was targeted and any PCR amplification products were sequenced to confirm that they were of SV40 origin. EDAX electron microscopic differential mineral fibre counts were performed on dried lung tissue at a specialist referral centre. RESULTS: The fibre counts showed that seven of the mesotheliomas were associated with abnormally high asbestos exposure. Of these, two showed p53 immunostaining, none showed p53 gene mutation, and five showed SV40. Of the four other mesotheliomas, three showed p53 immunostaining, one showed a (silent) p53 mutation, and none showed SV40. The difference in frequency of SV40 detection was significant at the p < 0.05 level. CONCLUSIONS: Immunostaining for the p53 gene was relatively common but p53 mutations were rare in this series. SV40 virus sequence was detected in five of seven asbestos associated mesotheliomas but in none of the non-asbestos-associated mesotheliomas. This suggests there may be a synergistic interaction between asbestos and SV40 in human mesotheliomas. A study with a larger number of cases is needed to investigate these observations further.

text: Mutations of p53 gene and SV40 sequences in asbestos associated and non- asbestos-associated mesotheliomas AIM: To examine mesotheliomas for a possible relation between p53 immunostaining, p53 gene mutation, simian virus 40 (SV40), and asbestos exposure. METHODS: Paraffin sections from 11 mesotheliomas were used for p53 immunostaining and also to extract DNA. This was analysed for the presence of mutations in exons 5 to 8 of the p53 gene using a "cold" single strand conformational polymorphism method, together with sequencing. The DNA from the paraffin sections was also used to search for SV40 sequences. A 105 base pair segment at the 3' of the SV40 large T antigen (Tag) was targeted and any PCR amplification products were sequenced to confirm that they were of SV40 origin. EDAX electron microscopic differential mineral fibre counts were performed on dried lung tissue at a specialist referral centre. RESULTS: The fibre counts showed that seven of the mesotheliomas were associated with abnormally high asbestos exposure. Of these, two showed p53 immunostaining, none showed p53 gene mutation, and five showed SV40. Of the four other mesotheliomas, three showed p53 immunostaining, one showed a (silent) p53 mutation, and none showed SV40. The difference in frequency of SV40 detection was significant at the p < 0.05 level. CONCLUSIONS: Immunostaining for the p53 gene was relatively common but p53 mutations were rare in this series. SV40 virus sequence was detected in five of seven asbestos associated mesotheliomas but in none of the non-asbestos-associated mesotheliomas. This suggests there may be a synergistic interaction between asbestos and SV40 in human mesotheliomas. A study with a larger number of cases is needed to investigate these observations further.

year: 2013

title: Charles Peirce's limit concept of truth

authors: Legg, Catherine

subjects: Charles Peirce

abstract: This entry explores Charles Peirce's account of truth in terms of the end or ‘limit’ of inquiry. This account is distinct from – and arguably more objectivist than – views of truth found in other pragmatists such as James and Rorty. The roots of the account in mathematical concepts is explored, and it is defended from objections that it is (i) incoherent, (ii) in its faith in convergence, too realist and (iii) in its ‘internal realism’, not realist enough.

text: Charles Peirce's limit concept of truth This entry explores Charles Peirce's account of truth in terms of the end or ‘limit’ of inquiry. This account is distinct from – and arguably more objectivist than – views of truth found in other pragmatists such as James and Rorty. The roots of the account in mathematical concepts is explored, and it is defended from objections that it is (i) incoherent, (ii) in its faith in convergence, too realist and (iii) in its ‘internal realism’, not realist enough.

year: 2014

title: Have you heard of Hinehau? A research journey of reclamation

authors: Wakefield, Sandy

subjects: Te Tai Tokerau

abstract: As the Māori political and cultural movement continues to grow, issues of representation, power, and control are critiqued by Māori minds.
After discovering a tribal myth about the mana of a woman known as Hinehau, a chain reaction of enquiry develops into the reclamation of tribal knowledge.
By investigating the historical context surrounding the narrative of Hinehau, her story transcends the fairy-tale myth she was confined to, and exposes the rendering down of her story.
Under the umbrella of Western science, European and Pākehā historical archives created an enduring legacy of “Māori myth” that is synonymous with falsehood. Through the assertation of tribal oral tradition and connecting our experiences to our missing histories, Hinehau is relocated. The Hinehau story renews through reconnecting to mātauranga Māori, Ngāpuhi kōrero tuku iho and the creativity of the researcher. In this process, her story renews.
With the guidance of hapū members, mentors, and a diversity of literature, the narrative of Hinehau becomes a part of a much larger inter-tribal narrative held within an ancestral landscape which is sometimes hard to recognise in whenua we no longer have tribal autonomy over. Our Indigenous identity is still under threat as we are still “othered” in our tribal lands. This work contributes to pushing the envelope of what it means to think, exist, and challenge as tangata whenua in Aotearoa, where traditional tribal roles have been minimalised in society, or disappeared through generations of the colonial project (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012).

text: Have you heard of Hinehau? A research journey of reclamation As the Māori political and cultural movement continues to grow, issues of representation, power, and control are critiqued by Māori minds.
After discovering a tribal myth about the mana of a woman known as Hinehau, a chain reaction of enquiry develops into the reclamation of tribal knowledge.
By investigating the historical context surrounding the narrative of Hinehau, her story transcends the fairy-tale myth she was confined to, and exposes the rendering down of her story.
Under the umbrella of Western science, European and Pākehā historical archives created an enduring legacy of “Māori myth” that is synonymous with falsehood. Through the assertation of tribal oral tradition and connecting our experiences to our missing histories, Hinehau is relocated. The Hinehau story renews through reconnecting to mātauranga Māori, Ngāpuhi kōrero tuku iho and the creativity of the researcher. In this process, her story renews.
With the guidance of hapū members, mentors, and a diversity of literature, the narrative of Hinehau becomes a part of a much larger inter-tribal narrative held within an ancestral landscape which is sometimes hard to recognise in whenua we no longer have tribal autonomy over. Our Indigenous identity is still under threat as we are still “othered” in our tribal lands. This work contributes to pushing the envelope of what it means to think, exist, and challenge as tangata whenua in Aotearoa, where traditional tribal roles have been minimalised in society, or disappeared through generations of the colonial project (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012).

year: 2021