Locus, 2006

This work is constructed from a conglomerate of materials and forms that have shaped me. A forests of tea-tree sticks, a mound of cuttlefish; wave, a midden, a coastline, the sea currents and star systems, the blink of an eye. These elements merge to represent the places and stories that impact on my everyday. The point of juncture, between past and present, offers me practical ways to inculcate and make sense of my childhood, raised besides a noisy amusement park (St Kilda Luna Park), and of my maternal Indigenous, Trawlwoolway, family ancestry on coastal north eastern Tasmania, amidst tea-tree and she-oak and brilliant night skies. Making physical renditions of how we create ourselves from our own and inherited stories interests me; figuring ways to render distinct, sometimes blurred and disassociated personal and public memories is an ongoing process

A novel culture system for modulating single cell geometry in 3D

Dedifferentiation of chondrocytes during in vitro expansion remains an unsolved challenge for repairing serious articular cartilage defects. In this study, a novel culture system was developed to modulate single cell geometry in 3D and investigate its effects on the chondrocyte phenotype. The approach uses 2D micropatterns followed by in situ hydrogel formation to constrain single cell shape and spreading. This enables independent control of cell geometry and extracellular matrix. Using collagen I matrix, we demonstrated the formation of a biomimetic collagenous “basket” enveloping individual chondrocytes cells. By quantitatively monitoring the production by single cells of chondrogenic matrix (e.g. collagen II and aggrecan) during 21-day cultures, we found that if the cell’s volume decreases, then so does its cell resistance to dedifferentiation (even if the cells remain spherical). Conversely, if the volume of spherical cells remains constant (after an initial decrease), then not only do the cells retain their differentiated status, but previously de-differentiated redifferentiate and regain a chondrocyte phenotype. The approach described here can be readily applied to pluripotent cells, offering a versatile platform in the search for niches toward either self-renewal or targeted differentiation

Escape II

Fugitive History presents recent artworks about historic Tasmanian places and associated stories that are often concealed from the mainstream or everyday. These works gather together as trace evidence of what came before, what happened here. My aim is to offer for fresh reconsideration aspects of cryptic or unresolved histories that bring us to the point of dim memory. These objects and the repetitive actions that created them aim to trigger a rhythmic form of remembering of this island's colonial-contact inheritance. Collections of objects: spears, shelves, chairs, pins, coal, shells, wallpapers, people and place names manifest in multiple my entrapment in the challengingly elusive past. The objects that make this exhibition: spears, strung shells on wire, coal on rope, antlers, chairs, books represent my own and my family's patience, our waiting for our different, darker, Indigenous past to be rendered. The works stir between the absences in the records and our presence in places and with people from the early 1800s that were not only tribal or remote

Witness

Fugitive History presents recent artworks about historic Tasmanian places and associated stories that are often concealed from the mainstream or everyday. These works gather together as trace evidence of what came before, what happened here. My aim is to offer for fresh reconsideration aspects of cryptic or unresolved histories that bring us to the point of dim memory. These objects and the repetitive actions that created them aim to trigger a rhythmic form of remembering of this island's colonial-contact inheritance. Collections of objects: spears, shelves, chairs, pins, coal, shells, wallpapers, people and place names manifest in multiple my entrapment in the challengingly elusive past. The objects that make this exhibition: spears, strung shells on wire, coal on rope, antlers, chairs, books represent my own and my family's patience, our waiting for our different, darker, Indigenous past to be rendered. The works stir between the absences in the records and our presence in places and with people from the early 1800s that were not only tribal or remote

A synthetic biodegradable oriented scaffold for skeletal muscle tissue engineering

The aim of this project was to create a novel biodegradable, synthetic scaffold that will provide the correct topographical cues for myoblast alignment and efficient differentiation into myotubes. Skeletal muscle repair after major surgery or serious burns is often overlooked leading to poor healing and consequent loss of power in movements of affected limbs. In order to overcome this problem a tissue engineered construct could be utilised as a grafting patch to encourage further regeneration and enhance possible power to the limb. Using a biodegradable polymer can provide structural support until the tissue is established, and will be excreted by the body's natural processes as it degrades. A synthetic polymer is desirable as it can reduce the risk of immunogenic responses thus reduce risk of graft rejection. For successful in vitro growth of skeletal muscle, the cells must be encouraged to arrange themselves into parallel arrays in order for efficient fusion and consequent contraction. By incorporating the correct topographical cues into the scaffold to promote contact guidance for cellular alignment this can be achieved. Electrospinning is a reliable technique which yields highly reproducible aligned fibres from the micro- to the nanoscale. This project focuses upon creating and characterising the electrospun scaffold, checking biocompatibility with myoblasts by monitoring the topography, residual solvent within the scaffold, the mechanical properties of the scaffold, and a brief investigation into the degradation profile of the electrospun fibres. The immunogenicity of the scaffold was investigated by monitoring cytokine release from macrophages. Myoblast morphology was monitored, as was the efficiency of the cells to differentiate and their potential to become contractile myofibres. Cellular adhesion to the scaffold was also looked into by measuring the expression of integrins during early and late adhesion and on substrates with different topographies. It was found that the electrospun scaffold did not contain a significant amount of residual solvent, and macrophages were not activated any more than on tissue culture plastic. Myoblasts responded to the topography of the aligned fibres by aligning along the length of the fibres, showing elongation and bi-axial cytoskeletal arrangement after just 30 minutes culture on the aligned fibres. This elongation prompted fusion and differentiation of the myoblasts to occur faster than cells which were not exposed to the aligned topography, and this global alignment was maintained in long term culture.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceBBSRCGBUnited Kingdo

Cellulose nanowhiskers for tissue engineering skeletal muscle

Cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) are high aspect ratio rod-like nanoparticles with diameters on the order of a few nanometers. For the very first time CNWs are demonstrated as a useful material for guided tissue engineering. Due to their nanoscale dimensions and high aspect ratio, highly oriented spin coated surfaces of CNWs are shown to direct the morphology and terminal differentiation of myoblasts, allowing the culture of skeletal muscle-like tissue with a more physiologically relevant structure.CNWs are prepared from cellulose extracted from the tunicate Ascidiella sp. using acid hydrolysis to prepare high aspect ratio particles with diameters of approximately 5 to 6 nm. A spin coating method is used to prepare sparsely adsorbed sub-monolayers of CNWs with a high degree of relative orientation. The surfaces have a mean feature height of only 5.5 nm and the degree of CNW adsorption and orientation is modulated by altering the preparation procedure. When C2C12 myoblasts are seeded to the surfaces, the cells adopt highly oriented morphologies induced by the CNWs via contact guidance. This is a demonstration of contact guidance on some of the smallest topographical features ever reported. Furthermore, the highly oriented CNWs promote fusion and terminal differentiation of the myoblasts to form multinucleated myotubes with a striking degree of parallel orientation.CNW surfaces are also shown to support the adhesion and spreading of human mesenchymal stem cells, inducing the adoption of highly oriented cell morphologies. The ability of hMSCs to undergo cell fusion with C2C12 myotubes highlights the great potential for tissue engineering human skeletal muscle, using CNWs to direct the structure of the tissue. The bioactivity and low cytotoxicity of CNWs, coupled with their low cost and simple production procedure, indicates that CNWs will be a useful material for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Comparison of Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube with Culture on RGM Selective Agar for Detection of Mycobacteria in Sputum Samples from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are an important cause of pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). A new culture medium (RGM medium) for the isolation of rapidly growing mycobacteria from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients has recently been reported. The aim of this study was to compare culture of sputum samples on RGM medium with culture using a standard automated liquid culture method. Sputum samples were obtained from 187 distinct patients with CF attending King's College Hospital, London, United Kingdom. Each sample was decontaminated with 3% oxalic acid and inoculated into a mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) that was monitored for 42 days using the Bactec MGIT 960 instrument. Each sample was also cultured, without decontamination, onto RGM medium, which was incubated for 10 days at 30°C. Mycobacteria were isolated from 28 patients (prevalence, 15%). Mycobacteria were detected in 24 samples (86%) using the MGIT and in 23 samples (82%) using RGM medium (P = 1.00). In this setting, RGM medium showed sensitivity equivalent to that of the MGIT for isolation of NTM from the sputum of patients with CF. RGM medium offers a simple, convenient tool that can be embedded into routine culture methods, allowing the culture of all sputum samples that are submitted from patients with CF