Aboriginal Glass Artefacts of the Sydney Region

Aboriginal glass artefacts (AGAs) have become the ‘type fossil’ for recognizing post-contact sites in countries with colonial pasts. Whether such reliance on AGAs is a valid development is contentious as the identification of these artefacts is ambiguous. This uncertainty is amplified in densely populated urban environments such as Sydney. This thesis addresses the identification of these artefacts within this region. Technological characteristics of Sydney’s AGAs and methodological issues in the recording of these artefacts have been analysed. A review of the patterns within this data has revealed how the identification issue has been managed in the past and how it may be improved. A review and evaluation of previous ‘criteria for identification’ has also revealed a refined approach to the identification and categorization of AGAs within Sydney and beyond. Also, cross-cultural interactions have been characterized as affected by the unique and diverse nature of the moving frontier in this region

Human blood myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells cross activate each other and synergize in inducing NK cell cytotoxicity

Human blood dendritic cells (DCs) hold great potential for use in anticancer immunotherapies. CD1c+ myeloid DCs and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) have been successfully utilized in clinical vaccination trials against melanoma. We hypothesize that combining both DC subsets in a single vaccine can further improve vaccine efficacy. Here, we have determined the potential synergy between the two subsets in vitro on the level of maturation, cytokine expression, and effector cell induction. Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation of CD1c+ DCs induced cross-activation of immature pDCs and vice versa. When both subsets were stimulated together using TLR agonists, CD86 expression on pDCs was increased and higher levels of interferon (IFN)-alpha were produced by DC co-cultures. Although the two subsets did not display any synergistic effect on naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cell polarization, CD1c+ DCs and pDCs were able to complement each other's induction of other immune effector cells. The mere presence of pDCs in DC co-cultures promoted plasma cell differentiation from activated autologous B cells. Similarly, CD1c+ DCs, alone or in co-cultures, induced high levels of IFN-gamma from allogeneic peripheral blood lymphocytes or activated autologous natural killer (NK) cells. Both CD1c+ DCs and pDCs could enhance NK cell cytotoxicity, and interestingly DC co-cultures further enhanced NK cell-mediated killing of an NK-resistant tumor cell line. These results indicate that co-application of human blood DC subsets could render DC-based anticancer vaccines more efficacious

Rational design of HIV vaccines and microbicides: report of the EUROPRISE annual conference 2011

Europrise is a Network of Excellence supported by the European Commission within the 6th Framework programme from 2007 to 2012. The Network has involved over 50 institutions from 13 European countries together with 3 industrial partners and 6 African countries. The Network encompasses an integrated program of research, training, dissemination and advocacy within the field of HIV vaccines and microbicides. A central and timely theme of the Network is the development of the unique concept of co-usage of vaccines and microbicides. Training of PhD students has been a major task, and some of these post-graduate students have here summarized novel ideas emanating from presentations at the last annual Europrise meeting in Prague. The latest data and ideas concerning HIV vaccine and microbicide studies are included in this review; these studies are so recent that the majority have yet to be published. Data were presented and discussed concerning novel immunisation strategies; microbicides and PrEP (alone and in combination with vaccines); mucosal transmission of HIV/SIV; mucosal vaccination; novel adjuvants; neutralizing antibodies; innate immune responses; HIV/SIV pathogenesis and disease progression; new methods and reagents. These - necessarily overlapping topics - are comprehensively summarised by the Europrise students in the context of other recent exciting data

Electrophilic PPARγ ligands inhibit corneal fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation in vitro: A potentially novel therapy for corneal scarring

A critical component of corneal scarring is the TGFβ-induced differentiation of corneal keratocytes into myofibroblasts. Inhibitors of this differentiation are potentially therapeutic for corneal scarring. In this study, we tested the relative effectiveness and mechanisms of action of two electrophilic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) ligands: cyano-3,12-dioxolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid-metheyl ester (CDDO-Me) and 15-deoxy-Δ-12,14-prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)) for inhibiting TGFβ-induced myofibroblast differentiation in vitro. TGFβ was used to induce myofibroblast differentiation in cultured, primary human corneal fibroblasts. CDDO-Me and 15d-PGJ(2) were added to cultures to test their ability to inhibit this process. Myofibroblast differentiation was assessed by measuring the expression of myofibroblast-specific proteins (αSMA, collagen I, and fibronectin) and mRNA (αSMA and collagen III). The role of PPARγ in the inhibition of myofibroblast differentiation by these agents was tested in genetically and pharmacologically manipulated cells. Finally, we assayed the importance of electrophilicity in the actions of these agents on TGFβ-induced αSMA expression via Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Both electrophilic PPARγ ligands (CDDO-Me and 15d-PGJ(2)) potently inhibited TGFβ-induced myofibroblast differentiation, but PPARγ was only partially required for inhibition of myofibroblast differentiation by either agent. Electrophilic PPARγ ligands were able to inhibit myofibroblast differentiation more potently than non-electrophilic PPARγ ligands, suggesting an important role of electrophilicity in this process. CDDO-Me and 15d-PGJ(2) are strong inhibitors of TGFβ-induced corneal fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation in vitro, suggesting this class of agents as potential novel therapies for corneal scarring warranting further study in pre-clinical animal models