Western Sydney University

10 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Bioengineering

Fabrication and Application of Rose Bengal-chitosan Films in Laser Tissue Repair

Antonio Lauto¹, Marcus Stoodley², Matthew Barton¹, John W. Morley¹, David A. Mahns¹, Leonardo Longo³, Damia Mawad¹

¹Bioelectronics and Neuroscience (BENS) research group, University of Western Sydney, NSW Australia, ²Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, NSW Australia, ³School of Medicine, University of Siena, Italy

Sutures are usually needed to repair tissue during surgical procedures. However, their application can be problematic as they are invasive and may damage tissue. The fabrication and application methods of a novel tissue adhesive are here reported. This adhesive film is laser-activated and does not require the use of sutures.

Bioengineering

Correlative Light- and Electron Microscopy Using Quantum Dot Nanoparticles

Murray C. Killingsworth^1,2,3,4, Yuri V. Bobryshev^3,4,5

¹South Western Sydney Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales Australia, ²School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, ³Correlative Microscopy Group, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, ⁴Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Pathology, Sydney South West Pathology Service, New South Wales Health Pathology, ⁵School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales Australia

A method is described whereby quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles can be used for correlative immunocytochemical studies of epoxy embedded human pathology tissue. We employ commercial antibody fragment conjugated QDs that are visualized by widefield fluorescence light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.

Chemistry

Capillary Electrophoresis to Monitor Peptide Grafting onto Chitosan Films in Real Time

Joel J. Thevarajah^1,2,3, Michael D. O'Connor^1,4, Patrice Castignolles^2,3, Marianne Gaborieau^1,2,3

¹Molecular Medicine Research Group, Western Sydney University, ²Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science, Western Sydney University, ³School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, ⁴School of Medicine, Western Sydney University

Free solution capillary electrophoresis is a fast, cheap and robust analytical method that enables the quantitative monitoring of chemical reactions in real time. Its utility for rapid, convenient and precise analysis is demonstrated here through analysis of covalent peptide grafting onto chitosan films for improved cell adhesion.

Neuroscience

Prolonged Incubation of Acute Neuronal Tissue for Electrophysiology and Calcium-imaging

Morven A. Cameron¹, Orsolya Kekesi^1,2, John W. Morley^1,2, Alba Bellot-Saez^1,2, Sindy Kueh², Paul Breen¹, André van Schaik¹, Jonathan Tapson¹, Yossi Buskila^1,2

¹The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, ²School of Medicine, Western Sydney University

Once removed from the body, neuronal tissue is greatly affected by environmental conditions, leading to eventual degradation of the tissue after 6 - 8 h. Using a unique incubation method, which closely monitors and regulates the extracellular environment of the tissue, tissue viability can be significantly extended for >24 h.

Immunology and Infection

Quantifying Vibrio cholerae Colonization and Diarrhea in the Adult Zebrafish Model

Dhrubajyoti Nag¹, Kristie Mitchell¹, Paul Breen¹, Jeffrey H. Withey¹

¹Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Zebrafish are a natural Vibrio cholerae host and can be used to recapitulate and study the entire infectious cycle from colonization to transmission. Here, we demonstrate how to assess V. cholerae colonization levels and quantify diarrhea in zebrafish.

Environment

Detection of Viruses from Bioaerosols Using Anion Exchange Resin

Joshua W. Schaeffer¹, Jeffrey C. Chandler², Margaret Davidson^1,3, Sheryl L. Magzamen¹, Alma Pérez-Méndez⁴, Stephen J. Reynolds¹, Lawrence D. Goodridge⁵, John Volckens⁶, Alan B. Franklin², Susan A. Shriner², Bledar Bisha⁷

¹High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, ²National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, ³Western Sydney University, ⁴Leprino Foods, Inc, ⁵Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, ⁶Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, ⁷Department of Animal Science, University of Wyoming

An anion exchange resin-based method, adapted to liquid impingement-based bioaerosol sampling of viruses is demonstrated. When coupled with downstream molecular detection, the method allows for facile and sensitive detection of viruses from bioaerosols.

JoVE Journal

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Ana-Maria Bliuc¹, Muhammad Iqbal², David Best³

¹School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, ²Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (ISILC), Victoria University, ³Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University

The article describes a novel approach for analyzing dynamic online social interactions (in an online context) exemplified by a study of an online community of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

Biochemistry

Cortisol Measurement in Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Fur

Renae Charalambous¹, Edward Narayan¹

¹School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University

We present a protocol to determine the optimal extraction solvent to measure cortisol from koala fur. The solvents used in this protocol are methanol, ethanol and isopropanol. Determining an optimal extraction solvent will aid in reliably measuring fur to determine the impact of chronic stress on koalas.

Neuroscience

Stochastic Noise Application for the Assessment of Medial Vestibular Nucleus Neuron Sensitivity In Vitro

Sebastian P. Stefani^1,2, Paul P. Breen³, Jorge M. Serrador⁴, Aaron J. Camp^1,2

¹Discipline of Physiology, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, ²Bosch Institute, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, ³The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, ⁴Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Galvanic vestibular stimulation in humans exhibits improvements in vestibular function. However, it is unknown how these effects occur. Here, we describe how to apply sinusoidal and stochastic electrical noise and evaluate appropriate stimulus amplitudes in individual medial vestibular nucleus neurons in the C57BL/6 mouse.

Neuroscience

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches

Ariastity Pratiwi¹, Orsolya Kekesi¹, Gregg Suaning¹

¹The University of Sydney

We summarize a workflow to computationally model a retinal neuron's behaviors in response to electrical stimulation. The computational model is versatile and includes automation steps that are useful in simulating a range of physiological scenarios and anticipating the outcomes of future in vivo/in vitro studies.