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The University of Auckland

5 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

The Measurement and Treatment of Suppression in Amblyopia

Joanna M. Black¹, Robert F. Hess², Jeremy R. Cooperstock³, Long To³, Benjamin Thompson¹

¹Department of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, ²Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University , ³Centre for Intelligent Machines, McGill University

Amblyopia is a developmental disorder of the visual cortex that is often accompanied by strong suppression of one eye. We present a new technique for measuring and treating interocular suppression in patients with amblyopia that can be deployed using virtual reality goggles or a portable iPod Touch device.

Biology

Visualization and Quantification of Mesenchymal Cell Adipogenic Differentiation Potential with a Lineage Specific Marker

Jennifer Eom¹, Vaughan Feisst¹, Louis Ranjard², Kerry Loomes¹, Tanvi Damani¹, Victoria Jackson-Patel^1,3, Michelle Locke^4,5, Hilary Sheppard¹, Pritika Narayan^1,6, P. Rod Dunbar^1,7

¹School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, ²Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, ³Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, ⁴Department of Plastic Surgery, Counties Manukau District Health Board, ⁵Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, ⁶Biomedical Imaging Research Unit, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, ⁷Maurice Wilkins Centre, The University of Auckland

Traditional methods of assessing adipogenic differentiation are cheap and easy to use, but are not specific to changes in gene expression. We have developed an assay to quantify mesenchymal cell differentiation into mature adipocytes using a lineage specific marker. This assay has diverse applications across basic research and clinical medicine.

Behavior

Classical Short-Delay Eyeblink Conditioning in One-Year-Old Children

Lucy K. Goodman¹, Nicola S. Anstice^1,2, Suzanne Stevens³, Benjamin Thompson^1,4, Trecia A. Wouldes³

¹School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland, ²Discipline of Optometry, University of Canberra, ³Department of Psychological Medicine, The University of Auckland, ⁴School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo

This protocol describes an eyeblink conditioning paradigm appropriate for experiments with one-year-old infants. Commercial or custom-made equipment can be used to deliver the stimuli, and data collection and analysis should be performed on the video recordings.

Education

High Throughput Analysis of Liquid Droplet Impacts

Matheu A.J. Broom¹, Geoff R. Willmott^1,2

¹The Department of Physics and The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, The University of Auckland, ²School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland

This protocol enables efficient collection of experimental high-speed images of liquid drop impacts, and speedy analysis of those data in batches. To streamline these processes, the method describes how to calibrate and set up apparatus, generate an appropriate data structure, and deploy an image analysis script.

Chemistry

Electrochemical Preparation of Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) Layers on Gold Microelectrodes for Uric Acid-Sensing Applications

Mahsa - Motshakeri¹, Anthony R. J. Phillips^2,3, Paul A. Kilmartin¹

¹School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, ²School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, ³Surgical and Translational Research Center, The University of Auckland

We describe aqueous and organic solvent systems for the electropolymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) to create thin layers on the surface of gold microelectrodes, which are used for sensing low molecular weight analytes.