Red Cell and Saliva Studies for the Evaluation of ABH and Lewis Factors Among the Caucasian and Aboriginal Populations of Western Australia

Several epidemics of gonococcal conjunctivitis have occurred in Aboriginal populations in Central Australia. In 1997, the first outbreak in the Kimberley region of Western Australia occurred, spreading to Central Australia with a total of 447 cases. A genotyping method was applied directly to DNA extracted from patient samples to characterize the gonococcus causing the epidemic and to compare it with contemporaneous genital isolates. Those positive conjunctival specimens from Kimberley and Central Australia that could be genotyped were all indistinguishable, but were distinct from the genital gonococci, even when they shared the same auxotype and serotype. This suggested that the outbreak was due to a single genotype of Neisseria gonorrhoeae that had probably been carried between communities by infected individuals. We did not find evidence to support the existence of a genital reservoir of the types causing epidemic gonococcal conjunctivitis.

Download Full-text

Initial hospitalisation for atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in Western Australia

Heart ◽

10.1136/heartjnl-2014-306678 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 101 (9) ◽

pp. 712-719 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Judith M Katzenellenbogen ◽

Tiew Hwa Katherine Teng ◽

Derrick Lopez ◽

Joseph Hung ◽

Matthew W Knuiman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Western Australia ◽

Initial Hospitalisation ◽

Aboriginal Populations

Download Full-text

Evaluation of a new transportation container for red cell units in Western Australia

ISBT Science Series ◽

10.1111/voxs.12220 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 82-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. E. Grey ◽

E. A. Fong ◽

R. Soares Mendes ◽

G. Gilhooley ◽

J. Cardey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Red Cell ◽

Transportation Container

Download Full-text

Primary oral health service provision in Aboriginal Medical Services-based dental clinics in Western Australia

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py10028 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 291 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Estie Kruger ◽

Irosha Perera ◽

Marc Tennant

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Western Australia ◽

Dental Care ◽

Oral Disease ◽

Medical Services ◽

Rural And Remote ◽

Health Service Provision ◽

Dental Clinics ◽

Aboriginal Populations

Australians living in rural and remote areas have poorer access to dental care. This situation is attributed to workforce shortages, limited facilities and large distances to care centres. Against this backdrop, rural and remote Indigenous (Aboriginal) communities in Western Australia seem to be more disadvantaged because evidence suggests they have poorer oral health than non-Indigenous people. Hence, provision of dental care for Aboriginal populations in culturally appropriate settings in rural and remote Western Australia is an important public health issue. The aim of this research was to compare services between the Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS)-based clinics and a typical rural community clinic. A retrospective analysis of patient demographics and clinical treatment data was undertaken among patients who attended the dental clinics over a period of 6 years from 1999 to 2004. The majority of patients who received dental care at AMS dental clinics were Aboriginal (95.3%), compared with 8% at the non-AMS clinic. The rate of emergency at the non-AMS clinic was 33.5%, compared with 79.2% at the AMS clinics. The present study confirmed that more Indigenous patients were treated in AMS dental clinics and the mix of dental care provided was dominated by emergency care and oral surgery. This indicated a higher burden of oral disease and late utilisation of dental care services (more focus on tooth extraction) among rural and remote Indigenous people in Western Australia.

Download Full-text

The orientation of sickle hemoglobin fibers within fascicles

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100104066 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 400-401

Author(s):

Christopher A. Miller ◽

Bridget Carragher ◽

William A. McDade ◽

Robert Josephs

Keyword(s):

Sickle Cell ◽

Sickle Cell Anemia ◽

Relative Orientation ◽

Unit Cell ◽

Red Cell ◽

High Ph ◽

Sickle Hemoglobin ◽

Polar Crystal ◽

Helical Configuration

Highly ordered bundles of deoxyhemoglobin S (HbS) fibers, termed fascicles, are intermediates in the high pH crystallization pathway of HbS. These fibers consist of 7 Wishner-Love double strands in a helical configuration. Since each double strand has a polarity, the odd number of double strands in the fiber imparts a net polarity to the structure. HbS crystals have a unit cell containing two double strands, one of each polarity, resulting in a net polarity of zero. Therefore a rearrangement of the double strands must occur to form a non-polar crystal from the polar fibers. To determine the role of fascicles as an intermediate in the crystallization pathway it is important to understand the relative orientation of fibers within fascicles. Furthermore, an understanding of fascicle structure may have implications for the design of potential sickling inhibitors, since it is bundles of fibers which cause the red cell distortion responsible for the vaso-occlusive complications characteristic of sickle cell anemia.

Download Full-text

Erythrophagocytosis in the Liver in Hemolytic Anemias

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100100664 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 184-185

Author(s):

O. T. Minick ◽

E. Orfei ◽

F. Volini ◽

G. Kent

Keyword(s):

Acid Phosphatase ◽

Oxidative Damage ◽

Phosphatase Activity ◽

Kupffer Cells ◽

Acid Phosphatase Activity ◽

Common Type ◽

Red Cell ◽

Cell Fragments ◽

Reticulo Endothelial System ◽

Important Site

Hemolytic anemias were produced in rats by administering phenylhydrazine or anti-erythrocytic (rooster) serum, the latter having agglutinin and hemolysin titers exceeding 1:1000.Following administration of phenylhydrazine, the erythrocytes undergo oxidative damage and are removed from the circulation by the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system, predominantly by the spleen. With increasing dosage or if animals are splenectomized, the Kupffer cells become an important site of sequestration and are greatly hypertrophied. Whole red cells are the most common type engulfed; they are broken down in digestive vacuoles, as shown by the presence of acid phosphatase activity (Fig. 1). Heinz body material and membranes persist longer than native hemoglobin. With larger doses of phenylhydrazine, erythrocytes undergo intravascular fragmentation, and the particles phagocytized are now mainly red cell fragments of varying sizes (Fig. 2).

Download Full-text