Yes / 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is a central dietary mutagen, produced when proteinaceous food is heated at very high temperatures potentially causing DNA strand breaks. This study investigates the protective potential of a well-researched flavonoid, myricetin in its bulk and nano-forms against oxidative stress induced ex vivo/in vitro by PhIP in lymphocytes from pre-cancerous monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) patients and those from healthy individuals. The results from the Comet assay revealed that in the presence of myricetin bulk (10 µM) and myricetin nano (20 µM), the DNA damage caused by a high dose of PhIP (100 µM) was significantly (P < 0.001) reduced in both groups. However, nano has shown better protection in lymphocytes from pre-cancerous patients. Consistent results were obtained from the micronucleus assay where micronuclei frequency in binucleated cells significantly decreased upon supplementing PhIP with myricetin bulk (P < 0.01) and myricetin nano (P < 0.001), compared to the PhIP treatment alone. To briefly determine the cellular pathways involved in the protective role of myricetin against PhIP, we studied gene expression of P53 and ATR kinase (ATM- and Rad3-related), using the real-time PCR technique.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death across the globe which needs appropriate and cost-effective treatment. Several recent studies have suggested that dietary intake of various flavonoids such as myricetin have a protective effect against different types of cancers and cardiovascular diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the genoprotective and genotoxic effects of myricetin nano and bulk forms on the lymphocytes from pre-cancerous and multiple myeloma cancer patients compared to those from healthy individuals. Also, to investigate the protective potential of myricetin bulk and nano against the oxidative stress produced in vitro by 2- amino-1-methyl-6 phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine and reactive oxygen species- induced DNA damage using the Comet assay, micronucleus assay, cellular reactive oxygen species and glutathione detection assay, Western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. Lymphocytes from the patient groups showed significantly higher levels of basal DNA damage compared to the lymphocytes from healthy individuals which was observed throughout the in vitro treatment. Myricetin in both forms has not induced any significant DNA damage in all of the investigative groups at selective lower concentrations; in fact, the results demonstrate a reduction in DNA damage upon treating with myricetin nano in lymphocytes from pre-cancerous patients demonstrated by significant reduction in micronuclei formation in mononucleated cells. DNA repair capacity of myricetin bulk and nano was determined by co-treating the drugs with hydrogen peroxide. Myricetin significantly reduced the oxidative stress related damage caused by hydrogen peroxide, where myricetin nano seemed to be more effective employing the Comet assay. In the presence of myricetin bulk and nano, the damaging effects of 2- amino-1-methyl-6 phenylimidazo [4,5-b] pyridine were considerably decreased, where myricetin nano was more effective. This could be because nanoparticles have a larger surface area which could improve their reactivity and also the reduction in size of the particles could improve the anti-cancer properties of this compound. Myricetin has shown genoprotective and anti-oxidant effects by demonstrating the potential to reduce DNA damage caused by over-production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. It has also shown anti-cancer potential in the lymphocytes from multiple myeloma patients by regulating the apoptosis related proteins, dependent on oxidative stress. Therefore, this study suggests that myricetin supplementation in our regular diet with enhanced bioavailability could have potential health beneficial effects and possibly protect against various diseases including cancer.

Considered under the theme 'The Floating World', the aim of this research project was to create a written exegesis and a series of artworks, primarily in the form of digital animation and illustration, which investigate decorative and illustrative art practices and their historical lineages. Particular emphasis was given to investigating the links between contemporary decorative/illustrative art practice and the aesthetics and psychology of the Edo period in Japan (C17th - C19th), in which the term 'The Floating World' was used to describe the city of Edo (old Tokyo). The writing concerned with The Floating World is comprised of the following chapters: history; concepts; aesthetics; contemporary adaptations of Ukiyo-e; and gothic romance and associated genres. The outcomes of my Masters program represent a sustained exploration of decorative and illustrative art practice and theory, and incorporate experimentation with associated genres such as magic realism, gothic romance, the uncanny, iconography, surrealism and other metaphorical and abstract representational practices. More broadly, my Masters project is an investigation, both theoretical and practical, into the way drawing and illustration have been a process through which to (literally) give shape to hopes and fears, and to describe understandings of self and the world. I am particularly interested in exploring how, through the act of abstraction and the use of metaphor and decoration, a capacity to 'speak the unspeakable' and 'know the unknowable' are somehow enabled. For example, when contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami decorates Edo-inspired screens with a colourful arrangement of morphing cartoon mushrooms, he conjures up a startling and complex poetic space that juxtaposes traditional Japanese aesthetics and philosophy with the hyper-consumerist characters and ethos of Disneyland, as well as disquieting references to the mushroom bombs that dropped down on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from US planes. A similarly complex space is enacted by contemporary US artist Inka Essenhigh: her oversized canvases seem like sublime Japanese-inspired screens but a closer inspection reveals that the decorative motifs are actually dismembered body parts morphed together to create a savage and compelling metaphor for contemporary America that is all the more disarming for being perf ormed in a seemingly innocuous illustrative style. My research will draw on these examples but will endeavour to create a series of artworks that are particular to an Australian context. This interests me particularly in a time when, as a nation, we appear to be confounded about what it means to be Australian: as a contemporary artist I am interested in how we represent ourselves as a nation, and in exploring the motifs and attributes that we consider to be ours.

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