Digital Commons Network^™

Matthew Gaber: Peekaboo, Matthew Gaber, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Helge Janicke

Research Datasets

Cyber-attacks continue to evolve, increasing in frequency and sophistication where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming essential in detecting modern malware. However, the accuracy of AI in malware detection is dependent on the quality of the features it is trained with. Static and dynamic analysis of malware is limited by the widespread use of obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques employed by malware authors, where if an analysis environment is detected the malware will hide its malicious behavior. However, Dynamic Binary Instrumentation (DBI) allows deep and precise control of the malware sample, thereby facilitating the extraction of authentic features from sophisticated and evasive …

Accuracy Of Spectral Indices Assessing Fire Severity Utilizing Maximum And Minimum Pixel Values, Jarrad Mckercher, David Blake, Eddie Van Etten

Research Datasets

This data set contains all Spectral Indices created using Google Earth Engine through Google Collaborate. 16 Spectral Indices were created that utilise different image collection and pixel value parameters to map the burn severity of the 2021 Wooroloo Bushfire.

Emotion Regulation Strategies, Co-Rumination, And Emotional Wellbeing, Guillaume P. Tanfin

Research Datasets

The dataset represents answers to an online questionnaire that was completed by 305 participants. The dataset captures participants' levels of emotional wellbeing, cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and co-rumination. The data also captures participants demographics (i.e., age in year, ethnicity, relationship status, and gender).

Shorter Cwr Cycling Tests As Proxies For Longer Tests In Highly Trained Cyclists [Dataset], Chantelle Du Plessis, Mark Andrews, Lachlan J.G. Mitchell, Jodie Cochrane Wilkie, Trish King, Anthony J. Blazevich

Research Datasets

Severe-intensity constant work rate (CWR) cycling tests simulate the high-intensity competition environment and are useful for monitoring training progression and adaptation, yet impose significant physiological and psychological strain, require substantial recovery, and may disrupt athlete training or competition preparation. A brief, minimally fatiguing test providing comparable information is desirable.

Purpose: To determine whether physiological variables measured during, and functional decline in maximal power output immediately after, a 2-min CWR test can act as a proxy for 4-min test outcomes.

Methods: Physiological stress (V̇O₂ kinetics, heart rate, blood lactate concentrations ([La^-]_b)) was monitored and …

The Impact Of Voluntariness Of Apologies On Victims’ Responses In Restorative Justice: Findings Of A Quantitative Study [Dataset], Alfred Allan, Justine De Mott, Isolde Larkins, Laura Turnbull, Tracey Warwick, Lacey Willett, Maria M. Allan

Research Datasets

Combined data of three studies (N=164; 121 and 236 respectively) that investigated whether the voluntariness of apologies influenced recipients’ perception of the sincerity of apologies; acceptance of apologies; willingness to forgive offenders; and intended retributive behavior towards offenders.

Data Supporting Development And Validation Of Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method For The Quantitative Determination Of Bile Acids In Feces [Dataset], Armaghan Shafaei, Joanna Rees, Claus Christophersen, Amanda Devine, David Broadhurst, Mary C. Boyce

Research Datasets

The data presented here support the optimization of feces sample extraction for sensitive quantification of bile acids in human feces using LC-MS/MS. The dataset includes: Comparison between recovery of bile acids from (a) dried feces, (b) dried feces spiked with deuterated internal standards prior to drying, and (c) wet feces Short-term stability data for bile acids standard solutions and fecal extracts containing bile acids after 24 h storage at room temperature and at 6°C, Data for multiple freeze-thaw cycles on bile acids recovery in both standard solutions and fecal samples, Bile acids recovery from cold and warm extractions data

A Geospatiotemporal And Causal Inference Epidemiological Exploration Of Substance And Cannabinoid Exposure As Drivers Of Rising Us Pediatric Cancer Rates [Dataset], Albert Stuart Reece

Research Datasets

Background. Age-adjusted US total pediatric cancer incidence rates (TPCIR) rose 49% 1975-2015 for unknown reasons. Prenatal cannabis exposure has been linked with several pediatric cancers which together comprise the majority of pediatric cancer types. We investigated whether cannabis use was related spatiotemporally and causally to TPCIR.

Methods. State-based age-adjusted TPCIR data was taken from the CDC Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results cancer database 2003-2017. Drug exposure was taken from the nationally-representative National Survey of Drug Use and Health, response rate 74.1%. Drugs included were: tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, opioid analgesics and cocaine. This was supplemented by cannabinoid concentration data from the …

Contemporary Epidemiology Of Rising Atrial Septal Defect Trends Across Usa 1991-2016: A Combined Ecological Geotemporospatial And Causal Inferential Study [Dataset], Albert Stuart Reece

Research Datasets

Background: Cardiovascular anomalies are the largest group of congenital anomalies and the major cause of death in young children, with a range of data linking rising atrial septal defect incidence (ASDI) with prenatal cannabis exposure. Objectives / Hypotheses. Is cannabis associated with ASDI in USA? Is this relationship causal?

Methods: Geospatiotemporal cohort study, 1991-2016. Census populations of adults, babies, congenital anomalies, income and ethnicity. Drug exposure data on cigarettes, alcohol abuse, past month cannabis use, analgesia abuse and cocaine taken from National Survey of Drug Use and Health (78.9% response rate). Cannabinoid concentrations from Drug Enforcement Agency. Inverse probability weighted …

Broad Spectrum Epidemiological Contribution Of Cannabis, Tobacco And Alcohol To The Teratological Profile Of Northern New South Wales: Geospatial And Causal Inference Analysis [Dataset], Albert Stuart Reece

Research Datasets

Background. Whilst cannabis commercialization is occurring rapidly guided by highly individualistic public narratives, evidence that all congenital anomalies (CA) increase alongside cannabis use in Canada, a link with 21 CA’s in Hawaii, and rising CA’s in Colorado indicate that transgenerational effects can be significant and impact public health. It was therefore important to study Northern New South Wales (NNSW) a known cannabis use centre.

Methods. Design: Cohort. 2008-2015. Setting: NNSW and Queensland (QLD), Australia. Participants. Whole populations. Exposures. Tobacco, Risky Alcohol, Annual cannabis. Source: National Drug Strategy Household Surveys 2010, 2013. Main Outcomes. CA Rates. NNSW-QLD comparisons. Geospatial and causal …

Hybrid Zone Barriers Comparative Data Set, David L. Field

Research Datasets

Many recent studies have addressed the mechanisms operating during the early stages of speciation, but surprisingly few studies have tested theoretical predictions on the evolution of strong reproductive isolation (RI). To help address this gap, we first undertook a quantitative review of the hybrid zone literature for flowering plants in relation to reproductive barriers. Then, using Populus as an exemplary model group, we analysed genome-wide variation for phylogenetic tree topologies in both early- and late-stage speciation taxa to determine how these patterns may be related to the genomic architecture of RI. Our plant literature survey revealed variation in barrier complexity …

Co-Occurrence Across Time And Space Of Drug- And Cannabinoid- Exposure And Adverse Mental Health Outcomes In The National Survey Of Drug Use And Health Dataset 2: Combined Ecological Geotemporospatial And Causal Inference Analysis [Dataset], Albert Stuart Reece

Research Datasets

Background: Whilst many studies have linked increased drug and cannabis exposure to adverse mental health (MH) outcomes their effects on whole populations and geotemporospatial relationships are not well understood.

Objectives: Determine: (1) if cannabis use is associated with major MH outcomes ascross space and time, (2) if such impacts are robust to multivariable adjustment and (3) if the relationship is causal.

Methods. Ecological cohort study of National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) geographically-linked substate-shapefiles 2010-2012 and 2014-2016 supplemented by five-year US American Community Survey. Drugs: cigarettes, alcohol abuse, last-month cannabis use and last-year cocaine use. MH: any mental …

Floral Display And Habitat Fragmentation: Effects On The Reproductive Success Of The Threatened Mass-Flowering Conospermum Undulatum (Proteaceae) [Dataset], Nicola Delnevo, Eddie Van Etten, Margaret Byrne, William Stock

Research Datasets

1. Fragmentation of natural vegetation is currently one of the largest threats to plant populations and their interactions with pollinators. Plant reproductive susceptibility to habitat fragmentation has been investigated in many species; however, the response of wild mass-flowering species is poorly known, with research limited to mainly boreal plant species.

2. Here we studied twelve remnant populations of the threatened mass-flowering shrub Conospermum undulatum in the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot, each presenting different population size, level of isolation, and floral display. We assessed the impact of fragmentation on: 1) fruit and seed production; and 2) seed germination. To gain a …

Modelling Mycorrhizal Fungi Dispersal By The Mycophagous Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia Bicolor) [Dataset], Melissa Danks, Natalie Simpson, Todd F. Elliot, C.E. Timothy Paine, Karl Vernes

Research Datasets

Despite the importance of mammal-fungal interactions, tools to estimate the mammal-assisted dispersal distances of fungi are lacking. Many mammals actively consume fungal fruiting bodies, the spores of which remain viable after passage through their digestive tract. Many of these fungi form symbiotic relationships with trees and provide an array of other key ecosystem functions. We present a flexible, general model to predict the distance a mycophagous mammal would disperse fungal spores. We modelled the probability of spore dispersal by combining animal movement data from GPS-telemetry with data on spore gut-retention time. We test this model using an exemplar generalist mycophagist, …

Human Impact Overrides Bioclimatic Drivers Of Red Fox Home Range Size Globally [Dataset], Michael Main, Robert Davis, David Blake, Harriet Mills, Tim Doherty

Research Datasets

Aim Identifying the variables that influence animal home range size is important for understanding the biological requirements of individuals and their social interactions. Given their often broad distributions, carnivores are model organisms for studying range-wide determinants of home range size. Here we test predictions about environmental determinants of home range size for one of the world’s most widely distributed carnivores, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Location Global

Methods We compiled a database of 70 mean home range estimates from 62 studies and four continents, which we analysed according to site-based temperature, precipitation, environmental productivity and human influence …

Cannabis Consumption Patterns Explain The East-West Gradient In Canadian Neural Tube Defect Incidence: An Ecological Study [Dataset], Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research Datasets

While a known link between prenatal cannabis exposure and anencephaly exists, the relationship of prenatal cannabis exposure with neural tube defects (NTDs) generally has not been defined. Published data from Canada Health and Statistics Canada were used to assess this relationship. Both cannabis use and NTDs were shown to follow an east-west and north-south gradient. Last year cannabis consumption was significantly associated (P < .0001; cannabis use–time interaction P < .0001). These results were confirmed when estimates of termination for anomaly were used. Canada Health population data allowed the calculation of an NTD odds ratio) of 1.27 (95% confidence interval = 1.19-1.37; P < 10−11) for high-risk provinces versus the remainder with an attributable fraction in exposed populations of 16.52% (95% confidence interval = 12.22-20.62). Data show a robust positive statistical association between cannabis consumption as both a qualitative and quantitative variable and NTDs on a background of declining NTD incidence. In the context of multiple mechanistic pathways these strong statistical findings implicate causal mechanisms.

Isolation, Characterization, And Cross-Amplification Of 20 Microsatellite Markers For The Rare Conospermum Undulatum (Proteaceae) [Dataset], Nicola Delnevo, Andrea Piotti, Eddie J. Van Etten, William D. Stock, Margaret Byrne

Research Datasets

Premise of the study: Recent habitat fragmentation is posing a risk to the wavy-leaved smokebush, Conospermum undulatum, a rare plant species endemic to the south-western Western Australia. Microsatellites markers are required to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of the species for conservation purposes and to facilitate ecological studies. Methods and Results: Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to develop 20 novel microsatellite markers for C. undulatum. Polymorphism at each locus was assessed using 72 individuals from three natural populations. Nineteen markers were polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from two to 21, and observed and expected …

Habitat Discontinuities Form Strong Barriers To Gene Flow Among Mangrove Populations, Despite The Capacity For Long Distance Dispersal [Dataset], Rachel M. Binks, Margaret Byrne, Kathryn Mcmahon, Georgina Pitt, Kathy Murray, Richard D. Evans

Research Datasets

Mangrove forests are among the world’s most important ecosystems but are declining rapidly worldwide. Effective conservation management requires a better understanding of the patterns and drivers of gene flow across a range of spatial scales.

Despite the capacity for long distance propagule dispersal, field studies suggest that mangrove propagules tend not to disperse far from the release point, which has important implications for the impact of habitat discontinuities on gene flow. We use a comprehensive seascape genomics approach to investigate this concept in the world’s most widely distributed mangrove species, Avicennia marina.

Location 21 sites along 2400 km of Western …

New Bathynellidae (Crustacea) Taxa And Their Relationships In The Fortescue Catchment Aquifers Of The Pilbara Region, Western Australia [Dataset], Giulia Perina, Ana I. Camacho, Joel Huey, Pierre Horwitz, Annette Koenders

Research Datasets

In the past 20 years, the number of subterranean taxa discovered in Australia, especially in the Pilbara bioregion, has considerably increased due to incidental environmental surveys often associated with mining development. Bathynellidae are an important component of stygofauna and they occur in most Australian aquifers, but their collection and identification are difficult due to their habitat, and small and fragile bodies with conservative morphology. The study of Pilbaranella ethelensis in the upper Fortescue catchment contributed to a better understanding of the group at local scale, but knowledge at larger catchment scale is still limited. Abundant material collected by different environmental …

Optimal Soil Carbon Sampling Designs To Achieve Cost-Effectiveness: A Case Study In Blue Carbon Ecosystems [Dataset], Mary A. Young, Peter I. Macreadie, Clare Duncan, Paul E. Carnell, Emily Nicholson, Oscar Serrano, Carlos M. Duarte, Glenn Shiell, Jeff Baldock, Daniel Ierodiaconou

Research Datasets

Researchers are increasingly studying carbon (C) storage by natural ecosystems for climate mitigation, including coastal ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems. Unfortunately, little guidance on how to achieve robust, cost-effective estimates of blue C stocks to inform inventories exists. We use existing data (492 cores) to develop recommendations on the sampling effort required to achieve robust estimates of blue C. Using a broad-scale, spatially explicit dataset from Victoria, Australia, we applied multiple spatial methods to provide guidelines for reducing variability in estimates of soil C stocks over large areas. With a separate dataset collected across Australia, we evaluated how many samples are needed …

Latitudinal Variation In Seagrass Herbivory: Global Patterns And Explanatory Mechanisms [Dataset], Adriana Vergés, Christopher Doropoulos, Robert Czarnik, Kathryn Mcmahon, Nil Llonch, Alistair G. B. Poore

Research Datasets

Aim: The aim was to quantify latitudinal patterns in seagrass–herbivore interactions in the context of a warming climate. Location: We carried out a global meta‐analysis combined with a field experiment across 1,700 km and 12° of latitude in Western Australia. Time period: 1984–2014. Major taxa studied: Seagrasses. Methods: We first synthesized the global literature on herbivore exclusion experiments in seagrasses to test whether differences in herbivore impacts are related to latitude and sea surface temperature. We then quantified leaf production and consumption rates in the field at nine meadows of the seagrass Amphibolis antarctica across 1,700 km, from tropical to …

Managing Seagrass Resilience Under Cumulative Dredging Affecting Light: Predicting Risk Using Dynamic Bayesian Networks [Dataset], Paul Pao-Yen Wu, Kathryn Mcmahon, Michael A. Rasheed, Gary A. Kendrick, Paul H. York, Kathryn Chartrand, M. Julian Carey, Kerrie Mengerson

Research Datasets

Coastal development is contributing to ongoing declines of ecosystems globally. Consequently, understanding the risks posed to these systems, and how they respond to successive disturbances, is paramount for their improved management. We study the cumulative impacts of maintenance dredging on seagrass ecosystems as a canonical example. Maintenance dredging causes disturbances lasting weeks to months, often repeated at yearly intervals. We present a risk-based modelling framework for time varying complex systems centred around a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN). Our approach estimates the impact of a hazard on a system's response in terms of resistance, recovery and persistence, commonly used to characterise …

Effects Of Small-Scale, Shading-Induced Seagrass Loss On Blue Carbon Storage: Implications For Management Of Degraded Seagrass Ecosystems [Dataset], Stacey M. Trevathan-Tackett, Caitlin Wessel, Just Cebrian, Peter J. Ralph, Pere Masque´, Peter I. Macreadie

Research Datasets

1. Seagrass meadows are important global ‘blue carbon’ sinks. Despite a 30% loss of seagrasses globally during the last century, there is limited empirical research investigating the effects of disturbance and loss of seagrass on blue carbon stocks.

2. In this study, we hypothesised that seagrass loss would reduce blue carbon stocks. Using shading cloth, we simulated small-scale die-offs of two subtropical seagrass species, Halodule wrightii and Thalassia testudinum, in a dynamic northern Gulf of Mexico lagoon. The change in quantity and quality of sediment organic matter and organic carbon were compared among kill, control and bare plots before the …

Historical Processes And Contemporary Ocean Currents Drive Genetic Structure In The Seagrass Thalassia Hemprichii In The Indo-Australian Archipelago [Dataset], Udhi E. Hernawan, Kor-Jent Van Dijk, Gary A. Kendrick, Ming Feng, Edward Biffin, Paul Lavery, Kathryn Mcmahon

Research Datasets

Understanding spatial patterns of gene flow and genetic structure is essential for the conservation of marine ecosystems. Contemporary ocean currents and historical isolation due to Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations have been predicted to influence the genetic structure in marine populations. In the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA), the world's hotspot of marine biodiversity, seagrasses are a vital component but population genetic information is very limited. Here, we reconstructed the phylogeography of the seagrass Thalassia hemprichii in the IAA based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and then characterised the genetic structure based on a panel of 16 microsatellite markers. We further examined the relative …

Should We Sync? Seascape-Level Genetic And Ecological Factors Determine Seagrass Flowering Patterns [Dataset], Marlene Jahnke, Jordi F. Pagès, Teresa Alcoverro, Paul S. Lavery, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Gabriele Procaccini

Research Datasets

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in flowering occur in many plant species with abiotic pollination and may confer fitness advantages through mechanisms such as predator satiation or pollination efficiency. Environmental factors such as light quality or quantity and temperature play an important role in inducing synchronisation on wide geographic scales. On a smaller geographic scale, external factors such as resource availability and herbivory are theorised to trigger flowering, while genetic factors may also play an important role. In this study, we assessed the importance of ecological and genetic factors in shaping seascape-level spatial heterogeneity in flowering of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. …

Genome-Wide Scans Reveal Cryptic Population Structure In A Dry-Adapted Eucalypt [Dataset], Dorothy A. Steane, Brad M. Potts, Elizabeth Mclean, Lesley Collins, Suzanne M. Prober, William D. Stock, René E. Vaillancourt, Margaret Byrne

Research Datasets

Genome-wide DArTseq scans of 268 individuals of Eucalyptus salubris, distributed along an aridity gradient in southwestern Australia, revealed cryptic population structure that appears to signal hitherto unappreciated ecotypic differentiation and barriers to gene flow. Genome-wide scans were undertaken on 30 wild-sampled individuals from each of nine populations; 10 individuals per population were measured for habit and functional traits. DArTseq generated 16,122 high-quality markers, of which 56.3 % located to E. grandis chromosomes. Genetic affinities of the nine populations were only weakly correlated with geographic distances. Rather, populations appeared to form two distinct molecular lineages that maintained their distinctiveness in an …

Healthway Research Program, Laura Drummy

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.

What Are You Looking For: Identification Of Remnant Communication Artefacts In Physical Memory, Matthew Simon, Jill Slay

International Cyber Resilience conference

Law enforcement has sound methods for investigating and obtaining data about targets that are using traditional communication services such as the Public Switched Telephone Network. The Internet as a data transfer medium is a vastly different paradigm to that of traditional telephony networks. Information about targets using Internet communication technologies cannot be obtained using the same methods used for traditional communication. There has been an identified need for methods to obtain information on targets that have been using Internet communication methods. The acquisition and analysis of physical memory has been proposed as a vector for the recovery of such information. …

Object Discrimination Using A Multi-Wavelength Photonic Sensor, Kavitha Venkataraayan, Sreten Askraba, Kamal E. Alameh, Clifton L. Smith

International Cyber Resilience conference

A bench prototype photonic-based sensor for object discrimination is described. A combination module, which allows five laser diodes of different wavelengths to overlap and sequentially emit identically-polarised light beams through a common aperture, is presented. The key visible and infrared wavelengths are selected from sample objects spectral signatures. A cylindrical optical quasi-cavity structure is designed to generate 15 laser spots for each laser. The intensity of the reflected light from each spot is detected by a high speed line scan image sensor. Object discrimination is accomplished by calculating the slope values between selected wavelengths in the blue to infrared range.

Use Of Bootable Linux Cds For The Delivery Of Educational Course Content, Craig Valli

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper outlines the processes involved in creating and using bootable Linux/Knoppix compact discs (CDs) as a means of delivering course content to students. An outline of experiences in using these CDs to deliver courses in totally on-line mode is also given.