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Impact Of Nutrition On Cognition And Its Association With Blood And Brain Alzheimer Disease Related Biomarkers, Samantha Gardener

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of senile dementia, currently affects over 35 million people worldwide. While there is no cure or effective treatment, early intervention programs hold considerable promise. Following particular dietary patterns represents one potential intervention strategy accessible to all.

Results from previous studies investigating the association of diet, cognition and biomarkers of AD are inconsistent: Positive results have been reported (1-7), whilst others have shown no associations. Prior to this thesis, no study has assessed the relationship of four dietary patterns to cognition, blood-based and neuroimaging biomarkers of AD in a large highly-characterised ageing cohort. Participants …

Establishment Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Amf) On Micropropagated Teak (Tectona Grandis L. F.), Maria Isabel Ramirez Caro

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Improvement of root production and ability to establish mycorrhizas from different Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) inoculum sources on two micropropagated teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) clones was examined at the acclimatisation phase. Teak shoots were maintained on a multiplication medium containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) nutrients and organics, 30 g L-1 sucrose, 0.5 μM benzyl amino purine, 0.5 μM kinetin, 2.5 g L-1 agar, 2.5 g L-1 gelrite and pH 5.8. After 35 days shoots were exposed to a rooting medium (RM) containing ¼ strength MS macronutrients, ½ strength MS iron, full strength MS micronutrients, and 20 g L-1 …

Is Marital Status A Determinant Of Self-Monitoring Of Blood Glucose?, Jasmine Evelyn Dixon Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycemic control is one of the most important aspects of diabetes management and is necessary for the prevention or delay of complications associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is a technique used achieve glycemic control by revealing day-to-day changes in blood glucose levels. Since marriage protective effects have been shown for mortality, especially for men, it is useful to determine whether a similar relationship is found between marriage and SMBG. The purpose of this study is to examine whether marital status is a determinant of SMBG, when controlling for other variables, and whether marital status determines …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effect Of Cash-4-Grass Programs On Water Consumption, Cynthia Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Water supplies in California are stretched to critical levels as a result of population growth, periodic drought, and climate change. The California legislature recognized that the best way to increase supply is to decrease demand so the Water Use Efficiency Senate Bill 7 (SBx7-7) was signed into law in 2009. The law requires water purveyors to reduce per capita water usage by 20% by the year 2020. To comply, water purveyors are searching for innovative ways to increase water conservation. A review of the literature has shown that many factors influence water consumption. However, the majority of household water consumption …

The Burden Of Avian Influenza Viruses In Community Ponds In California, Zin Htway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emerging influenza viruses continue to challenge public health. The problem is public health science professionals have been battling emerging human influenza diseases with tactile and reactionary methods because there is a lack of knowledge and data at the human-animal interface. This research was a baseline study of the proportion of influenza A virus (IAV) in urban and rural communities in California. The population was artificial recirculating water ponds in the geographic locations of rural and urban Californian communities. Surface water samples [N = 182] were collected from artificial recirculating ponds in California. Positivity for IAV was verified by real time …

Systematics And Biogeography Of The Australian Burrowing Freshwater Crayfish Genus Engaewa Riekk (Decapoda: Parastacidae), Quinton Burnham

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The overall aim of this study was to explore the systematics and biogeographic patterns of the freshwater crayfish genus Engaewa Riek, a strongly burrowing freshwater crayfish restricted to the coastal corner of south-western Australia (SWA). The genus Engaewa is a Gondwanan relict with great potential as a marker of historical processes, due to its high habitat specificity and low dispersal ability. This study comprises an extensive taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of the genus Engaewa (using both molecular and morphological data), a detailed study of its distribution and uses the knowledge gained to explore biogeographic patterns in the biodiversity hotspot of …

Development Of An Optical Sensor For Real-Time Weed Detection Using Laser Based Spectroscopy, Arie Jacobus Paap

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The management of weeds in agriculture is a time consuming and expensive activity, including in Australia where the predominant strategy is blanket spraying of herbicides. This approach wastes herbicide by applying it in areas where there are no weeds. Discrimination of different plant species can be performed based on the spectral reflectance of the leaves. This thesis describes the development of a sensor for automatic spot spraying of weeds within crop rows. The sensor records the relative intensity of reflected light in three narrow wavebands using lasers as an illumination source.

A prototype weed sensor which had been previously developed …

Neuromuscular Factors Affecting Stretch-Induced Torque Loss, Gabriel Siqueira Trajano

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The mechanisms underpinning the immediate torque loss induced by acute, static muscle stretching are still not clear. The current research was designed to examine the neuromuscular factors influencing this torque loss. In Study 1, the contributions of central versus peripheral factors to the stretch-induced torque loss were investigated. Measures of central drive, including the EMG amplitude normalised to the muscle compound action potential amplitude (EMG:M), percent voluntary activation (%VA) and first volitional wave amplitude (V:M), and measures of peripheral function, including the twitch peak torque and 20:80 Hz tetanic torque ratio were made before, and immediately and 15 min after …

Identification Of Plasma Lipid Biomarkers In Alzheimer's Disease, Rhona Creegan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the commonest form of dementia, is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease which manifests clinically as a slow global decline in cognitive function, including deterioration of memory, reasoning, abstraction, language and emotional stability, culminating in a patient with end-stage disease, totally dependent on custodial care. With an ageing population, there is predicted to be a marked increase in the number of people diagnosed with AD in the coming decades, making this a significant challenge to socio-economic policy and aged care. Currently there is no cure for AD and while current therapies may temporarily ameliorate symptoms, death usually occurs …

Fate Of Eucalyptus Marginata Seed From Canopy-Store To Emergence In The Northern Jarrah Forests Of Western Australia: Research To Help Improve Regeneration Following Shelterwood Treatment, Jeffrey Cargill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The establishment of seedling regeneration is a key process in and indicator of ecologically sustainable forest management. The availability of seed and the creation of a suitable seedbed are recognised as important factors limiting seedling recruitment. A silvicultural method commonly used across northern and eastern jarrah forest blocks is shelterwood cutting. The primary objective of treating jarrah forest to shelterwood is to promote seedling regeneration in areas lacking sufficient advanced growth. Despite the widespread and progressive implementation of the shelterwood method, its application in jarrah forest has shown varying degrees of success.

This thesis sought to investigate and better understand …