Digital Commons Network^™

Wounded Kelps: Patterns And Susceptibility To Breakage, Thibaut De Bettignies, Mads Thomsen, Thomas Wernberg

Research outputs 2012

Kelps are highly productive seaweeds predominantly found in wave-exposed environments. Physical and biological processes such as sand abrasion, whiplash and grazing can wound kelp tissue, potentially weakening its ability to withstand wave forces. Despite the ecological importance of kelp tissue loss, few studies have quantified wounding patterns in kelps or how wounding might affect the biomechanical properties of kelps. We quantified the prevalence of wounds on 360 Ecklonia radiata kelps collected across 3 different reef lines (levels of wave exposure) in April (autumn), June (early winter), August (winter) and October (early spring) (i.e. before, during and after peak wave activity). …

Role Of Food Availability In The Bathymetric Distribution Of The Starfish Marthasterias Glacialis (Lamk.)On Reefs Of Northern Portugal [Efecto De La Disponibilidad Alimenticia Sobre La Distribución Batimétrica De La Estrella De Mar Marthasterias Glacialis (Lamk.) En Arrecifes Del Norte De Portugal], Fernando Tuya, Pedro Duarte

Research outputs 2012

We examined whether the abundance and size of the starfish Marthasterias glacialis (Lamk.) exhibit a depth-dependent partitioning on subtidal reefs. We tested the hypothesis that differences in food availability can result in habitat partitioning along a depth gradient. The abundance and size of M. glacialis was registered at 4 depth strata: 0-4 m, 4-8 m, 8-12 m, and >12 m; we also recorded the number of food items that they were preying on. The abundance and size of M. glacialis decreased with depth. Mussels (Mytilus galloprivincialis) were the most preyed food item across all depth strata, followed by …

Which To Become? Encountering Fungi In Australian Poetry, John Ryan

Research outputs 2012

As a largely unexplored group of organisms, fungi are ecologically complex members of the Australian biota. Fungi represent non-human alterity and interstitiality-neither animal not plant, beautiful yet evanescent, slimy and lethal, and eliding scientific categorisations. Donna Haraway's notion of "companion species" and Anna Tsing's "arts of inclusion" remind us that sensory entanglements are intrinsic to human-fungi relations. Drawing conceptually from Haraway and Tsing, this paper will examine examples of poetry from John Shaw Neilson, Jan Owen, Douglas Stewart, Geoffrey Dutton, Caroline Caddy, Michael Dransfield, Philip Hodgins, Jaime Grant and John Kinsella that represent sensory involvements with fungi based in smell, …

A Theory Of The Mind As A Complex System, Craig Speelman, Kim Kirsner, Stephan Halloy

Research outputs 2012

Five principles of skill acquisition are presented based on a review of research on human learning and expertise. Essentially these principles state that practice leads to faster and more efficient uses of knowledge. This enables faster performance and results in less demand on mental resources. In turn these outcomes enable higher level behaviours to be attempted. Ultimately skills are developed through refinement of many component processes. A theory of the mind is proposed that borrows from theories of complex adaptive systems. In this theory, the mind is conceived of as consisting of agents that compete for resources associated with processing …

The International Effort: Building The Bridge For Translational Medicine: Report Of The 1st International Conference Of Translational Medicine (Ictm), Xiaoming Chen, Roland Andersson, William Cs Cho, David Christiani, Richard Coico, Jeffery Drazen, Markus Ege, Thomas Fehniger, Hongwei Gao, Kunlin Jin, Michael N. Liebman, Elena Lopez, Giuseppe Marraro, Gyorgy Marko-Varga, Francesco M. Marincola, Laurentiu M. Popescu, Claudio Spada, Aamir Shahzad, Ena Wang, Wei Wang, Xiangdong Wang, Yong-Xiao Wang, Jinglin Xia, Jia Qu

Research outputs 2012

Background : Supported by the International Society for Translational Medicine (ISTM), Wenzhou Medical College and the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, the International Conference on Translational Medicine (ICTM) was held on October 22–23, 2011 in Wenzhou, China. Nearly 800 registrants attended the meeting, primarily representing institutes and hospitals in Europe, The United States of America, And Asia, and China. The meeting was chaired and organized by Dr. Xiangdong Wang, Xiaoming Chen, Richard Coico, Jeffrey M. Drazen, Richard Horton, Francesco M. Marincola, Laurentiu M. Popescu, Jia Qu and Aamir Shahzad.

Findings : The meeting focused on the communication of …

Biomedical Image Signal Processing For Reflection-Based Imaging, Paul Jansz, Steven Richardson, Graham Wild, Steven Hinckley

Research outputs 2012

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), ultrasound and other reflection based biomedical imaging technologies involve image signal processing that is primarily a filtering, digitizing and summing process so that the tissue cross-section can be visualized. In particular, in OCT, a series of adjacent one dimensional in-vivo axial interferograms (A-scan) are summed to form a two dimensional (B-scan) reflection map or reflectogram. Further graphical combinations can add adjacent B-scan together to form three dimensional C-scans. A physician can make a subjective interpretation and evaluation from the B and/or C-scans that may lead to actions impacting on the patient’s prognosis. More objective information can …

A Technical Guide To Designing And Implementing Effective Web Surveys, Gregory Baatard

Research outputs 2012

: The Internet is becoming an increasingly prominent medium for the administration of surveys. Although individual findings vary, the major‐ ity of the literature agrees that the appropriateness and response rates of web surveys is expected to rise in the future as we enter a generation of “digital natives” and mail‐based communication becomes increasingly an‐ tiquated. Just about every aspect and tenet of traditional survey metho‐ dology has received attention in academic literature, positioning it as one of the most mature data collection techniques and a mainstay in all areas of research. While much of this accumulated knowledge is applicable …

Use Of Information And Communication Technology (Ict) Tools By Rural Famers In Ratnagiri District Of Maharashtra, India, Leisa Armstrong, N. Gandhi

Research outputs 2012

This study made an attitude assessment of farmers from the rural villages of Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in the dissemination of agricultural information using Information and Communication technologies. A structured questionnaire and interviews were used to gather information on a number of aspects related to the use of ICT from randomly selected farmers from one Tehsil and key stakeholders (government officials and agricultural industry workers). Two different questionnaires were provided to farmers and key stakeholders. The questionnaire completed by the farmer participants sought general demographic data, education level and information concerning household income and their agricultural activities. Information related to …

Authentic Digital Representation Of Creative Works For Assessment, Christopher Newhouse

Research outputs 2012

This paper reports on the first stage of a three-year project to investigate the representation of student portfolios in digital forms for the purpose of summative assessment. In a number of senior secondary courses in Western Australia, such as Visual Arts and Design, students submit a physical portfolio for summative assessment that takes various forms dependent on the chosen context. The collection and judging/marking of these portfolios has increasingly been considered to be problematic by assessors, teachers and probably many students. While it should be feasible to digitize these portfolios and apply a similar method of marking, the digitization process …

Real-Time Evolutionary Learning Of Cooperative Predator-Prey Strategies, Mark Wittkamp, Luigi Barone, Philip Hingston, Lyndon While

Research outputs 2012

Despite games often being used as a testbed for new computational intelligence techniques, the majority of artificial intelligence in commercial games is scripted. This means that the computer agents are non-adaptive and often inherently exploitable because of it. In this paper, we describe a learning system designed for team strategy development in a real time multi-agent domain. We test our system in a prey and predators domain, evolving adaptive team strategies for the predators in real time against a single prey opponent. Our learning system works by continually training and updating the predator strategies, one at a time for a …

Ethical Research In Indigenous Australian Contexts And Its Practical Implementation, Graeme Gower

Research outputs 2012

This paper is based on a three year longitudinal case study involving a number of Indigenous Australian communities in metropolitan, rural and remote settings. It will briefly discuss current ethical guidelines which have been developed by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the conduct of research involving Indigenous Australian subjects (2003). These guidelines are in addition to the National Statement on ethical conduct in research involving humans (1999) and are aimed at incorporating values and principles of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures in the conduct of research. In the case of Indigenous communities, research has historically …

Narrative Environmental Ethics, Nature Writing, And Ecological Science As Tradition: Towards A Sponsoring Ground Of Concern, John Ryan

Research outputs 2012

Over the last 30 years, environmental philosophers and ecological researchers have turned their attention to the possibilities of narratives: the stories people tell about their lives in conjunction with the human and non-human agents they live with. An interest in narrative environmental ethics reflects a re-evaluation of canonical ecophilosophical texts. Works such as Paul W. Taylor’s Respect for Nature suggest an essentialist view of environmental ethics in which predetermined principles are imposed on places and situations. On the other hand, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac combines first-person prose with science-based explanations of the “biotic pyramid” towards the development of …

Diffraction Of Digital Micromirror Device Gratings And Its Effect On Properties Of Tunable Fiber Lasers, Xiao Chen, Binbin Yan, Feijun Song, Yiquan Wang, Feng Xiao, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

A digital micromirror device (DMD) is a kind of widely used spatial light modulator. We apply DMD as wavelength selector in tunable fiber lasers. Based on the two-dimensional diffraction theory, the diffraction of DMD and its effect on properties of fiber laser parameters are analyzed in detail. The theoretical results show that the diffraction efficiency is strongly dependent upon the angle of incident light and the pixel spacing of DMD. Compared with the other models of DMDs, the 0.55 in. DMD grating is an approximate blazed state in our configuration, which makes most of the diffracted radiation concentrated into one …

Voices Of Migrant Women: The Mediating Role Of Resilience On The Relationship Between Acculturation And Psychological Distress, Min Ing Loh, Jessica Klug

Research outputs 2012

There is limited research on the experience of migrant women’s acculturation to Australian society. This paper outlines a two-part study that attempted to address this gap (i) by investigating the acculturation experiences of a sample of 30 women in Brisbane and (ii) a survey of 108 women in Brisbane and Sydney who have migrated to Australia after the age of fifteen. Results indicated that, while many migrant women experienced a number of acculturation challenges related to their status as ‘migrants’ and as ‘women’, many displayed resilience and developed competencies in acculturating themselves to a new country. Although acculturation to a …

On The Effectiveness Of Intrusions Into Zigbee-Based Wireless Sensor Networks, Michael Johnstone, Jeremy Jarvis

Research outputs 2012

Wireless Sensor Networks are becoming popular as a means of collecting data by military organisations, public utilities, motor vehicle manufacturers and security firms. Unfortunately, the devices on such networks are often insecure by default, which creates problems in terms of the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted across such networks. This paper discusses attacks that were successful on a simple network consisting of nodes using the ZigBee protocol stack and proposes defences to thwart these attacks, thus leading to increased user confidence in the ability of organisations to provide secure and effective services. The outcomes were that it was possible …

Impacts Of Urbanisation On The Native Avifauna Of Perth, Western Australia, Robert A. Davis, Cheryl Gole, J Dale Roberts

Research outputs 2013

Urban development either eliminates, or severely fragments, native vegetation, and therefore alters the distribution and abundance of species that depend on it for habitat. We assessed the impact of urban development on bird communities at 121 sites in and around Perth, Western Australia. Based on data from community surveys, at least 83 % of 65 landbirds were found to be dependent, in some way, on the presence of native vegetation. For three groups of species defined by specific patterns of habitat use (bushland birds), there were sufficient data to show that species occurrences declined as the landscape changed from variegated …

A Review Of Bennelongia De Deckker & Mckenzie, 1981(Crustacea, Ostracoda) Species From Eastern Australia With The Description Of Three New Species, Rylan Shearn, Annette Koenders, Stuart Halse, Isa Schoen, Koen Martens

Research outputs 2012

Australia is predicted to have a high number of currently undescribed ostracod taxa. The genus Bennelongia De Deckker & McKenzie, 1981 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) occurs in Australia and New Zealand, and has recently shown potential for high speciosity, after the description of nine new species from Western Australia. Here, we focus on Bennelongia from eastern Australia, with the objectives of exploring likely habitats for undiscovered species, genetically characterising published morphological species and scanning classical species for cryptic diversity. Two traditional (morphological) species are confirmed to be valid using molecular evidence (B. harpago De Deckker & McKenzie, 1981 and B. pinpi De …

Genome Sequence Of Strain Himb624, A Cultured Representative From The Om43 Clade Of Marine Betaproteobacteria, Megan Huggett, Darren Hayakawa, Michael Rappe

Research outputs 2012

Strain HIMB624 is a planktonic marine bacterium within the family Methylophilaceae of the class Betaproteobacteria isolated from coastal seawater of Oahu, Hawaii. This strain is of interest because it is one of few known isolates from an abundant clade of Betaproteobacteria found in cultivation-independent studies of coastal seawater and freshwater environments around the globe, known as OM43. Here we describe some preliminary features of the organism, draft genome sequence and annotation, and comparative genomic analysis with one other sequenced member of this clade (strain HTCC2181). The 1,333,209 bp genome of strain HIMB624 is arranged in a single scaffold containing four …

Embodying Knowledge Of Breast Cancer In A Disembodied Community?, Vanessa Bradshaw, Cynthia Witney, Lelia Green, Leesa Costello

Research outputs 2012

Few life experiences have a greater impact upon the sense of self than the diagnosis of a life-challenging illness. Breast cancer is such an illness, and the sudden transition from 'well' to 'ill' is unsettling for a person's sense of knowing who they are in 'their' own body. What you know about your body, what others know about your body and what your biology knows about your body become suddenly problematic. This paper addresses what people know about their bodies before and after experiencing a breast cancer diagnosis by examining relevant theory and empirical data drawn from an online community …

The Lady In The Carriage: Trauma, Embodiment, And The Drive For Resolution, Josephine Taylor

Research outputs 2012

Not available

Evidence For A Non-Genomic Action Of Testosterone In Skeletal Muscle Which May Improve Athletic Performance: Implications For The Female Athlete, J R Dent, D K Fletcher, Michael Mcguigan

Research outputs 2012

This review will focus on the proposed second mode of testosterone action (now termed non-genomic) that appears to occur independently of the traditional transcriptional mechanism in mammalian skeletal muscle cells which may enhance skeletal muscle contractile properties. This mechanism of testosterone action differs from the traditional pathway, originating at the cell membrane, having a rapid onset of action, requiring second messengers to execute its effects and is insensitive to inhibitors of traditional androgen receptor action, transcription and protein synthesis. Importantly, unlike the traditional action of testosterone in skeletal muscle, this non-genomic pathway is shown to have a direct acute effect …

Learning Sparse Representations For Fruit Fly Gene Expression Pattern Image Annotation And Retreival, Lei Yuan, Alexander Woodard, Shuiwang Ji, Yuan Jiang, Zhi-Hua Zhou, Sudhir Kumar, Jieping Ye

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background: Fruit fly embryogenesis is one of the best understood animal development systems, and the spatiotemporal gene expression dynamics in this process are captured by digital images. Analysis of these high-throughput images will provide novel insights into the functions, interactions, and networks of animal genes governing development. To facilitate comparative analysis, web-based interfaces have been developed to conduct image retrieval based on body part keywords and images. Currently, the keyword annotation of spatiotemporal gene expression patterns is conducted manually. However, this manual practice does not scale with the continuously expanding collection of images. In addition, existing image retrieval systems based …

On A Versatile Stochastic Growth Model, Samiur Arif, Ismail Khalil, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Growth phenomena are ubiquitous and pervasive not only in biology and the medical sciences, but also in economics, marketing and the computer and social sciences. We introduce a three-parameter version of the classic pure-birth process growth model when suitably instantiated, can be used to model growth phenomena in many seemingly unrelated application domains. We point out that the model is computationally attractive since it admits of conceptually simple, closed form solutions for the time-dependent probabilities.

Profiling Plasma Peptides For The Identification Of Potential Ageing Biomarkers In Chinese Han Adults, Jiapeng Lu, Yuqing Huang, Youxin Wang, Yan Li, Youjun Zhang, Jingjing Wu, Feifei Zhao, Shijiao Meng, Xinwei Yu, Qingwei Ma, Manshu Song, Naibai Chang, Alan H. Bittles, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2012

Advancing age is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and cancer, and shows significant inter-individual variability. To identify ageing-related biomarkers we performed a proteomic analysis on 1890 Chinese Han individuals, 1136 males and 754 females, aged 18 to 82 years, using weak cation exchange magnetic bead based MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. The study identified 44 peptides which varied in concentration in different age groups. In particular, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1) concentration gradually increased between 18 to 50 years of age, the levels of fibrinogen alpha (FGA) decreased over the same age span, while albumin (ALB) was significantly degraded in middle-aged individuals. In addition, …

Diversity Among Macroalgae-Consuming Fishes On Coral Reefs: A Transcontinental Comparison, Adriana Verges, Scott Bennett, David R. Bellwood

Research outputs 2012

Despite high diversity and abundance of nominally herbivorous fishes on coral reefs, recent studies indicate that only a small subset of taxa are capable of removing dominant macroalgae once these become established. This limited functional redundancy highlights the potential vulnerability of coral reefs to disturbance and stresses the need to assess the functional role of individual species of herbivores. However, our knowledge of species-specific patterns in macroalgal consumption is limited geographically, and there is a need to determine the extent to which patterns observed in specific reefs can be generalised at larger spatial scales. In this study, video cameras were …

A Meta-Analysis Of Seaweed Impacts On Seagrasses: Generalities And Knowledge Gaps, Mads Thomsen, Thomas Wernberg, Aschwin H. Engelen, Fernando Tuya, Mat A. Vanderklift, Marianne Holmer, Karen J. Mcglathery, Francisco Arenas, Jonne Kotta, Brian R. Silliman

Research outputs 2012

Seagrasses are important habitat-formers and ecosystem engineers that are under threat from bloom-forming seaweeds. These seaweeds have been suggested to outcompete the seagrasses, particularly when facilitated by eutrophication, causing regime shifts where green meadows and clear waters are replaced with unstable sediments, turbid waters, hypoxia, and poor habitat conditions for fishes and invertebrates. Understanding the situations under which seaweeds impact seagrasses on local patch scales can help proactive management and prevent losses at greater scales. Here, we provide a quantitative review of available published manipulative experiments (all conducted at the patch-scale), to test which attributes of seaweeds and seagrasses (e.g., …

Viability Of Healthcare Service Delivery Alternatives For The Australian Mining Sector, Patricia Williams, Margaret Giles

Research outputs 2012

The changing and demanding nature of the mining workforce in rural and remote Australia brings unique challenges to the delivery of healthcare services. In an attempt to control costs whilst delivering cost effective and quality healthcare, new models of delivery must be considered. For a workforce that is fly-in/fly-out, the provision of healthcare is problematic given the lack of consistency in location. A cost-benefit framework is analysed comparing three models of service provision using travel to a major location, locum services and remote health monitoring. Ultimately, new models of care must be considered to address the issues of increasing workforce …

Global Warming And Heat Stress Among Western Australian Mine, Oil And Gas Workers, Joseph Mate, Jacques Oosthuizen

Research outputs 2012

The earth is currently experiencing a change in its climate which in some areas is resulting in warmer ambient temperatures. Globally the frequency and severity of heat waves have increased over the last few decades leading to an associated increase in the burden of morbidity and mortality associated with heat waves. Global temperatures are predicted to rise even further in the foreseeable future....

Graph Theory For Survivability Design In Communication Networks, Daryoush Habibi, Quoc Viet Phung

Research outputs 2012

Design of survivable communication networks has been a complex task. Without establishing network survivability, there can be severe consequences when a physical link fails. Network failures which may be caused by dig-ups, vehicle crashes, human errors, system malfunctions, fire, rodents, sabotage, natural disasters (e.g. floods, earthquakes, lightning storms), and some other factors, have occurred quite frequently and sometimes with unpredictable consequences. To tackle these, survivability measures in a communication network can be implemented at the service layer, the logical layer, the system layer, and the physical layer.

Workplace Hazard Identification: What Do People Know And How Is It Done?, Susanne Bahn

Research outputs 2012

The correct and proactive identification of hazards in the workplace underpins all occupational health and safety practice and risk management strategies and is therefore paramount to effective business practices and the health and safety of all organisational members. It is a basic right of employees to be safe at work, but working safely relies on identifying risk. If managers and employees cannot identify risk then their safety cannot be assured. Managers and employees need to have sufficient knowledge to identify hazards that lead to risk in the workplace in order to inform processes to successfully control those risks. This paper …