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2014

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Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill Jan 2014

Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The damaging effects of human activities on marine health suggest that a major shift is required in the way marine systems are used by individuals. Identifying how to engage society in this shift is an ongoing debate. This includes strengthening the positive connections between society and the sea. This study uses a survey (n¼1047) to investigate UK public perceptions of subtidal species and marine health to assess whether it is possible to build more positive connections between society and the sea. Respondents showed considerable interest in traditionally charismatic species (puffins, seals and seahorses) although many respondents thought these species did …


Insulin Acutely Improves Mitochondrial Function Of Rat And Human Skeletal Muscle By Increasing Coupling Efficiency Of Oxidative Phosphorylation., Raid B. Nisr, Charles Affourtit Jan 2014

Insulin Acutely Improves Mitochondrial Function Of Rat And Human Skeletal Muscle By Increasing Coupling Efficiency Of Oxidative Phosphorylation., Raid B. Nisr, Charles Affourtit

School of Biomedical Sciences

Insulin is essential for the regulation of fuel metabolism and triggers the uptake of glucose by skeletal muscle. The imported glucose is either stored or broken down, as insulin stimulates glycogenesis and ATP synthesis. The mechanism by which ATP production is increased is incompletely understood at present and, generally, relatively little functional information is available on the effect of insulin on mitochondrial function. In this paper we have exploited extracellular flux technology to investigate insulin effects on the bioenergetics of rat (L6) and human skeletal muscle myoblasts and myotubes. We demonstrate that a 20-min insulin exposure significantly increases (i) the …


Heat-Killed Probiotic Bacteria Differentially Regulate Colonic Epithelial Cell Production Of Human Β-Defensin-2: Dependence On Inflammatory Cytokines., N. Habil, W. Abate, J. Beal, A. D. Foey Jan 2014

Heat-Killed Probiotic Bacteria Differentially Regulate Colonic Epithelial Cell Production Of Human Β-Defensin-2: Dependence On Inflammatory Cytokines., N. Habil, W. Abate, J. Beal, A. D. Foey

School of Biomedical Sciences

The inducible antimicrobial peptide human β-defensin-2 (hBD-2) stimulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and bacterial products is essential to antipathogen responses of gut epithelial cells. Commensal and probiotic bacteria can augment such mucosal defences. Probiotic use in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, however, may have adverse effects, boosting inflammatory responses. The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of selected probiotic strains on hBD-2 production by epithelial cells induced by pathologically relevant pro-inflammatory cytokines and the role of cytokine modulators in controlling hBD-2. Caco-2 colonic intestinal epithelial cells were pre-incubated with heat-killed probiotics, i.e. Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) …


The Bacterial Skin Microbiome In Psoriatic Arthritis, An Unexplored Link In Pathogenesis: Challenges And Opportunities Offered By Recent Technological Advances., Madhura Castelino, Stephen Eyre, Mathew Upton, Pauline Ho, Anne Barton Jan 2014

The Bacterial Skin Microbiome In Psoriatic Arthritis, An Unexplored Link In Pathogenesis: Challenges And Opportunities Offered By Recent Technological Advances., Madhura Castelino, Stephen Eyre, Mathew Upton, Pauline Ho, Anne Barton

School of Biomedical Sciences

The resident microbial community, harboured by humans in sites such as the skin and gastrointestinal tract, is enormous, representing a candidate environmental factor affecting susceptibility to complex diseases, where both genetic and environmental risk factors are important. The potential of microorganisms to influence the human immune system is considerable, given their ubiquity. The impact of the host-gene-microbe interaction on the maintenance of health and the development of disease has not yet been assessed robustly in chronic inflammatory conditions. PsA represents a model inflammatory disease to explore the role of the microbiome because skin involvement and overlap with IBD implicates both …


Galleria Mellonella Infection Model Demonstrates High Lethality Of St69 And St127 Uropathogenic E. Coli., Majed F. Alghoribi, Tarek M. Gibreel, Andrew R. Dodgson, Scott A. Beatson, Mathew Upton Jan 2014

Galleria Mellonella Infection Model Demonstrates High Lethality Of St69 And St127 Uropathogenic E. Coli., Majed F. Alghoribi, Tarek M. Gibreel, Andrew R. Dodgson, Scott A. Beatson, Mathew Upton

School of Biomedical Sciences

Galleria mellonella larvae are an alternative in vivo model for investigating bacterial pathogenicity. Here, we examined the pathogenicity of 71 isolates from five leading uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) lineages using G. mellonella larvae. Larvae were challenged with a range of inoculum doses to determine the 50% lethal dose (LD50) and for analysis of survival outcome using Kaplan-Meier plots. Virulence was correlated with carriage of a panel of 29 virulence factors (VF). Larvae inoculated with ST69 and ST127 isolates (10(4) colony-forming units/larvae) showed significantly higher mortality rates than those infected with ST73, ST95 and ST131 isolates, killing 50% of the larvae …


Differentially Expressed Micrornas In Maternal Plasma For The Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), J Kamhieh-Milz, Reham Fadl Hassan Moftah, Gürkan Bal, Matthias Futschik, Viktor Sterzer, Omid Khorramshahi, Martin Burow, Gundula Thiel, Annegret Stuke-Sontheimer, Rabih Chaoui, S Kamhieh-Milz, Abdulgabar Salama Jan 2014

Differentially Expressed Micrornas In Maternal Plasma For The Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), J Kamhieh-Milz, Reham Fadl Hassan Moftah, Gürkan Bal, Matthias Futschik, Viktor Sterzer, Omid Khorramshahi, Martin Burow, Gundula Thiel, Annegret Stuke-Sontheimer, Rabih Chaoui, S Kamhieh-Milz, Abdulgabar Salama

School of Biomedical Sciences

Objectives. Most developmental processes are under the control of small regulatory RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs). We hypothesize that different fetal developmental processes might be reflected by extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma and may be utilized as biomarkers for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aneuploidies. In this proof-of-concept study, we report on the identification of extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma of Down syndrome (DS) pregnancies.Methods. Using high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR), 1043 miRNAs were investigated in maternal plasma via comparison of seven DS pregnancies with age and fetal sex matched controls.Results. Six hundred and ninety-five miRNAs were identified. Thirty-six significantly differentially …


Nuclear Her4 Mediates Acquired Resistance To Trastuzumab And Is Associated With Poor Outcome In Her2 Positive Breast Cancer, Snm Nafi, D Generali, G Kramer-Marek, M Gijsen, Et Al Jan 2014

Nuclear Her4 Mediates Acquired Resistance To Trastuzumab And Is Associated With Poor Outcome In Her2 Positive Breast Cancer, Snm Nafi, D Generali, G Kramer-Marek, M Gijsen, Et Al

School of Biomedical Sciences

The role of HER4 in breast cancer is controversial and its role in relation to trastuzumab resistance remains unclear. We showed that trastuzumab treatment and its acquired resistance induced HER4 upregulation, cleavage and nuclear translocation. However, knockdown of HER4 by specific siRNAs increased trastuzumab sensitivity and reversed its resistance in HER2 positive breast cancer cells. Preventing HER4 cleavage by a γ-secretase inhibitor and inhibiting HER4 tyrosine kinase activity by neratinib decreased trastuzumab-induced HER4 nuclear translocation and enhanced trastuzumab response. There was also increased nuclear HER4 staining in the tumours from BT474 xenograft mice and human patients treated with trastuzumab. Furthermore, …


Evidence That Duplications Of 22q11.2 Protect Against Schizophrenia, E Rees, G Kirov, Mc O'Donovan, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Et Al Jan 2014

Evidence That Duplications Of 22q11.2 Protect Against Schizophrenia, E Rees, G Kirov, Mc O'Donovan, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Et Al

School of Biomedical Sciences

A number of large, rare copy number variants (CNVs) are deleterious for neurodevelopmental disorders, but large, rare, protective CNVs have not been reported for such phenotypes. Here we show in a CNV analysis of 47 005 individuals, the largest CNV analysis of schizophrenia to date, that large duplications (1.5-3.0 Mb) at 22q11.2--the reciprocal of the well-known, risk-inducing deletion of this locus--are substantially less common in schizophrenia cases than in the general population (0.014% vs 0.085%, OR=0.17, P=0.00086). 22q11.2 duplications represent the first putative protective mutation for schizophrenia.


Herbal And Microbial Products For The Management Of Obesity, Maha Salama, Soheir El Zalabani, Essam Abdel Sattar Jan 2014

Herbal And Microbial Products For The Management Of Obesity, Maha Salama, Soheir El Zalabani, Essam Abdel Sattar

Pharmacy

Obesity is a global epidemic and one of the major health burdens of modern times. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide; it constitutes a serious problem in developed as well as developing countries. Beside adults, the number of obese teenagers and children in particular has dramatically increased. Obesity is characterized by accumulation of excess fat in adipose tissues in an extent to produce adverse effects on health, leading to a reduction in life expectancy and/or a raise in health hazards. People are classified as overweight (pre-obese) and obese on the basis of the Body Mass Index (BMI), crude measure …


Lte Based E-Health Monitoring System, Muayad Sadik Jan 2014

Lte Based E-Health Monitoring System, Muayad Sadik

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Recently, the on-line health monitoring have been considered in the research to obtain pragmatic e-health systems with low cost and high efficiency. In this paper, a mobile e-health system is proposed based on an algorithm over long terms eVolution (LTE) technology that can be called as fourth generation (4G). This system controls the receiving of the transmitted health data from the patients under supervision and replies the responses of the considered algorithm. The responded signals include the required actions that should be performed by the patient and the hospital. The proposed system utilizes the LTE based mobile networks for the …


Post-School Adult Life For Young People With Down Syndrome, Kitty Rose Foley Jan 2014

Post-School Adult Life For Young People With Down Syndrome, Kitty Rose Foley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Down syndrome is a chromosomal birth disorder affecting one in 650 to 1000 live births in Western Australia. The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically over the past two generations leading to these young people having changing needs in terms of social, economic and personal life. Encompassed within this, is the successful transition from school to post-school, a time of upheaval, stress and important decisions for young people with intellectual disabilities. The International classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF) is a world renowned framework which provides a scientific basis and standardised language for describing and …


Enhancing Teaching Through Professional Learning: Case Studies Of Professional Learning To Improve Reading Instruction For Year 2 Students With Reading Difficulties In One Australian State, Susan Main Jan 2014

Enhancing Teaching Through Professional Learning: Case Studies Of Professional Learning To Improve Reading Instruction For Year 2 Students With Reading Difficulties In One Australian State, Susan Main

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Reading is internationally recognised as a mediating factor in the life outcomes of individuals and the continuing failure of Australian children to attain the same level of literacy as children in other Western countries is an ongoing concern. Within the continuum of reading development, there are some children who experience more difficulty than their peers in acquiring reading skills and these children are at even greater risk of poor life outcomes if they do not receive appropriate instruction. Research demonstrates that professional learning is an effective way of enhancing teachers’ knowledge and practice and, therefore, the purpose of this study …


Understanding And Building Resilience With Art: A Socio-Ecological Approach, Meagan Shand Jan 2014

Understanding And Building Resilience With Art: A Socio-Ecological Approach, Meagan Shand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Resilience is a widely researched phenomenon, it means different things to different people and is perceived and measured according to the theoretical lens being applied. The following thesis reviews the theoretical development of resilience that has led to contemporary understandings, to establish a platform for the research topic - understanding and building resilience with Art. Narrative research methods are combined with art processes to illuminate the stories of eight culturally diverse women participating in a community based mental health art program, in Western Australia. Fifteen resilience themes emerged from the collective experience, and are presented in a socio-ecological framework to …