Digital Commons Network^™

Minimal Effects Of Waterborne Exposure To Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes On Behaviour And Physiology Of Juvenile Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss)., D Boyle, Je Fox, Jm Akerman, Ka Sloman, Tb Henry, Rd Handy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Fish behaviours are often considered to be sensitive endpoints of waterborne contaminants, but little attention has been given to engineered nanomaterials. The present study aimed to determine the locomotor and social behaviours of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during waterborne exposure to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and to ascertain the physiological basis for any observed effects. Dispersed stock suspensions of SWCNTs were prepared by stirring in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), an anionic surfactant, on an equal w/w basis. Trout were exposed to control (no SWCNT or SDS), 0.25 mg L(-1) SDS (dispersant control), or 0.25 mg L(-1) of SWCNT for 10 …

Shallow Water Marine Sediment Bacterial Community Shifts Along A Natural Co2 Gradient In The Mediterranean Sea Off Vulcano, Italy., Dorsaf Kerfahi, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Binu M. Tripathi, Marco Milazzo, Junghoon Lee, Jonathan M. Adams

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The effects of increasing atmospheric CO(2) on ocean ecosystems are a major environmental concern, as rapid shoaling of the carbonate saturation horizon is exposing vast areas of marine sediments to corrosive waters worldwide. Natural CO(2) gradients off Vulcano, Italy, have revealed profound ecosystem changes along rocky shore habitats as carbonate saturation levels decrease, but no investigations have yet been made of the sedimentary habitat. Here, we sampled the upper 2 cm of volcanic sand in three zones, ambient (median pCO(2) 419 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 3.77), moderately CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 592 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 2.96), and highly CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 1611 …

Strain Field Analysis On Montserrat (W.I.) As Tool For Assessing Permeable Flow Paths In The Magmatic System Of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Stefanie Hautmann, Fred Witham, Thomas Christopher, Paul Cole, Alan T. Linde, I. Selwyn Sacks, R. Stephen J. Sparks

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

AbstractStrain dilatometers have been operated on the volcanic island of Montserrat (West Indies) for more than a decade and have proven to be a powerful technique to approach short‐term dynamics in the deformational field in response to pressure changes in the magmatic system of the andesitic dome‐building Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV). We here demonstrate that magmatic activity in each of the different segments of the SHV magmatic system (shallow dyke‐conduit, upper and lower magma chambers) generates a characteristic strain pattern that allows the identification of operating sources in the plumbing system based on a simple scheme of amplitude ratios. We …

Oculometric Variations During Mind Wandering, R Grandchamp, C Braboszcz, A Delorme

School of Psychology

A significant body of literature supports the contention that pupil size varies depending on cognitive load, affective state, and level of drowsiness. Here we assessed whether oculometric measures such as gaze position, blink frequency and pupil size were correlated with the occurrence and time course of self-reported mind-wandering episodes. We recorded the pupil size of two subjects engaged in a monotonous breath counting task while keeping their eyes on a fixation cross. This task is conducive to producing mind-wandering episodes. Each subject performed ten 20-min sessions, for total duration of about 4 h. Subjects were instructed to report spontaneous mind-wandering …

Qualified Doctor And Medical Students' Use Of Resources For Accessing Information: What Is Used And Why?, Nicola Brennan, Sarah Edwards, Narcie Kelly, Alice Miller, Lucy Harrower, Karen Mattick

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Learning to access information using resources such as books and search engines is an important and fast changing challenge for doctors and medical students. Many resources exist to support evidence-based clinical decision-making, but a wide range of factors influences their use. OBJECTIVE: To explore qualified doctor and medical students' use of resources for accessing information and to determine what is used and why. METHODS: A stratified sample of 46 participants was recruited in Devon, UK. Participants kept a self-report diary of resources used over a week. The diaries were then used to stimulate recall within a semi-structured interview. Diary …

Interplay Between Phosphorylation And Palmitoylation Mediates Plasma Membrane Targeting And Sorting Of Gap43, A Gauthier-Kemper, M Igaev, F Sündermann, D Janning, J Brühmann, K Moschner, H-J Reyher, W Junge, K Glebov, J Walter, L Bakota, R Brandt

Peninsula Medical School

Phosphorylation and lipidation provide posttranslational mechanisms that contribute to the distribution of cytosolic proteins in growing nerve cells. The growth-associated protein GAP43 is susceptible to both phosphorylation and S-palmitoylation and is enriched in the tips of extending neurites. However, how phosphorylation and lipidation interplay to mediate sorting of GAP43 is unclear. Using a combination of biochemical, genetic, and imaging approaches, we show that palmitoylation is required for membrane association and that phosphorylation at Ser-41 directs palmitoylated GAP43 to the plasma membrane. Plasma membrane association decreased the diffusion constant fourfold in neuritic shafts. Sorting to the neuritic tip required palmitoylation and …

Development Of A Prototype Lateral Flow Immunoassay (Lfi) For The Rapid Diagnosis Of Melioidosis., Raymond L. Houghton, Dana E. Reed, Mark A. Hubbard, Michael J. Dillon, Hongjing Chen, Bart J. Currie, Mark Mayo, Derek S. Sarovich, Vanessa Theobald, Direk Limmathurotsakul, Gumphol Wongsuvan, Narisara Chantratita, Sharon J. Peacock, Alex R. Hoffmaster, Brea Duval, Paul J. Brett, Mary N. Burtnick, David P. Aucoin

Peninsula Medical School

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil-dwelling bacterium and the causative agent of melioidosis. Isolation of B. pseudomallei from clinical samples is the "gold standard" for the diagnosis of melioidosis; results can take 3-7 days to produce. Alternatively, antibody-based tests have low specificity due to a high percentage of seropositive individuals in endemic areas. There is a clear need to develop a rapid point-of-care antigen detection assay for the diagnosis of melioidosis. Previously, we employed In vivo Microbial Antigen Discovery (InMAD) to identify potential B. pseudomallei diagnostic biomarkers. The B. pseudomallei capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and numerous protein antigens were identified as potential …

Hydroxyapatite, Fluor-Hydroxyapatite And Fluorapatite Produced Via The Sol–Gel Method: Dissolution Behaviour And Biological Properties After Crystallisation, Cj Tredwin, Am Young, Ea Abou Neel, G Georgiou, Jc Knowles

Peninsula Dental School

Hydroxyapatite (HA), fluor-hydroxyapatite (FHA) with varying levels of fluoride ion substitution and fluorapatite (FA) were synthesised by the sol-gel method as possible implant coating or bone-grafting materials. Calcium nitrate and triethyl phosphite were used as precursors under an ethanol-water based solution. Different amounts of ammonium fluoride were incorporated for the preparation of the FHA and FA sol-gels. After heating and powdering the sol-gels, dissolution behaviour was assessed using ion chromatography to measure Ca(2+) and PO4 (3-) ion release. Biological behaviour was assessed using cellular proliferation with human osteosarcoma cells and alamarBlue™ assay. Statistical analysis was performed with a two way …

Evaluation Of The Microbial Community, Acidity And Proximate Composition Of Akamu, A Fermented Maize Food, Patience C. Obinna-Echem, Victor Kuri, Jane Beal

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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 …

A Workflow For Bacterial Metabolic Fingerprinting And Lipid Profiling: Application To Ciprofloxacin Challenged Escherichia Coli, J. William Allwood, Haitham Alrabiah, Elon Correa, Andrew Vaughan, Yun Xu, Mathew Upton, Royston Goodacre

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Novel Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (Pi3k) Inhibitor Directs A Potent Foxo-Dependent, P53-Independent Cell Cycle Arrest Phenotype Characterized By The Differential Induction Of A Subset Of Foxo-Regulated Genes, Richard Hill, Ravi Kiran Reddy Kalathur, Sergio Callejas, Laura Colaço, Ricardo Brandão, Beatriz Serelde, Antonio Cebriá, Carmen Blanco-Aparicio, Joaquín Pastor, Matthias Futschik, Ana Dopazo, Wolfgang Link

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

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.

Spectral Efficiency Improvement Of The Optical Communication Systems, Ali Y., Aqeel R. Farhan

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

In this paper, different amplitude and phase modulation formats are investigated and compared to find the optimum one among them for high spectral efficiency (SE) Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) systems with an acceptable value of the Bit Error Rate (BER). Also, the effectiveness of using the polarization interleaving scheme in minimizing the nonlinear effects in the optical fiber channel for the various modulation formats is investigated. (Optisystem v 7.0) A simulation package is used to simulate the system. The simulation results show the effectiveness of using the polarization interleaving in decreasing the nonlinear effects. RZ modulation formats are found to …

Proposed Method Of Antenna Array For Receiving Signals From Satellite Mobile Communication, Jamal Mohammed, Mahdi Mohammed Mool

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

There are many researches which study a design of antenna used in mobile communication. Adaptive arrays are expected to improve the performance of future wireless communication systems. The proposed reception system from mobile Satellite for handsets is an adaptive antenna system with a half wave and a loop antenna. The proposed adaptive antenna array is capable of improving the quality of the service of wireless systems through the ability to steer the radiation pattern in the direction of a desired signal source and to receive signals at a constant level despite the variations in the elevation angle and the attitude …

Static Stability Analysis Of Hexagonal Hexapod Robot For The Periodic Gaits, Firas A., Hind Z. Khaleel

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Hexagonal hexapod robot is a flexible mechanical robot with six legs. It has the ability to walk over terrain. The hexapod robot likes insect so it has the same periodic gaits. These gaits are tripod, wave and ripple gaits. Hexapod robot needs to stay statically stable at all the times during each gait in order not to fall with three or more legs continuously contacts with the ground. The safety static stability walking can be indicated by the stability margin. In this paper we based on the forward, inverse kinematics for each hexapod’s leg to simulate the hexapod robot model …

The Australian Football League And The Closet, Andrew Douglas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the complete absence of openly gay males from the ranksof the professional players in the Australian Football League (AFL). It seeks to explain this absence in the context of the modern gay rights movement. incontemporary Australian society. It compares and contrasts the effects of thismovement on both the AFL and other mainstream Australian social institutions.

Over more than four decades, the gay rights movement has effected a number of social changes. These changes include both specific legal reforms and more general trends such as the increasing social visibility of gay men across a range of mainstream institutions …

Ratings Lead You To The Product, Reviews Help You Clinch It? The Dynamics And Impact Of Online Review Sentiments On Products Sales, Nan Hu, Noi Sian Koh, Srinivas K. Reddy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

It is generally assumed that ratings are a numeric representation of text sentiments and their valences are consistent. This however may not always be true. Using a panel of data on over 4000 books from Amazon.com, we develop a multiple equation model to examine the inter-relationships between ratings, sentiments, and sales. We find that ratings do not have a significant direct impact on sales but have an indirect impact through sentiments. Sentiments, however, have a direct significant impact on sales. Our findings also indicate that the two most accessible types of reviews - most helpful and most recent - play …

Social Networks Among Auction Bidders: The Role Of Key Bidders And Structural Properties On Auction Prices, Mayukh Dass, Srinivas K. Reddy, Dawn Iacobucci

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Auctions have been studied extensively as an economic marketplace. The economist’s focus is on modeling final sales prices, but the processes that give rise to those outcomes are rarely studied in great detail. This research is intended to provide that complementary perspective. We show how the interactions between bidders in an auction unfold in a dynamic pattern of bids and counter-bids, and thereby over the duration of an auction, create a network structure. The auction network contributes significantly to models of price dynamics and the network predicts final sales prices better than economic (non-network) indicators alone. In addition, network analyses …

Adapting To Change: The State Of Singapore Private Enterprise In China, Wilfred How, Caroline Yeoh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

One of the most affluent and developed nations in its region, the city-state of Singapore relies largely on tapping global resources for economic growth, to ameliorate its tiny land area and accompanying lack of natural resources. Its current prominence is to a great degree owing to an early recognition of the need for such, and a well-documented stratagem of expanding its foreign direct investments (FDIs) as a means to stimulate economic development (Huff, 1995; Murray and Pereira, 1995) and strengthen the city-state’s ‘external economy’ - one which saw the island progress through a number of distinct phases of overseas investment …

Transforming Business School Futures: Business Model Innovation And The Continued Search For Academic Legitimacy, Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The business school is certainly one of the major success stories in higher education over the last 40 years. Despite this success there have been many more recent comments and criticisms and about the purpose, role and academic stature of business schools. Thomas et al. (2013, pp. 8-9) outline thoroughly the nature of these criticisms in the following manner: “Critics accuse business schools of doing arcane, irrelevant and impractical academic research; doing a poor job of preparing students for management careers; pandering to the market and the media rankings; failing to ask important questions; and in the process of responding …

A Novel Waveform For Emergency Services Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks : The Link Layer Perspective, Sebastian Helmle

Theses

Existing wireless communication systems of emergency services mainly enable ordinary unicast or broadcast voice communications. The increasing demand for data services such as messaging, file transfer, maps, etc requires those long-range communication systems to provide higher data rates while maintaining robustness against link failures. In this thesis, various aspects of a link layer design specifically for narrowband mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) that are targeted at emergency services are investigated.

The major aspect of this thesis is the optimisation of a time division multiple access (TDMA) design considering both efficient and reliable multicast resource reservation. An approach to mathematically describe a …

Assessing The Fishery And Ecology Of Sharks In The United Arab Emirates, Rima W. Jabado

Dissertations

Large scale shark population declines have been documented worldwide due to overexploitation and the lack of adequate management frameworks to conserve shark stocks. This study aimed at gaining an understanding of the national shark fishery and the trade in shark products from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Data were collected from June 2010 to October 2012 through interviews with local fishermen, market and landing site surveys, fishery independent surveys, and stomach content analysis. Interviews with local fishermen (n=126) provided information on the fishery characteristics and established that sharks were increasingly targeted due to their high value in the global fin …

The "Globesity" Trend: Exploring The Ethical Concerns Of Registered Nurses Caring For Bariatric Surgery Patients, Casey L. Lowden-Crook

Theses

Obesity is a major global health problem. The comorbidities associated with obesity (for example: diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular disease) are multisystem and require continual medical management which places a great strain on the healthcare system. Australia is ranked the 5th most obese population in the world and deaths associated with obesity and obesity related illnesses are estimated at 7,200 per year (Medibank, 2010). This lifestyle disease is now the leading cause of premature death in Australia. The obesity epidemic is blamed on changes in the social, economic and physical environment (obesogenic environments) which have influenced people to over-consume …

Revisiting British Royalty Myths In Alan Bennett’S The Uncommon Reader, Mihaela Culea

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In his novella The Uncommon Reader (2006/2008) English writer Alan Bennett (1934 – ) fictionally depicts the way in which one of the most prestigious institutions of Britishness, Queen Elizabeth II (1952 – ), turns from a highly institutionalized symbol into a real person and a very uncommon reader. The article explores Bennett’s fictional reconsideration of common myths connected to the British monarchy, a process which is activated by the Queen’s new fondness for reading. The paper develops a possible reinterpretation of these myths, seeking to prove that Bennett’s fictional exercise also sparks off the reflection of a number of …

A Comparative Study Of Shifts In English Translations Of The Quran: A Case Study On “Yusuf” Chapter, Reza Rezvani, Peyman Nouraey

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Long since Translation Studies emerged as a nascent academic discipline, it has seen a considerable number of descriptive theories and models, among which, Catford’s (1965) translation ‘shift’ approach has garnered particular attention within the realm of translational comparative studies. Quranic texts have constantly been the center of attention, as the Quran has established itself as the most famous and sublime text in Arabic. As such, the present comparative study aimed at investigating the frequencies of different types of translation shifts occurring in translations form Arabic into English drawing on Catford’s (1956) shift typology. To this end, seven translations of the …

Yoruba Folktales, The New Media And Postmodernism, Sesan Azeez Akinwumi

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Yoruba pristine orality in its entirety has been given new directions with the popularity of the postmodernist tenets as shown in the utilitarian use of the new media in literary production, dissemination and consumption. This paper seeks to examine how the postmodernist material and immaterial culture have influenced the literary and cultural values of Yoruba folktales. Data for this study are gathered through field investigations at Omi Adio, Aba Ebu ( Moniya) and Badeku, all in Oyo State, Nigeria. Archival documents on the subject matter are also consulted. It is observed that apart from affecting the physical and cultural …

Ups And Downs In Foreign Policy Of Uzbekistan Towards Security Approach Of Russia, Tugce Varol Sevim, Alexander Rozanov

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Uzbekistan is one of the significant states of Central Asia considering its relatively high population and military strength in comparison with other Central Asian states. We should not forget the fact that Uzbekistan has the most combat-ready and well-equipped armed forces in the region that have direct military experience in special operations in the mountains. Given this fact and the presence of a large Uzbek diaspora in neighboring countries, it is easy enough to understand why Tashkent pursues an independent policy and strives for leadership in Central Asia. However, the permanent President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov failed …

Characterisation Of The Enzybiotic Potential Of Selected Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteriophages, Ruth Keary

Theses

The work presented in this thesis focuses on harnessing the bactericidal potential of bacteriophage (phage) encoded peptidoglycan hydrolase enzymes to combat the significant pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. In order to identify novel peptidoglycan hydrolases lytic against S. aureus, the complete genomes of two staphylococcal temperate Siphoviridae bacteriophages, DW2 and CSl, were sequenced and annotated. Screening of these genomes identified genes for several putative peptidoglycan hydrolases including two endolysins and three virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases. The identification of putative genes relating to virulence and host fitness lends to the understanding of the role played by such temperate phages in the evolution of this …

Issues And Challenges In The Delivery Of Secondary School Music Education In Ireland : A Regional Case Study, Marita Murray

Theses

Research in effective music experiences during childhood and teenage years has shown the potential for significant developmental effects. However, the number of students studying music as a subject in secondary school in Ireland is statistically low in comparison with other areas of schooling. International literature points to a number of key issues and significant challenges in the delivery of music as a subject, yet there has been little Irish research carried out in this area. This study aims to examine the delivery of school music education in a sample of Irish post-primary schools. It is a case study in delivery …