Digital Commons Network^™

Evolutionary Approaches For Feature Selection In Biological Data, Vinh Q. Dang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Data mining techniques have been used widely in many areas such as business, science, engineering and medicine. The techniques allow a vast amount of data to be explored in order to extract useful information from the data. One of the foci in the health area is finding interesting biomarkers from biomedical data. Mass throughput data generated from microarrays and mass spectrometry from biological samples are high dimensional and is small in sample size. Examples include DNA microarray datasets with up to 500,000 genes and mass spectrometry data with 300,000 m/z values. While the availability of such datasets can aid in …

Behavioural Ecology Of The Black-Flanked Rock-Wallaby (Petrogale Lateralis Lateralis): Refuge Importance In A Variable Environment, Craig Pentland

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis) has suffered a significant decline in its distribution in Western Australia. This has been attributed to introduced predators (predominantly the red fox) and herbivores, fire, and habitat destruction due to clearing. Although since 2001 the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) had begun to reintroduce this species back into its former range, little was known of the behavioural ecology of this species. Fox control in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in population increases of rock-wallabies on several reserves in the central wheatbelt of WA. However, recently these populations have rapidly declined despite continuing fox …

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 …

Influence Of Hydrological And Environmental Conditions On Mangrove Vegetation At Coastal And Inland Semi-Arid Areas Of The Gascoyne Region, Natasha Robin Dunham

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Mangrove stands are uncommon within semi-arid climates and rare within inland systems. It is uncertain whether the same environmental variables influence mangroves growing in a semi-arid climate as the trees growing in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Field studies conducted on the ecophysiological responses of the mangrove species Avicennia marina are few; however hydrological regimes are considered the key factor influencing mangrove stand zonation, structure and individual tree growth. The Gascoyne region of Western Australia provides a unique opportunity to investigate whether mangroves growing within an inland semi-arid environment display similar growth patterns and ecophysiological responses to their coastal counterparts.

This …

Space-Time Statistical Analysis Of Malaria Morbidity Incidence Cases In Ghana: A Geostatistical Modelling Approach, Simon K. Appiah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Malaria is one of the most prevalent and devastating health problems worldwide. It is a highly endemic disease in Ghana, which poses a major challenge to both the public health and socio-economic development of the country. Major factors accounting for this situation include variability in environmental conditions and lack of prevention services coupled with host of other socio-economic factors. Ghana’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) risk assessment measures have been largely based on household surveys which provided inadequate data for accurate prediction of new incidence cases coupled with frequent incomplete monthly case reports. These raise concerns about annual estimates on …

Understanding And Improving Pacing Strategies During Standard Distance Triathlons In Age Group Athletes, Sam Shi Xuan Wu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Pacing is an integral aspect of performance during all exercise, including multi-sport events such as triathlon. However, to date, the optimal pacing strategies to adopt over an entire triathlon, as well as during each specific discipline (i.e. swim, cycle and run), is not well understood. Therefore, the primary purpose of this thesis was to identify and understand current pacing strategies adopted by highly performing triathletes across different triathlon distances. This research aids in identifying pacing strategies that may improve overall performance during triathlon.

In the first study, the influence of sex and race distance on the age-related declines in the …

Feeling The Fleshed Body: The Aftermath Of Childhood Rape [Thesis], Brenda Downing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The point of propulsion for this research is my raped and censured body with its somatic aftermath narrative. This doctoral research project is a feminist and creative investigation that sought to uncover and articulate the long term somatic impacts of childhood rape as they manifest in the adult female body. I employed a multi-modal, complementary, and embodied methodology using a combination of autoethnography, somatic inquiry, writing-as-inquiry, and performance-making-as inquiry. In addition to my autoethnographic explorations, I gathered information from other women raped in childhood, as well as information from women’s healthcare professionals. Drawing on the autoethnographic and participant information gathered, …

Teaching For Students' Confident Transition From Number To Algebra, Christina Lang Lee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The adoption by all states and territories of the national curriculum by 2013 saw students in schools across the country taught introductory algebraic concepts from Year Five. In the twenty first century the need to be algebraically competent has become a necessity much as computation was in the previous centuries.

The Researcher has found from experience that students who have struggled with number and number operations will then most probably make poor progress in their study of algebra. The transition from number to algebra requires a robust understanding of number and number operations

This study investigated the balance of instructional …

Plasma Insulin-Degrading Enzyme: Characterisation And Evaluation As A Potential Biomarker For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Tegg

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increasing in prevalence due to increasing lifespan and altered lifestyle. It is the fourth major cause of death in Western countries, resulting in significant economic and social impact (Von Strauss, et al., 1999; Goate, 1997). There are no blood biomarkers currently accepted for the diagnosis of AD, and the identification of suitable biomarkers would eventually reduce the necessity for invasive, expensive and slow diagnostic procedures, as well as facilitate prognostic studies. An AD blood test would decrease the need for delaying diagnosis due to ambivalent presentation, and allow therapeutic intervention to commence at an earlier …

Developing Effective Hospital Management Information Systems: A Technology Ecosystem Perspective, Christopher Bain

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis presents the results of the program of research performed in the completion of a Doctor of Philosophy (Business) entitled: Developing Effective Hospital Management Information Systems: A Technology Ecosystem Perspective.

The central contention of this thesis is that the current ecosystem models in the information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) literature can be extended and improved. In turn they can be better applied to the field of IS and the development and implementation of information systems. This research seeks to highlight an example of how these models can be extended, through an analysis of the specific context of …

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 …

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 …

Western Australian Graduate Diploma Of Education (Primary) Students' Perceptions Of Sustainability, Judith Clare Odgaard

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In late 2011, the researcher investigated a cohort of Western Australian (WA) Graduate Diploma of Education Primary (GDE-P) students’ perceptions of Sustainability across a broad range of biophysical/natural, social and cultural, economic and political spheres. The study occurred during the seventh year of UNESCO’s Decade of Education for Sustainability Development, and when Sustainability Education became one of three cross-curriculum priorities of the new Australian Curriculum. Importantly, the students’ perceptions were interpreted during the context of the Post Global Financial Crisis and after Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as the Labor Prime Minister. The intense political context was often supported by …

University Student Support Systems, Help-Seeking Behaviour And The Management Of Student Psychological Distress, Richard Bostwick

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The issue of student management and retention remains one of the most pertinent considerations for any university. In a climate of increasing awareness of mental and physical health issues, university policy development needs to adapt to ensure all students engage with and utilise support services effectively. It would appear that there are various influences on a student’s university experience, including learning abilities and styles, impact of life events and situations, for example, housing and finance, availability of support services and the ability of an individual to seek out appropriate help. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in combination with the Health Belief …

Meaningful Encounters: Creating A Multi-Method Site For Interacting With Nonhuman Life Through Bioarts Praxis, Donna Franklin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research advocates a multi-method approach to bioarts praxis, reflexively and critically questioning the contemporary contexts that frame our engagement with nonhuman life. In doing so, the research aims to generate further community engagement with nonhuman life and the environment, and engender critical discourse on the implications of developing biotechnologies.

Hegemonic institutions influence the way culture is produced and how information is constructed and understood. Habermas (1987) suggests that these institutions will inevitably influence the individual’s lifeworld as they shape lived experience through the process of systemic colonisation. I assert that this process also shapes how individuals engage with or …

Genetic Predisposition To Increased Blood Cholesterol And Triglyceride Lipid Levels And Risk Of Alzheimer Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis, Alison Goate, Carlos Cruchaga, Petra Nowotny, John C. Morris, Kevin Mayo, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Rare Variants In Alzheimer's Disease, Jenny Lord, Alexander J. Lu, Carlos Cruchaga

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Aku-Nama : Winter 2014, Volume 7, Issue 2, Aga Khan University Alumni Association

The Aga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni (AKU-NAMA)

Highlights

- Editorial: The Human Capital

- In Pursuit of Happiness

- Megan’s Story

- Pioneers Meet Again!

- AKU AANA Reunion 2014

- Let’s Meet Up

- A Home Away From Home

- From Fertile Lands to the Arid Desert

- Physician par Excellence

- An Extraordinary Person

- FHS Library in Nairobi Wins the Maktaba Award

- Preparing to Excel

- Alumni in the News

- Class Notes

- In Memoriam

Aku-Nama : Summer 2014, Volume 7, Issue 1, Aga Khan University Alumni Association

The Aga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni (AKU-NAMA)

Highlights

- The Right Attitude is Important

- Keep Learning

- On the Frontline

- Convocation

- Saving Lives through Early Childhood

- Education - Badakhshan

- Fast Medicine

- Class Notes

Disparity In Judicial Misconduct Cases: Color-Blind Diversity?, Athena D. Mutua

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

What Comes Off, Comes Back To Burn: Revenge Pornography As The Hot New Flame And How It Applies To The First Amendment And Privacy Law, Benjamin A. Genn

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Disability, Repressive Regimes, And Health Disparity: Assessing Country Conditions In North Korea, Jae-Chun Won, Janet E. Lord, Michael Ashley Stein, Yosung Song

Articles

This article examines the potential of international human rights standards to account for heightened risk and vulnerability to human rights abuses for persons with disabilities in politically repressive environments. We offer a preliminary assessment of whether and how a disability-cognizant accounting of human rights in repressive regimes can lead to a more credible and comprehensive understanding of disability in such contexts. In so doing, we make the case for a more thorough and thoughtful application of international disability rights standards to better inform human rights investigations, transitional justice approaches, and international criminal law proceedings. To illustrate this methodology, we analyze …

The Democratic Life Of The Union: Toward Equal Voting Participation For Europeans With Disabilities, Janos Fiala-Butora, Michael Ashley Stein, Janet E. Lord

Articles

This Article puts forward preliminary legal scholarship on equal political participation by persons with disabilities and what international human rights law requires for its attainment. The goal is to provoke an informed dialogue on the neglected but fundamental human right to enfranchisement by persons with disabilities while also acknowledging that a complete and just resolution requires further information and reflection. The Article argues that the fundamental right to vote cannot be curtailed on the basis of an alleged lack of capacity. Disenfranchisement based on individual assessment unjustly excludes a certain number of voting-capable individuals. Since all those affected are persons …

Some Personal And Historical Notes On The Utility Of "Deep-Etch" Electron Microscopy For Making Cell Structure/Function Correlations, John E. Heuser

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Kidney Tight Junction, Jianghui Hou

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Outcomes Following A Single Corticosteroid Injection For Trigger Finger, Robert D. Wojahn, Nicholas C. Foeger, Richard H. Gelberman, Ryan P. Calfee

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Metastasis Occurring Eleven Years After Diagnosis Of Human Papilloma Virus-Related Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Jessica Ley, Tanya Wildes, Samir El-Mofty, Douglas Adkins

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Hdac And Hat Inhibitors Differently Affect Analgesia Mediated By Group Ii Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors, Magda Zammataro, Maria Angela Sortino, Carmela Parenti, Robert W. Gereau Iv, Santina Chiechio

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Novel Genetic Locus Linked To Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines After Virulent H5n1 Virus Infection In Mice, Adrianus C.M. Boon, Robert W. Williams, David S. Sinasac, Richard J. Webby

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Suicide Genes: Monitoring Cells In Patients With A Safety Switch, Linda G. Eissenberg, Michael Rettig, Farrokh Dehdashti, David Piwnica-Worms, John F. Dipersio

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.