Digital Commons Network^™

Prevalence Of Somatic-Mental Multimorbidity And Its Prospective Association With Disability Among Older Adults In China, Haibin Li, Anxin Wang, Qi Gao, Xiaonan Wang, Yanxia Luo, Xinghua Yang, Xia Li, Wei Wang, Deqiang Zheng, Xiuhua Guo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

We aimed to identify prevalent somatic-mental multimorbidity (SMM) and examine its prospective association with disability among a nationally representative sample. A total of 6728 participants aged 60 years and older in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included. A total of 14 somatic or mental conditions were assessed in 2013. SMM was defined as any combination of two or more conditions in which at least one condition was somatic and at least one condition was mental. Disability risk was measured using the combined Activities of Daily Living (ADL)-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) index (range 0–11; higher index …

Navigating Coasts Of Concrete: Pervasive Use Of Artificial Habitats By Shorebirds In The Asia-Pacific, Micha V. Jackson, Chi-Yeung Choi, Tatsuya Amano, Sora M. Estrella, Weipan Lei, Nial Moores, Taej Mundkur, Danny I. Rogers, Richard A. Fuller

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Loss and degradation of wetlands has occurred worldwide, impacting ecosystems and contributing to the decline of waterbirds, including shorebirds that occur along the heavily developed coasts of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Artificial (i.e. human-made) wetlands are pervasive in the EAAF and known to be used by shorebirds, but this phenomenon has not been systematically reviewed. We collated data and expert knowledge to understand the extent and intensity of shorebird use of coastal artificial habitats along the EAAF. We found records of 83 species, including all regularly occurring coastal migratory shorebirds, across 176 artificial sites with eight different land uses. …

Validity And Reliability Of Methods To Determine Barbell Displacement In Heavy Back Squats: Implications For Velocity-Based Training, Brendyn B. Appleby, Harry Banyard, Prue Cormie, Stuart J. Cormack, Robert U. Newton

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of methods for determining barbell displacement during heavy back squats. Twelve well-trained rugby union players (mean ± SD 1 repetition maximum [1RM] 90° squat = 196.3 ± 29.2 kg) completed 2 sets of 2 repetitions at 70, 80, and 90% of 1RM squats. Barbell displacement was derived from 3 methods across 4 load categories (120–129, 140–149, 160–169, and 180–189 kg) including: a (a) linear position transducer (LPT) attached 65 cm left of barbell center, (b) 3D motion analysis tracking of markers attached to either end of a barbell, …

Use Of Landsat Imagery To Map Spread Of The Invasive Alien Species Acacia Nilotica In Baluran National Park, Indonesia, Sutomo Sutomo, Eddie Van Etten, Rajif Iryadi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Seameo Biotrop. In the late 1960s, Acacia nilotica was introduced to Baluran National Park to establish fire breaks which would prevent the spread of fire from Baluran Savanna to the adjacent teak forest. However, A. nilotica has spread rapidly and has threatened the existence of Baluran Savanna as it has caused an ecosystem transition from an open savanna to a closed canopy of A. nilotica in some areas. This study is one of the few that examines A. nilotica invasion in Baluran National Park through remote sensing. Land cover dynamics were quantified using a supervised classification approach on …

The Enactment Of Setting Policy In Secondary School Physical Education, Shaun D. Wilkinson, Dawn Penney, Linda Allin, Paul Potrac

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The micro-level enactment of educational policy has received little attention in the physical education [PE] literature, particularly as it relates to setting policy. This study employs enactment theory to provide original insights into the ways in which setting policy was enacted by PE teachers in three mixed-gender secondary schools in England. The work of Stephen Ball and colleagues is used to examine the distinct and combined influence of the situated, material, professional and external dimensions of context on setting policy and practices in PE in these three …

Reservoir And Lithofacies Shale Classification Based On Nmr Logging, Hongyan Yu, Zhenliang Wang, Fenggang Wen, Reza Rezaee, Maxim Lebedev, Xiaolong Li, Yihuai Zhang, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Chinese Petroleum Society Shale gas reservoirs have fine-grained textures and high organic contents, leading to complex pore structures. Therefore, accurate well-log derived pore size distributions are difficult to acquire for this unconventional reservoir type, despite their importance. However, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging can in principle provide such information via hydrogen relaxation time measurements. Thus, in this paper, NMR response curves (of shale samples) were rigorously mathematically analyzed (with an Expectation Maximization algorithm) and categorized based on the NMR data and their geology, respectively. Thus the number of the NMR peaks, their relaxation times and amplitudes were analyzed …

Multiple Impact Pathways Of The 2015–2016 El Niño In Coastal Kenya, Matt Fortnam, Molly Atkins, Katrina Brown, Tomas Chaigneau, Ankje Frouws, Kemyline Gwaro, Mark Huxham, James Kairo, Amon Kimeli, Bernard Kirui, Katy Sheen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). The 2015–2016 El Niño had large impacts globally. The effects were not as great as anticipated in Kenya, however, leading some commentators to call it a ‘non-event’. Our study uses a novel combination of participatory Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis tools, and new and existing social and biophysical data, to analyse vulnerability to, and the multidimensional impacts of, the 2015–2016 El Niño episode in southern coastal Kenya. Using a social-ecological systems lens and a unique dataset, our study reveals impacts overlooked by conventional analysis. We show how El Niño stressors interact with and amplify existing vulnerabilities …

Mhd Heat Transfer In W-Shaped Inclined Cavity Containing A Porous Medium Saturated With Ag/Al2o3 Hybrid Nanofluid In The Presence Of Uniform Heat Generation/Absorption, Mohamed Dhia Massoudi, Mohamed Bechir Ben Hamida, Hussein A. Mohammed, Mohammed A. Almeshaal

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the Authors. In this paper, a 2D numerical study of natural convection heat transfer in a W-shaped inclined enclosure with a variable aspect ratio was performed. The enclosure contained a porous medium saturated with Ag/Al2O3 hybrid nanofluid in the presence of uniform heat generation or absorption under the effect of a uniform magnetic field. The vertical walls of the enclosure were heated differentially; however, the top and bottom walls were kept insulated. The governing equations were solved with numerical simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics which is based on the finite element method. The results showed that the convection …

Energy Engineering Approach For Rural Areas Cattle Farmers In Bangladesh To Reduce Covid-19 Impact On Food Safety, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, Mohammad Nasirul Hoque, Soyed Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohammad Khairul Basher, Narottam Das

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper reports on the optimization of thin-film coating-assisted, self-sustainable, off-grid hybrid power generation systems for cattle farming in rural areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a lower middle-income country with declining rates of poverty among its 160 million people due to persistent economic growth in conjunction with balanced agricultural improvements. Most of the rural households adopt a mixed farming system by cultivating crops and simultaneously rearing livestock. Among the animals raised, cattle are considered as the most valuable asset for the small-/medium-scale farmers in terms of their meat and milk production. …

Associations Between Dietary Flavonoids And Retinal Microvasculature In Older Adults, Bamini Gopinath, Gerald Liew, Joshua Lewis, Nicola P. Bondonno, Catherine P. Bondonno, George Burlutsky, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Paul Mitchell

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose: In this study, we assessed whether there are independent associations between dietary total flavonoid intake and major flavonoid classes with retinal arteriolar and venular calibre.

Methods: Blue Mountains Eye Study participants aged 49+ years who had complete data on diet and retinal vessel measures were analysed (n = 2821). Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Flavonoid content of foods in the FFQ was estimated using the US Department of Agriculture Flavonoid, Isoflavone and Proanthocyanidin databases. Fundus photographs were taken and retinal vascular calibre was measured using validated computer-assisted techniques. The associations of intake of …

Applying Mobile Augmented Reality (Ar) To Teach Interior Design Students In Layout Plans: Evaluation Of Learning Effectiveness Based On The Arcs Model Of Learning Motivation Theory, Yuh-Shihng Chang, Kuo-Jui Hu, Cheng-Wei Chiang, Artur Lugmayr

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In this paper we present a mobile augmented reality (MAR) application supporting teaching activities in interior design. The application supports students in learning interior layout design, interior design symbols, and the effects of different design layout decisions. Utilizing the latest AR technology, users can place 3D models of virtual objects as e.g., chairs or tables on top of a design layout plan and interact with these on their mobile devices. Students can experience alternative design decision in real-time and increases the special perception of interior designs. Our system fully supports the import of interior deployment layouts and the generation of …

Packet Analysis For Network Forensics: A Comprehensive Survey, Leslie F. Sikos

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Packet analysis is a primary traceback technique in network forensics, which, providing that the packet details captured are sufficiently detailed, can play back even the entire network traffic for a particular point in time. This can be used to find traces of nefarious online behavior, data breaches, unauthorized website access, malware infection, and intrusion attempts, and to reconstruct image files, documents, email attachments, etc. sent over the network. This paper is a comprehensive survey of the utilization of packet analysis, including deep packet inspection, in network forensics, and provides a review of AI-powered packet analysis methods with advanced network traffic …

Geographical Disparities In Screening And Cancer- Related Health Behaviour, Belinda Goodwin, Arlen K. Rowe, Fiona Crawford-Williams, Peter Baade, Suzanne K. Chambers, Nicholas Ralph, Joanne F. Aitken

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study aimed to identify whether cancer-related health behaviours including participation in cancer screening vary by geographic location in Australia. Data were obtained from the 2014–2015 Australian National Health Survey, a computer-assisted telephone interview that measured a range of health-related issues in a sample of randomly selected households. Chi-square tests and adjusted odds ratios from logistic regression models were computed to assess the association between residential location and cancer-related health behaviours including cancer screening participation, alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, and fruit and vegetable intake, controlling for age, socio-economic status (SES), education, and place of birth. The findings show insufficient exercise, …

Optimization And Modeling Of Process Parameters In Multi-Hole Simultaneous Drilling Using Taguchi Method And Fuzzy Logic Approach, Muhammad Aamir, Shanshan Tu, Majid Tolouei-Rad, Khaled Giasin, Ana Vafadar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In industries such as aerospace and automotive, drilling many holes is commonly required to assemble different structures where machined holes need to comply with tight geometric tolerances. Multi-spindle drilling using a poly-drill head is an industrial hole-making approach that allows drilling several holes simultaneously. Optimizing process parameters also improves machining processes. This work focuses on the optimization of drilling parameters and two drilling processes-namely, one-shot drilling and multi-hole drilling-using the Taguchi method. Analysis of variance and regression analysis was implemented to indicate the significance of drilling parameters and their impact on the measured responses i.e., surface roughness and hole size. …

Optical And Chromaticity Properties Of Metal-Dielectric Composite-Based Multilayer Thin-Film Structures Prepared By Rf Magnetron Sputtering, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, Mohammad M. Rahman, Mohammad Khairul Basher, Mikhail Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Coated glass products, and especially the low-emissivity coatings, have become a common building material used in modern architectural projects. More recently, these material systems became common in specialized glazing systems featuring solar energy harvesting. Apart from achieving the stability of optical parameters in multilayer coatings, it is also important to have improved control over the design of visual color properties of the coated glass. We prepare metal-dielectric composite (MDC)-based multilayer thin-film structures using the radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtering deposition and report on their optical and chromaticity properties in comparison with these obtained using pure metal-based Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (DMD) trilayer structures of …

A Graph Automorphic Approach For Placement And Sizing Of Charging Stations In Ev Network Considering Traffic, Hossein Parastvand, Valeh Moghaddam, Octavian Bass, Mohammad A.S. Masoum, Airlie Chapman, Stefan Lachowicz

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper proposes a novel graph-based approach with automorphic grouping for the modelling, synthesis, and analysis of electric vehicle (EV) networks with charging stations (CSs) that considers the impacts of traffic. The EV charge demands are modeled by a graph where nodes are positioned at potential locations for CSs, and edges represent traffic flow between the nodes. A synchronization protocol is assumed for the network where the system states correspond to the waiting time at each node. These models are then utilized for the placement and sizing of CSs in order to limit vehicle waiting times at all stations below …

Stable Dispersion Of Coal Fines During Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback In Coal Seam Gas Reservoirs - An Experimental Study, Faisal Ur Rahman Awan, Alireza Keshavarz, Hamed Akhondzadeh, Sarmad Al-Anssari, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Ataollah Nosrati, Muhammad Ali, Sefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In subterranean coal seam gas (CSG) reservoirs, massive amounts of small-sized coal fines are released during the production and development stages, especially during hydraulic fracturing stimulation. These coal fines inevitably cause mechanical pump failure and permeability damage due to aggregation and subsequent pore-throat blockage. This aggregation behavior is thus of key importance in CSG production and needs to be minimized. Consequently, such coal fines dispersions need to be stabilized, which can be achieved by the formulation of improved fracturing fluids. Here, we thus systematically investigated the effectiveness of two additives (ethanol, 0.5 wt % and SDBS, 0.001 and 0.01 wt …

Thermal-Hydraulic Performance In A Microchannel Heat Sink Equipped With Longitudinal Vortex Generators (Lvgs) And Nanofluid, Basel Al Muallim, Mazlan A. Wahid, Hussain A. Mohammed, Mohammed Kamil, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In this study, the numerical conjugate heat transfer and hydraulic performance of nanofluids flow in a rectangular microchannel heat sink (RMCHS) with longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs) was investigated at different Reynolds numbers (200-1200). Three-dimensional simulations are performed on a microchannel heated by a constant temperature with five different configurations with different angles of attack for the LVGs under laminar flow conditions. The study uses five different nanofluid combinations of Al2O3 or CuO, containing low volume fractions in the range of 0.5% to 3.0% with various nanoparticle sizes that are dispersed in pure water, PAO (Polyalphaolefin) or ethylene glycol. The results …

Synergistic Effect Of Hydrophilic Nanoparticles And Anionic Surfactant On The Stability And Viscoelastic Properties Of Oil In Water (O/W) Emulations; Application For Enhanced Oil Recovery (Eor), Sarmad Al-Anssari, Zain-Ul-Abedin Arain, Haider A. Shanshool, Alireza Keshavarz, Mohammad Sarmadivaleh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

With the rapidly increased global energy demand, great attention has been focused on utilizing nanotechnology and particularly nanofluids in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to produce more oil from low-productivity oil reservoirs. Nanofluid flooding has introduced as one of the promising methods for enhanced oil recovery using environment-friendly nanoparticles (NPs) to be as an innovative-alternative for chemical methods of EOR. This work investigates the synergistic effects of anionic surfactant and hydrophilic silica nanoparticles on the stability and the mechanical behavior of oil in water (O/W) emulsions for their application in EOR. To achieve this, an extensive series of experiments were conducted …

A Comparison Of Dietary Intake Of Children/Adolescents With And Without Myopia, Niamh Burke, John Butler, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, James Loughman

Conference Papers

Myopia is caused by an eye which has grown too long. The prevalence of myopia has increased drastically in recent years and half of the world’s population is expected to be myopic by 2050.(1) Consequently, a significant increase in sight threatening diseases will follow.(1) Myopia most commonly develops in youth, and we now know that environmental factors affect its development. Nutritional status strongly influences growth and development, including that of the eye. It has been hypothesised, therefore, that nutrition may play a role in this excessive eye growth. Current findings are conflicted, with a clear gap in the evidence.(2,3) Therefore, …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Properties And Evolution Of Red Spiral Galaxies, Smriti Mahajan, Kriti Kamal Gupta, Rahul Rana, M. J.I. Brown, S. Phillipps, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, M. N. Bremer, S. Brough, Benne W. Holwerda, A. M. Hopkins, J. Loveday, Kevin Pimbblet, Lingyu Wang

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We use multiwavelength data from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to explore the cause of red optical colours in nearby (0.002 < z < 0.06) spiral galaxies. We show that the colours of red spiral galaxies are a direct consequence of some environment-related mechanism(s) that has removed dust and gas, leading to a lower star formation rate. We conclude that this process acts on long time-scales (several Gyr) due to a lack of morphological transformation associated with the transition in optical colour. The specific star formation rate (sSFR) and dust-to-stellar mass ratio of red spiral galaxies is found to be statistically lower than blue spiral galaxies. On the other hand, red spirals are on average 0.9 dex more massive, and reside in environments 2.6 times denser than their blue counterparts. We find no evidence of excessive nuclear activity, or higher inclination angles to support these as the major causes for the red optical colours seen in ≳47 per cent of all spirals in our sample. Furthermore, for a small subsample of our spiral galaxies that are detected in H I, we find that the SFR of gas-rich red spiral galaxies is lower by ∼1 dex than their blue counterparts.

Comparative Analysis Of The Translocation Kinetics For Clpa’S Atpase Domains 1 & 2, Nathaniel Scull

All ETDs from UAB

ClpA, a Class I AAA+ (ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities) motor, as-sembles into a tiered hexamer containing two AAA+ nucleotide binding domains (NDBs), D1 and D2. These NBDs couple nucleotide triphosphate binding and hydrolysis to mechanical work that drives polypeptide unfolding and translocation. Here we study the kinetic mechanisms of polypeptide translocation at the two domains to elucidate their contributions to the overall wildtype activity of ClpA. We subjected Walker B variants of ClpA that lack ATPase activity in one of the two domains to single-turnover stopped-flow techniques using a new fluorescence anisotropy and total fluorescence method. We found …

Theory Protection In Human Associative Learning And Formally Representing Uncertainty About Novel Stimuli, Stuart Spicer

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Three collections of data are presented in this thesis, with the broad aim of investigating a potential role for theory protection in human associative learning. According to theory protection, people should resist updating their existing knowledge (i.e. resist new learning), even when faced with evidence that contradicts what they already know. In other words, people should maintain established associations between environmental cues and outcomes wherever possible. Theory protection differs from typical prediction error accounts of learning (e.g. Bush & Mosteller, 1951; Rescorla & Wagner, 1972; Rescorla, 2001). According to prediction error accounts, people should update existing associations (i.e. learn) most …

Social Connectedness And Financial Independence Strategies Supporting Nonprofit Sustainability, Christopher Edmund Maylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) often lack strategies to ensure the sustainability of their organizations beyond initial funding, resulting in significant risk to program continuity. Grounded in social entrepreneurship theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies used by 3 leaders of a small NPO in the southwest region of the United States. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Through thematic analysis, 6 social themes emerged: optimization of business strategies, income and donor growth, program cost management, funding diversification, program licensing, and public awareness of NPO programs. The contributions to …

Enhancing Grit In Elite Athletes Through Functional Imagery Training, Jon Rhodes

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Grit has been researched across a wide variety of domains with negative correlations to drop out rates and positive associations to performance. However, there has been little to empirically change character through interventions, and even fewer in sport. A total of six studies are presented through a mixed-method approach to initially gain an understanding how grit is created, and the processes involved in developing the trait (Studies One and Two). From the phenomenological findings, a bespoke Functional Imagery Training (FIT) intervention is initially tailored to athletes and delivered (Study Three). With ceiling effects present from our performance athletes (and those …

Ecological Mechanisms Explaining Interactions Within Plant–Hummingbird Networks: Morphological Matching Increases Towards Lower Latitudes, J Sonne, J Vizentin-Bugoni, Pk Maruyama, Ac Araujo, E Chávez-González, Ag Coelho, Pa Cotton, Oh Marín-Gómez, C Lara, Lr Lasprilla, Cg Machado, Ma Maglianesi, Ts Malucelli, Amm González, Gm Oliveira, Pe Oliveira, R Ortiz-Pulido, Ma Rocca, Lc Rodrigues, I Sazima, Bi Simmons, B Tinoco, Ig Varassin, Mf Vasconcelos, B O'Hara, M Schleuning, C Rahbek, M Sazima, B Dalsgaard

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Interactions between species are influenced by different ecological mechanisms, such as morphological matching, phenological overlap and species abundances. How these mechanisms explain interaction frequencies across environmental gradients remains poorly understood. Consequently, we also know little about the mechanisms that drive the geographical patterns in network structure, such as complementary specialization and modularity. Here, we use data on morphologies, phenologies and abundances to explain interaction frequencies between hummingbirds and plants at a large geographical scale. For 24 quantitative networks sampled throughout the Americas, we found that the tendency of species to interact with morphologically matching partners contributed to specialized and modular …

Power Extraction By A Water Turbine In Inviscid Free Surface Flow With Vertical Shear, J Lin, A. G.L. Borthwick, B Lin, S. Draper

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Expatriate-Teacher Turnover In The International School Industry Of China, Richard Ik Ihejieto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Expatriate-teacher turnover disrupts the social and academic lives of students in the international school industry of China. The human resource budgets of these schools are unsustainable and expatriate-teacher turnover significantly affects globalization and international businesses. The rate of expatriate-teacher turnover in the international school industry of China, which results in financial losses and creates anxiety for the students, necessitated an examination of expatriate-teacher turnover in the international school industry of China. This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study of expatriate-teacher turnover in the international school industry of China, was framed by the concepts of the internationalized schools in China and teacher turnover …

Understanding Calculus Through Maple-Based Dynamic Visualization Tools, Segla Kokou Kossivi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-year college students experience difficulties in understanding the concepts of derivatives and integrals. At the postsecondary level, the use of static visualization and other traditional instruction delivery methods often are unable to meet students' needs in calculus. This problem is current and essential in the field of education and needs consideration to enhance the method of teaching calculus. The rationale for this study was to scrutinize the effects of Maple dynamic visualization instructional activities, within the framework of the animation-visualization theory, on students' conceptual and procedural understanding of differential and integral calculus. The usage of a quantitative 2x2 factorial pretest-posttest …

Exploring Destination Imagination Alumni Perceptions Of 21st-Century Skills And Workforce Readiness, Sharon Kovalevsky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace requirements are vastly different from the past due to rapid changes in technology and globalization, and they require graduates to have well-developed 21st-century skills and innovation strategies. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of understanding of how 21st-century skills that alumni learned through academic extracurricular experiences informed their early career and workforce readiness. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Destination Imagination (DI) alumni perceived that the 21st-century skills they learned as part of their academic extracurricular experiences informed their early career readiness. The study was grounded by the 3 constructs of work …