Digital Commons Network^™

Developing An Integrated Multilevel Model Of Uncertainty In Health Care: A Qualitative Systematic Review And Thematic Synthesis, Prashanti Eachempati, Roland Brian Büchter, Kiran Kumar Ks, Sally Hanks, John Martin, Mona Nasser

Peninsula Dental School

Introduction Uncertainty is an inevitable part of healthcare and a source of confusion and challenge to decision-making. Several taxonomies of uncertainty have been developed, but mainly focus on decisions in clinical settings. Our goal was to develop a holistic model of uncertainty that can be applied to both clinical as well as public and global health scenarios.Methods We searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Google scholar in March 2021 for literature reviews, qualitative studies and case studies related to classifications or models of uncertainty in healthcare. Empirical articles were assessed for study limitations using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) …

Flexible Goal-Directed Manipulation Of Representations: Computational Models Of Healthy And Pathological Human Cognition, Giovanni Granato

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The brain is able to manipulate itself, adapting its internal world in a changing environment. In particular it continuously manipulates its representations to achieve goals. This competence is supported by many neurocognitive high-order processes that interact during the performance of a goal-directed behaviour (e.g. attention processes, executive functions, motivational systems). Overall, adult humans often face a new problem trough a change of the `perceptual point of view' (i.e. a representational change), rather then an extended research of the correct action to perform. On the other hand, infants and children contemporary develop motor competence and task-directed perceptual representations (e.g. categorical perception). …

Hypertension Alters The Function And Expression Profile Of The Peptide Cotransporters Pept1 And Pept2 In The Rodent Renal Proximal Tubule, Othman A. Alghamdi, Nicola King, Nicholas M. Andronicos, Graham L. Jones, Belal Chami, Paul K. Witting, Pierre D.J. Moens

School of Biomedical Sciences

Hypertension is a major risk factor for kidney and cardiovascular disease. The treatment of hypertensive individuals by selected ACE inhibitors and certain di-and tripeptides halts the progression of renal deterioration and extends life-span. Renal reabsorption of these low molecular weight substrates are mediated by the PEPT1 and PEPT2 cotransporters. This study aims to investigate whether hypertension and ageing affects renal PEPT cotransporters at gene, protein expression and distribution as well as function in the superficial cortex and the outer medulla of the kidney. Membrane vesicles from the brush border (BBMV) and outer medulla (OMMV) were isolated from the kidneys of …

Heritage Requires Citizens’ Knowledge: The Cost Place-Making Action And Responsible Research, Heike Oevermann, Ayse Erek, Carola Hein, Conor Horan, Kata Krasznahorkai, Ida Sofie Gøtzsche Lange, Edmond Manahasa, Marijke Martin, Marluci Menezes, Matej Nikšič, Paulina Polko, Juli Székely, Simone Tappert, Pekka Tuominen

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This chapter reflects on responsible science with an eye toward concrete research practice. To this end, we briefly introduce the RRI paradigm (Responsible Research and Innovation) and then highlight seven EU research projects in the context of a transnational COST Action project. This COST Action will investigate how placemaking activities, like public art, civil urban design, and local knowledge production, reshape and reinvent public space, and improve citizens’ involvement in urban planning and urban design, especially in the context of heritage sites. The chapter introduces heritage case studies that either contrast, differentiate, and add to existing knowledge and practices in …

Mixture Toxicity Of Tio2 Nps And Tetracycline At Two Trophic Levels In The Marine Ecosystem: Chlorella Sp. And Artemia Salina, V Thiagarajan, R Seenivasan, D Jenkins, N Chandrasekaran, A Mukherjee

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Novel Antibacterial Silver Nanocoating To Reduce Nosocomial Infections, James Butler

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Nosocomial infections (those that are hospital-acquired) lead to patient morbidity and mortality, and are further complicated by the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Wastewater plumbing systems (WPS) are bacterial reservoirs and vehicles for bacterial transmission. Sink traps form a barrier between users and the WPS, but breaches can lead to contamination and have been implicated in outbreaks of infections. This project sought to address the need for a novel antimicrobial nanocoating to reduce bacterial colonisation and biofilm formation in sink traps. A nanocoating was developed by embedding silver nanoparticles in a matrix of commercially-available and low-cost pipe cement, applied to …

Dataset Of Parent-Child Hyperscanning Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Recordings, Andrea Bizzego, Giulio Gabrieli, Atiqah Azhari, Mengyu Lim, Gianluca Esposito

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The term “hyperscanning” refers to the simultaneous recording of multiple individuals’ brain activity. As a methodology, hyperscanning allows the investigation of brain-to-brain synchrony. Despite being a promising technique, there is a limited number of publicly available functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning recordings. In this paper, we report a dataset of fNIRS recordings from the prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity of 33 mother-child dyads and 29 father-child dyads. Data was recorded while the parent-child dyads participated in an experiment with two sessions: a passive video attention task and a free play session. Dyadic metadata, parental psychological traits, behavioural annotations of the play …

Exploring Pedagogic And Practical Intersections Of Academic Writing Support For Faculty In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly, Maria-Jose Gonzalez

Journal Articles

This is a case study of Faculty perceptions of the nature and effectiveness of academic writing provision and practice in a university in Ireland. It is presented in tandem with a case study of student persecptions from an Academic Writing Centre and taken together, both discuss the pedagogical approach adopted by the two pan-university initiatives. The focus of this case study is a Professional Development module for Faculty designed with a dual purpose - to support them to develop their own professional writing for publication, and enabling them to use the same strategies to support and reinforce their students’ academic …

Efficient T Cell Migration And Activation Require L-Plastin, Hemant Joshi, Sharon Celeste Morley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Rapid re-organization of the actin cytoskeleton supports T-cell trafficking towards immune sites and interaction with antigen presenting cells (APCs). F-actin rearrangement enables T-cell trafficking by stabilizing adhesion to vascular endothelial cells and promoting transendothelial migration. T-cell/APC immune synapse (IS) maturation also relies upon f-actin-anchored LFA-1:ICAM-1 ligation. Therefore, efficient T-cell responses require tight regulation of f-actin dynamics. In this review, we summarize how the actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) regulates T-cell activation and migration. LPL enhances f-actin polymerization and also directly binds to the β2 chain of the integrin LFA-1 to support intercellular adhesion and IS formation in human and murine T …

Metabolic Mechanisms Connecting Alzheimer's And Parkinson's Diseases: Potential Avenues For Novel Therapeutic Approaches, Jerry R Colca, Brian N Finck

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's Diseases (PD) are common neurodegenerative disorders growing in incidence and prevalence and for which there are no disease-modifying treatments. While there are considerable complexities in the presentations of these diseases, the histological pictures of these pathologies, as well as several rare genetic predispositions for each, point to the involvement of maladaptive protein processing and inflammation. Importantly, the common presentations of AD and PD are connected to aging and to dysmetabolism, including common co-diagnosis of metabolic syndrome or diabetes. Examination of anti-diabetic therapies in preclinical models and in some observational clinical studies have suggested effectiveness of the …

Monosynaptic Targets Of Utricular Afferents In The Larval Zebrafish, Yizhen Jia, Martha W Bagnall

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The larval zebrafish acquires a repertoire of vestibular-driven behaviors that aid survival early in development. These behaviors rely mostly on the utricular otolith, which senses inertial (tilt and translational) head movements. We previously characterized the known central brainstem targets of utricular afferents using serial-section electron microscopy of a larval zebrafish brain. Here we describe the rest of the central targets of utricular afferents, focusing on the neurons whose identities are less certain in our dataset. We find that central neurons with commissural projections have a wide range of predicted directional tuning, just as in other vertebrates. In addition, somata of …

The Role Of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps In Acute Lung Injury, Davide Scozzi, Fuyi Liao, Alexander S Krupnick, Daniel Kreisel, Andrew E Gelman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a heterogeneous inflammatory condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. Neutrophils play a key role in the development of different forms of ALI, and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is emerging as a common pathogenic mechanism. NETs are essential in controlling pathogens, and their defective release or increased degradation leads to a higher risk of infection. However, NETs also contain several pro-inflammatory and cytotoxic molecules than can exacerbate thromboinflammation and lung tissue injury. To reduce NET-mediated lung damage and inflammation, DNase is frequently used in preclinical models of ALI due to its capability …

It's About The Patients: Practical Antibiotic Stewardship In Outpatient Settings In The United States, Alpesh N Amin, E Patchen Dellinger, Glenn Harnett, Bryan D Kraft, Kerry L Laplante, Frank Lovecchio, James A Mckinnell, Glenn Tillotson, Salisia Valentine

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens cause over 35,000 preventable deaths in the United States every year, and multiple strategies could decrease morbidity and mortality. As antibiotic stewardship requirements are being deployed for the outpatient setting, community providers are facing systematic challenges in implementing stewardship programs. Given that the vast majority of antibiotics are prescribed in the outpatient setting, there are endless opportunities to make a smart and informed choice when prescribing and to move the needle on antibiotic stewardship. Antibiotic stewardship in the community, or "smart prescribing" as we suggest, should factor in antibiotic efficacy, safety, local resistance rates, and overall cost, in …

A Recombinant Murine-Like Rotavirus With Nano-Luciferase Expression Reveals Tissue Tropism, Replication Dynamics, And Virus Transmission, Yinxing Zhu, Liliana Sánchez-Tacuba, Gaopeng Hou, Takahiro Kawagishi, Ningguo Feng, Harry B Greenberg, Siyuan Ding

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Rotaviruses (RVs) are one of the main causes of severe gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and death in children and young animals. While suckling mice prove to be highly useful small animal models of RV infection and pathogenesis, direct visualization tools are lacking to track the temporal dynamics of RV replication and transmissibility

Bsl2-Compliant Lethal Mouse Model Of Sars-Cov-2 And Variants Of Concern To Evaluate Therapeutics Targeting The Spike Protein, Mohanraj Manangeeswaran, Derek D C Ireland, Seth G Thacker, Ha-Na Lee, Logan Kelley-Baker, Aaron P Lewkowicz, Paul W Rothlauf, Marjorie Cornejo Pontelli, Louis-Marie Bloyet, Michael A Eckhaus, Mirian I Mendoza, Sean Whelan, Daniela Verthelyi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Since first reported in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is rapidly acquiring mutations, particularly in the spike protein, that can modulate pathogenicity, transmission and antibody evasion leading to successive waves of COVID19 infections despite an unprecedented mass vaccination necessitating continuous adaptation of therapeutics. Small animal models can facilitate understanding host-pathogen interactions, target selection for therapeutic drugs, and vaccine development, but availability and cost of studies in BSL3 facilities hinder progress. To generate a BSL2-compatible

Regulation Of Rod Photoreceptor Function By Farnesylated G-Protein Γ-Subunits, Alexander V. Kolesnikov, Elena Lobysheva, Jaya P. Gnana-Prakasam, Vladimir J. Kefalov, Oleg G. Kisselev

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Heterotrimeric G-protein transducin, Gt, is a key signal transducer and amplifier in retinal rod and cone photoreceptor cells. Despite similar subunit composition, close amino acid identity, and identical posttranslational farnesylation of their Gγ subunits, rods and cones rely on unique Gγ1 (Gngt1) and Gγc (Gngt2) isoforms, respectively. The only other farnesylated G-protein γ-subunit, Gγ11 (Gng11), is expressed in multiple tissues but not retina. To determine whether Gγ1 regulates uniquely rod phototransduction, we generated transgenic rods expressing Gγ1, Gγc, or Gγ11 in Gγ1-deficient mice and analyzed their properties. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting demonstrated the robust expression of each transgenic Gγ in …

Environmental Health Responses To Covid 19 In Western Australia: Lessons For The Future, Jacques Oosthuizen, Melissa Stoneham, Toni Hannelly, Edmore Masaka, Giverny Dodds, Victor Andrich

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The COVID-19 pandemic tested the health system of Western Australia (WA) and the relatively new overarching legislative framework that guided the state-wide public health response to the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the experiences and roles of environmental health officers (EHOs) in WA during the management of COVID-19 and to identify any policy changes that are needed to facilitate the rapid deployment of EHOs during a future public health crisis. An online survey with 78 respondents was administered and analysis was both qualitative and quantitative. It was found that participants believed there was inadequate resourcing, workforce shortages, increased workloads, …

The Relationship Between Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experiences, And Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Kelly Paterniti, Stephen Bright, Eyal Gringart

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Expanding on the work of Forstmann and Sagioglou, this study investigated the differences in personality and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) as a function of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences. A sample of 240 participants with prior psychedelic experience completed an online survey. Data were collected on participants’ psychedelic-occasioned mystical states, personality, and self-reported PEB. A measure of behavioral PEB was also included (Charity Task). The mean scores on self-reported PEB, openness and agreeableness of participants who met the criteria for a “complete” mystical state, were significantly higher than those who did not. Specifically, those who experienced a mystical state scored higher on the …

Tropicalization Of Seagrass Macrophytodetritus Accumulations And Associated Food Webs, Gilles Lepoint, Glenn A. Hyndes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Seagrass, systems export significant amounts of their primary production as large detritus (i.e. macrophytodetritus). Accumulations of exported macrophytodetritus (AEM) are found in many areas in coastal environment. Dead seagrass leaves are often a dominant component of these accumulations, offering shelter and/or food to numerous organisms. AEM are particular habitats, different from donor habitats (i.e. seagrass meadow, kelp or macroalgae habitats) and with their own characteristics and dynamics. They have received less attention than donor habitats despite the fact they often connect different coastal habitats, are the place of intense remineralization processes and shelter associated detritus food web. As for seagrass …

Maya-Kwobabiny: Re-Embedding Language At Kepa Kurl, Western Australia, Clint Bracknell, Amy Budrikis, Roma Yibiyung Winmar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper describes a Nyungar language revitalisation project in the southern region of Western Australia conducted in partnership between a university research team and the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation. It discusses how linguistic analysis of historical Nyungar documentation was essential to addressing community aims of re-embedding the language into the community, developing and using pedagogical resources, and exploring new domains for language use. In particular, this paper focuses on the community’s desire for the reclamation of a dialectal flavour of Nyungar that is distinctive to the Esperance region, and the factors contributing to a successful partnership between the …

A Comparison Of 64cu-Labeled Bi-Terminally Pegylated A20fmdv2 Peptides Targeting Integrin Ανβ6, Truc T Huynh, Sreeja Sreekumar, Cedric Mpoy, Buck E Rogers

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Expression of epithelial-specific integrin α

Postprandial 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Response Varies According To The Lipid Composition Of A Vitamin D3 Fortified Dairy Drink, Aislinn F. Mccourt, Steven L. Mulrooney, Graham O'Neill, E. Dolores O'Riordan, Aifric M. O'Sullivan

Articles

In-vitro evidence suggests that the lipid component of foods alters vitamin D absorption. This single-blinded, cross-over postprandial study examined the effect of changing the lipid component of a 20 µg vitamin D3 fortified dairy drink on postprandial 25(OH)D concentrations. Participants consumed one dairy drink per visit: a non-lipid, a pre-formed oleic acid micelle, an olive oil and a fish oil dairy drink. There was a significant time*drink*baseline status effect on 25(OH)D concentrations (p = 0.039). There were no time*drink, time or drink effects on 25(OH)D in vitamin D sufficient participants (>50nmol/L). However, there was an effect of time …

Disruptive Technologies In Smart Farming: An Expanded View With Sentiment Analysis, Sargam Yadav, Abhishek Kaushik, Mahak Sharma, Shubham Sharma

Articles

Smart Farming (SF) is an emerging technology in the current agricultural landscape. The aim of Smart Farming is to provide tools for various agricultural and farming operations to improve yield by reducing cost, waste, and required manpower. SF is a data-driven approach that can mitigate losses that occur due to extreme weather conditions and calamities. The influx of data from various sensors, and the introduction of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the field of farming has accelerated the implementation of disruptive technologies (DTs) such as machine learning and big data. Application of these predictive and innovative tools in agriculture is …

Cell Death Induced In Glioblastoma Cells By Plasma-Activated-Liquids (Pal) Is Primarily Mediated By Membrane Lipid Peroxidation And Not Ros Influx, Sebnem Gunes, Zhonglei He, Evanthia Tsoukou, Sing Wei Ng, Daniela Boehm, Beatriz Pinheiro, Paula Bourke, Renee Malone, Patrick J. Cullen, Wenxin Wang, James Curtin

Articles

Since first identified in 1879, plasma, the fourth state of matter, has been developed and utilised in many fields. Nonthermal atmospheric plasma, also known as cold plasma, can be applied to liquids, where plasma reactive species such as reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen species and their effects can be retained and mediated through plasma-activated liquids (PAL). In the medical field, PAL is considered promising for wound treatment, sterilisation and cancer therapy due to its rich and relatively long-lived reactive species components. This study sought to identify any potential antagonistic effect between antioxidative intracellularly accumulated platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) and PAL. We found …

Hand Transplants, Daily Functioning, And The Human Capacity For Limb Regeneration, Susan M Fitzpatrick, David Brogan, Prateek Grover

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Unlike some of our invertebrate and vertebrate cousins with the capacity to regenerate limbs after traumatic loss, humans do not have the ability to regrow arms or legs lost to injury or disease. For the millions of people worldwide who have lost a limb after birth, the primary route to regaining function and minimizing future complications is

The Enantiomer Of Allopregnanolone Prevents Pressure-Mediated Retinal Degeneration Via Autophagy, Makoto Ishikawa, Toru Nakazawa, Hiroshi Kunikata, Kota Sato, Takeshi Yoshitomi, Kathiresan Krishnan, Douglas F Covey, Charles F Zorumski, Yukitoshi Izumi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In an

Loss Of Function Of Wfs1 Causes Er Stress-Mediated Inflammation In Pancreatic Β-Cells, Shuntaro Morikawa, Lindsey Blacher, Chinyere Onwumere, Fumihiko Urano

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Wolfram syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, hearing loss, diabetes insipidus, and progressive neurodegeneration. Pathogenic variants in the

Post-Transplant Thrombotic Microangiopathy Due To A Pathogenic Mutation In Complement Factor I In A Patient With Membranous Nephropathy: Case Report And Review Of Literature, Maryam Saleem, Sana Shaikh, Zheng Hu, Nicola Pozzi, Anuja Java

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and organ injury occurring due to endothelial cell damage and microthrombi formation in small vessels. TMA is primary when a genetic or acquired defect is identified, as in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) or secondary when occurring in the context of another disease process such as infection, autoimmune disease, malignancy or drugs. Differentiating between a primary complement-mediated process and one triggered by secondary factors is critical to initiate timely treatment but can be challenging for clinicians, especially after a kidney transplant due to presence of multiple confounding factors. Similarly, primary …

Distinguishing Tumor Admixed In A Radiation Necrosis (Rn) Background: 1h And 2h Mr With A Novel Mouse Brain-Tumor/Rn Model, Xia Ge, Kyu-Ho Song, John A Engelbach, Liya Yuan, Feng Gao, Sonika Dahiya, Keith M Rich, Joseph J H Ackerman, Joel R Garbow

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Distinguishing radiation necrosis (RN) from recurrent tumor remains a vexing clinical problem with important health-care consequences for neuro-oncology patients. Here, mouse models of pure tumor, pure RN, and admixed RN/tumor are employed to evaluate hydrogen (

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pipeline of common quantitative

RESULTS: Differences in quantitative

CONCLUSIONS: These findings, employing a pipeline of quantitative

Leishmania Guyanensis Suppressed Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Provoked By Its Viral Endosymbiont, Dmitry Kopelyanskiy, Chantal Desponds, Florence Prevel, Matteo Rossi, Romain Migliorini, Tiia Snäkä, Remzi Onur Eren, Stéphanie Claudinot, Lon-Fye Lye, Manolis Pasparakis, Stephen M Beverley, Nicolas Fasel

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is essential to the production of nitric oxide (NO), an efficient effector molecule against intracellular human pathogens such as