Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Consanguinity And Pregnancy Outcomes In A Multi-Ethnic, Metropolitan European Population, Rolf Becker, Thomas Keller, Rolf-Dieter Wegner, Heidemarie Neitzel, Markus Stumm, Ute Knoll, Markus Stärk, Heiner Fangerau, Alan Bittles

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of major anomalies in the offspring of consanguineous couples, including data on the prenatal situation. Methods: Over 20years (1993-2012), 35391 fetuses were examined by prenatal sonography. In 675 cases (1.9%), parents were consanguineous, with 307 couples (45.5%) related as first cousins, 368 couples (54.5%) beyond first cousins. Detailed information was retrieved on 31710 (89.6%) fetuses, (consanguineous 568: 1.8%). Results: Overall prevalence of major anomalies among fetuses with non-consanguineous parents was 2.9% (consanguineous, 10.9%; first cousins, 12.4%; beyond first cousins, 6.5%). Adjusting the overall numbers for cases having been …

Genome-Wide Scans Detect Adaptation To Aridity In A Widespread Forest Tree Species, Dorothy A. Steane, Brad M. Potts, Elizabeth Mcclean, Suzanne M. Prober, William D. Stock, René E. Vaillancourt, Margaret Byrne

Research Datasets

Patterns of adaptive variation within plant species are best studied through common garden experiments, but these are costly and time-consuming, especially for trees that have long generation times. We explored whether genome-wide scanning technology combined with outlier marker detection could be used to detect adaptation to climate and provide an alternative to common garden experiments. As a case study, we sampled nine provenances of the widespread forest tree species, Eucalyptus tricarpa, across an aridity gradient in southeastern Australia. Using a Bayesian analysis we identified a suite of 94 putatively adaptive (outlying) sequence-tagged markers across the genome. Population-level allele frequencies of …

Is There An Economic Case For Investing In Nursing Care – What Does The Literature Tell Us?, Diane E. Twigg, Helen Myers, Christine Duffield, Margaret Giles, Gemma Evans

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim

To determine the cost effectiveness of increasing nurse staffing or changing the nursing skill mix in adult medical and/or surgical patients?

Background

Research has demonstrated that nurse staffing levels and skill mix are associated with patient outcomes in acute care settings. If increased nurse staffing levels or richer skill mix can be shown to be cost-effective hospitals may be more likely to consider these aspects when making staffing decisions.

Design

A systematic review of the literature on economic evaluations of nurse staffing and patient outcomes was conducted to see whether there is consensus that increasing nursing hours/skill mix is …

Diagnostic Value Of Subjective Memory Complaints Assessed With A Single Item In Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease: Results Of The Dian Study, Christoph Laske, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Mateusz S. Jasielec, Stephan A. Müller, Niklas K. Koehler, Susanne Gräber, Stefan L. Förster, Alexander E. Drzezga, Felix Mueller-Sarnowski, Adrian Danek, Mathias Jucker, Randall J. Bateman, Virginia D. Buckles, Andrew J. Saykin, Ralph Martins, John C. Morris

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective. We examined the diagnostic value of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) assessed with a single item in a large cross-sectional cohort consisting of families with autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) participating in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN). Methods. The baseline sample of 183 mutation carriers (MCs) and 117 noncarriers (NCs) was divided according to Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale into preclinical (CDR 0; MCs: n = 107; NCs: n = 109), early symptomatic (CDR 0.5; MCs: n = 48; NCs: n = 8), and dementia stage (CDR ≥ 1; MCs: n = 28; NCs: n = 0). These groups …

Inflamation And Oxidative Stress : The Molecular Connectivity Between Insulin Resistance, Obesity And Alzheimer's Disease, Guiseppe Verdile, Kevin N. Keane, Vinicius F. Cruzat, Sandra Medic, Miheer Sabale, Joanne Rowles, Nadeeja Wijesekara, Ralph Martins, Paul E. Fraser, Philip Newsholme

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Type 2 diabetes (T 2 DM), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and insulin resistance are age-related conditions and increased prevalence is of public concern. Recent research has provided evidence that insulin resistance and impaired insulin signalling may be a contributory factor to the progression of diabetes, dementia, and other neurological disorders. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common subtype of dementia. Reduced release (for T 2 DM) and decreased action of insulin are central to the development and progression of both T 2 DM and AD. A literature search was conducted to identify molecular commonalities between obesity, diabetes, and AD. Insulin resistance …

Utilization Of Anc And Pnc Services In Nepal : A Multivariate Analysis Based On Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2001 And 2006, Gehendra Mahara, Collins Asweto, Kai Cao, Ali M. Alzain, Andrea Sebastian, Jill Barr, Xiuhua Guo, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Maternal Mortality is a public health problem in Nepal, which was highest in 1990 among the South Asian countries. Associated factors of maternal mortality are various; among them maternal health sevices such as antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) services are the main. Methods: A multivariate secondary data analysis out based on Nepal Demographic Health Surveys 2001 and 2006. Logistic regression models was performed to compare the utilization of the ANC and PNC services, with background characteristics of women aged between 15 to 49 years old. Results: A total of 8913 reproductive aged groups (15-49) women were taken f …

Evolution Of Testosterone Treatment Over 25 Years: Symptom Responses, Endocrine Profiles And Cardiovascular Changes, Malcolm Carruthers, Paul Cathcart, Mark R. Feneley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Introduction: Testosterone treatment has evolved rapidly over the past 25 years as new, more effective and convenient methods have become available. This study reports experience with seven different methods, introduced on the market in the UK. Aim: To establish the symptom response when testosterone treatment was initiated on the basis of clinical features and symptoms of androgen deficiency, and the resulting endocrine, biochemical and physiological responses. Methods: Of 2693 patients attending the 3 Men’s Health Centers – The UK Androgen Study (UKAS), 2247 were treated. Treatments included pellet implants, oral testosterone undecanoate (Testocaps), mesterolone (Proviron), testosterone gel (Testogel), testosterone scrotal …

Investigation Of Interferences And Development Of Pre-Treatment Methods For Arsenic Analysis By Anodic Stripping Voltammetry, Paul Lewtas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Contamination of drinking water is a serious health issue in many developing countries and there is a recognised need for low cost portable systems that are capable of analysing drinking water down to low ppb levels. Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) instruments meet these requirements but suffer interferences from other species which may also be present in the sample, particularly organics, other metals and sulfides. The last of these has received surprisingly little attention in the literature, despite being a proven interferent.

This study investigates the impact of each of these interference types, as well as a number of traditional and …

Bone Strength, Load Tolerance And Injury Risk In Elite Australian Football, Nicolas H. Hart

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A paucity of research exists to characterise and investigate lower-body musculoskeletal characteristics and morphological adaptations in elite Australian Footballers with the aim to improve screening, monitoring and load management practices. Given the high prevalence of lower-body skeletal injuries in Australian Football; and the ability to measure, modify and train muscle and bone strength and their derivatives; this project served to extend scientific understanding of musculoskeletal morphology and bone strength characteristics in elite level field-based team sport athletes through a series of research studies using Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT). In particular, studies one and two …

Perceived Harms And Benefits Of Parental Cannabis Use, And Parents’ Reports Regarding Harm-Reduction Strategies, Kathleen J. Donoghue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research focussed on families in which at least one parent was a long-term cannabis user; I explored family members’ perceptions of the benefits and harms of cannabis use and the strategies parents used to minimise cannabis-related harm to themselves and their children. In depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 43 individuals from 13 families, producing a series of family case studies that enabled examination of multiple perspectives within each family. In Study 1, I used an interpretive framework guided by Miles and Huberman’s (1994) thematic content analysis technique to analyse interview data, while study 2 yielded detailed descriptive vignettes …

The Effect Of Vertically- And Horizontally-Directed Plyometric Exercise On Sprint Running Performance, Ben Campbell Thomasian

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of 6 weeks of vertically- and horizontally-directed lower-body plyometric exercise with vertically versus horizontally biased ground force application, on 40-m sprint running time, vertical jumping height, body composition and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle architecture. Male (n = 19) and female (n = 20) recreational athletes were recruited and stratified according to 40 m sprinting ability, then randomly allocated to one of two groups: horizontally-directed plyometric training (HT) and vertically-directed plyometric training (VT).

The groups performed the experimental procedures twice each week with the same number of total ground contacts, while …

Medical Cannabis In The United States: Policy, Politics And Science, Jelica Grbic

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Historically, cannabis has been used as a pharmaceutical drug for a variety of conditions including rheumatism, depression, convulsions, and malaria. Since the 1970s, randomised, controlled clinical trials have shown cannabis to be effective in the treatment of debilitating medical conditions including nausea and vomiting resulting from cancer chemotherapy, wasting syndrome associated with HIV/AIDS, and chronic pain. Despite scientific evidence, as of 2011, when the material for this thesis was collected, only 17 states of the United States (U.S.) and the District of Columbia had enacted medical cannabis laws allowing patients with specific medical conditions to use cannabis without being criminally …

Investigating The Value Of Workplace-Endorsed Social Media For Improving Deskbound Employee Physical Activity Program Engagement And Reducing Sedentary Behaviour Health Risks, Darren Leigh Webb

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Sedentary (prolonged sitting) behaviour is now recognised as an independent health risk factor contributing to a number of preventable lifestyle related diseases (Katzmarzyk, Church, Craig, & Bouchard, 2009). The widespread integration of computers into the office environment has seen an increase in employee work time participating in technology facilitated desk-based tasks requiring them to remain physically inactive (Philipson & Posner, 2003). According to recent research, workplace sedentary behavioural practices have objectively been measured as accounting for 81.8% of employee time, with a further 15.3% categorised as light activity within office based populations (Parry & Straker, 2013). With a recorded national …

An Appraisal Of Experiences Of Climate Change And Adaptive Response To Heat Stress By Farmers In Rural Ghana, Kwasi Frimpong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

With the increase in average global temperatures, heat-related illnesses and deaths have unfolded as occupational and health issues. Periods of high to extreme temperatures are becoming more common and are a leading cause of weather-related deaths in many countries. In agricultural settings of African countries, heat stress is a major concern as many smallholder farmers work outdoors with limited access to cooling systems even in their resting and living environments. This study, conducted in the Bawku East part of Northern-East Ghana in 2013, examines, in the context of climate change, the trends and impacts of heat stress on smallholder farmers, …

What We Know, What We Do And What We Could Do: Creating An Understanding Of The Delivery Of Health Education In Lower Secondary Government Schools In Western Australia, Donna Michelle Barwood

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Australian health data indicates that childhood is a significant time for young Australians to develop health and well-being issues. Concurrently, health advocates herald in-school delivery of skills-based participatory health education as making significant contributions to developing behaviour change and supporting health enhancing dispositions in children and young people. In Western Australia (WA), skillsbased participatory health education is characterised by linking knowledge and understandings of what it means to be safer, healthier and more physically active to skills that action these states. Skills-based is a preferred approach to teaching and learning in the Health and Physical Education Learning Area (HPE LA), …

Alexithymia In A Psychiatric Population: Stability And Relationship With Therapeutic Outcome, Lauren Mcgillivray

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alexithymia has been defined as a personality construct that involves difficulties identifying and describing feelings, as well as an externally oriented thinking style and impoverished fantasy life, which places individuals at risk for various psychopathologies. For psychiatric populations, it represents an obstacle to therapeutic success. Despite extensive research, there is no consensus on the prevalence rate of alexithymia in the general psychiatric population and no data on alexithymia prevalence in the Australian general psychiatric population. In addition, there is inconsistency in the literature regarding the role of alexithymia in therapeutic intervention and a lack of robust studies involving control or …

What Significance Does Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviour Have For Members Of Online Health Promoting Communities? Learning From Austraiia’S Heartnet Community, Gloria Askander

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

My study used the HeartNET (HN) community to investigate the significance of physical activity and sedentary behaviour for members of online health-promoting communities by using online surveys and netnography. It found concerns about heart health and general health can be both a barrier and an enabler to increasing physical activity or reducing sedentary behaviour.

Gentle efforts to address sedentary behaviour could build confidence to increase physical activity. By offering role models and encouraging friendly rivalry, peer support via an online community (or other type of social networking sites) can increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. Fun, laughter and peer …

Duet For Life: Is Alexithymia A Key Note In Couples’ Empathy, Emotional Connection, Relationship Dissatisfaction, And Therapy Outcomes?, Pamela D. Mcneill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alexithymia is an emotion-related construct involving difficulties identifying, describing, and processing emotion, which hinder the capacity to provide empathy, and the development of emotionally connected intimate relationships. To date, there has been minimal investigation of the impact of alexithymia on community couples’ relationships, no associated examination of clinical couples, and no consideration of therapists’ knowledge of alexithymia as a source of influence in couple therapy outcomes.

Studies 1 and 2 investigated alexithymia in 170 community couples and 17 therapy couples, respectively, in association with their empathy provided, empathy received, emotional connection components (i.e., turn toward, turn away, turn against, positive …

Just A “Click” Away From Evidence-Based Online Breast Cancer Information, Advice And Support Provided By A Specialist Nurse: An Ethnonetnographic Study, Cynthia Ann Witney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Breast cancer has had, and will continue to have, a devastating impact on the lives of many Australian women, their families, friends and the wider community. The concomitant treatment of this disease places a considerable burden on the health care system and the supporters of the person diagnosed with this disease. While there are many government and non-government organisations that provide treatment and support services for the person with breast cancer, these services are usually provided in person either in the home or at the organisation’s offices. This study extended the information advice and support aspects of these services to …

Training Load Quantification In Professional Australian Basketball And The Use Of The Reactive Strength Index As A Monitoring Tool, William Markwick

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Study 1: The intraday reliability of the reactive strength index (RSI) calculated from a drop jump in professional men’s basketball.

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of the reactive strength index (RSI) and jump height (JH) performance from multiple drop heights with elite basketball players. Methods: Thirteen professional basketball players (mean ±SD: age 25.8 ± 3.5 y, height 1.96 ± 0.07 m, mass 94.8 ± 8.2 kg) completed 3 maximal drop jump attempts on to a jump mat at 4 randomly assigned box heights and 3 counter movement jump (CMJ) trials. Results: No statistical difference was observed between …

Saying ‘No’: A Biographical Analysis Of The Experiences Of Women With A Genetic Predisposition To Developing Breast/Ovarian Cancer Who Reject Risk Reducing Surgery, Doreen Molloy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Genetic technologies have identified some of the genes implicated in cancer susceptibility. Women with mutations in breast/ovarian cancer-susceptibility genes (BRCA1 and 2) have a lifetime combined risk of breast/ovarian cancer of more than 80%. Risk reducing surgery (RRS) reduces cancer risk by as much as 90% in high risk populations. Despite this, some BRCA1/2 mutation-positive women say no to RRS.

Purpose: To illuminate an understanding of why women at high risk of developing breast/ovarian cancer say no to risk reducing surgery (RRS).

Design: Denzin’s (1989) interpretive biography was combined with Dolby-Stahl’s (1985) literary folkloristic methodology to provide a contextualised …

The Impact Of Nursing A Significant Other In The Course Of Employment, Tania Arnold

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis describes the experiences of nurses and midwives working in metropolitan hospitals who cared for a significant other in their role of employment.

The absence of research directly related to this topic guided the exploration of individuals’ experiences to establish base line knowledge relating to this phenomenon.

This study used descriptive research to provide information relating to the personal and professional effects on nurses who were required to, chose to or had no choice but to care for a significant other in their role of employment. An on-line survey gathered demographic, Likert scale responses to evaluate impact on care, …

Antenatal Clinic: Using Ethnographic Methods To Listen To The Voices Of Pregnant Adolescents, Deborah Ireson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aim: This research aims to explore the motivating reasons and external influences that affect pregnant adolescents’ reasons for attending an antenatal clinic. Background: Pregnancy during adolescence has been researched from perceived ‘poor’ decision making during pregnancy and postnatal perspectives involving high-risk outcomes for mother and baby. Antenatal clinic attendance by pregnant adolescents is often characterised by late and infrequent attendance, limiting midwifery contact with this inexperienced group. Gaps in the literature exist where the real-time voices of pregnant adolescents offer their current experiences of antenatal clinic as a relevant means to inform midwifery practice.

Research design: Using ethnographic methods, this …

Landing Performance And Lower Extremity Injuries In Competitive Surfing, Lina Elizabeth Lundgren

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Competitive surfing involves highXrisk manoeuvres that may impose injury risk, especially in the lower extremity. Although the dynamic environment of surfing is a major factor of unpredictable determinants for injury risk, there may be athlete qualities with importance for prevention. Previous studies suggest that dynamic loading and landing tasks represent major risk factors, and should therefore be included in athlete assessments and risk analysis.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate landing tasks that may be related to surfing performance and injury risk. It involved studying manoeuvres and landing tasks to establish its relevance for surfing athletes, develop multifactorial …

Analysis Of Road Sprint Cycling Performance, Paolo Menaspa

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Sprint cycling ability is a key determinant of road cycling performance, with many races designed specifically for sprinters. The ability to excel in the final sprint is relevant for both individual riders and teams. Despite the importance of sprints within professional road cycling, the characteristics of professional road sprints and sprinters have yet to be extensively described. Thus, the overall objective of the five research studies contained within this doctoral thesis was to describe road cycling sprint performance and improve the general understanding of the physical, technical and tactical factors associated with such performances.

The first two descriptive field studies …

The N-Glycosylation Of Immunoglobulin G As A Novel Biomarker Of Parkinson’S Disease, Alyce Christine Russell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

For neurodegenerative diseases, interventions during the early stages of the disease, before significant neurodegeneration has occurred, are associated with an increased probability of slowing or halting the disease process. In order to intervene early, it is essential that an accurate diagnosis is obtained and that disease progression can be monitored. This is particularly relevant for Parkinson’s disease (PD; International Classification of Diseases version 10) because significant neurodegeneration has already occurred by the time the clinical motor symptoms are present. Therefore, the development of translatable, high-throughput biomarkers for large scale population screening is a crucial area of research. Of promise are …

Influence Of Anthropometric And Upper Body Strength Qualities On Surfboard Paddling Kinematics, Joseph Coyne

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Competitive surfing is an international professional water sport of which a key factor in performance appears to be surfboard paddling ability. Research on surfing performance is relatively novel and there is very limited data as to how anthropometric and upper extremity strength variables influence not just surfboard paddling but also surfing ability.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was threefold. The first purpose was to evaluate the reliability of Pull Up and Dip 1RM strength assessments, the ratio between the two exercises, and a surfboard endurance paddle assessment. The second purpose was to establish if there were discriminative factors between …

Evaluation Of A Modified Food Frequency Questionnaire To Measure Lignans In Australian Men And Women, Ying Qi Winnie Li

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds that possess estrogenic and biological properties that have been postulated to protect against chronic diseases. Isoflavonoids and lignans are two main classes of phytoestrogen that have been investigated for their estrogenic efficacy and occurrence in the human diet. Isoflavonoids are found in soy and related products, whereas lignans are found in a wider range of plant-based foods, such as cereals, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds; and in beverages such as tea, coffee and wine. In Western populations with low dietary intake of soy products, compared to the Asian counterparts, lignans could be a more important …

Evaluation And Training Of Sensorimotor Abilities In Competitive Surfers, Tai T. Tran

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Study 1: Development of a comprehensive performance testing protocol for competitive surfers

Purpose: Appropriate and valid testing protocols for evaluating the physical performances of surfing athletes is not well refined. The purpose of this project was to develop, refine, and evaluate a testing protocol for use with elite surfers, including measures of anthropometry, strength and power, and endurance. Methods: After pilot testing and consultation with athletes, coaches and sport scientists, a specific suite of tests was developed. Forty-four competitive junior surfers (16.2±1.3 years, 166.3±7.3 cm, 57.9±8.5 kg) participated in this study involving a within-day repeated measures analysis, using an Elite …

The Development Of An Objective Multi-Dimensional Approach To Talent Identification In Junior Australian Football, Carl T C Woods

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Talent identification (TID) is a pertinent component of the sports science discipline given the considerable influence it may have within the pursuit of excellence. Thus, research has attempted to identify the determinants of a talented performance through the use of objective testing procedures. However, many of these ‘traditional’ approaches have been operationalised by mono-dimensional objective physical performance tests that do not inherently account for the multi-dimensional requisites of game-play, particularly within a team sporting context. This is problematic when attempting to identify talent, as a successful performance in team sports is often the combination of physical, technical and tactical elements. …