Publications

Ben-Nissan, B, Latella, BA & Bendavid, A 2011, 'Biomedical thin films: Mechanical properties' in Ducheyne, P, Healy, KE, Hutmacher, DW, Grainger, DW & Kirkpatrick, CJ (eds), Comprehensive Biomaterials, Elsevier, USA, pp. 63-73.
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In materials applied for medical applications, thin film coatings (including micro- and nanocoatings) offer the possibility of modifying the surface properties of a range of surgical materials and implants such as hip or knee replacements. The essential requirement of any artificial implant is to prevent immune rejection or inflammatory responses. Metals, ceramic, and polymers have all been used for implants. High-quality metal alloys of titanium, vanadium, and chromium are commonly used for orthopedic prostheses in order to avoid toxicity. Coatings on these alloys are aimed at improving abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and ion release protection; increasing bioactivity; and improving environment and structure for new bone attachment. In turn, they improve reliability, performance, and longevity of a range of biomedical implants and devices. Industrial techniques for the production of micro- and nanocoatings are many, including physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, thermal and plasma spraying, and sol-gel processing. Micro- and nanocoatings are clinically used to improve bioactivity and improve bone implant bonding, improve abrasion and wear resistance, and reduce metal ion release in a range of orthopedic and maxillofacial implants. The release of particulate matter derived from total hip replacement (THR) is important in determining the durability and long-term performance of the prosthesis. Surface engineering of the implant-bearing surface offers an alternative approach to reduce metallic wear debris in metal-on-metal bearing couples for hip prostheses. Currently, fully surface-engineered bearing systems are used to reduce the wear rates of metal-on-metal prostheses and to minimize the generation of wear debris and the release of metal ions and prolong the service life. Mechanical properties and testing methods are used to determine the viability of a coated implant or device and its performance under simulated physiologica...

Chen, H & Morris, MJ 2011, 'Overnutrition in Mothers and Appetite Regulators in Offspring' in Preedy, VR (ed), Handbook of Behavior, Food and Nutrition, Springer New York, pp. 1745-1757.
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Overconsumption of energy-rich food and a sedentary lifestyle make significant contributions to the development of obesity. Over the past several decades, the proportion of people who are overweight or obese has risen sharply. As obesity becomes a global epidemic, the rate of childhood obesity is also increasing. Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that programming of obesity may occur following overnutrition during early development. Indeed, intrauterine factors such as abnormal glucose and lipid levels, along with hormonal changes due to maternal obesity may also be important determinants of subsequent obesity risk, even more so than genetic factors, thus contributing to the increased incidence of obesity in children. This highlights the importance of understanding the underlying mechanisms to enable better prevention and to permit development of therapeutic strategies. Over the past 5 years, the focus of research on programming of brain appetite regulation has moved from studying the impact of maternal undernutrition to that of overnutrition, as more and more women around the world enter pregnancy either overweight or obese. The appetite circuits that regulate feeding are highly conserved across mammalian species. Animal models provide an opportunity to investigate the impact of in utero or early postnatal overnutrition while controlling genetic and environmental influences. Rat offspring from mothers rendered obese by access to ‘junk food’ are more likely to overeat and prefer ‘junk food’. They tend to develop very early (weaning age) onset lipid and glucose metabolic disorders, such as hyperlipidemia and glucose intolerance, and these last into adulthood. These offspring also manifest resistance to the anorexigenic effects of leptin. Studies in different species suggest that maternal obesity or consuming a lipid dense diet alter the key hypothalamic neuropeptides controlling food intake and energy homeostasis in offspring in utero, with aberra...

Darcy, SA & Appleby, L 2011, 'Sydney 2000: Moving from Post-Hoc Legacy to Strategic Vision and Operational Partnerships' in Legg, D & Gilbert, K (eds), Paralympic Legacies, Common Ground Publishing, Champaign, Illinois, pp. 75-98.
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Legacy remains one of the most important issues relating to multisport mega-events across the globe and it could be argued that the development of legacy is one of the most urgent imperatives in elite sport. In this regard the Paralympics is no exception to the quest for long term legacy; however, little in the way of documentation appears to be forthcoming from the International Paralympic community in this regard. This book reviews the concept of legacy across previous Paralympic Games by providing a series of chapters under the headings of `The Paralympic Legacy Debate, `Paralympic City Legacies, `Emerging Issues of Paralympic Legacy and `Reconceptualising Paralympic Legacies. The issues arising are discussed in terms of a meta-analysis of the authors work and offer interesting ideas which if taken up by the International Paralympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, Bid Committees, OCOGs and major sports could change the face of Paralympic legacy towards the positive forever.

Duffield, R & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'Fatigue and the regulation of exercise intensity during team sport matches' in Marino, F (ed), Regulation of Fatigue in Exercise, Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 117-136.

Duffield, R & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'Fatigue and the regulation of exercise intensity during team sport matches' in Marino, F (ed), Regulation of Fatigue in Exercise, Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 117-136.
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Despite the engaging discussion concerning the mechanisms of fatigue during exercise, one common theme seems apparent; that the underlying mechanisms are intensity and duration dependent. As expected, the debate regarding the definition, presence and mechanisms of exercise-induced fatigue centres heavily on findings of laboratory investigations. However, presently there is little evidence from ecologically valid, field-based settings to support this laboratory evidence. From the view of the Exercise and Sports Sciences, a central tenant of the research into the mechanisms of fatigue is to transfer the findings back to an applied setting to understand exercise performance in the field. Accordingly, many laboratory studies have investigated mechanisms responsible for the amelioration or termination of exercise performance. However, particularly for team sports, the poor ecological validity of exercise protocols used restricts application of the findings to the field. Further, termination of exercise in the field is normally associated with the end of a game, rather than volitional exhaustion, reducing the application of laboratory findings to competition settings. Recently, the use of player tracking technology has increased the ease and resolution of collecting game-based data to understand movement patterns of team sport athletes. As such, from the growing body of literature it is possible to gain insight into the regulation of game-based exercise intensity and hence postulate as to the mechanisms responsible for the fluctuations in exercise patterns. Added to these findings are further game-based data of physiological responses and the effects of changing conditions on the resulting exercise patterns. Accordingly, from a collection of game-based data for a range of team sports, it is possible to develop a more ecologically valid description of the influence of transient and absolute fatigue, or more aptly, the regulation of exercise intensity. This cha...

Godara, P & Milthorpe, B 2011, 'Surgical Adhesion and Its Prevention' in Ducheyne, P, Healy, KE, Hutmacher, DW, Grainger, DW & Kirkpatrick, CJ (eds), Comprehensive Biomaterials, Elsevier, USA, pp. 561-572.
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Adhesion of freely moving tissues and organs due to surgical injury and trauma can be a serious postoperative complication. High rates of incidence due to surgical intervention, especially associated with abdominal procedures, have been reported. This chapter gives an introduction to the formation of adhesions, with particular focus on peritoneum, urinary and reproductive (female) systems, tendon, ligament, joint, and pericardium. A number of techniques, treatments, and materials have been proposed for the prevention/reduction of adhesion formation. Of these, barrier methods are considered the only effective method currently available. An overview of biomaterials currently used as barriers for postsurgical tissue adhesion is presented. Current clinical practice utilizes solid membranes/mechanical barriers, spray-on, and gel and liquid barriers. These barriers can be either resorbable, nonresorbable, or a combination of both. Complications of barrier films are examined, and design criteria for barrier membranes are presented. Adhesion formation can be beneficial in particular circumstances, such as for anchoring implants, and these uses are commented upon. Much advancement has been made in this area, thanks to the increasing knowledge and understanding regarding the events that control adhesion formation, but there is still a long way to go before an optimum solution to this problem is found.

Parker, D 2011, 'The development and implementation of evidence-based palliative care guidelines for residential care: Lessons for other countries' in Merryn, G & Christine, I (eds), Living with Ageing and Dying: Palliative and End of Life Care for Older People, Oxford University Press, UK, pp. 226-236.
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Palliative and End of Life Care for Older People Merryn Gott, Christine Ingleton ... care of older people is that, in the past and in other societies less modern than our own, communities have cared for their elderly better than we currently do.

Parker, D & Froggatt, K 2011, 'Palliative care for older people' in Tolson, D, Booth, J & Schofield, I (eds), Evidence Informed Nursing with Older People, Wiley-Blackwell, United Kindgom, pp. 84-100.

Taylor, TL, Lock, DJ & Darcy, SA 2011, 'The Janus face of diversity in Australian sport' in Toohey, K & Taylor, T (eds), Australian Sport: Antipodean Waves of Change, Routledge, London, pp. 25-39.
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In this essay, Janus is used as a metaphor for examining the nature of cultural diversity in Australian sport. It does so by firstly presenting a historical context for sport in Australia and the relative lack of cultural diversity found in sport. Within a country dominated by the running codes of football and cricket, the position of soccer in Australia was somewhat unique as it became a bastion for many non-Anglo migrant groups. However, in the I 980s and 1990s soccer's lack of organizational success at the slate and national level was negatively ascribed to the tensions between the ethnically affiliated clubs. the same clubs that were ironically the stalwarts driving the growing popularity of the sport. We examine the initiatives used to restructure the game in Australia to make football more appealing to mainstream (i.e. non-ethnically aligned) spectators. The contemporary situation is explored through secondary documentation and the results of a survey of 3,056 spectators undertaken during the first season of the new A-League are presented. The essay concludes with a discussion about the relative success of the restructure in terms of changing the face of Australian soccer.

Achterman, RR, Smith, AR, Oliver, BG & White, TC 2011, 'Sequenced dermatophyte strains: Growth rate, conidiation, drug susceptibilities, and virulence in an invertebrate model', Fungal Genetics and Biology, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 335-341.
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Anaissi, A, Kennedy, PJ & Goyal, ML 2011, 'Dimension Reduction of Microarray Data Based on Local Principal Component', World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 77, pp. 68-73.
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Analysis and visualization of microarraydata is veryassistantfor biologists and clinicians in the field of diagnosis and treatment of patients. It allows Clinicians to better understand the structure of microarray and facilitates understanding gene expression in cells. However, microarray dataset is a complex data set and has thousands of features and a very small number of observations. This very high dimensional data set often contains some noise, non-useful information and a small number of relevant features for disease or genotype. This paper proposes a non-linear dimensionality reduction algorithm Local Principal Component (LPC) which aims to maps high dimensional data to a lower dimensional space. The reduced data represents the most important variables underlying the original data. Experimental results and comparisons are presented to show the quality of the proposed algorithm. Moreover, experiments also show how this algorithm reduces high dimensional data whilst preserving the neighbourhoods of the points in the low dimensional space as in the high dimensional space.

Attard, MRG, Chamoli, U, Ferrara, TL, Rogers, TL & Wroe, S 2011, 'Skull mechanics and implications for feeding behaviour in a large marsupial carnivore guild: the thylacine, Tasmanian devil and spotted‐tailed quoll', Journal of Zoology, vol. 285, no. 4, pp. 292-300.
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AbstractExtinction risk varies across species and is influenced by key ecological parameters, such as diet specialization. For predictive conservation science to be effective, we need to understand extinction risk factors that may have implicated recent species extinctions. Diet and feeding behaviour of the large extinct marsupial carnivore Thylacinus cynocephalus or thylacine have long been debated. Improved understanding of the skull's biomechanical performance and its limitations in a comparative context may yield important insights. Here, we use three‐dimensional (3D) finite element analysis to assess aspects of biomechanical performance in the skull of T. cynocephalus relative to those of two extant marsupial carnivores with known diets that occurred sympatrically with T. cynocephalus: the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, and spotted‐tailed quoll, Dasyurus maculatus. Together, these three species comprised the large mammalian carnivore guild in Tasmania at the time of European settlement. The bone‐cracking S. harrisii produced high bite forces for its size as expected, but the stresses induced were surprisingly high. A higher proportion of cancellous bone in the skull of this osteophage may act to absorb shock but decrease rigidity and hence raise stress. A relatively high bite force and rigid skull characterized D. maculatus, which may allow them to target prey of variable sizes. Compared with S. harrisii and D. maculatus, we found that the skull of T. cynocephalus was least well adapted to withstand forces driven solely by its jaw‐closing musculature, as well as to simulations of struggling prey. Our findings suggest that T. cynoc...

Bajan, S & Hutvagner, G 2011, 'Another “Loophole” in miRNA Processing', Molecular Cell, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 345-347.
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In this issue of Molecular Cell, Suzuki et al. (2011) present the intriguing finding that an RNAse known to play an important role in immunity regulates miRNA processing in cancer and inflammation by cleaving the terminal loops of many miRNAs. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

Beck, D, Ayers, S, Wen, J, Brandl, MB, Pham, TD, Webb, P, Chang, C-C & Zhou, X 2011, 'Integrative analysis of next generation sequencing for small non-coding RNAs and transcriptional regulation in Myelodysplastic Syndromes', BMC Medical Genomics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-16.
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Abstract Background Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDSS) are pre-leukemic disorders with increasing incident rates worldwide, but very limited treatment options. Little is known about small regulatory RNAs and how they contribute to pathogenesis, progression and transcriptome changes in MDS. Methods Patients' primary marrow cells were screened for short RNAs (RNA-seq) using next generation sequencing. Exon arrays from the same cells were used to profile gene expression and additional measures on 98 patients obtained. Integrative bioinformatics algorithms were proposed, and pathway and ontology analysis performed. Results In low-grade MDS, observations implied extensive post-transcriptional regulation via microRNAs (miRNA) and the recently discovered Piwi interacting RNAs (piRNA). Large expression differences were found for MDS-associated and novel miRNAs, including 48 sequences matching to miRNA star (miRNA*) motifs. The detected species were predicted to regulate disease stage specific molecular functions and pathways, including apoptosis and response to DNA damage. In high-grade MDS, results suggested extensive post-translation editing via transfer RNAs (tRNAs), providing a potential link for reduced apoptosis, a hallmark for this disease stage. Bioinformatics analysis confirmed important regulatory roles for MDS linked miRNAs and TFs, and strengthened the biological significance of miRNA*. The 'RNA polymerase II promoters' were identified as the tightest controlled biological function. We suggest their control by a miRNA dominated feedback loop, which might be linked to the dramatically different miRNA amounts seen between low and high-gra...

Bertrand, RL, Senadheera, S, Markus, I, Liu, L, Howitt, L, Chen, H, Murphy, TV, Sandow, SL & Bertrand, PP 2011, 'A Western Diet Increases Serotonin Availability in Rat Small Intestine', Endocrinology, vol. 152, no. 1, pp. 36-47.
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Abstract Diet-induced obesity is associated with changes in gastrointestinal function and induction of a mild inflammatory state. Serotonin (5-HT) containing enterochromaffin (EC) cells within the intestine respond to nutrients and are altered by inflammation. Thus, our aim was to characterize the uptake and release of 5-HT from EC cells of the rat ileum in a physiologically relevant model of diet-induced obesity. In chow-fed (CF) and Western diet–fed (WD) rats electrochemical methods were used to measure compression evoked (peak) and steady state (SS) 5-HT levels with fluoxetine used to block the serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT). The levels of mRNA for tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) and SERT were determined by quantitative PCR, while EC cell numbers were determined immunohistochemically. In WD rats, the levels of 5-HT were significantly increased (SS: 19.2±3.7 μm; peak: 73.5±14.1 μm) compared with CF rats (SS: 12.3±1.8 μm; peak: 32.2±7.2 μm), while SERT-dependent uptake of 5-HT was reduced (peak WD: 108% of control versus peak CF: 212% control). In WD rats, there was a significant increase in TPH1 mRNA, a decrease in SERT mRNA and protein, and an increase in EC cells. In conclusion, our data show that foods typical of a Western diet are associated with an increased 5-HT availability in the rat ileum. Increased 5-HT availability is driven by the up-regulation of 5-HT synthesis genes, decreased re-uptake of 5-HT, and increased numbers and/or 5-HT content of EC cells which are likely to cause altered intestinal motility and sensation in vivo.

Bjørnerem, Å, Ghasem-Zadeh, A, Bui, M, Wang, X, Rantzau, C, Nguyen, TV, Hopper, JL, Zebaze, R & Seeman, E 2011, 'Remodeling markers are associated with larger intracortical surface area but smaller trabecular surface area: A twin study', Bone, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 1125-1130.
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Bradshaw, LN, Zhong, J, Bradbury, P, Mahmassani, M, Smith, JL, Ammit, AJ & O'Neill, GM 2011, 'Estradiol stabilizes the 105-kDa phospho-form of the adhesion docking protein NEDD9 and suppresses NEDD9-dependent cell spreading in breast cancer cells', Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, vol. 1813, no. 2, pp. 340-345.
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Bridge, P, Pocock, NA, Nguyen, T, Munns, C, Cowell, CT, Forwood, N & Thompson, MW 2011, 'Validation of Longitudinal DXA Changes in Body Composition From Pre- to Mid-Adolescence Using MRI as Reference', Journal of Clinical Densitometry, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 340-347.
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Bryant, CE, Brown, RD, Yang, S, Suen, H, Aklilu, E, Favaloro, J, Hart, DNJ, Fromm, P, Woodland, N, Nassif, N, Iland, H, Gibson, J, Ho, PJ & Joshua, DE 2011, 'Ten Year Survivors of Multiple Myeloma Demonstrate a Differential Expression of Immunological Biomarkers Including a High Incidence of Cytotoxic T-Cell Clones Which Have Not Acquired Myeloma-Associated Anergy,', Blood, vol. 118, no. 21, pp. 3924-3924.
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Abstract Abstract 3924 Prior to the introduction of novel therapies for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) few patients survived for more than 10 years. Several reports have suggested that 10 year survival is associated with a younger age at diagnosis and the duration of exposure to effective agents. Although the number of patients surviving 10 years is increasing, there have been no significant reports of immunological biomarkers in these patients. This is especially true in those for whom the prolonged survival has occurred without novel drugs. Previous studies have shown that the presence of expanded peripheral blood CD8 T-cell clones in MM patients is associated with a better prognosis; raising the possibility that these T-cells, confirmed as clones by TCR sequencing, mediate an anti-tumor effect. However microarray gene set enrichment analysis and proliferation tracking studies demonstrated that these cells are in an anergic state. In addition, there is evidence that Tregs inhibit and Th17 cells enhance autologous immune response in malignancy and that an imbalance in MM may impair disease control. Slan-DCs are a subset of myeloid dendritic cells and are of interest in MM because of their ability to stimulate cytotoxic T-cell responses and reverse anergy in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. We have investigated the immune mechanisms of disease control which may contribute to long-term survival by analyzing Tregs, Th17 cells, Slan-DCs and the incidence and relative degree of anergy of T-cell clones in all current >10 year survivors. Peripheral blood samples were analyzed for the presence of CD3+ T-cell receptor Vβ restricted T-cell clones (BetaMark Kit), the number of CD3+CD4+CD25h+CD127- Tregs, CD4+IL-17+ Th17 cells and CD16+CD14low M-DC8+ Slan-DCs. Proliferation of T-cells was analyzed using CFSE tracked...

Budka, M & Gabrys, B 2011, 'Electrostatic field framework for supervised and semi-supervised learning from incomplete data', Natural Computing, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 921-945.
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Budka, M, Gabrys, B & Musial, K 2011, 'On Accuracy of PDF Divergence Estimators and Their Applicability to Representative Data Sampling', Entropy, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1229-1266.
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Caruso, V, Chen, H & Morris, MJ 2011, 'Early Hypothalamic FTO Overexpression in Response to Maternal Obesity – Potential Contribution to Postweaning Hyperphagia', PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 9, pp. e25261-e25261.
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Background: Intrauterine and postnatal overnutrition program hyperphagia, adiposity and glucose intolerance in offspring. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene have been linked to increased risk of obesity. FTO is highly expressed in hypothalamic regions critical for energy balance and hyperphagic phenotypes were linked with FTO SNPs. As nutrition during fetal development can influence the expression of genes involved in metabolic function, we investigated the impact of maternal obesity on FTO. Methods: Female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 5 weeks before mating, throughout gestation and lactation. On postnatal day 1 (PND1), some litters were adjusted to 3 pups (vs. 12 control) to induce postnatal overnutrition. At PND20, rats were weaned onto chow or HFD for 15 weeks. FTO mRNA expression in the hypothalamus and liver, as well as hepatic markers of lipid metabolism were measured. Results: At weaning, hypothalamic FTO mRNA expression was increased significantly in offspring of obese mothers and FTO was correlated with both visceral and epididymal fat mass (P<0.05); body weight approached significance (P = 0.07). Hepatic FTO and Fatty Acid Synthase mRNA expression were decreased by maternal obesity. At 18 weeks, FTO mRNA expression did not differ between groups; however body weight was significantly correlated with hypothalamic FTO. Postnatal HFD feeding significantly reduced hepatic Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase-1a but did not affect the expression of other hepatic markers investigated. FTO was not affected by chronic HFD feeding. Significance: Maternal obesity significantly impacted FTO expression in both hypothalamus and liver at weaning. Early overexpression of hypothalamic FTO correlated with increased adiposity and later food intake of siblings exposed to HFD suggesting upregulation of FTO may contribute to subsequent hyperphagia, in line with some human data. N...

Chamoli, U & Wroe, S 2011, 'Allometry in the distribution of material properties and geometry of the felid skull: Why larger species may need to change and how they may achieve it', Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 283, no. 1, pp. 217-226.
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Chan, KY, Ling, SH, Dillon, TS & Nguyen, HT 2011, 'Diagnosis of hypoglycemic episodes using a neural network based rule discovery system', EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 9799-9808.
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Hypoglycemia or low blood glucose is dangerous and can result in unconsciousness, seizures and even death for Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Based on the T1DM patients' physiological parameters, corrected QT interval of the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, change of heart rate, and the change of corrected QT interval, we have developed a neural network based rule discovery system with hybridizing the approaches of neural networks and genetic algorithm to identify the presences of hypoglycemic episodes for TIDM patients. The proposed neural network based rule discovery system is built and is validated by using the real T1DM patients' data sets collected from Department of Health, Government of Western Australia. Experimental results show that the proposed neural network based rule discovery system can achieve more accurate results on both trained and unseen T1DM patients' data sets compared with those developed based on the commonly used classification methods for medical diagnosis, statistical regression, fuzzy regression and genetic programming. Apart from the achievement of these better results, the proposed neural network based rule discovery system can provide explicit information in the form of production rules which compensate for the deficiency of traditional neural network method which do not provide a clear understanding of how they work in prediction as they are in an implicit black-box structure. This explicit information provided by the product rules can convince medical doctors to use the neural networks to perform diagnosis of hypoglycemia on T1DM patients.

Chen, H, Iglesias, MA, Caruso, V & Morris, MJ 2011, 'Maternal Cigarette Smoke Exposure Contributes to Glucose Intolerance and Decreased Brain Insulin Action in Mice Offspring Independent of Maternal Diet', PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. e27260-e27260.
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Background: Maternal smoking leads to intrauterine undernutrition and is associated with low birthweight and higher risk of offspring obesity. Intrauterine smoke exposure (SE) may alter neuroendocrine mediators regulating energy homeostasis as chemicals in cigarette smoke can reach the fetus. Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption causes fetal overnutrition; however, combined effects of HFD and SE are unknown. Thus we investigated the impact of combined maternal HFD and SE on adiposity and energy metabolism in offspring. Method: Female Balb/c mice had SE (2 cigarettes/day, 5 days/week) or were sham exposed for 5 weeks before mating. Half of each group was fed HFD (33% fat) versus chow as control. The same treatment continued throughout gestation and lactation. Female offspring were fed chow after weaning and sacrificed at 12 weeks. Results: Birthweights were similar across maternal groups. Faster growth was evident in pups from SE and/or HFD dams before weaning. At 12 weeks, offspring from HFD-fed dams were significantly heavier than those from chow-fed dams (chow-sham 17.6±0.3 g; chow-SE 17.8±0.2 g; HFD-sham 18.7±0.3 g; HFD-SE 18.8±0.4 g, P&0.05 maternal diet effect); fat mass was significantly greater in offspring from chow+SE, HFD+SE and HFD+sham dams. Both maternal HFD and SE affected brain lactate transport. Glucose intolerance and impaired brain response to insulin were observed in SE offspring, and this was aggravated by maternal HFD consumption. Conclusion: While maternal HFD led to increased body weight in offspring, maternal SE independently programmed adverse health outcomes in offspring. A smoke free environment and healthy diet during pregnancy is desirable to optimize offspring health. © 2011 Chen et al.

Chou, J, Ben‐Nissan, B, Green, DW, Valenzuela, SM & Kohan, L 2011, 'Targeting and Dissolution Characteristics of Bone Forming and Antibacterial Drugs by Harnessing the Structure of Microspherical Shells from Coral Beach Sand', Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 13, no. 1-2, pp. 93-99.
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Pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of metabolic bone diseases lead to a number of side effects due to the their uncontrollable dispersion throughout the body.([1]) Therefore, many groups directed their research to develop devices that are targeted to

Currow, DC, Burns, C, Agar, M, Phillips, J, McCaffrey, N & Abernethy, AP 2011, 'Palliative Caregivers Who Would Not Take on the Caring Role Again', JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 661-672.
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Abstract Context Health and social services rely heavily on family and friends for caregiving at the end of life. Objectives This study sought to determine the prevalence and factors associated with an unwillingness to take on the caregiving role again by interviewing former caregivers of palliative care patients. Methods The setting for this study was South Australia, with a population of 1.6 million people (7% of the Australian population) and used the South Australian Health Omnibus, an annual, face-to-face, cross-sectional, whole-of-population, multistage, systematic area sampling survey, which seeks a minimum of 3000 respondents each year statewide. One interview was conducted per household with the person over the age of 15 who most recently had a birthday. Using two years of data (n = 8377; 65.4% participation rate), comparisons between those who definitely would care again and those who would not was undertaken.

Darcy, S 2011, 'Developing Sustainable Approaches to Accessible Accommodation Information Provision: A Foundation for Strategic Knowledge Management', Tourism Recreation Research, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 141-157.
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© 2011 Tourism Recreation Research. The research consistently shows that the constraints to accessible accommodation identified by people with disability are firmly grounded in information provision. Information is the foundation on which people make their travel planning decisions and the provision of detailed and accurate accessible accommodation information is critical to the decision-making process for people with disability. To improve upon this current situation, this paper seeks to make the connection between accessible tourism, consumer needs, supply-side perspectives, government regulation/coordination, sustainability, accessible accommodation information provision and strategic knowledge management. First, demand research is examined to understand the specific constraints identified by consumers with disability and the specific accommodation criteria they seek when planning their trips. Second, the paper presents a summary of the supply-side research that presents the industry perspective on the consumer group and their accessible accommodation stock. Third, as with any tourism market development government regulation and coordination have very important roles to play brokering an industry-wide approach to accessible tourism. While tourism has been predominantly a market-driven sector with government support for infrastructure and marketing, an avenue to improve accessible accommodation information provision can be fostered through their coordination role to offer a more sustainable approach for consumers and the supply sector while progressing human rights outcomes. The paper concludes by presenting a case study of an Accessible Accommodation Assessment Template as a foundation to information provision on which to base a strategic knowledge management framework.

Darcy, S & Pegg, S 2011, 'Towards Strategic Intent: Perceptions of disability service provision amongst hotel accommodation managers', International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 468-476.
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The tourism sector globally has become increasingly mindful of how an ageing population is reshaping service provision forms and offerings. This being particularly true of accommodation operations where there is a now a growing recognition of the commercial value for providing market groups with exceptional service. With this in mind, this study sought to ascertain the perceptions of managers in the accommodation sector towards disability service provision with a view to identifying any current service gaps or failings. An inductive, qualitative approach was used with the data collection phase incorporating a series of one on one interviews and a focus group. The in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 managers of hotels deemed to have accessible rooms that complied with the relevant building codes and standards. A focus group comprised 22 managers of hotels located in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Study findings revealed five key themes that had not been previously discussed in the literature. They were: inclusive attitudinal approach; safety; the responsibility of people with a disability to communicate their needs to the hotel; perceptions of accessible rooms by the general public; and operational processes. Related themes that emerged from the data analysis that had previously been aligned with the literature included: legislative responsibility, policy and building codes; disability as a market segment; staff awareness/training; and language, marketing, and promotion information. Implications with respect to management of accessible rooms in the accommodation sector are outlined and further areas of research are proposed. © 2010.

Davidson, PM, Jiwa, M, Goldsmith, AJ, McGrath, SJ, DiGiacomo, M, Phillips, JL, Agar, M, Newton, PJ & Currow, DC 2011, 'Decisions for lung cancer chemotherapy: the influence of physician and patient factors', SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1261-1266.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the literature examining how the beliefs and behaviours of physicians and patients influence clinical communication, doctor-patient interaction and treatment decisions for lung cancer treatment. Methods: Literature was obtained via electronic database searches and hand searching of journals from 1990 to 2011. Results: Wide variability in perceptions of the value of chemotherapy in lung cancer is present among both physicians and patients. There is a mismatch in the degree patients and physicians weigh survival, such that patients value survival benefits highly whilst physicians strongly emphasize toxicity and associated symptoms. This lack of congruence between patients and clinicians is influenced by a range of factors and has implications for treatment decisions, long-term survival and quality of life in people affected by lung cancer. Conclusion: The divergence of treatment priorities indicates a need for improved communication strategies addressing the needs and concerns of both patients and clinicians. Patients should understand the benefits and risks of treatment options, while clinicians can gain a greater awareness of factors influencing patients' decisions on treatments. Reflecting these perspectives and patient preferences for lung cancer treatment in clinical guidelines may improve clinician awareness. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

Dehestani, D, Eftekhari, F, Guo, Y, Ling, S, Su, S & Nguyen, H 2011, 'Online Support Vector Machine Applicationfor Model Based Fault Detection and Isolationof HVAC System', International Journal of Machine Learning and Computing, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 66-72.
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Abstract—Preventive maintenance plays an important role in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. One cost effective strategy is the development of analytic fault detection and isolation (FDI) module by online monitoring the key variables of HAVC systems. This paper investigates realtime FDI for HAVC system by using online Support Vector Machine (SVM), by which we are able to train a FDI system with manageable complexity under real time working conditions. It is also proposed a new approach which allows us to detect unknown faults and updating the classifier by using these previously unknown faults. Based on the proposed approach, a semi unsupervised fault detection methodology has been developed for HVAC systems

Duncan, EL, Danoy, P, Kemp, JP, Leo, PJ, McCloskey, E, Nicholson, GC, Eastell, R, Prince, RL, Eisman, JA, Jones, G, Sambrook, PN, Reid, IR, Dennison, EM, Wark, J, Richards, JB, Uitterlinden, AG, Spector, TD, Esapa, C, Cox, RD, Brown, SDM, Thakker, RV, Addison, KA, Bradbury, LA, Center, JR, Cooper, C, Cremin, C, Estrada, K, Felsenberg, D, Glüer, C-C, Hadler, J, Henry, MJ, Hofman, A, Kotowicz, MA, Makovey, J, Nguyen, SC, Nguyen, TV, Pasco, JA, Pryce, K, Reid, DM, Rivadeneira, F, Roux, C, Stefansson, K, Styrkarsdottir, U, Thorleifsson, G, Tichawangana, R, Evans, DM & Brown, MA 2011, 'Genome-Wide Association Study Using Extreme Truncate Selection Identifies Novel Genes Affecting Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk', PLoS Genetics, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. e1001372-e1001372.
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Osteoporotic fracture is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a major predisposing factor to fracture and is known to be highly heritable. Site-, gender-, and age-specific genetic effects on BMD are thought to be significant, but have largely not been considered in the design of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of BMD to date. We report here a GWAS using a novel study design focusing on women of a specific age (postmenopausal women, age 55-85 years), with either extreme high or low hip BMD (age- and gender-adjusted BMD z-scores of +1.5 to +4.0, n = 1055, or -4.0 to -1.5, n = 900), with replication in cohorts of women drawn from the general population (n = 20,898). The study replicates 21 of 26 known BMD-associated genes. Additionally, we report suggestive association of a further six new genetic associations in or around the genes CLCN7, GALNT3, IBSP, LTBP3, RSPO3, and SOX4, with replication in two independent datasets. A novel mouse model with a loss-of-function mutation in GALNT3 is also reported, which has high bone mass, supporting the involvement of this gene in BMD determination. In addition to identifying further genes associated with BMD, this study confirms the efficiency of extreme-truncate selection designs for quantitative trait association studies. © 2011 Duncan et al.

Dunlop, RA, Brunk, UT & Rodgers, KJ 2011, 'Proteins containing oxidized amino acids induce apoptosis in human monocytes', BIOCHEMICAL JOURNAL, vol. 435, pp. 207-216.
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Cellular deposits of oxidized and aggregated proteins are hallmarks of a variety of age-related disorders, but whether such proteins contribute to pathology is not well understood. We previously reported that oxidized proteins form lipofuscin/ceroid-like bodies with a lysosomal-type distribution and up-regulate the transcription and translation of proteolytic lysosomal enzymes in cultured J774 mouse macrophages. Given the recently identified role of lysosomes in the induction of apoptosis, we have extended our studies to explore a role for oxidized proteins in apoptosis. Oxidized proteins were biosynthetically generated in situ by substituting oxidized analogues for parent amino acids. Apoptosis was measured with Annexin-V/PI (propidium iodide), TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling), MMP (mitochondrial membrane permeabilization), caspase activation and cytochrome c release, and related to lysosomal membrane permeabilization. Synthesized proteins containing the tyrosine oxidation product L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) were more potent inducers of apoptosis than proteins containing the phenylalanine oxidation product o-tyrosine. Apoptosis was dependent upon incorporation of oxidized residues, as indicated by complete abrogation in cultures incubated with the non-incorporation control D-DOPA (D-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) or when incorporation was competed out by parent amino acids. The findings of the present study suggest that certain oxidized proteins could play an active role in the progression of age-related disorders by contributing to LMP (lysosomal membrane permeabilization)-initiated apoptosis and may have important implications for the long-term use of L-DOPA as a therapeutic agent in Parkinson's disease

Eager, DM 2011, 'Playground equipment - certification and compliance', Education Matters, vol. Primary, pp. 32-34.

Ebrahimi Warkiani, M, Lou, C-P & Gong, H-Q 2011, 'Fabrication of multi-layer polymeric micro-sieve having narrow slot pores with conventional ultraviolet-lithography and micro-fabrication techniques', Biomicrofluidics, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 36504-365049.
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Fast detection of waterborne pathogens is important for securing the hygiene of drinking water. Detection of pathogens in water at low concentrations and minute quantities demands rapid and efficient enrichment methods in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of bio-sensors. We propose and demonstrate a low cost and rapid method to fabricate a multi-layer polymeric micro-sieve using conventional lithography techniques. The micro-fabricated micro-sieves are made of several layers of SU-8 photoresist using multiple coating and exposure steps and a single developing process. The obtained micro-sieves have good mechanical properties, smooth surfaces, high porosity (≈40%), and narrow pore size distribution (coefficient of variation &lt; 3.33%). Sample loading and back-flushing using the multi-layer micro-sieve resulted in more than 90% recovery of pathogens, which showed improved performance than current commercial filters.

Froggatt, K, Hockley, J, Parker, D & Brazil, K 2011, 'A system lifeworld perspective on dying in long term care settings for older people: Contested states in contested places', Health & Place, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 263-268.
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In many Western countries, older people live and die in long-term institutional care settings. Habermas's concepts of lifeworld, system and communicative action are drawn upon to illuminate the experience of living and dying in this particular place. It is proposed that dying older adults, their family and care staff occupy different contested states and long term care settings are contested places, located in a wider system. This wider system, mediated through care homes, can colonise the life world experiences of dying individuals. The development of communicative space bridges the lifeworld and system and offers a way for the lifeworld of dying individuals, and those around them to be reintegrated into, and influence the wider system.

Frost, SA, Nguyen, ND, Black, DA, Eisman, JA & Nguyen, TV 2011, 'Risk factors for in-hospital post-hip fracture mortality', Bone, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 553-558.
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Introduction: Approximately 10% of hip fracture patients die during hospitalization; however, it is not clear what risk factors contribute to the excess mortality. This study sought to examine risk factors of, and to develop prognostic model for, predicting in-hospital mortality among hip fracture patients. Methods: We studied outcomes among 410 men and 1094 women with a hip fracture who were admitted to a major-teaching-hospital in Sydney (Australia) between 1997 and 2007. Clinical data, including concomitant illnesses, were obtained from inpatient data. The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital mortality regardless of length of stay. A Log-binomial regression model was used to identify risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Using the identified risk factors, prognostic nomograms were developed for predicting short term risk of mortality for an individual. Results: The median duration of hospitalization was 9. days. During hospitalization, the risk of mortality was higher in men (9%) than in women (4%). After adjusting for multiple risk factors, increased risk of in-hospital mortality was associated with advancing age (rate ratio [RR] for each 10-year increase in age: 1.91 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47 to 2.49), in men (RR 2.13; 95% CI 1.41 to 3.22), and the presence of comorbid conditions on admission (RR for one or more comorbid conditions vs. none: 2.30; 95% CI 1.52 to 3.48). Specifically, the risk of mortality was increased in patients with a pre-existing congestive heart failure (RR 3.02; 95% CI: 1.65 to 5.54), and liver disease (RR 4.75; 95% CI: 1.87 to 12.1). These factors collectively accounted for 69% of the risk for in-hospital mortality. A nomogram was developed from these risk factors to individualize the risk of in-hospital death following a hip fracture. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the final model containing age, sex and comorbid conditions was 0.76. Conclusion: These data suggest that among ...

George, AM & Jones, PM 2011, 'Type II ABC Permeases: Are They Really So Different?', Structure, vol. 19, no. 11, pp. 1540-1542.
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ATP binding-cassette (ABC) transporters couple ATP hydrolysis to vectorial movement of substrates across cell membranes. Of ancient origin and ubiquitous occurrence, they have been adapted to traffic a vast array of compounds, performing roles such as nutrient import and removal of toxins, antigen presentation, hormone release, signal reception, channel gating, and many others (Higgins, 1992; Jones and George. 2004). Their central roles in many physiological process has brought ABC transporters to the forefront in biomedical research in diverse areas including multidrug resistance in cancers and human genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis.

Golzan, SM, Avolio, A & Graham, SL 2011, 'Minimising retinal vessel artefacts in optical coherence tomography images', Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, vol. 104, no. 2, pp. 206-211.
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Golzan, SM, Graham, SL, Leaney, J & Avolio, A 2011, 'Dynamic Association between Intraocular Pressure and Spontaneous Pulsations of Retinal Veins', Current Eye Research, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 53-59.
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Gomes, RV, Coutts, AJ, Viveiros, L & Aoki, MS 2011, 'Physiological demands of match-play in elite tennis: A case study', EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SPORT SCIENCE, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 105-109.
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The physiological and perceptual demands together with match notation of a four-set tennis match were studied in two elite professional players during the preparation for the 2008 Davis Cup. The design of this case report is unique in that it is the first to describe the demands of prolonged match-play (197 min) over four sets in ecologically valid conditions. The variables measured before and after each set included blood lactate and glucose concentrations, body mass, and perception of effort. Stroke count for each rally and heart rate were recorded during each set while salivary cortisol concentration was determined before and after the match. The rally length decreased as the match progressed. The results showed significant physiological stress, with each player losing greater than 2.5% of body mass (as fluid) and having elevated salivary cortisol concentrations after the match. Heart rate and perception of effort were also increased following each set indicating increasing stress. However, blood lactate decreased following the fourth set while blood glucose was maintained. The results also suggest that elite players may adjust work rates or tactics to cope with the increased perception of effort. This report shows that four sets of tennis are associated with increasing stress and fatigue.

Gracanin, M, Lam, MA, Morgan, PE, Rodgers, KJ, Hawkins, CL & Davies, MJ 2011, 'Amino acid, peptide, and protein hydroperoxides and their decomposition products modify the activity of the 26S proteasome', FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 389-399.
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Proteins are major biological targets for oxidative damage within cells because of their high abundance and rapid rates of reaction with radicals and singlet oxygen. These reactions generate high yields of hydroperoxides. The turnover of both native and modified/damaged proteins is critical for maintaining cell homeostasis, with this occurring via the proteasomal and endosomallysosomal systems; the former is of particular importance for intracellular proteins. In this study we have examined whether oxidation products generated on amino acids, peptides, and proteins modulate 26S proteasome activity. We show that oxidation products, and particularly protein hydroperoxides, are efficient inhibitors of the 26S proteasome tryptic and chymotryptic activities, with this depending, at least in part, on the presence of hydroperoxide groups. Removal of these species by reduction significantly reduces proteasome inhibition. This loss of activity is accompanied by a loss of thiol residues, but an absence of radical formation, consistent with molecular, rather than radical, reactions being responsible for proteasome inhibition. Aldehydes also seem to play a role in the inhibition of chymotryptic activity, with this prevented by treatment with NaBH4, which reduces these groups. Inhibition occurred at hydroperoxide concentrations of = 1 µM for oxidized amino acids and peptides and = 10 µM for oxidized proteins, compared with ca. 100 µM for H2O2, indicating that H2O2 is a much less effective inhibitor. These data indicate that the formation of oxidized proteins within cells may modulate cell function by interfering with the turnover of native proteins and the clearance of modified materials.

Hill, F, Kim, CF, Gorrie, CA & Moalem-Taylor, G 2011, 'Interleukin-17 deficiency improves locomotor recovery and tissue sparing after spinal cord contusion injury in mice', NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS, vol. 487, no. 3, pp. 363-367.
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Following the initial impact, spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a number of inflammatory responses which can exacerbate tissue damage in the cord and impair functional recovery. The involvement of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in the secondary degenerative mechanisms of SCI has been well established, although the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) remains unclear. In the present study, we used IL-17 knockout (KO) and C57BL/6J wildtype (WT) mice to investigate the effects of IL-17 deficiency on locomotor recovery, lesion size, glial activation and inflammatory cell response following spinal cord contusion injury. Our results show that compared to WT mice, IL-17 KO mice had a significantly smaller lesion size, corresponding with significantly improved locomotor functional recovery following SCI. At 6 weeks after injury, recruitment of B cells, dendritic cells and neutrophils was significantly lower in IL-17 KO than WT mice, however there was no difference in the presence of activated microglia and reactive astrocytes, in the injured spinal cord. These findings suggest that IL-17 is a mediator of secondary degeneration, which contributes to neuroinflammation and hinders functional recovery, though its actions do not affect glial activation following SCI. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Hill-Haas, SV, Dawson, B, Impellizzeri, FM & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'Physiology of Small-Sided Games Training in Football A Systematic Review', SPORTS MEDICINE, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 199-220.
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Small-sided games (SSGs) are played on reduced pitch areas, often using modified rules and involving a smaller number of players than traditional football. These games are less structured than traditional fitness training methods but are very popular training drills for players of all ages and levels. At present, there is relatively little information regarding how SSGs can best be used to improve physical capacities and technical or tactical skills in footballers. However, many prescriptive variables controlled by the coach can influence the exercise intensity during SSGs. Coaches usually attempt to change the training stimulus in SSGs through altering the pitch area, player number, coach encouragement, training regimen (continuous vs interval training), rules and the use of goalkeepers. In general, it appears that SSG exercise intensity is increased with the concurrent reduction in player number and increase in relative pitch area per player. However, the inverse relationship between the number of players in each SSG and exercise intensity does not apply to the time-motion characteristics. Consistent coach encouragement can also increase training intensity, but most rule changes do not appear to strongly affect exercise intensity. The variation of exercise intensity measures are lower in smaller game formats (e.g. three vs three) and have acceptable reproducibility when the same game is repeated between different training sessions or within the same session. The variation in exercise intensity during SSGs can also be improved with consistent coach encouragement but it is still more variable than traditional generic training methods. Other studies have also shown that SSGs containing fewer players can exceed match intensity and elicit similar intensities to both long- and short-duration high-intensity interval running. It also appears that fitness and football-specific performance can be improved equally with SSG and generic training drills. Future res...

Ho-Pham, LT, Nguyen, ND, Lai, TQ, Eisman, JA & Nguyen, TV 2011, 'Vitamin D status and parathyroid hormone in a urban population in Vietnam', Osteoporosis International, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 241-248.
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Hosie, A, Fazekas, B, Shelby-James, T, Mills, E, Byfieldt, N, Margitanovic, V, Hunt, J & Phillips, J 2011, 'Palliative care clinical trials: how nurses are contributing to integrated, evidence-based care', International Journal of Palliative Nursing, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 224-230.
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The aim of this paper is to describe the emerging role of the palliative care clinical trials nurse in an era of evidence-based practice and increasing clinical trial activity in palliative care settings across Australia. An overview of the current clinical trials work is provided, with a focus on three aspects of clinical trials nursing practice that have significant implications for patients: managing the consent process, integrating clinical trials into multidisciplinary care, and establishing and building the evidence base to inform practice in palliative care settings. Clinical trials roles provide palliative care nurses with an opportunity to contribute to clinical research, help expand palliative care's evidence base, and develop their own research capabilities.

Idzik, KR, Cywinski, PJ, Cranfield, CG, Mohr, GJ & Beckert, R 2011, 'Molecular Recognition of the Antiretroviral Drug Abacavir: Towards the Development of a Novel Carbazole-Based Fluorosensor', JOURNAL OF FLUORESCENCE, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 1195-1204.
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Due to their optical and electro-conductive attributes, carbazole derivatives are interesting materials for a large range of biosensor applications. In this study, we present the synthesis routes and fluorescence evaluation of newly designed carbazole fluorosensors that, by modification with uracil, have a special affinity for antiretroviral drugs via either WatsonCrick or Hoogsteen base pairing. To an N-octylcarbazole-uracil compound, four different groups were attached, namely thiophene, furane, ethylenedioxythiophene, and another uracil; yielding four different derivatives. Photophysical properties of these newly obtained derivatives are described, as are their interactions with the reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as abacavir, zidovudine, lamivudine and didanosine. The influence of each analyte on biosensor fluorescence was assessed on the basis of the SternVolmer equation and represented by SternVolmer constants. Consequently we have demonstrated that these structures based on carbazole, with a uracil group, may be successfully incorporated into alternative carbazole derivatives to form biosensors for the molecular recognition of antiretroviral drugs.

Impellizzeri, FM, Borg, E & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'Intersubjective Comparisons Are Possible with an Accurate Use of the Borg CR Scales', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS PHYSIOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 2-4.
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We recently read the interesting commentary of Lambert and Borresen,' which discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the various measures of training load in sports. This commentary addressed an important issue in sport science. As a further contribution, we would like to clarify some arguments presented in the commentary, particularly on the determination of the training load using the RPE and the session-RPE metho

Impellizzeri, FM, Borg, E & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'Letters to the editor', International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 2-4.

Jannot, G, Bajan, S, Giguère, NJ, Bouasker, S, Banville, IH, Piquet, S, Hutvagner, G & Simard, MJ 2011, 'The ribosomal protein RACK1 is required for microRNA function in both C. elegans and humans', EMBO reports, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 581-586.
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Despite the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in gene regulation, it is unclear how the miRNA–Argonaute complex—or miRNA‐induced silencing complex (miRISC)—can regulate the translation of their targets in such diverse ways. We demonstrate here a direct interaction between the miRISC and the ribosome by showing that a constituent of the eukaryotic 40S subunit, receptor for activated C‐kinase (RACK1), is important for miRNA‐mediated gene regulation in animals. In vivo studies demonstrate that RACK1 interacts with components of the miRISC in nematodes and mammals. In both systems, the alteration of RACK1 expression alters miRNA function and impairs the association of the miRNA complex with the translating ribosomes. Our data indicate that RACK1 can contribute to the recruitment of miRISC to the site of translation, and support a post‐initiation mode of miRNA‐mediated gene repression.

Johnston, M & Hutvagner, G 2011, 'Posttranslational modification of Argonautes and their role in small RNA-mediated gene regulation', Silence, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 5-5.
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Shortly after their discovery, repertoires of miRNA were identified, together with proteins involved in their biogenesis and action. It is now obvious that miRNA-mediated gene regulation itself is regulated at multiple levels. Identifying the regulatory mechanisms that underpin small RNA homeostasis by modulation of their biogenesis and action has become a key issue, which can be partly resolved by identifying mediators of Argonautes turnover. An emerging theme in the control of Argonaute stability and activity is through posttranslational modifications, which are the focus of this review. © 2011 Johnston and Hutvagner; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Jones, PM & George, AM 2011, 'Molecular-Dynamics Simulations of the ATP/apo State of a Multidrug ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter Provide a Structural and Mechanistic Basis for the Asymmetric Occluded State', Biophysical Journal, vol. 100, no. 12, pp. 3025-3034.
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ATP-binding cassette transporters use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to transport substrates across cellular membranes. They have two transmembrane domains and two cytosolic nucleotide-binding domains.Biochemical studies have characterized an occluded state of the transporter in which nucleotide is tenaciously bound in one active site, whereas the opposite active site is empty or binds nucleotide loosely. Here, we report molecular-dynamics simulations of the bacterial multidrug ATP-binding cassette transporter Sav1866. In two simulations of the ATP/apo state, the empty site opened substantially by way of rotation of the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) core subdomain, whereas the ATP-bound site remained occluded and intact. We correlate our findings with elastic network and molecular-dynamics simulation analyses of the 5av1866 NBD monomer, and with existing experimental data, to argue that the observed transition is physiological, and that the final structure observed in the ATP/apo simulations corresponds to the tight/loose state of the NBD dimer characterized experimentally..

Jones, PM, Robinson, MW, Dalton, JP & George, AM 2011, 'The Plasmodium falciparum Malaria M1 Alanyl Aminopeptidase (PfA-M1): Insights of Catalytic Mechanism and Function from MD Simulations', PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. e28589-e28589.
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Malaria caused by several species of Plasmodium is major parasitic disease of humans, causing 1-3 million deaths worldwide annually. The widespread resistance of the human parasite to current drug therapies is of major concern making the identification of new drug targets urgent. While the parasite grows and multiplies inside the host erythrocyte it degrades the host cell hemoglobin and utilizes the released amino acids to synthesize its own proteins. The P. falciparum malarial M1 alanyl-aminopeptidase (PfA-M1) is an enzyme involved in the terminal stages of hemoglobin digestion and the generation of an amino acid pool within the parasite. The enzyme has been validated as a potential drug target since inhibitors of the enzyme block parasite growth in vitro and in vivo. In order to gain further understanding of this enzyme, molecular dynamics simulations using data from a recent crystal structure of PfA-M1 were performed. The results elucidate the pentahedral coordination of the catalytic Zn in these metallo-proteases and provide new insights into the roles of this cation and important active site residues in ligand binding and in the hydrolysis of the peptide bond. Based on the data, we propose a two-step catalytic mechanism, in which the conformation of the active site is altered between the Michaelis complex and the transition state. In addition, the simulations identify global changes in the protein in which conformational transitions in the catalytic domain are transmitted at the opening of the N-terminal 8 angstrom-long channel and at the opening of the 30 angstrom-long C-terminal internal chamber that facilitates entry of peptides to the active site and exit of released amino acids. The possible implications of these global changes with regard to enzyme function are discussed.

Kabakova, IV, Grobnic, D, Mihailov, S, Mägi, EC, de Sterke, CM & Eggleton, BJ 2011, 'Bragg grating-based optical switching in a bismuth-oxide fiber with strong χ^(3)-nonlinearity', Optics Express, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 5868-5868.
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Kadlec, P & Gabrys, B 2011, 'Local learning‐based adaptive soft sensor for catalyst activation prediction', AIChE Journal, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 1288-1301.
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AbstractThis work presents an algorithm for the development of adaptive soft sensors. The method is based on the local learning framework, where locally valid models are built and maintained. In this framework, it is possible to model nonlinear relationship between the input and output data by the means of a combination of linear models. The method provides the possibility to perform adaptation at two levels: (i) recursive adaptation of the local models and (ii) the adaptation of the combination weights. The dataset used for evaluation of the algorithm describes a polymerization reactor where the target value is a simulated catalyst activity in the reactor. This dataset is also used to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the traditional recursive partial least squares algorithm struggles to deliver accurate predictions. In contrast to this, by exploiting the two‐level adaptation scheme, the proposed algorithm delivers more accurate results. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 57, 2011

Kadlec, P, Grbić, R & Gabrys, B 2011, 'Review of adaptation mechanisms for data-driven soft sensors', Computers & Chemical Engineering, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 1-24.
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Krimmer, DI & Oliver, BGG 2011, 'What can in vitro models of COPD tell us?', Pulmonary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 471-477.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease characterised by chronic bronchitis, largely irreversible remodelling of the small airways, and emphysematous destruction of the alveoli. COPD is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020. COPD often results from prolonged exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke or inhaled particulates. Current pharmacotherapies for COPD are unable to reverse the pathological changes of this disease, and this is partially due to a limited understanding of the intricate mechanisms by which chronic exposure lead to the different pathological components of COPD. This review examines how the mechanisms that underlie various components of COPD can be modelled in vitro, specifically using cigarette smoke extract with cells cultured from primary human lung tissue, and how the effectiveness of current and novel pharmacotherapies on successfully attenuating these pathological changes can also be examined in vitro. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Krimmer, DI, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 2011, 'Exposure To Biomass Smoke Extract Enhances Fibronectin Release From Human Lung Fibroblasts', AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, vol. 183, no. 12.
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COPD induced following biomass smoke exposure has been reported to be associated with a more fibrotic phenotype than cigarette smoke induced COPD. This study aimed to investigate if biomass smoke induced extracellular matrix (ECM) protein production from primary human lung fibroblasts in vitro. Primary human lung fibroblasts (n = 5-10) were stimulated in vitro for up to 72 hours with increasing concentrations of biomass smoke extract (BME) or cigarette smoke extract (CSE) prior to being assessed for deposition of ECM proteins, cytokine release, and activation of intracellular signalling molecules. Deposition of the ECM proteins perlecan and fibronectin was upregulated by both CSE (p,0.05) and BME (p,0.05). The release of the neutrophilic chemokine IL-8 was also enhanced by BME. ERK1/2 phosphorylation was significantly upregulated by BME (p,0.05). Chemical inhibition of ERK signalling molecules partially attenuated these effects (p,0.05). Stimulation with endotoxin had no effect. This study demonstrated that BME had similar effects to CSE in vitro and had the capacity to directly induce fibrosis by upregulating production of ECM proteins. The mechanisms by which both biomass and cigarette smoke exposure cause lung damage may be similar. Copyright: © 2013 Krimmer et a.

Kuo, C, Lim, S, King, NJC, Bartlett, NW, Walton, RP, Zhu, J, Glanville, N, Aniscenko, J, Johnston, SL, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 2011, 'Rhinovirus infection induces expression of airway remodelling factors in vitro and in vivo', RESPIROLOGY, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 367-377.
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Background and objective: A hallmark of asthma is airway remodelling, which includes increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein. Viral infections may promote the development of asthma and are the most common causes of asthma exacerbations. We evaluated whether rhinovirus (RV) infection induces airway remodelling, as assessed by ECM deposition. Methods: Primary human bronchial epithelial cells and lung parenchymal fibroblasts were infected with RV-2 or RV-16, or treated with RV-16 RNA, imiquimod (Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 agonist) or polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid (poly I: C) (activator of TLR 3, retinoic-acid-inducible protein I and melanoma-differentiated-associated gene 5). Changes in ECM proteins and their transcription were measured by ELISA and quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, gene expression for ECM proteins was assessed in a mouse model of RV infection. Results: RV infection increased deposition of the ECM protein, perlecan, by human bronchial epithelial cells, and collagen V and matrix-bound vascular endothelial growth factor were increased in both human bronchial epithelial cell and fibroblast cultures. Purified RV-16 RNA, poly I: C and imiquimod induced similar increases in ECM deposition to those observed with RV-infected fibroblasts. However, only poly I: C induced ECM deposition by bronchial epithelial cells, suggesting that RV-induced ECM deposition is mediated through TLR. Furthermore, gene expression for fibronectin and collagen I was increased in lung homogenates of mice infected with RV-1b. Conclusions: RV infection and TLR ligands promote ECM deposition in isolated cell systems and RV induces ECM gene expression in vivo, thus demonstrating that RV has the potential to contribute to remodelling of the airways through induction of ECM deposition. Airway remodelling, as indicated by increased extracellular matrix production, was induced by rhinovirus in both in vitro and in vivo models. This study provides im...

Kuo, C, Lim, S, King, NJC, Johnston, SL, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 2011, 'Rhinovirus infection induces extracellular matrix protein deposition in asthmatic and nonasthmatic airway smooth muscle cells', American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 300, no. 6, pp. L951-L957.
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Airway remodeling, which includes increases in the extracellular matrix (ECM), is a characteristic feature of asthma and is correlated to disease severity. Rhinovirus (RV) infections are associated with increased risk of asthma development in young children and are the most common cause of asthma exacerbations. We examined whether viral infections can increase ECM deposition and whether this increased ECM modulates cell proliferation and migration. RV infection of nonasthmatic airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells significantly increased the deposition of fibronectin (40% increase, n = 12) and perlecan (80% increase, n = 14), while infection of asthmatic ASM cells significantly increased fibronectin (75% increase, n = 9) and collagen IV (15% increase, n = 9). We then treated the ASM cells with the Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, imiquimod, and pure RV RNA and were able to show that the mechanism through which RV induced ECM deposition was via the activation of TLR3 and TLR7/8. Finally, we assessed whether the virus-induced ECM was bioactive by measuring the amount of migration and proliferation of virus-naive cells that seeded onto the ECM. Basically, ECM from asthmatic ASM cells induced twofold greater migration of virus-naive ASM cells than ECM from nonasthmatic ASM cells, and these rates of migration were further increased on RV-modulated ECM. Increased migration on the RV-modulated ECM was not due to increased cell proliferation, as RV-modulated ECM decreased the proliferation of virus-naive cells. Our results suggest that viruses may contribute to airway remodeling through increased ECM deposition, which in turn may contribute to increased ASM mass via increased cell migration.

Langsetmo, L, Nguyen, TV, Nguyen, ND, Kovacs, CS, Prior, JC, Center, JR, Morin, S, Josse, RG, Adachi, JD, Hanley, DA & Eisman, JA 2011, 'Independent external validation of nomograms for predicting risk of low-trauma fracture and hip fracture', Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 183, no. 2, pp. E107-E114.
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Ling, SH & Lam, HK 2011, 'Playing Tic-Tac-Toe Using Genetic Neural Network with Double Transfer Functions', Journal of Intelligent Learning Systems and Applications, vol. 03, no. 01, pp. 37-44.
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Computational intelligence is a powerful tool for game development. In this paper, an algorithm of playing the game Tic-Tac-Toe with computational intelligence is developed. This algorithm is learned by a Neural Network with Double Transfer functions (NNDTF), which is trained by genetic algorithm (GA). In the NNDTF, the neuron has two transfer functions and exhibits a node-to-node relationship in the hidden layer that enhances the learning ability of the network. A Tic-Tac-Toe game is used to show that the NNDTF provide a better performance than the traditional neural network does.

LING, SH, JIANG, F, NGUYEN, HT & CHAN, KY 2011, 'HYBRID FUZZY LOGIC-BASED PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION FOR FLOW SHOP SCHEDULING PROBLEM', International Journal of Computational Intelligence and Applications, vol. 10, no. 03, pp. 335-356.
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This paper, proposes a hybrid fuzzy logic-based particle swarm optimization (PSO) with cross-mutated operation method for the minimization of makespan in permutation flow shop scheduling problem. This problem is a typical non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP) hard combinatorial optimization problem. In the proposed hybrid PSO, fuzzy inference system is applied to determine the inertia weight of PSO and the control parameter of the proposed cross-mutated operation by using human knowledge. By introducing the fuzzy system, the inertia weight becomes adaptive. The cross-mutated operation effectively forces the solution to escape the local optimum. To make PSO suitable for solving flow shop scheduling problem, a sequence-order system based on the roulette wheel mechanism is proposed to convert the continuous position values of particles to job permutations. Meanwhile, a new local search technique namely swap-based local search for scheduling problem is designed and incorporated into the hybrid PSO. Finally, a suite of flow shop benchmark functions are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed PSO for flow shop scheduling problems. Experimental results show empirically that the proposed method outperforms the existing hybrid PSO methods significantly.

Ling, SSH & Nguyen, HT 2011, 'Genetic-Algorithm-Based Multiple Regression With Fuzzy Inference System for Detection of Nocturnal Hypoglycemic Episodes', IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BIOMEDICINE, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 308-315.
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Hypoglycemia or low blood glucose is dangerous and can result in unconsciousness, seizures, and even death. It is a common and serious side effect of insulin therapy in patients with diabetes. Hypoglycemic monitor is a noninvasive monitor that measures some physiological parameters continuously to provide detection of hypoglycemic episodes in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients (T1DM). Based on heart rate (HR), corrected QT interval of the ECG signal, change of HR, and the change of corrected QT interval, we develop a genetic algorithm (GA)-based multiple regression with fuzzy inference system (FIS) to classify the presence of hypoglycemic episodes. GA is used to find the optimal fuzzy rules and membership functions of FIS and the model parameters of regression method. From a clinical study of 16 children with T1DM, natural occurrence of nocturnal hypoglycemic episodes is associated with HRs and corrected QT intervals. The overall data were organized into a training set (eight patients) and a testing set (another eight patients) randomly selected. The results show that the proposed algorithm performs a good sensitivity with an acceptable specificity. © 2006 IEEE.

Liu, Q, Hoi, SCH, Su, CTT, Li, Z, Kwoh, C-K, Wong, L & Li, J 2011, 'Structural analysis of the hot spots in the binding between H1N1 HA and the 2D1 antibody: do mutations of H1N1 from 1918 to 2009 affect much on this binding?', BIOINFORMATICS, vol. 27, no. 18, pp. 2529-2536.
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Motivation: Worldwide and substantial mortality caused by the 2009 H1N1 influenza A has stimulated a new surge of research on H1N1 viruses. An epitope conservation has been learned in the HA1 protein that allows antibodies to cross-neutralize both 1918 a

Liu, Y, Liu, B & Ling, SH 2011, 'The almost periodic solution of Lotka-Volterra recurrent neural networks with delays', NEUROCOMPUTING, vol. 74, no. 6, pp. 1062-1068.
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By the fixed-point theorem subject to different polyhedrons and some inequalities (e.g., the inequality resulted from quadratic programming), we obtain three theorems for the Lotka-Volterra recurrent neural networks having almost periodic coefficients and delays. One of the three theorems can only ensure the existence of an almost periodic solution, whose existence and uniqueness the other two theorems are about. By using Lyapunov function, the sufficient condition guaranteeing the global stability of the solution is presented. Furthermore, two numerical examples are employed to illustrate the feasibility and validity of the obtained criteria. Compared with known results, the networks model is novel, and the results are extended and improved. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Lo, D, Jinyan Li, Iimsoon wong & Siau-Cheng Khoo 2011, 'Mining Iterative Generators and Representative Rules for Software Specification Discovery', IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 282-296.
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Billions of dollars are spent annually on software-related cost. It is estimated that up to 45 percent of software cost is due to the difficulty in understanding existing systems when performing maintenance tasks (i.e., adding features, removing bugs, etc.). One of the root causes is that software products often come with poor, incomplete, or even without any documented specifications. In an effort to improve program understanding, Lo et al. have proposed iterative pattern mining which outputs patterns that are repeated frequently within a program trace, or across multiple traces, or both. Frequent iterative patterns reflect frequent program behaviors that likely correspond to software specifications. To reduce the number of patterns and improve the efficiency of the algorithm, Lo et al. have also introduced mining closed iterative patterns, i.e., maximal patterns without any superpattern having the same support. In this paper, to technically deepen research on iterative pattern mining, we introduce mining iterative generators, i.e., minimal patterns without any subpattern having the same support. Iterative generators can be paired with closed patterns to produce a set of rules expressing forward, backward, and in-between temporal constraints among events in one general representation. We refer to these rules as representative rules. A comprehensive performance study shows the efficiency of our approach. A case study on traces of an industrial system shows how iterative generators and closed iterative patterns can be merged to form useful rules shedding light on software design. © 2006 IEEE.

Lock, D, Taylor, T & Darcy, S 2011, 'In the Absence of Achievement: The Formation of New Team Identification', European Sport Management Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 171-192.
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Motives to attend sport and form identification with sporting teams attract considerable attention in the literature. Previous research has determined that vicarious achievement is a key construct leading to attendance and identification. Conceptual and theoretical development has focused on established sport teams, and has not been inclusive of the formation of identification in a new team context. New sport teams do not have a history of achievement or well established traditions through which to attract fans, thus the constructs that influence the formation of identification with new sport teams may be conceivably different. In this study a mixed-method approach was used to explore key themes leading to the formation of new team identification with a new football team in Australia. Findings illustrated that vicarious achievement is less relevant in a new team, new league context. New team identification was characterized by a strong desire to support the sport of football in an Australian league. The home city of members and the match day occasion were also important themes in the formation of new team identification. © 2011 European Association for Sport Management.

Luan, F, Magi, E, Gong, T, Kabakova, I & Eggleton, BJ 2011, 'Photoinduced whispering gallery mode microcavity resonator in a chalcogenide microfiber', Optics Letters, vol. 36, no. 24, pp. 4761-4761.
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Marsh, DJ & Gimm, O 2011, 'Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia: Types 1 and 2', Advances in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, vol. 70, pp. 84-90.
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Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1) and type 2 (MEN 2) are autosomal-dominantly inherited syndromes where highly penetrant germline mutations predispose patients to the development of tumours in hormone-secreting cells. In the case of MEN 1, loss-of-function germline mutations in the tumour suppressor gene MEN1 increase the risk of developing pituitary, parathyroid and pancreatic islet tumours, and less commonly thymic carcinoids, lipomas and benign adrenocortical tumours. In the case of MEN 2, gain-of-function germline mutations clustered in specific codons of the RET proto-oncogene increase the risk of developing medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), phaeochromocytoma and parathyroid tumours. Offering RET testing is best practice for the clinical management of patients at-risk of MEN 2, and MEN 2 has become a classic model for the integration of molecular medicine into patient care. Prophylactic thyroidectomy in an asymptomatic RET mutation carrier to address the risk of developing MTC can prevent or cure this malignancy. No similar preventative strategies can be employed to prevent or cure MEN 1-associated tumours. Genetic testing for MEN 1 is therefore both more complex due to a general lack of mutational hotspots, and the benefit to patients is less straight forward. While a number of genotype-phenotype correlations exist in MEN 2, providing further rationale for performing genetic testing in this condition, these correlations are absent in MEN 1. This review summarises our current knowledge of these two syndromes with emphasis on those aspects with specific relevance to the otorhinolaryngologist. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Matthys, SPJ, Vaeyens, R, Vandendriessche, J, Vandorpe, B, Pion, J, Coutts, AJ, Lenoir, M & Philippaerts, RM 2011, 'A multidisciplinary identification model for youth handball', EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SPORT SCIENCE, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 355-363.
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Talent identification in team sports is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between elite and non-elite handball players in three age groups: U14 (n186), U16 (n150), and U18 (n92). A multidimensional test battery was assessed, taking biological maturation into account. Significant maturation effects were found for all anthropometric characteristics and most performance variables. Compared with their non-elite peers, the elite handball players demonstrated significantly greater aerobic capacity (PB0.01), strength and power (U14: countermovement jump, P0.021; sit-ups, P0.003; handgrip, P0.020; U16: countermovement jump, P0.013; five-jump test, PB0.001), and speed and agility (PB0.05) when maturation was controlled for. There was a significant difference in flexibility between elite and non-elite players in the U18 group (PB0.05). The elite and non-elite players did not differ in task- and ego-orientation. These results show that elite and non-elite young handball players possess different physical performance characteristics and that the specific tests that discriminate elite from non-elite handball players vary among age groups. In addition, maturity status can influence the results and should therefore be considered in talent identification and development programmes.

Moir, LM, Ng, HY, Poniris, MH, Santa, T, Burgess, JK, Oliver, BGG, Krymskaya, VP & Black, JL 2011, 'Doxycycline inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-2 secretion from TSC2-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts and lymphangioleiomyomatosis cells', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 164, no. 1, pp. 83-92.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is characterized by the abnormal growth of smooth muscle-like cells (LAM cells) and cystic destruction of the lung parenchyma. LAM cell-derived matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are thought to play a prominent role in the tissue destruction. The aim of this study was to determine whether doxycycline, a known MMP inhibitor, can inhibit LAM cell proliferation or mitochondrial function and/or modulate MMPs and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Wild-type and tuberous sclerosis complex-2 (TSC2)-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were cultured in DMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Human LAM cells were derived from the lungs of LAM patients and airway smooth muscle cells from control subjects. Cells were stimulated with FBS with or without doxycycline for up to 9 days. Proliferation was assessed by manual cell counts and MTT assay, MMP production by zymography and ELISA, and TIMP production using elisa. KEY RESULTS Doxycycline did not change FBS-induced proliferation in MEFs or human cells. However, doxycycline did reduce metabolic activity of both wild-type and TSC2-null MEFs and LAM cells, but had no effect on control cells. Furthermore, doxycycline reduced MMP-2 from MEFs and decreased active-MMP-2 from LAM cells but had no effect on TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 from human LAM cells. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Doxycycline decreased MMP levels and cell metabolic activity, which raises the possibility of therapeutic efficacy in LAM. © 2011 The British Pharmacological Society.

Moir, LM, Trian, T, Ge, Q, Shepherd, PR, Burgess, JK, Oliver, BGG & Black, JL 2011, 'Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Isoform-Specific Effects in Airway Mesenchymal Cell Function', Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 337, no. 2, pp. 557-566.
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The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signal transduction pathway is implicated in the airway remodeling associated with asthma. The class IA PI3K isoforms are known to be activated by growth factors and cytokines. Because this pathway is a possible site of pharmacological intervention for treating the disease, it is important to know which isoforms contribute to this process. Therefore, we used a pharmacological approach to investigate the roles of the three class IA PI3K isoforms (p110α, p110β, and p110δ) in airway remodeling using airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells derived from asthmatic subjects and ASM cells and lung fibroblasts from nonasthmatic subjects. These studies used the inhibitors N'-[(E)-(6-bromoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl) methylidene]- N,2-dimethyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonohydrazide (PIK75) (which selectively inhibits p110α), 7-methyl-2-(4-morpholinyl)-9- [1-(phenylamino)ethyl]-4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one (TGX221) (which selectively inhibits p110β), and 2-[(6-amino-9H-purin-9- yl)methyl]-5-methyl-3-(2-methylphenyl)-4(3H)-quinazolinone (IC87114) (which selectively inhibits p110δ). Cells were stimulated with transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) and/or 10% fetal bovine serum in the presence or absence of inhibitor or vehicle control (dimethyl sulfoxide). PIK75, but not TGX221 or IC87114, attenuated TGFβ-induced fibronectin deposition in all cell types tested. PIK75 and TGX221 each decreased secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 in nonasthmatic ASM cells and lung fibroblasts, whereas TGX221 was not as effective in asthmatic ASM cells. In addition, PIK75 decreased cell survival in TGFβ-stimulated asthmatic, but not nonasthmatic, ASM cells. In conclusion, specific PI3K isoforms may play a role in pathophysiological events relevant to airway wall remodeling. Copyright © 2011 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Mooney, M, O'Brien, B, Cormack, S, Coutts, A, Berry, J & Young, W 2011, 'The relationship between physical capacity and match performance in elite Australian football: A mediation approach', JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 447-452.
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The aim of this study was to verify if yo-yo intermittent recovery test (level 2) (yo-yo IR2) score is linked to Australian football (AF) performance through match exercise intensity. Six week prospective study design. Twenty-one data sets were recorded from nine individual players that completed the yo-yo IR2, and played an Australian Football League match in the first five rounds of the 2010 season wearing a global positioning system (GPS) unit. Simple mediation modelling was used to analyse the inter-relationship between yo-yo IR2 score, match exercise intensity and AF performance. Playing position and experience were also incorporated into the model to identify conditional affects. A significant direct relationship was observed between yo-yo IR2 and number of ball disposals (p < 0.1) and a significant indirect relationship was observed between yo-yo IR2 and number of ball disposals through distance travelled at high intensity (HIRmmin-1) (p < 0.1). Moderation analysis showed that playing position affected the relationship between of yo-yo IR2 and HIR mmin-1 (p < 0.1) and HIR mmin-1 and total ball disposals (p < 0.1). Playing experience also significantly affected the relationship between HIR mmin-1 and total ball disposals. This study is the first to identify the effects of yo-yo IR2 on total ball disposals through HIR mmin-1 performed during AF matches, and that playing position and playing experience affect these interactions.

Moore, HC, Johnston, M, Nicol, SM, Bourdon, J-C, Thompson, AM, Hutvagner, G & Fuller-Pace, FV 2011, 'An evolutionarily conserved, alternatively spliced, intron in the p68/DDX5 DEAD-box RNA helicase gene encodes a novel miRNA', RNA, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 555-562.
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The DEAD-box RNA helicase p68 (DDX5) plays important roles in several cellular processes, including transcription, pre-mRNA processing, and microRNA (miRNA) processing. p68 expression is growth and developmentally regulated, and alterations in p68 expression and/or function have been implicated in tumor development. The p68 gene encodes an evolutionarily conserved, alternatively spliced, intron the function of which has to date remained unclear. Although the intron-containing p68 RNA does not appear to yield an alternative p68 protein, it is differentially expressed in cell lines and tissues, indicating regulation of expression. Here we show that the p68 conserved intron encodes a novel putative miRNA, suggesting a previously unknown possible regulatory function for the p68 intron. We show that this miRNA (referred to as p68 miRNA) is processed from the intron via the canonical miRNA-processing pathway and that it associates with the Argonaute protein Ago2. Finally we show that the p68 miRNA suppresses an mRNA bearing complementary target sequences, suggesting that it is functional. These findings suggest a novel mechanism by which alterations in p68 expression may impact on the cell.

Nguyen, TN, Su, SW & Nguyen, HT 2011, 'Robust Neuro-Sliding Mode Multivariable Control Strategy for Powered Wheelchairs', IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 105-111.
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This paper proposes an advanced robust multivariable control strategy for a powered wheelchair system. The new control strategy is based on a combination of the systematic triangularization technique and the robust neuro-sliding mode control approach. This strategy effectively copes with parameter uncertainties and external disturbances in real-time in order to achieve robustness and optimal performance of a multivariable system. This novel strategy reduces coupling effects on a multivariable system, eliminates chattering phenomena, and avoids the plant Jacobian calculation problem. Furthermore, the strategy can also achieve fast and global convergence using less computation. The effectiveness of the new multivariable control strategy is verified in real-time implementation on a powered wheelchair system. The obtained results confirm that robustness and desired performance of the overall system are guaranteed, even under parameter uncertainty and external disturbance effects. © 2010 IEEE.

O'Dowd, BF, Ji, X, Alijaniaram, M, Nguyen, T & George, SR 2011, 'Separation and reformation of cell surface dopamine receptor oligomers visualized in cells', European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 658, no. 2-3, pp. 74-83.
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Pakpour, AH, Yekaninejad, MS & Chen, H 2011, 'Mothers’ perception of obesity in schoolchildren: a survey and the impact of an educational intervention', Jornal de Pediatria, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 169-174.
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Objectives: To investigate mothers' awareness of their children's weight problem, and to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on improving mothers' recognition of obesity in their children. Methods: Twelve primary schools from Tehran, Iran, were randomly chosen. Obese children were selected, and 300 mothers participated in the study. A questionnaire was completed by the mothers, who were then randomly divided into two groups. One group received education on obesity, whereas the other group did not receive any intervention. After 2 months, the same questionnaire was completed by both groups. A multiple logistic regression was performed. Results: Mother's pre-existing knowledge on obesity, their education and occupation, as well as family income, had significant effects on mothers' accuracy in identifying obesity in their children. The educational intervention significantly improved mothers' ability to identify obesity in their children compared with those without any intervention (OR = 15.23; 95%CI 5.95-38.96). Conclusions: In Iran, a large proportion of mothers do not have general knowledge on healthy body weight for children, thus failing to recognize that their children are obese. Educational interventions could reduce the rate of such mistake and subsequently alter parental care. Copyright © 2011 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.

Parker, D 2011, 'Residential Aged Care Facilities: Places for Living and Dying', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 31-31.
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This article explores residential aged care facilities (RACFs) as places of dying and death, and the role these spaces and places have in the construction of self identity for dying residents.  It argues that RACFs, rather than being static places where events such as dying and death occur, are places that shape these experiences. They are social institutions where the construction of self identity for dying residents arises out of the individual experience within the setting, most specifically the experience of social interaction. Drawing on ethnographic work in two Australian facilities the article explores how macro level influences such as economic, social and political discourses intersect with micro level experiences of dying for those approaching death as well as family members and health professionals who support the dying.

Parker, D & Hodgkinson, B 2011, 'A comparison of palliative care outcome measures used to assess the quality of palliative care provided in long-term care facilities: a systematic review', Palliative Medicine, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 5-20.
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Provision of palliative care in long-term care (LTC) facilities is important, but limited research has been undertaken to investigate the most appropriate outcome measure for use in this setting. In this systematic review we aimed to measure the psychometric properties (reliability/validity) and feasibility of palliative outcome measures used to assess the quality of palliative care provided in LTC. For identification of outcome measures we undertook systematic searches of electronic databases from 1 January 2000 to 12 September 2008. Included studies were assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality prior to inclusion in the review using an appraisal checklist developed for the review to evaluate validity, reliability and feasibility. Ten articles were included in the final review and these provided specific information on the psychometric properties of 10 outcome measures. Four of these measures reported data specifically for residents in LTC facilities, while the remaining six measures reported a sub-set of data for residents in LTC facilities. The Family Perceptions of Care Scale is considered by the authors as the most suitable outcome measure for use in LTC facilities. Of the remaining nine measures, a further two were also considered suitable for measuring the quality of palliative care in residential aged care facilities. These are the Quality of Dying in Long-term Care scale and the Toolkit Interview.

Patel, M, Lal, SKL, Kavanagh, D & Rossiter, P 2011, 'Applying neural network analysis on heart rate variability data to assess driver fatigue', Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 7235-7242.
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Long duration driving is a significant cause of fatigue related accidents on motorways. Fatigue caused by driving for extended hours can acutely impair driver's alertness and performance. This papers presents an artificial intelligence based system which could detect early onset of fatigue in drivers using heart rate variability (HRV) as the human physiological measure. The detection performance of neural network was tested using a set of electrocardiogram (ECG) data recorded under laboratory conditions. The neural network gave an accuracy of 90%. This HRV based fatigue detection technique can be used as a fatigue countermeasure. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phillips, J, Salamonson, Y & Davidson, PM 2011, 'An instrument to assess nurses’ and care assistants’ self-efficacy to provide a palliative approach to older people in residential aged care: A validation study', International Journal of Nursing Studies, vol. 48, no. 9, pp. 1096-1100.
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Objective: This study investigated the psychometric properties of the 'Palliative care self-efficacy scale', an instrument designed to assess clinicians' degree of confidence in engaging in patient and family interactions at the end-of-life. Design: The

Phillips, JL, Halcomb, EJ & Davidson, PM 2011, 'End-of-Life Care Pathways in Acute and Hospice Care: An Integrative Review', JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 940-955.
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Context. Over the past decade, there has been widespread adoption of end-of life care pathways as a tool to better manage care of the dying in a variety of care settings. The adoption of various end-of-life care pathways has occurred despite lack of robust evidence for their use. Objectives. This integrative review identified published studies evaluating the impact of an end-of-life care pathway in the acute and hospice care setting from January 1996 to April 2010. Methods. A search of the electronic databases Scopus and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature as well as Medline and the World Wide Web were undertaken. Articles were reviewed by two authors using a critical appraisal tool. Results. The search revealed 638 articles. Of these, 26 articles met the inclusion criteria for this integrative review. No randomized controlled trials were reported. The majority of these articles reported baseline and post implementation pathway chart audit data, whereas a smaller number were local, national, or international benchmarking studies. Most of the studies emerged from the United Kingdom, with a smaller number from the United States, The Netherlands, and Australia. Conclusion. Existing data demonstrate the utility of the end-of-life pathway in improving care of the dying. The absence of randomized controlled trial data, however, precludes definitive recommendations and underscores the importance of ongoing research.

Pongchaiyakul, C, Kotruchin, P, Wanothayaroj, E & Nguyen, TV 2011, 'An innovative prognostic model for predicting diabetes risk in the Thai population', Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, vol. 94, no. 2, pp. 193-198.
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Objective: To estimate the prevalence and type 2 diabetes, and to develop a prognostic model for identifying individuals at high risk of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Research design and methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional investigation with 4314 participants of Thai background, aged between 15 and 85 years (mean age: 48). Fasting plasma glucose was initially measured, and repeated if the first measurement was more than 126 mg/dl. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed using the World Health Organizations criteria. Logistic regression model was used to develop prognostic models for men and women separately. The prognostic performance of the model was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and a nomogram was constructed from the logistic regression model. Results: The overall prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 7.4% (n = 125/1693) in men and 3.4% (n = 98/2621) in women. In either gender, the prevalence increased with age and body mass index (BMI). Gender, age, BMI and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were independently associated with type 2 diabetes risk. Based on the estimated parameters of model, a nomogram was constructed for predicting diabetes separated by gender. The AUC for the model with 3 factors was 0.75. Conclusions: These data suggest that the combination of age, BMI and systolic blood pressure could help identify Thai individuals at high risk of undiagnosed diabetes.

Reimers, GJ, Jackson, CL, Rickards, J, Chan, PY, Cohn, JS, Rye, K-A, Barter, PJ & Rodgers, KJ 2011, 'Inhibition of rupture of established atherosclerotic plaques by treatment with apolipoprotein A-I', CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 37-44.
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Aims Plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol correlate inversely with the incidence of myocardial infarction in humans. We investigated the effect of treatment with human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the principal protein of HDL, on plaque disruption in an animal model. Methods and results Seventy apolipoprotein E knockout mice were induced to develop atherosclerotic lesions in the brachiocephalic artery by feeding a high-fat diet for 9 weeks. Mice then received twice-weekly treatment with human apoA-I (8 mg/kg) or vehicle, for 2 weeks. The incidence of acute plaque disruption was reduced by 65% in mice receiving apoA-I (P < 0.01). Plaques in treated mice had a more stable phenotype, with an increase in smooth muscle cell (SMC): macrophage ratio (P = 0.05), principally the consequence of an increase in the number of SMC in plaques. In the fibrous cap, there were reductions in matrix metalloproteinase-13 (-69%, P < 0.0001) and S100A4, a marker of SMC de-differentiation (-60%, P < 0.0001). These results indicate that 2 weeks of treatment with small amounts of human apoA-I produces more stable plaques in a mouse model.

Riess, H 2011, 'Biomarkers in the Psychotherapeutic Relationship: The Role of Physiology, Neurobiology, and Biological Correlates of E.M.P.A.T.H.Y.', Harvard Review of Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 162-174.
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Currently no studies exist on assessing neurophysiological correlates, especially brain activity, during therapeutic alliance (TA) between client and therapist. The aims of this study were to assess electroencephalography (EEG) activity in the client with symptomatic anxiety throughout therapy during moments of high TA established using SCR measurements from both client and therapist. Fifteen clients aged, 48 ± 9.4 years (males: n=7, females: n=8) underwent six (S1-S6), weekly 1-hour psychotherapy sessions (90 hours of repeated measures). For the duration of therapy the frontal site remained active while the occipital site `went to sleep. During high TA the parietal cortex - the `seat of imagination, was active. The parietal cortex appears to be highly active when processing trauma as the client develops cognitive and emotional insight. The temporal site reflected accessing emotional memory with high alpha and beta activity. Heart-rate (HR) and anxiety levels decreased over time.

Robinson, MW, Corvo, I, Jones, PM, George, AM, Padula, MP, To, J, Cancela, M, Rinaldi, G, Tort, JF, Roche, L & Dalton, JP 2011, 'Collagenolytic Activities of the Major Secreted Cathepsin L Peptidases Involved in the Virulence of the Helminth Pathogen, Fasciola hepatica', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. e1012-e1012.
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Background: The temporal expression and secretion of distinct members of a family of virulence-associated cathepsin L cysteine peptidases (FhCL) correlates with the entry and migration of the helminth pathogen Fasciola hepatica in the host. Thus, infective larvae traversing the gut wall secrete cathepsin L3 (FhCL3), liver migrating juvenile parasites secrete both FhCL1 and FhCL2 while the mature bile duct parasites, which are obligate blood feeders, secrete predominantly FhCL1 but also FhCL2. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we show that FhCL1, FhCL2 and FhCL3 exhibit differences in their kinetic parameters towards a range of peptide substrates. Uniquely, FhCL2 and FhCL3 readily cleave substrates with Pro in the P2 position and peptide substrates mimicking the repeating Gly-Pro-Xaa motifs that occur within the primary sequence of collagen. FhCL1, FhCL2 and FhCL3 hydrolysed native type I and II collagen at neutral pH but while FhCL1 cleaved only non-collagenous (NC, non-Gly-X-Y) domains FhCL2 and FhCL3 exhibited collagenase activity by cleaving at multiple sites within the α1 and α2 triple helix regions (Col domains). Molecular simulations created for FhCL1, FhCL2 and FhCL3 complexed to various seven-residue peptides supports the idea that Trp67 and Tyr67 in the S2 subsite of the active sites of FhCL3 and FhCL2, respectively, are critical to conferring the unique collagenase-like activity to these enzymes by accommodating either Gly or Pro residues at P2 in the substrate. The data also suggests that FhCL3 accommodates hydroxyproline (Hyp)-Gly at P3-P2 better than FhCL2 explaining the observed greater ability of FhCL3 to digest type I and II collagens compared to FhCL2 and why these enzymes cleave at different positions within the Col domains. Conclusions/Significance: These studies further our understanding of how this helminth parasite regulates peptidase expression to ensure infection, migration and establishment in host tissues. © 2011 Robinson et al.

Roest, R, Latella, BA, Heness, G & Ben-Nissan, B 2011, 'Adhesion of sol–gel derived hydroxyapatite nanocoatings on anodised pure titanium and titanium (Ti6Al4V) alloy substrates', Surface and Coatings Technology, vol. 205, no. 11, pp. 3520-3529.
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The mechanical properties and adhesion behaviour of sol-gel derived hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocoatings on commercially pure (cp) titanium (Ti) and Ti6Al4V alloy have been determined and related to anodising treatment. The surface roughness, wetting and coating characteristics were examined using profilometry, contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Nano-indentation was used to determine the Young's modulus and hardness of the coatings, while microtensile tests were used to introduce controlled strains in the coatings through the cp Ti and TiAl6V4 alloy substrates, from which the strength, fracture toughness and adhesion behaviour could be ascertained based on multiple cracking and delamination events. The toughness of the HA coatings is found to be slightly lower to that of equivalent bulk pure HA ceramics. The substrate and the anodized layer thickness have the most influence on the interfacial adhesion of HA, with nanocoatings on Ti6Al4V exhibiting superior interfacial bonding in comparison to cp Ti.

Rowsell, GJ, Coutts, AJ, Reaburn, P & Hill-Haas, S 2011, 'Effect of post-match cold-water immersion on subsequent match running performance in junior soccer players during tournament play', JOURNAL OF SPORTS SCIENCES, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 1-6.
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In this study, we investigated the effects of two hydrotherapy interventions on match running performance and perceptual measures of fatigue and recovery during a 4-day soccer tournament. Twenty male junior soccer players were assigned to one of two treatment groups and undertook either cold-water immersion (561 min at 108C) or thermoneutral water immersion (561 min at 348C) after each match. High-intensity running distance (415 km h71) and total distance covered, time spent in low (580% maximum heart rate), moderate (8090% maximum heart rate), and high (490% maximum heart rate) heart rate zones, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded for each match. Perceptions of general fatigue and leg soreness were recorded approximately 22 h after each match. There were decreases in both groups across the 4-day tournament for high-intensity running distance (P¼0.006, Cohens d¼0.63), total distance run (P50.001, d¼0.90), time in high heart rate zone (P¼0.003, d¼0.90), and match RPE (P¼0.012, d¼0.52). Cold-water immersion was more effective than thermoneutral immersion for reducing the perception of leg soreness (P¼0.004, d¼0.92) and general fatigue (P¼0.007, d¼0.91), ameliorating the decrement in total distance run (P¼0.001, d¼0.55), and maintaining time in the moderate heart rate zone (P¼0.01, d¼1.06). In conclusion, cold-water immersion mediates the perceptions of fatigue and recovery and enhances the restoration of some match-related performance measures during a 4-day tournament.

Ruta, D, Gabrys, B & Lemke, C 2011, 'A Generic Multilevel Architecture for Time Series Prediction', IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 350-359.
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Sambrook, PN, Flahive, J, Hooven, FH, Boonen, S, Chapurlat, R, Lindsay, R, Nguyen, TV, Díez-Perez, A, Pfeilschifter, J, Greenspan, SL, Hosmer, D, Netelenbos, JC, Adachi, JD, Watts, NB, Cooper, C, Roux, C, Rossini, M, Siris, ES, Silverman, S, Saag, KG, Compston, JE, LaCroix, A & Gehlbach, S 2011, 'Predicting fractures in an international cohort using risk factor algorithms without BMD', Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 2770-2777.
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Abstract Clinical risk factors are associated with increased probability of fracture in postmenopausal women. We sought to compare prediction models using self-reported clinical risk factors, excluding BMD, to predict incident fracture among postmenopausal women. The GLOW study enrolled women aged 55 years or older from 723 primary-care practices in 10 countries. The population comprised 19,586 women aged 60 years or older who were not receiving antiosteoporosis medication and were followed annually for 2 years. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on characteristics, fracture risk factors, previous fractures, and health status. The main outcome measure compares the C index for models using the WHO Fracture Risk (FRAX), the Garvan Fracture Risk Calculator (FRC), and a simple model using age and prior fracture. Over 2 years, 880 women reported incident fractures including 69 hip fractures, 468 “major fractures” (as defined by FRAX), and 583 “osteoporotic fractures” (as defined by FRC). Using baseline clinical risk factors, both FRAX and FRC showed a moderate ability to correctly order hip fracture times (C index for hip fracture 0.78 and 0.76, respectively). C indices for “major” and “osteoporotic” fractures showed lower values, at 0.61 and 0.64. Neither algorithm was better than the model based on age + fracture history alone (C index for hip fracture 0.78). In conclusion, estimation of fracture risk in an international primary-care population of postmenopausal women can be made using clinical risk factors alone without BMD. However, more sophisticated models incorporating multiple clinical risk factors including falls were not superior to more parsimonious models in predicting future fracture in this population. © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Sandhu, SK, Nguyen, ND, Center, JR, Pocock, NA, Eisman, JA & Nguyen, TV 2011, 'Prognosis of fracture: evaluation of predictive accuracy of the FRAX algorithm and Garvan nomogram: rejoinder to comments by Pluskiewicz and Drozdzowska', Osteoporosis International, vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 2563-2563.
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Seidel, P, Roth, M, Ge, Q, Merfort, I, S’ng, CT & Ammit, AJ 2011, 'IκBα glutathionylation and reduced histone H3 phosphorylation inhibit eotaxin and RANTES', European Respiratory Journal, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1444-1452.
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Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) secrete eotaxin and RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted) in response to tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, which is inhibited by the nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor dimethylfumarate (DMF). NF-κB/IκB (inhibitor of NF-κB) glutathionylation and changes in chromatin remodelling can inhibit NF-κB activity. In this study, we determined whether NF-κB/IκB glutathionylation and reduced histone H3 phosphorylation might underlie the inhibitory effect of DMF on NF-κB activity, and eotaxin and RANTES secretion.Primary human ASMCs were treated with DMF, diamide and/or glutathione (GSH) ethylester (OEt) prior to TNF-α stimulation and were subsequently analysed by ELISA, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, immunofluorescence, co-immunoprecipitation or immunoblotting.DMF reduced intracellular GSH and induced IκBα glutathionylation (IκBα-SSG), which inhibited IκBα degradation, NF-κB p65 nuclear entry and NF-κB/DNA binding. In addition, DMF inhibited the phosphorylation of histone H3, which was possibly mediated by the inhibitory effect of DMF on mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase (MSK)-1. However, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase MAPK and MAPK phosphatase-1, upstream of MSK-1, were not inhibited by DMF. Importantly, DMF-mediated effects on NF-κB, histone H3, eotaxin and RANTES were reversed by addition of GSH-OEt.Our data suggest that DMF inhibits NF-κB-dependent eotaxin and RANTES secretion by reduction of GSH with subsequent induction of IκBα-SSG and inhibition of histone H3 phosphorylation. Our findings offer new potential drug targets to reduce airway inflammation in asthma.

Senaratne, R, Jap, B, Lal, S, Hsu, A, Halgamuge, S & Fischer, P 2011, 'Comparing two video-based techniques for driver fatigue detection: classification versus optical flow approach', MACHINE VISION AND APPLICATIONS, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 597-618.
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Lack of concentration in a driver due to fatigue is a major cause of road accidents. This paper investigates approaches that can be used to develop a video-based system to automatically detect driver fatigue and warn the driver, in order to prevent accidents. Ocular cues such as percentage eye closure (PERCLOS) are considered strong fatigue indicators; thus, accurately locating and tracking the driver's eyes is vital. Tests were carried out based on two approaches to track the eyes and estimate PERCLOS: (1) classification approach and (2) optical flow approach. In the first approach, the eyes are tracked by finding local regions, the state (open or closed) of the eyes in each image frame is estimated using a classifier, and thereby the PERCLOS is calculated. In the second approach, the movement of the upper eyelid is tracked using a newly proposed simple eye model, which captures image velocities based on optical flow, thereby the eye closures and openings are detected, and then the eye states are estimated to calculate PERCLOS. Experiments show that both approaches can detect fatigue with reasonable accuracy, and that the classification approach is more accurate. However, the classification approach requires a large amount of suitable training data. If such data are unavailable, then the optical flow approach would be more practical.

Sim, K, Liu, G, Gopalkrishnan, V & Li, J 2011, 'A case study on financial ratios via cross-graph quasi-bicliques', Information Sciences, vol. 181, no. 1, pp. 201-216.
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Stocks with similar financial ratio values across years have similar price movements. We investigate this hypothesis by clustering groups of stocks that exhibit homogeneous financial ratio values across years, and then study their price movements. We propose using cross-graph quasi-biclique (CGQB) subgraphs to cluster stocks, as they can define the three dimensional (3D) subspaces of financial ratios that the stocks are homogeneous in across the years, and they can also handle missing values that are rampant in the stock data. Furthermore, investors can easily analyze these 3D subspaces to explore the relations between the stocks and financial ratios. We develop a novel algorithm, CGQBminer, which mines the complete set of CGQB subgraphs from the stock data. Through experimental analysis, we show that the hypothesis is valid. Furthermore, we demonstrate that having an investment strategy which uses groups of stocks mined by CGQB subgraphs have higher returns than one that does not. We also conducted an extensive performance analysis on CGQBminer, and show that it is efficient across different 3D datasets and parameter settings. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sirotic, AC, Knowles, H, Catterick, C & Coutts, AJ 2011, 'POSITIONAL MATCH DEMANDS OF PROFESSIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE COMPETITION', JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 3076-3087.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in physical performance and game-specific skill demands between 5 positional groups in a professional rugby league team. Positional groups consisted of the backs (n = 8), forwards (n = 8), fullback (n = 7), hooker (n = 8), and service players (n = 8). Timemotion analysis was used to determine physical performance measures (exercise intensity, distance travelled, time, frequency, and speed measures) and game-specific skill measures (ball carries, supports, ball touches, play the balls, and tackling indices) per minute of playing time. The main finding was that the fullback completed more very highintensity running (VHIR) because of more support runs when compared to all other positional groups (p = 0.017). THe VHIR (p = 0.004) and sprinting indices (p , 0.002) were also greater in the second half of a match for the fullback than in any other positional group. The hooker spent more time jogging than the backs and forwards (p , 0.001) and touched the ball on more occasions than any other positional group (p , 0.001). The backs spent more time walking than the forwards, hooker, and service players (p , 0.001). The forwards, hooker, and service players completed more tackles per minute during a match than the backs and fullback (p , 0.001). The fullback and forwards also ran the ball on more occasions than the backs, hooker, and service players did (p , 0.001). These results show that positional roles play an important part in determining the amount of physical and game-specific skill involvement during match play.

Sobala, A & Hutvagner, G 2011, 'Transfer RNA‐derived fragments: origins, processing, and functions', WIREs RNA, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 853-862.
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AbstractDeep sequencing approaches have revealed multiple types of small RNAs with known and unknown functions. In this review we focus on a recently identified group of small RNAs that are derived from transfer RNAs (tRNAs), tRNA fragments (tRFs). We review the mechanism of their processing and their functions in mammalian cells, and highlight points of possible cross‐talk between tRFs and the canonical small RNA pathway characterized by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and Piwi‐interacting RNAs (piRNAs). We also propose a nomenclature that is based on their processing characteristics. WIREs RNA 2011 2 853–862 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.96This article is categorized under:RNA Processing > tRNA ProcessingRegulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs

Tan, Y, Kamal, MA, Wang, Z-Z, Xiao, W, Seale, JP & Qu, X 2011, 'Chinese herbal extracts (SK0506) as a potential candidate for the therapy of the metabolic syndrome', Clinical Science, vol. 120, no. 7, pp. 297-305.
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The metabolic syndrome has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, but currently there is a lack of effective therapies for this multifactorial endocrine disease. TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) has been utilized to treat a wide variety of diseases for centuries in the People's Republic of China, subsequently becoming a promising source for the development of new therapeutic agents. Chinese medicinal herbs Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Coptis chinensis and Salvia miltiorrhiza have been shown to have anti-atherosclerotic and antidiabetic properties. In this study, we have investigated the metabolic effects of a mixture of these three herbal extracts (SK0506) in a rodent model of the metabolic syndrome induced by an HFD (high-fat diet). SD (Sprague–Dawley) rats that were fed on an HFD for 4 weeks gained 33% more weight compared with chow-fed rats (P&lt;0.05). Four weeks treatment with SK0506 prevented weight gain with decreased visceral fat (P&lt;0.01 compared with vehicle treatment). SK0506 also significantly reduced plasma triacylglycerols (triglycerides), NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids) and cholesterol. SK0506 exerted similar effects to RSG (rosiglitazone) on impaired glucose intolerance. SK0506 also significantly enhanced glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in adipose tissue during hyperinsulinaemic–euglycaemic clamp. Western blotting analysis revealed that SK0506 enhanced GLUT4 (glucose transporter 4) expression in adipose tissue, and RSG markedly up-regulated GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle. Overall, the present study has discovered that SK0506 can reverse several components of the metabolic syndrome primarily through acting on hyperlipidaemia and visceral obesity. The results from the present study suggest that it is worthwhile to conduct a randomized clinical trial to confirm the potential that SK0506 may be a new oral agent for treating the metabolic syndrome and preventing Type 2 diabetes.

Tan, Y, Sun, L-Q, Kamal, MA, Wang, X, Seale, JP & Qu, X 2011, 'Suppression of retinol-binding protein 4 with RNA oligonucleotide prevents high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice', Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, vol. 1811, no. 12, pp. 1045-1053.
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Conflicting data have been reported regarding the role of retinol-binding protein (RBP4) in insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we used pharmacological methods to investigate the role of RBP4. RNA oligonucleotide against RBP4 (anti-RBP4 oligo) was transfected into 3T3-L1 adipocytes. RT-PCR analysis showed that RBP4 mRNA expression decreased by 55% (p < 0.01) compared with control cells. Validated RNA oligo was used in an in vivo study with high fat diet (HFD) fed - mice. 14 weeks of HFD feeding increased RBP4 expression (associated with elevated serum levels measured with immunoblotting and ELISA) by 56% in adipose tissue (p < 0.05) and 68% in the liver (p < 0.01). Adipose RBP4 levels were significantly reduced after 4 weeks treatment with anti-RBP4 oligo (25 mg/kg, p < 0.01) and rosiglitazone (RSG, 10 mg/kg, p < 0.05) compared with scrambled RNA oligo (25 mg/kg) treated mice. Only anti-RBP4 oligo significantly inhibited RBP4 protein (p < 0.01) and mRNA expression (p < 0.01) in the liver and reduced serum RBP4 levels. Anti-RBP4 oligo and RSG showed comparable effects on impaired glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinaemia and hyperglycaemia. Anti-RBP4 oligo significantly enhanced adipose-GLUT4 expression (p < 0.01) but did not increase muscle-GLUT4. Both RSG and anti-RBP4 oligo significantly reduced hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase expression (both p < 0.05). Histological analysis revealed that anti-RBP4 oligo ameliorated hepatic steatosis and reduced lipid droplets associated with normalized liver function. Histological and pharmacological results of this study indicate that RBP4 is not only an adipocytokine, but also a hepatic cytokine leading to metabolic syndrome, NAFLD and type 2 diabetes. © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tang, J, Dunlop, RA, Rowe, A, Rodgers, KJ & Ramzan, I 2011, 'Kavalactones Yangonin and Methysticin Induce Apoptosis in Human Hepatocytes (HepG2) In Vitro', PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 417-423.
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While cases of severe kava hepatotoxicity have been reported, studies examining the toxicity of individual kavalactones are limited. The present study examined the in vitro hepatotoxicity of kavain, methysticin and yangonin on human hepatocytes (HepG2) and the possible mechanism(s) involved. Cytotoxicity was assessed using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ethidium bromide (EB) assays. The mode of cell death was analysed with acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual staining with fluorescence microscopy. Glutathione oxidation was measured using the ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPT) fluorescence assay. Kavain had minimal cytotoxicity, methysticin showed moderate concentration-dependent toxicity and yangonin displayed marked toxicity with ~40% reduction in viability in the EB assay. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining showed the predominant mode of cell death was apoptosis rather than necrosis. No significant changes were observed in glutathione levels, excluding this as the primary mechanism of cell death in this model. Further studies may elucidate the precise apoptotic pathways responsible and whether toxic kavalactone metabolites are involved.

Tang, M, Zhou, Y, Li, J, Wang, W, Cui, P, Hou, Y, Luo, Z, Li, J, Lei, F & Yan, B 2011, 'Exploring the wild birds’ migration data for the disease spread study of H5N1: a clustering and association approach', Knowledge and Information Systems, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 227-251.
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Knowledge about the wetland use of migratory bird species during the annual life circle is very interesting to biologists, as it is critically important in many decision-making processes such as for conservation site construction and avian influenza control. The raw data of the habitat areas and the migration routes are usually in large scale and with high complexity when they are determined by high-tech GPS satellite telemetry. In this paper, we convert these biological problems into computational studies and introduce efficient algorithms for the data analysis. Our key idea is the concept of hierarchical clustering for migration habitat localizations, and the notion of association rules for the discovery of migration routes from the scattered location points in the GIS. One of our clustering results is a tree structure, specially called spatial-tree, which is an illusive map depicting the breeding and wintering home range of bar-headed geese. A related result to this observation is an association pattern that reveals a high possibility that bar-headed geese's potential autumn migration routes are likely between the breeding sites in the Qinghai Lake, China and the wintering sites in Tibet river valley. Given the susceptibility of geese to spread H5N1, and on the basis of the chronology and the rates of the bar-headed geese migration movements, we can conjecture that bar-headed geese play an important role in the spread of the H5N1 virus at a regional scale in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. © 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited.

Tohidi-Esfahani, D, Graham, LD, Hannan, GN, Simpson, AM & Hill, RJ 2011, 'An ecdysone receptor from the pentatomomorphan, Nezara viridula, shows similar affinities for moulting hormones makisterone A and 20-hydroxyecdysone', Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 77-89.
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It has been suggested that Pentatomomorpha utilise the C(28) ecdysteroid, makisterone A (MakA), as the major moulting hormone rather than the more common C(27) hormone, 20-hydroxyecdsyone (20E). The present study is the first to examine this postulate at

Tohidi‐Esfahani, D, Lawrence, MC, Graham, LD, Hannan, GN, Simpson, AM & Hill, RJ 2011, 'Isoforms of the heteropteran Nezara viridula ecdysone receptor: protein characterisation, RH5992 insecticide binding and homology modelling', Pest Management Science, vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 1457-1467.
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AbstractBACKGROUND: Certain bisacylhydrazine compounds such as tebufenozide (RH5992) have been shown to act as order‐specific insecticides. Their compatibility with predatory Heteroptera, which are used as biological control agents, has also been demonstrated. However, the molecular mode of action of these ecdysone agonists has not been explored in a heteropteran, much less one that is a significant agricultural pest, such as Nezara viridula.RESULTS: Alternatively spliced ligand‐binding regions of the N. viridula ecdysone receptor were expressed, purified and characterised by 2D gel analysis, mass spectrometry, homology modelling and competitive binding of a bisacylhydrazine insecticidal compound (RH5992) and various ecdysteroids. Ligand binding by the two splice isoforms was indistinguishable, and relative affinities were found to occur in the order muristerone A > ponasterone A > 20‐hydroxyecdysone > inokosterone > RH5992 > α‐ecdysone.CONCLUSION: The predicted difference in amino acid sequence between the ligand‐binding domains of the N. viridula ecdysone receptor splice variants was verified by mass spectrometry. Both splice variant isoforms exhibit a greater affinity for the bisacylhydrazine insecticide RH5992 than do the other hemipteran ecdysone receptors characterised to date. Their affinities for a range of ecdysteroids also distinguish them from the ecdysone receptors of other Hemiptera characterised thus far. Homology models of both N. viridula receptor isoforms provide further insight into the bisacylhydrazine‐ and ecdysteroid‐binding properties of these receptors, including their similar affinity for 20‐hydroxyecdysone and the postulated pentatomomorphan moulting hormone makisterone A. C...

Tran, BNH, Nguyen, ND, Nguyen, VX, Center, JR, Eisman, JA & Nguyen, TV 2011, 'Genetic profiling and individualized prognosis of fracture', Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 414-419.
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Abstract Fragility fracture is a serious public health problem in the world. The risk of fracture is determined by genetic and nongenetic clinical risk factors. This study sought to quantify the contribution of genetic profiling to fracture prognosis. The study was built on the ongoing Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study, in which fracture and risk factors of 858 men and 1358 women had been monitored continuously from 1989 and 2008. Fragility fracture was ascertained by radiologic reports. Bone mineral density at the femoral neck was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Fifty independent genes with allele frequencies ranging from 0.01 to 0.60 and relative risks (RRs) ranging from 1.01 to 3.0 were simulated. Three predictive models were fitted to the data in which fracture was a function of (1) clinical risk factors only, (2) genes only, and (3) clinical risk factors and 50 genes. The area under the curve (AUC) for model 1 was 0.77, which was lower than that of model II (AUC = 0.82). Adding genes into the clinical risk factors model (model 3) increased the AUC to 0.88 and improved the accuracy of fracture classification by 45%, with most (41%) improvement in specificity. In the presence of clinical risk factors, the number of genes required to achieve an AUC of 0.85 was around 25. These results suggest that genetic profiling could enhance the predictive accuracy of fracture prognosis and help to identify high-risk individuals for appropriate management of osteoporosis or intervention. © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Tran, T, Tuan, HD, Ha, QP & Nguyen, HT 2011, 'Stabilising agent design for the control of interconnected systems', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTROL, vol. 84, no. 6, pp. 1140-1156.
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This article presents a new control design strategy for stabilising large-scale interconnected systems operating in semi-automatic control modes. The large-scale system is modelled by subsystems connected to each other in an arbitrary configuration. Each subsystem is regulated by a dedicated multivariable controller that also allows for a manual control mode. The notion of asymptotically positive realness constraint (APRC) is introduced and applied for deriving the interconnection stabilisability condition in the time domain. The interactions between subsystems are taken into consideration in the stability condition. The APRC is subsequently employed in the so-called stabilising agent to accommodate the closed-loop control and man-in-the-loop coexistence. The multipliers of the APRC quadratic supply rate are updated on-the-fly to ensure that the constraint satisfaction of stabilising agents is recursively feasible. The stabilising agents are developed independently from the control law under the same auspice controller. Due to this independence, operational errors from the manual control adjustments, that may destabilise the control systems, can be avoided. The decentralised agents render stabilising bounds for the manipulated variables in the automatic control mode, and at the same time, provide warning signals and manipulation guidance for the operators to prevent possible plant-wide destabilisation in the manual control mode. Our main results are illustrated through numerical simulations for an industrial modular system.

Trian, T, Burgess, JK, Niimi, K, Moir, LM, Ge, Q, Berger, P, Liggett, SB, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 2011, 'beta(2)-Agonist Induced cAMP Is Decreased in Asthmatic Airway Smooth Muscle Due to Increased PDE4D', PLOS ONE, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 1-7.
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Background and Objective: Asthma is associated with airway narrowing in response to bronchoconstricting stimuli and increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass. In addition, some studies have suggested impaired beta-agonist induced ASM relaxation in asthma

Tuckett, A, Hegney, D, Parker, D, Eley, RM & Dickie, R 2011, 'The top eight issues Queensland Australia's aged-care nurses and assistants-in-nursing worried about outside their workplace: A qualitative snapshot', International Journal of Nursing Practice, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 444-454.
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The attainment of a work-life balance is an important issue for recruitment, retention and workforce planning. This paper aims to report on the free text data provided by the aged-care sector nurses around perceptions of important work-life issues. Data were written responses of aged-care nurses to the open-ended request at the end of a survey, which asked them to list up to five political/social/environmental issues concerning them outside of their work. For aged-care nurses, when asked to list political/social/environmental issues they were concerned about outside of work in late 2007, there emerged considered issues around work and life. Among the top eight themes there is an intriguing balance between the themes work, industrial relations, aged care/elder care and health-care services compared with the themes environment, water, societal values and housing. Qualitative insights into the political/social/environmental issues aged-care nurses are concerned about outside of your work suggest their desire for a labour/life or work/life harmony. Aged-care nurses place an equal importance on the nature of labour and the basics of life. The findings provide information for aged-care sector managers and workforce planners on areas in need of consideration to recruit and retain a workforce within aged care.

Tuckett, A, Parker, D, Clifton, K, Glaetzer, K, Greeve, K, Israel, F, Jenkin, P, McAnelly, K, Prior, T, Reymond, E & Walker, H 2011, 'A palliative approach in residential aged care - the General Practitionersʼ viewpoints', International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 330-330.
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Valenzuela, SM, Berkahn, M, Porkovich, A, Huynh, T, Goyette, J, Martin, DK & Geczy, CL 2011, 'Soluble Structure of CLIC and S100 Proteins Investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy', Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology, vol. 02, no. 01, pp. 8-17.
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The ability to visualise proteins in their native environment and discern information regarding stoichiometry is of critical importance when studying protein interactions and function. We have used liquid cell atomic force microscopy (AFM) to visualise proteins in their native state in buffer and have determined their molecular volumes. The human proteins S100A8, S100A9, S100A12 and CLIC1 were used in this investigation. The effect of oxidation on the protein structure of CLIC1 was also investigated and we found that CLIC1 multimerisation could be discerned by AFM, which supports similar findings by other methods. We have found good correlation between the molecular volumes measured by AFM and the calculated volumes of the individual proteins. This method allows for the study of single soluble proteins under physiological conditions and could potentially be extended to study the structure of these proteins when located within a membrane environment.

Van Ly, D, King, NJC, Moir, LM, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 2011, 'Effects of β2 Agonists, Corticosteroids, and Novel Therapies on Rhinovirus-Induced Cytokine Release and Rhinovirus Replication in Primary Airway Fibroblasts', Journal of Allergy, vol. 2011, pp. 1-11.
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Rhinovirus-(RV-) induced asthma exacerbations account for high asthma-related health costs and morbidity in Australia. The cellular mechanism underlying this pathology is likely the result of RV-induced nuclear-factor-kappa-B-(NF-κB-) dependent inflammation. NF-κB may also be important in RV replication as inhibition of NF-κB inhibits replication of other viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus and cytomegalovirus. To establish the role of NF-κB inhibitors in RV-induced IL- 6 and IL-8 and RV replication, we used pharmacological inhibitors of NF-κB, and steroids and/or β2 agonists were used for comparison. Primary human lung fibroblasts were infected with RV-16 in the presence of NF-κB inhibitors: BAY-117085 and dimethyl fumarate; β2 agonist: salmeterol; and/or corticosteroids: dexamethasone; fluticasone. RV-induced IL-6 and IL-8 and RV replication were assessed using ELISAs and virus titration assays. RV replicated and increased IL-6 and IL-8 release. Salmeterol increased, while dexamethasone and fluticasone decreased RV-induced IL-6 and IL-8 (P<0.05). The NF-κB inhibitor BAY-117085 inhibited only RV-induced IL-6 (P<0.05) and dimethyl fumarate did not alter RV-induced IL-6 and IL-8. Dimethylfumarate increased RV replication whilst other drugs did not alter RV replication. These data suggest that inhibition of NF-κB alone is unlikely to be an effective treatment compared to current asthma thera...

Warkiani, ME, Chen, L, Lou, C-P, Liu, H-B, Zhang, R & Gong, H-Q 2011, 'Capturing and recovering of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts with polymeric micro-fabricated filter', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 369, no. 1-2, pp. 560-568.
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Warkiani, ME, Lou, C-P & Gong, H-Q 2011, 'Fabrication and characterization of a microporous polymeric micro-filter for isolation ofCryptosporidium parvumoocysts', Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 035002-035002.
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Wearing, S & Darcy, S 2011, 'Inclusion of the 'Othered' in Tourism', COSMOPOLITAN CIVIL SOCIETIES-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 18-34.
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This paper highlights that tourism, due to the fact it is a multi-faceted activity and by implication its management has similar multiple contexts, often leads to the exclusion of many who are part of that tourism context. One area that has been left on the fringes of tourism is how contemporary tourism management has othered those regarded as being removed from the neoliberal business foundation of tourism. One such group is the host communities in developing countries. The failure to involve and engage with host communities and develop collaboration in the process of planning and management for tourism is and has in the past been detrimental to the sustainability of tourism. In many cases, host communities have been ignored by the industry, with few or no mechanisms or processes put in place to enable them to participate in the management of tourism. This paper presents an overview of how this engagement of host communities can expand the market for tourism and lead to more satisfying visitor experiences, enhance the sustainability of these experiences and, thus, be considered good management practice within the industry.

Windley, MJ, Escoubas, P, Valenzuela, SM & Nicholson, GM 2011, 'A Novel Family of Insect-Selective Peptide Neurotoxins Targeting Insect Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated K+ Channels Isolated from the Venom of the Theraphosid Spider Eucratoscelus constrictus', MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 1-13.
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Spider venoms are actively being investigated as sources of novel insecticidal agents for biopesticide engineering. After screening 37 theraphosid spider venoms, a family of three new "short-loop" inhibitory cystine knot insecticidal toxins (kappa-TRTX-Ec2a, kappa-TRTX-Ec2b, and kappa-TRTX-Ec2c) were isolated and characterized from the venom of the African tarantula Eucratoscelus constrictus. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from cockroach dorsal unpaired median neurons revealed that, despite significant sequence homology with other theraphosid toxins, these 29-residue peptides lacked activity on insect voltage-activated sodium and calcium channels. It is noteworthy that kappa-TRTX-Ec2 toxins were all found to be high-affinity blockers of insect large-conductance calcium-activated K+ (BKCa) channel currents with IC50 values of 3 to 25 nM. In addition, kappa-TRTX-Ec2a caused the inhibition of insect delayed-rectifier K+ currents, but only at significantly higher concentrations. kappa-TRTX-Ec2a and kappa-TRTX-Ec2b demonstrated insect-selective effects, whereas the homologous kappa-TRTX-Ec2c also resulted in neurotoxic signs in mice when injected intracerebroventricularly. Unlike other theraphosid toxins, kappa-TRTX-Ec2 toxins induce a voltage-independent channel block, and therefore, we propose that these toxins interact with the turret and/or loop region of the external entrance to the channel and do not project deeply into the pore of the channel. Furthermore, kappa-TRTX-Ec2a and kappa-TRTX-Ec2b differ from other theraphotoxins at the C terminus and positions 5 to 6, suggesting that these regions of the peptide contribute to the phyla selectivity and are involved in targeting BKCa channels. This study therefore establishes these toxins as tools for studying the role of BKCa channels in insects and lead compounds for the development of novel insecticides.

Wu, A, Lauschke, JL, Gorrie, CA, Cameron, N, Hayward, I, Mackay-Sim, A & Waite, PME 2011, 'Delayed olfactory ensheathing cell transplants reduce nociception after dorsal root injury', EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY, vol. 229, no. 1, pp. 143-157.
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Injury to cervical dorsal roots mimics the deafferentation component of brachial plexus injury in humans, with intractable neuropathic pain in the deafferented limb being a common consequence. Such lesions are generally not amenable to surgical repair. The use of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) for dorsal root repair, via acute transplantation, has been successful in several studies. From a clinical point of view, delayed transplantation of OECs would provide a more realistic timeframe for repair. In this study we investigated the effect of delayed OEC transplantation on functional recovery of skilled forepaw movements and amelioration of neuropathic pain, using a C7 and C8 dorsal root injury rat model previously established in our lab. We found that OEC transplantation to the dorsal horn 1 week after root injury effectively attenuated neuropathic disturbances associated with dorsal root injury, including spontaneous pain behavior, tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. The sensory controls of complex, goal-oriented skilled reaching and ladder walking, however, were not improved by delayed OEC transplantation. We did not detect any significant influence of transplanted OECs on injury-induced central reorganisation and afferent sprouting. The anti-nociceptive effect mediated by OEC transplants may therefore be explained by alternative mechanisms such as modification of inflammation and astrogliosis. The significant effect of OEC transplants in mitigating neuropathic pain may be clinically useful in intractable pain syndromes arising from deafferentation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Understanding olfactory ensheathing glia and their prospect for nervous system repair.

Yang, N, Schindeler, A, McDonald, MM, Seto, JT, Houweling, PJ, Lek, M, Hogarth, M, Morse, AR, Raftery, JM, Balasuriya, D, MacArthur, DG, Berman, Y, Quinlan, KGR, Eisman, JA, Nguyen, TV, Center, JR, Prince, RL, Wilson, SG, Zhu, K, Little, DG & North, KN 2011, 'alpha-Actinin-3 deficiency is associated with reduced bone mass in human and mouse', BONE, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 790-798.
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Bone mineral density (BMD) is a complex trait that is the single best predictor of the risk of osteoporotic fractures. Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies have identified genetic variations in approximately 30 genetic loci associated with BMD variation in humans. alpha-Actinin-3 (ACTN3) is highly expressed in fast skeletal muscle fibres. There is a common null-polymorphism R577X in human ACTN3 that results in complete deficiency of the alpha-actinin-3 protein in approximately 20% of Eurasians. Absence of alpha-actinin-3 does not cause any disease phenotypes in muscle because of compensation by alpha-actinin-2. However, alpha-actinin-3 deficiency has been shown to be detrimental to athletic sprint/power performance. In this report we reveal additional functions for alpha-actinin-3 in bone. alpha-Actinin-3 but not alpha-actinin-2 is expressed in osteoblasts. The Actn3(-/-) mouse displays significantly reduced bone mass, with reduced cortical bone volume (-14%) and trabecular number (-61%) seen by microCT. Dynamic histomorphometry indicated this was due to a reduction in bone formation. In a cohort of postmenopausal Australian women, ACTN3 577XX genotype was associated with lower BMD in an additive genetic model, with the R577X genotype contributing 1.1% of the variance in BMD. Microarray analysis of cultured osteoprogenitors from Actn3(-/-) mice showed alterations in expression of several genes regulating bone mass and osteoblast/osteoclast activity, including Enpp1, Opg and Wnt7b. Our studies suggest that ACTN3 likely contributes to the regulation of bone mass through alterations in bone turnover. Given the high frequency of R577X in the general population, the potential role of ACTN3 R577X as a factor influencing variations in BMD in elderly humans warrants further study.

Zeng, T, Li, J & Liu, J 2011, 'Distinct interfacial biclique patterns between ssDNA‐binding proteins and those with dsDNAs', Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, vol. 79, no. 2, pp. 598-610.
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AbstractWe introduce a new motif called interfacial biclique pattern to study the difference between double‐stranded DNA‐binding proteins (DSBs, most of them also known to play the role as transcriptional factors) and single‐stranded DNA‐binding proteins (SSBs) which are found to involve in many applications recently. An interfacial biclique pattern in a protein‐DNA complex usually consists of a group of residues and a group of nucleotides such that every residue has a contact to all of the bases. The proposal of this idea is based on a biological redundancy mechanism that: a site mutation has little influence on the other residues to recognize the target nucleotides and vice versa. The distribution of the residues on the interfacial motifs is investigated to identify distinct stable preferred residues, stable un‐preferred residues and unstable preferred residues between SSBs and DSBs. We also examine residue co‐occurrence and residue‐base association rules in the interfacial motifs to uncover the different choices of residue combinations by SSBs and DSBs that have contacts with one or more bases. We found that DSBs and SSBs have their own right residues at the right places for the binding preference and association with nucleotides. Some of our results can be supported by literature work. Proteins 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Zhao, L, Wong, L & Li, J 2011, 'Antibody-Specified B-Cell Epitope Prediction in Line with the Principle of Context-Awareness', IEEE-ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 1483-1494.
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Context-awareness is a characteristic in the recognition between antigens and antibodies, highlighting the reconfiguration of epitope residues when an antigen interacts with a different antibody. A coarse binary classification of antigen regions into epitopes, or nonepitopes without specifying antibodies may not accurately reflect this biological reality. Therefore, we study an antibody-specified epitope prediction problem in line with this principle. This problem is new and challenging as we pinpoint a subset of the antigenic residues from an antigen when it binds to a specific antibody. We introduce two kinds of associations of the contextual awareness: 1) residues-residues pairing preference, and 2) the dependence between sets of contact residue pairs. Preference plays a bridging role to link interacting paratope and epitope residues while dependence is used to extend the association from one-dimension to two-dimension. The paratope/epitope residues' relative composition, cooperativity ratios, and Markov properties are also utilized to enhance our method. A nonredundant data set containing 80 antibody-antigen complexes is compiled and used in the evaluation. The results show that our method yields a good performance on antibody-specified epitope prediction. On the traditional antibody-ignored epitope prediction problem, a simplified version of our method can produce a competitive, sometimes much better, performance in comparison with three structure-based predictors. © 2011 IEEE.

Zhu, X, Zhang, X, Peng, J, Chen, X & Li, J 2011, 'Photonic crystal fibers for supercontinuum generation', Frontiers of Optoelectronics in China, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 415-419.
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Anaissi, A, Kennedy, PJ & Goyal, M 1970, 'Dimension reduction of microarray data based on local principal component', World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, pp. 1176-1181.
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Analysis and visualization of microarraydata is veryassistantfor biologists and clinicians in the field of diagnosis and treatment of patients. It allows Clinicians to better understand the structure of microarray and facilitates understanding gene expression in cells. However, microarray dataset is a complex data set and has thousands of features and a very small number of observations. This very high dimensional data set often contains some noise, non-useful information and a small number of relevant features for disease or genotype. This paper proposes a non-linear dimensionality reduction algorithm Local Principal Component (LPC) which aims to maps high dimensional data to a lower dimensional space. The reduced data represents the most important variables underlying the original data. Experimental results and comparisons are presented to show the quality of the proposed algorithm. Moreover, experiments also show how this algorithm reduces high dimensional data whilst preserving the neighbourhoods of the points in the low dimensional space as in the high dimensional space.

Anaissi, A, Kennedy, PJ & Goyal, M 1970, 'Feature Selection of Imbalanced Gene Expression Microarray Data', 2011 12th ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Parallel/Distributed Computing, Distributed Computing, IEEE, Sydney, pp. 73-78.
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Gene expression data is a very complex data set characterised by abundant numbers of features but with a low number of observations. However, only a small number of these features are relevant to an outcome of interest. With this kind of data set, feature selection becomes a real prerequisite. This paper proposes a methodology for feature selection for an imbalanced leukaemia gene expression data based on random forest algorithm. It presents the importance of feature selection in terms of reducing the number of features, enhancing the quality of machine learning and providing better understanding for biologists in diagnosis and prediction. Algorithms are presented to show the methodology and strategy for feature selection taking care to avoid overfitting. Moreover, experiments are done using imbalanced Leukaemia gene expression data and special measurement is used to evaluate the quality of feature selection and performance of classification.

Apeh, E & Gabrys, B 1970, 'Change Mining of Customer Profiles Based on Transactional Data', 2011 IEEE 11th International Conference on Data Mining Workshops, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining Workshops (ICDMW), IEEE, pp. 560-567.
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Customer transactions tend to change overtime with changing customer behaviour patterns. Classifier models, however, are often designed to perform prediction on data which is assumed to be static. These classifier models thus deteriorate in performance overtime when predicting in the context of evolving data. Robust adaptive classification models are therefore needed to detect and adjust to the kind of changes that are common in transactional data. This paper presents an investigation into using change mining to monitor the adaptive classification of customers based on their transactions through a moving time window. Results from our experiments show that our approach can be used for learning and adapting to changing customer profiles. © 2011 IEEE.

Apeh, ET, Gabrys, B & Schierz, A 1970, 'Customer profile classification using transactional data', 2011 Third World Congress on Nature and Biologically Inspired Computing, 2011 Third World Congress on Nature and Biologically Inspired Computing (NaBIC), IEEE, pp. 37-43.
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Customer profiles are by definition made up of factual and transactional data. It is often the case that due to reasons such as high cost of data acquisition and/or protection, only the transactional data are available for data mining operations. Transactional data, however, tend to be highly sparse and skewed due to a large proportion of customers engaging in very few transactions. This can result in a bias in the prediction accuracy of classifiers built using them towards the larger proportion of customers with fewer transactions. This paper investigates an approach for accurately and confidently grouping and classifying customers in bins on the basis of the number of their transactions. The experiments we conducted on a highly sparse and skewed real-world transactional data show that our proposed approach can be used to identify a critical point at which customer profiles can be more confidently distinguished. © 2011 IEEE.

Balasubramanian, V, Hoang, DB & Zia, TA 1970, 'Addressing the Confidentiality and Integrity of Assistive Care Loop Framework Using Wireless Sensor Networks', 2011 21st International Conference on Systems Engineering, 2011 21st International Conference on Systems Engineering (ICSEng), IEEE, Las Vegas Nevada USA, pp. 416-421.
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In-house healthcare monitoring applications are continuous time-critical applications often built upon Body Area Wireless Sensor Networks (BAWSNs). Our Assistive Care Loop Framework (ACLF) is an in-house healthcare application capable of monitoring the health conditions of aged/patients over a dedicated period of time by deploying the BAWSN as the monitoring component. However, the wireless medium used in the BAWSN for communications is prone to vulnerabilities that could open a door to attackers tampering with or compromising the userâs data privacy. Hence, it is imperative to maintain the privacy and integrity of the data to gain the confidence and hence, the acceptance of the users of the healthcare applications. Furthermore, in time-critical applications, the vital health conditions must be monitored at regular intervals within their specified critical time. Therefore, the security model proposed for the BAWSN must not incur undue overheads when meeting the critical time requirements of the application. In this paper, we propose and implement a secure adaptive triple-key scheme (TKS) for the BAWSN to achieve the privacy and integrity of the monitored data with minimal overheads. We then present the performance results of our scheme for the BAWSN, using real-time test-bed implementations and simulations.

Beck, D, Brandl, M, Pham, TD, Chang, C-C, Zhou, X, Pham, TD, Zhou, X, Tanaka, H, Oyama-Higa, M, Jiang, X, Sun, C, Kowalski, J & Jia, X 1970, 'In-Silico Identification Of Micro-Loops In Myelodysplastic Syndromes', AIP Conference Proceedings, 2011 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTATIONAL MODELS FOR LIFE SCIENCES (CMLS-11), AIP, pp. 263-271.
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Micro-loops are regulatory network motifs that leverage transcriptional and posttranscriptional control to effectively regulate the transcriptome. In this paper a regulatory network for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDSs) was constructed from the literature and publicly available data sources. The network was filtered using data from deep-sequencing of small RNAs, exon and microarrays. Motif discovery showed that micro-loops might exist in MDS. We further used the identified micro-loops and performed basic network analysis to identify the known disease gene RUNX1/AML, as well as miRNA family hsa-mir-181. This suggested that the concept of micro-loops can be applied to enhance disease gene identification and biomarker discovery. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Bernardo, DV & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Empirical Survey: Experimentation and Implementations of High Speed Protocol Data Transfer for GRID', 2011 IEEE Workshops of International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications, 2011 IEEE Workshops of International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications (WAINA), IEEE, Biopolis Singapore, pp. 335-340.
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Many TCP protocol variants have demonstrated better performance in simulation and several limited network experiments. However, practical use in real applications of these protocols is still very limited because of the implementation and installation difficulties. On the other hand, users who need to transfer bulk data (e.g., in grid/cloud computing) usually turn to application level solutions where these variants do not fair well. Among protocols considered in the application level solutions are UDP-based protocols, such as UDT (UDP-based Data Transport Protocol). UDT is considered one of the most recently developed new transport protocols with congestion control algorithms. It was developed to support next generation high-speed networks, including wide area optical networks. It is considered a state-of-the-art protocol, which promptly addresses various infrastructure requirements for transmitting data in high-speed networks. Its development, however, creates new vulnerabilities because like many other protocols, it is designed to rely solely on existing security mechanisms for existing protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Some of these security mechanisms cannot be used to absolutely protect UDT, just as security mechanisms devised for wired networks cannot be used to protect unwired ones. Both the recently developed UDT and the decades-old TCP/UDP lack a well-thought-out security architecture that addresses problems in today's networks. In this paper, we extend our previous work and implement our developed security methodology that can assist network and security investigators, designers, and users who consider and incorporate security when implementing UDT across wide area networks. These can support security architectural designs of UDP-based protocols as well as assist in the future development of other state-of-the-art fast data transfer protocols.

Bernardo, DV & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Formalization and Information-Theoretic Soundness in the Development of Security Architecture for Next Generation Network Protocol - UDT', SECURITY TECHNOLOGY, International Conference on Security Technology (SecTech), Springer Verlag Berlin, Jeju Island, Korea, pp. 183-194.
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The development and deployment of User Datagram Protocol (UDP)- based Data Transfer (UDT) is undoubtedly strongly reliant upon existing security mechanisms. However, existing mechanisms are developed for mature protocols such as TCP/UDP. We, therefore, developed proprietary mechanisms to form a security architecture for UDT. The primary objectives of the architecture include the management of messages through Authentication Option (AO) and cryptographic keys, the security of data communications, and the integration of data protection enhancing technologies across all the layers. Our approach is the result of our work which started in 2008. We verified each mechanism through formalisation to achieve informationtheoretic soundness of the architecture. The results achieve the enhancement of existing schemes to introduce a novel approach to integrate mechanisms to secure UDT in its deployment. The architecture does include available and well-discussed schemes, which are used in other protocols, with proven computational intelligence which can be upgraded so as to provide improved security and primary protection in future extensive UDT deployments. In this work, we present UDT Security Architecture with suitable mechanisms to ensure preservation of data integrity in data transmission.

Brandl, MB, Beck, D, Pham, TD, Pham, TD, Zhou, X, Tanaka, H, Oyama-Higa, M, Jiang, X, Sun, C, Kowalski, J & Jia, X 1970, 'Application of Fuzzy c-Means and Joint-Feature-Clustering to Detect Redundancies of Image-Features in Drug Combinations Studies of Breast Cancer', AIP Conference Proceedings, 2011 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTATIONAL MODELS FOR LIFE SCIENCES (CMLS-11), AIP, pp. 65-72.
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The high dimensionality of image-based dataset can be a drawback for classification accuracy. In this study, we propose the application of fuzzy c-means clustering, cluster validity indices and the notation of a joint-feature-clustering matrix to find redundancies of image-features. The introduced matrix indicates how frequently features are grouped in a mutual cluster. The resulting information can be used to find data-derived feature prototypes with a common biological meaning, reduce data storage as well as computation times and improve the classification accuracy. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Bryant, CE, Brown, RD, Yang, S, Suen, H, Aklilu, E, Favaloro, J, Hart, DNJ, Fromm, P, Woodland, N, Nassif, N, Iland, H, Gibson, J, Ho, PJ & Joshua, DE 1970, 'Ten Year Survivors of Multiple Myeloma Demonstrate a Differential Expression of Immunological Biomarkers Including a High Incidence of Cytotoxic T-Cell Clones Which Have Not Acquired Myeloma-Associated Anergy', BLOOD, 53rd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH)., The American Society of Hematology, San Diego, California, pp. 1678-1678.

Burgess, JK, Faiz, A, Oliver, BG & Black, JL 1970, 'Gender Effects On Gene Expression In Airway Smooth Muscle Cells In Asthma', B71. CRAZY MUSCLES: AIRWAY AND LYMPHATIC SMOOTH MUSCLE AND LYMPHANGIOLEIOMYOMATOSIS (LAM), American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Burgess, JK, Grafton, K, Tjin, G, Middelburg, J, van Egmond, P, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'The Role Of Cathepsin D In The Regulation Of Tumstatin Levels In Asthmatic Airways', C97. AIRWAY GOVERNANCE: THE AXIS OF AIRWAY MYOCYTES, MYOFIBROBLASTS AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX IN ASTHMATIC AND COPD REMODELING, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Chan, KY, Dillon, TS, Kwong, CK, Ling, SH & IEEE 1970, 'Using Genetic Programming for Developing Relationship between Engineering Characteristics and Customer Requirements in New Products', 2011 6TH IEEE CONFERENCE ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS (ICIEA), IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications, IEEE, Beijing, China, pp. 526-531.
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In product planning, development of models of relationship between engineering characteristics and customer requirements in new products is an important process in quality function deployment (QFD), which is a widely used customer driven approach. In this paper, a methodology based on genetic programming (GP) is presented to generate a reliable model that can be used to predict the customer requirements from the engineering characteristics. The proposed GP based method, which has the capability to carry out simultaneous optimization of model relationship structures and parameters, is used to automatically generate accurate nonlinear models relating the two requirements. A case study of the digital camera design shows that the proposed GP based method produce a more accurate and interpretable models than the other commonly used methods, which ignore nonlinear terms in the model development. © 2011 IEEE.

Chan, KY, Dillon, TS, Ling, SH, Kwong, CK & IEEE 1970, 'Determination Of Process Conditions Of Epoxy Dispensing Processes Using A Genetic Algorithm Based Neural Fuzzy Networks', IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FUZZY SYSTEMS (FUZZ 2011), IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, IEEE, Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 2253-2260.
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In this paper, process conditions of epoxy dispensing processes are determined by the proposed genetic algorithm based neural fuzzy networks, which consists of two tasks: a) the approach of neural fuzzy networks, which was shown to be better than the other existing approaches, is proposed to develop models in relating between process parameters and quality characteristics for the epoxy dispensing processes; b) the approach of genetic algorithm is used to determine process parameters with respect to pre-defined quality requirements based on the developed neural fuzzy network models. The results indicate that, based on the proposed genetic algorithm based neural fuzzy network, estimated process parameters can achieve specified requirements of microchip encapsulations with high and robust qualities.

Chen, L & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Novel Data Protection Model in Healthcare Cloud', 2011 IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications, Communication (HPCC), IEEE, Banff, AB, Canada, pp. 550-555.
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Abstract- deploying state-of-the-art technologies is vital and inevitable in healthcare industry to cope with emerging services such as healthcare resource sharing and integration, collaborative consultation, and electronic health record. Cloud computing allows simple and easy user access, coping with users' dynamic and elastic demands, providing metered usage for its resources and hence is increasingly being adopted by individual users as well as enterprise users. The Cloud is being considered as appropriate technology for future healthcare infrastructure. However, in order to use of Cloud services effectively, users' data and/or resource have to be transferred to the cloud side and this inevitably raises several serious issues concerning losing control of users' resource, data privacy protection, data ownership and security. This paper addresses security and privacy challenges in healthcare cloud by deploying a novel framework with CPRBAC (Cloud-based Privacy-aware Role Based Access Control) model for controllability, traceability of data and authorized access to system resources. Furthermore, the work seeks to develop a unique active auditing service that is capable of tracing, tracking, and triggering an alarm on any operation, data or policy violations in the Cloud environment.

Chen, L & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Towards Scalable, Fine-Grained, Intrusion-Tolerant Data Protection Models for Healthcare Cloud', 2011IEEE 10th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, 2011 IEEE 10th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications (TrustCom), IEEE, Changsha, China, pp. 126-133.
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Despite cloud computing has been widely adopted by most industries, the healthcare industry still reveals a slow development in cloud-based solution due to the raising of user fear that their confidential health data or privacy would leak out in the cloud. To allay users' concern of data control, data ownership, security and privacy, we propose a robust data protection framework which is surrounded by a chain of protection schemes from access control, monitoring, to active auditing. The framework includes three key components which are Cloud-based Privacy-aware Role Based Access Control (CPRBAC) model, Triggerable Data File Structure (TDFS), and Active Auditing Scheme (AAS respectively. Our schemes address controllability, trace ability of data and authorize access to healthcare system resource. Data violation against access control policies can be proactively triggered to perform corresponding defense mechanisms. Our goal is to bring benefits of cloud computing to healthcare industries to assist them improve quality of service and reduce the cost of overall healthcare.

Craig, A, Tran, Y, Wijesuriya, N, Thuraisingham, R & Hung Nguyen 1970, 'Switching rate changes associated with mental fatigue for assistive technologies', 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 3071-3074.
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This paper presents research that investigated the effects of mental fatigue on brain activity associated with eyes open and eyes closed conditions. The changes associated with electroencephalography (EEG) alpha wave activity (8-13Hz) during eye closure has previously been shown to be an effective strategy for switching and activating devices as an environmental control system (ECS) designed for people with severe disability like spinal cord injury (SCI). The results showed that switching times did increase due to fatigue, however, these increases were not large (around 1 second longer to switch) and this difference was not significant. When baselines were readjusted taking into account the change in alpha wave activity due to the fatigue, switching reduced to times typically seen when the person was alert. Error rates were similar between the alert and fatigue sates. Implications of these results for a hands-free ECS are discussed. © 2011 IEEE.

Dehestani, D, Nguyen, H, Eftekhari, F, Madadnia, J, Su, S & Guo, Y 1970, 'Comprehensive Mathematical Modeling and Dynamic Simulation of Fixed Bed Reactor with Finite Element Method', Modelling and Simulation, Modelling and Simulation, ACTAPRESS, pp. 63-70.
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Wall cooled catalytic fixed bed reactors are commonplace in the process industries. In the case of reactions with high exothermic heat effects substantial radial and axial temperature gradients develop within the packed tubes. Accurate determination of the location and magnitude of the hotspot temperature is essential for the design, operation and control of such reactors. A transient 2D pseudo homogeneous model of a jacketed tubular fixed reactor is developed in this study. The transient model equations can be solved efficiently using the finite element technique. The model is validated against pilot plant scale and industrial scale data. The model developed in this study can accurately predict the experimental axial profiles at both the pilot and the industrial scales. The model developed in this study can be put to good use for model predictive control of the phthalic anhydride reactor and the development of safe start-up and shut-down procedures to avoid the formation of explosive mixtures. The transient 2D pseudo homogeneous model developed in this study can be used to analyze and optimize the long term operation of such deactivating fixed beds.

Eastwood, M & Gabrys, B 1970, 'Model level combination of tree ensemble hyperboxes via GFMM', 2011 Eighth International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD), 2011 Eighth International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD 2011), IEEE, pp. 443-447.
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An ensemble of decision trees defines an overlapping set of hyperboxes. These hyperboxes in turn define a disjoint set of hyperboxes each with an associated vector of individual decisions. These vectors can be used to robustly label the hyperboxes by class, or to define soft labels. We sample from these hyperboxes and use them to build a single classifier within the General Fuzzy Min-Max (GFMM) framework that gains information from many different resamplings of the data through the ensemble from which it is built. This method is found to build robust GFMM models, with improved performance on most datasets compared to the basic GFMM. © 2011 IEEE.

Elson, KM, Tipper, JL, Kirkham, J, Hall, RM & Ingham, E 1970, 'In situ cell monitoring in organ culture', European Cells and Materials, p. 58.

Furqan, F & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Analysis of Parameters Contributing Performance and Coverage of Mobile WiMAX with Mix Traffic', 2011 12th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Applications and Technologies, 2011 12th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing Applications and Technologies (PDCAT), IEEE, Gwangju, China, pp. 313-318.
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With high data rate and mobility support wireless networks are becoming an essential access component and an integral part of the ubiquitous Internet. As the provision of wireless networks is cost effective, they are being adopted for broadband access in rural areas (e.g., the Australian National Broadband Network). In this paper we present a comprehensive study of the parameters that effect both the capacity and coverage of IEEE 802.16e WiMAX which will serve as a basis for designing an effective access network including network dimensioning and provisioning QoS for dynamic and mixed distribution of services. In particular, the effect of physical and MAC layer overhead is considered for capacity evaluation with a simple scheduler. The paper also discusses the usage of compressed MAPs with SUB-DL-UL-MAP to reduce overheads and increase network capacity. Different scenarios are presented to evaluate the effect of standard and compressed overhead on capacity and coverage

Gay, V & Leijdekkers, P 1970, 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly about Social Networks for Health Apps.', EUC, IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Embedded and Ubiquitous Computing, IEEE Computer Society, Melbourne Australia, pp. 463-468.
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Mobile devices are blending into our lives and change the way we manage our social life but also how we look after our health. Hundreds of health apps are available for mobile devices and many use social network functionalities that allow users to exchange personal experiences and discuss their health with others. This has many positive results but also negative side effects. This paper discusses the good, the bad and the ugly about social network integration with mobile health applications. It is based on a comprehensive review of literature, social networking health forums, surveys, and our own experience with health apps for mobile devices.

Ge, Q, Burgess, JK, Moir, LM, Trian, T, Niimi, K, Shepherd, PR, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'Inhibition Of Phosphoinositide 3?-Kinase P110? Decreases TGFBeta1 Induced IL-6 And Calponin Expression In Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells', C97. AIRWAY GOVERNANCE: THE AXIS OF AIRWAY MYOCYTES, MYOFIBROBLASTS AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX IN ASTHMATIC AND COPD REMODELING, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Ghous, H, Ho, N, Catchpoole, DR & Kennedy, PJ 1970, 'Comparing functional visualizations of genes', The 5th International Workshop on Data Mining in Functional Genomics and Proteomics: Current Trends and Future Directions, International Workshop on Data Mining in Functional Genomics and Proteomics: Current Trends and Future Directions, European Conference on Machine Learning, Athens, Greece, pp. 12-21.

Golzan, SM, Graham, SL, Kim, M & Avolio, A 1970, 'A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS FOR NON-INVASIVE AND CONTINUOUS ESTIMATION OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID PRESSURE', CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, WILEY-BLACKWELL, pp. 48-48.

Gough, CS, Wajayathunga, VN, Tipper, JL, Wilcox, RK, Hall, RM & Ingham, E 1970, 'The biology of the ovine functional spinal unit', European Cells and Materials, p. 67.

Howsawi, EM, Eager, D, Bagia, R & IEEE 1970, 'Understanding Project Success: the Four-Level Project Success Framework', 2011 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT (IEEM), IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), IEEE, Singapore, Singapore, pp. 620-624.
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It is acknowledged in project management literature that a project's success means different things to different people. This implies that the definition of success will be different for each project. However, success is a common goal for projects regardless of the specific definition for each project. This statement implies that there can be a common approach in planning for success and generalized framework that can guide the process of defining and planning the project success for different projects. This paper presents the underlying framework that directs the optimum success definition and planning process. Through a literature review and classification of success criteria, a four level success framework was developed, namely: context level; business level; product level; and project process level. This framework explains the relationship between levels and provides guidelines for decision process. The framework is generalized and can be applied to most projects.

Jap, BT, Fischer, P & Lal, S 1970, 'Assessing a potential electroencephalography based algorithm during a monotonous train driving task in train drivers', 7th International Conference on Broadband Communications and Biomedical Applications, 2011 6th International Conference on Broadband and Biomedical Communications (IB2Com), IEEE, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 139-144.
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Electroencephalography can be utilized to detect driver fatigue. One algorithm that shows promising results in detecting fatigue is the equation ((θ+α)/β). The current study observes the result of equation (θ+α)/β) on 10 train drivers who were completing a 30-minute monotonous train driving experiment. © 2011 IEEE.

Kabakova, IV, Grobnic, D, Mihailov, SJ, Mägi, EC, De Sterke, CM & Eggleton, BJ 1970, '18-Fold power reduction using Bragg grating-based switch in highly-nonlinear bismuth-oxide fiber', 2011 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics: Laser Science to Photonic Applications, CLEO 2011.
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We experimentally demonstrate a Bragg grating-based all-optical switch in a highly nonlinear Bi2O3 fiber. We achieve 18-fold power reduction for a 6.5 dB switching ratio compared with previous demonstrations in silica fibers. © 2011 OSA.

Kabakova, IV, Grobnic, D, Mihailov, SJ, Mägi, EC, de Sterke, CM & Eggleton, BJ 1970, '18-fold power reduction using bragg grating-based switch in highly-nonlinear bismuth-oxide fiber', Optics InfoBase Conference Papers, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), IEEE, Baltimore, MD.
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We experimentally demonstrate a Bragg grating-based all-optical switch in a highly nonlinear Bi2O3 fiber. We achieve 18-fold power reduction for a 6.5 dB switching ratio compared with previous demonstrations in silica fibers. © OSA/ CLEO 2011.

Kabakova, IV, Halliwell, D, de Sterke, CM, Yu, Z, Margulis, W, Fonjallaz, P-Y & Tarasenko, O 1970, 'Observation of frequency shift in a dynamically tuned fiber grating cavity by a beating technique', CLEO:2011 - Laser Applications to Photonic Applications, CLEO: Science and Innovations, OSA.
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Kabakova, IV, Halliwell, D, Martijn de Sterke, C, Yu, Z, Margulis, W, Fonjallaz, PY & Tarasenko, O 1970, 'Observation of frequency shift in a dynamically tuned fiber grating cavity by a beating technique', Optics InfoBase Conference Papers.
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Dynamic frequency changes of light trapped in a fiber grating-based cavity, which is detuned by RF pulses, are detected by a simple, elegant, high-resolution method in which the trapped light beats with the incoming light. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

Kamyabpour, N & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Modeling overall energy consumption in Wireless Sensor Networks', The 11th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Applications and Technologies, International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Applications and Technologies, IEEE Computer Society, Wuhan China, pp. 273-279.
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Minimizing the energy consumption of a wireless sensor network application is crucial for effective realization of the intended application in terms of cost, lifetime, and functionality. However, the minimizing task is hardly possible as no overall energy cost function is available for optimization. Optimizing a specific component of the total energy cost does not help in reducing the total energy cost as this reduction may be negated by an increase in the energy consumption of other components of the application. Recently we proposed Hierarchy Energy Driven Architecture as a robust architecture that takes into account all principal energy constituents of wireless sensor network applications. Based on the proposed architecture, this paper presents a single overall model and proposes a feasible formulation to express the overall energy consumption of a generic wireless sensor network application in terms of its energy constituents. The formulation offers a concrete expression for evaluating the performance of a wireless sensor network application, optimizing its constituent's operations, and designing more energy-efficient applications. The paper also presents simulation results to demonstrate the feasibility of our model and energy formulation

Kan, CW, Hahn, MA, Marsh, DJ & Howell, VM 1970, 'Abstract 4962: Assessing serum miRNA as putative biomarkers for serous epithelial ovarian cancer', Cancer Research, Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), pp. 4962-4962.
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Abstract Serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecological malignancy; due in part to vague and non-specific symptoms resulting in delayed diagnosis. The biomarker in routine clinical use for EOC is CA-125, with the OVA1 test (Quest Diagnostics) recently available to aid in predicting the likelihood that an ovarian mass is malignant. Current diagnostic tests have limitations which may be improved by expansion of biomarker panels. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate important cellular processes. They exhibit distinct expression profiles in cancers and have recently been discovered in serum and other body fluids. Tumor miRNAs may be shed into the circulation, raising the possibility of their use as serum biomarkers for the detection of EOC. Exiqon LNA miRNA microarrays were performed using RNA from cell line models of serous EOC. Over-expressed miRNAs were selected as candidates for assessment in serum. These were measured in RNA extracted from serum of patients with serous EOC (n=30) and healthy age-matched volunteers (n=30) by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). As there are currently no routine methods for the normalization of miRNA in serum, a group of highly and uniformly expressed miRNAs with no reported involvement in cancer was selected for assessment as endogenous controls. Five miRNAs, miR-182, miR-96 and miR-200a, miR-200b and miR-200c were identified as highly expressed in a panel of serous EOC cell lines consistent with previous reports, and therefore selected for investigation as putative serous EOC biomarkers. In addition, miR-92a, miR-103, miR-638 and RNU48 were selected as candidate endogenous controls given that they were consistently expressed at high levels in the cell line panel. qRT-PCR data will be presented on the expressi...

Khan, L, Pechenizkiy, M, Zliobaite, I, Agrawal, C, Bifet, A, Delany, SJ, Dries, A, Fan, W, Gabrys, B, Gama, J, Gao, J, Gopalkrishnan, V, Holmes, G, Katakis, I, Kuncheva, L, Van Leeuwen, M, Masud, M, Menasalvas, E, Minku, L, Pfahringer, B, Polikar, R, Rodrigues, PP, Tsoumakas, G & Tsymbal, A 1970, 'Preface to the Handling Concept Drift and Reoccurring Contexts in Adaptive Information Systems Workshop', 2011 IEEE 11th International Conference on Data Mining Workshops, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining Workshops (ICDMW), IEEE.
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Khushaba, RN, Kodagoda, S, Lal, S & Dissanayake, G 1970, 'Intelligent driver drowsiness detection system using Uncorrelated Fuzzy Locality Preserving Analysis', 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011), IEEE.
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Khushaba, RN, Kodagoda, S, Lal, S, Dissanayake, G & IEEE 1970, 'Intelligent Driver Drowsiness Detection System Using Uncorrelated Fuzzy Locality Preserving Analysis', 2011 IEEE/RSJ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT ROBOTS AND SYSTEMS, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, pp. 4608-4614.
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One of the leading causes of automobile accidents is related to driving impairment due to drowsiness. A large percentage of these accidents occur due to drivers' unawareness of the degree of impairment. An automatic detection of drowsiness levels could lead to lower accidents and hence lower fatalities. However, the significant fluctuations of the drowsiness state within a short time poses a major challenge in this problem. In response to such a challenge, we present the Uncorrelated Fuzzy Locality Preserving Analysis (UFLPA) feature projection method. The proposed UFLPA utilizes the changes in driver behavior, by means of the corresponding Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electrooculogram (EOG), and Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals to extract a set of features that can highly discriminate between the different drowsiness levels. Unlike existing methods, the proposed UFLPA takes into consideration the fuzzy nature of the input measurements while preserving the local discriminant and manifold structures of the data. Additionally, UFLPA also utilizes Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to avoid the singularity problem and produce a set of uncorrelated features. Experiments were performed on datasets collected from thirty-one subjects participating in a simulation driving test with practical results indicating the significance of the results achieved by UFLPA of 94%â95% accuracy on average across all subjects.

Kitoko, V, Nguyen, TN, Nguyen, JS, Tran, Y, Nguyen, HT & IEEE 1970, 'Performance of Dry electrode with Bristle in Recording EEG rhythms across Brain State Changes', 2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC), International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, USA, pp. 59-62.
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In this paper we evaluate the physiological performance of a silver-silver chloride dry electrode with bristle (B-Electrode) in recording EEG data. For this purpose, we compare the performance of the bristle electrode in recording EEG data with the standard wet gold-plated cup electrode (G-Electrode) using two different brain state change tasks including resting condition with eyes-closed and performing mathematical task with eyes-open. Using a 2 channel recording device, eyes-closed command data were collected from each of 6 participants for a period of 20sec and the same procedure was applied for the mathematical calculation task. These data were used for statistical and classification analyse. Although, B-electrode has shown a slightly higher performance compared with G-electrode in both tasks, but analyse did not reveal any significant differences between both electrodes in all six subjects tested.

Krimmer, DI, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'Cigarette Smoke Extract Induced Production Of Extracellular Matrix Proteins Is Attenuated By Simvastatin', D39. NOVEL THERAPEUTICS IN PULMONARY FIBROSIS, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Krimmer, DI, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'Exposure To Biomass Smoke Extract Enhances Fibronectin Release From Human Lung Fibroblasts', B106. BIOMASS AND OTHER INDOOR AIR POLLUTANTS, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Krimmer, DI, Ichimaru, Y, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'Attachment Of Airway Smooth Muscle Cells Is Enhanced By Perlecan Domains II, IV, And V', C18. NOVEL MECHANISMS DRIVING AIRWAY REMODELING IN ASTHMA, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Lai, JCY, Leung, FHF, Ling, S-H, Shi, EC & IEEE 1970, 'Economic Load Dispatch using Intelligent Optimization with Fuzzy Control', IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FUZZY SYSTEMS (FUZZ 2011), IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, IEEE, Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 2219-2224.
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In this paper, Differential Evolution (DE) that incorporates fuzzy control and k-nearest neighbors algorithm is proposed to tackle the economic load dispatch problem. To provide the self-terminating ability, a technique called Iteration Windows (IW) is introduced to govern the number of iteration in each searching stage during the optimization. The size of IW is controlled by a fuzzy controller, which uses the information provided by the k-nearest neighbors system to analyze the population during the searching process. The controller keeps controlling the IW till the end of the searching process. A wavelet based mutation process is embedded in the DE searching process to enhance the searching performance. The weight F of DE is also controlled by the fuzzy controller to further speed up the searching process. The proposed method is employed to solve the Economic Load Dispatch with Valve-Point Loading (ELDVPL) Problem. It is shown empirically that the proposed method can terminate the searching process with a reasonable number of iteration and performs significantly better than the conventional methods in terms of convergence speed and solution quality.

Ling, SH, Nguyen, HT, Leung, FHF & IEEE 1970, 'Hypoglycemia Detection using Fuzzy Inference System with Genetic Algorithm', IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FUZZY SYSTEMS (FUZZ 2011), IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, IEEE, Taipei, Taiwan, pp. 2225-2231.
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AbstractIn this paper, we develope a genetic algorithm based fuzzy inference system to recognize hypoglycemic episodes based on heart rate and corrected QT interval of the telectrocardiogram (ECG) signal. Genetic algorithm is introduced to optimize the membership functions and fuzzy rules. A practical experiment based on data from 15 children with T1DM is studied. All the data sets are collected from the Department of Health, Government of Western Australia. To prevent the phenomenon of overtraining (over-fitting), a validation strategy that may adjust the fitness function is proposed. Thus, the data are organized into a training set, a validation set, and a testing set randomly selected. The classification results in term of sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis show that the proposed classification method performs well.

Manetsch, M, Seidel, P, Che, W, Ge, Q, Sukkar, M & Ammit, AJ 1970, 'Effect Of H202 On The Synergistic Upregulation Of TnfAlpha-Induced Cytokines By TLR2 Ligand Engagement', AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, AMER THORACIC SOC.

Mao, Y, Cui, K, Lulu, W, Zhao, H, Nie, F, Brandl, M, Beck, D, Gao, L & Wong, S 1970, 'An in-silico approach for drug repositioning to tumour anti-migration using an integrated genomic strategy', 2011 IEEE/NIH Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop (LiSSA), 2011 IEEE/NIH 5th Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop (LiSSA), IEEE, Bethesda, MD, USA, pp. 88-91.
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Cell migration is a key step for deterioration of many in situ or metastasis malignant tumours. Tumour anti-migration is a promising strategy to treat cancer, but corresponding drugs developed under such a strategy are still in dire poverty, partly due to the lengthly process of drug trials and approval required by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Given there are thousands of FDA approved drugs in the market, we believe that drug repositioning may provide a fast and cost-effective way to identify potential anti-migration drugs. In this paper, an in-silico drug screening method using a genomic strategy is proposed for the goal, in which genomic signature identification combined with support vector machine modelling is adopted to estimate drug efficacy. And a high-throughput, sensitive, 3-dimensional invasion assay by quantitative bioluminescence imaging proved the performance of proposed method on in vitro disease models. © 2011 IEEE.

Miro, JV, Black, R, De Bruijn, F, Dissanayake, G & IEEE 1970, 'Semi-Autonomous Competency Assessment of Powered Mobility Device Users', 2011 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REHABILITATION ROBOTICS (ICORR), IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, IEEE, Zurich, Switzerland, pp. 1-6.
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This paper describes a stand-alone sensor package and algorithms for aiding the assessment by an occupational therapist whether a person has the capacity to safely and effectively operate a powered mobility device such as a walking aid or a wheelchair. The sensor package employed consists of a laser range finder, an RGB camera and an inertial measurement unit that can be attached to any mobility device with minimal modifications. Algorithms for capturing the data received by the sensor package and for generating the map of the environment as well as the trajectory of the mobility device have been developed. Such information presents occupational therapists with the capability to provide a quantitative assessment of whether patients are ready to be safely deployed with mobile aids for their daily activities. Preliminary evaluation of the sensor package and associated algorithms based on experiments, conducted at the premises of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, are presented. © 2011 IEEE.

Miro, JV, Zhou, W, Dissanayake, G & IEEE 1970, 'A Strategy for Efficient Observation Pruning in Multi-Objective 3D SLAM', 2011 IEEE/RSJ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT ROBOTS AND SYSTEMS, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IEEE, San Francisco, CA, USA, pp. 1640-1646.
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An efficient automatic solution to the feature-based simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) of mobile robots operating in conditions where a number of competing objectives operate simultaneously is proposed. The formulation quantitatively measures the merit of incoming data with respect to multiple priorities, automatically adjusting the amount of observations to be used in the estimation process for the best possible combined outcome. The methodology enables a selection mechanism which can efficiently exploit the observations available to the robot to best fulfil the objectives of differing tasks throughout the course of a mission, e.g. localisation, mapping, exploration, feature distribution, searching for specific objects or victims, etc. The work is particularly motivated by navigation in three-dimensional terrains, and an example considering the objectives of robot localisation and map expansion in a search and rescue environment using an RGB-D camera is utilised for discussion and results. © 2011 IEEE.

Ng, HY, Oliver, BG, Burgess, JK, Krymskaya, VP, Black, JL & Moir, LM 1970, 'Inhibition Of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) Decreases Migration Of TSC2-Null Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts – Relevance To Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM)', B71. CRAZY MUSCLES: AIRWAY AND LYMPHATIC SMOOTH MUSCLE AND LYMPHANGIOLEIOMYOMATOSIS (LAM), American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Nguyen, AV, Su, S & Nguyen, HT 1970, 'Development of a Bayesian recursive algorithm to find free-spaces for an intelligent wheelchair', 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 7250-7253.
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This paper introduces a new shared control strategy for an intelligent wheelchair using a Bayesian recursive algorithm. Using the local environment information gathered by a laser range finder sensor and commands acquired through a user interface, a Bayesian recursive algorithm has been developed to find the most appropriate free-space, which corresponds to the highest posterior probability value. Then, an autonomous navigation algorithm will assist to manoeuvre the wheelchair in the chosen freespace. Experiment results demonstrate that the new method provides excellent performance with great flexibility and fast response.

Nguyen, JS, Tran, Y, Su, SW, Nguyen, HT & IEEE 1970, 'Semi-autonomous Wheelchair Developed Using a Unique Camera System Configuration Biologically Inspired by Equine Vision', 2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC), International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 5762-5765.
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This paper is concerned with the design and development of a semi-autonomous wheelchair system using cameras in a system configuration modeled on the vision system of a horse. This new camera configuration utilizes stereoscopic vision for 3-Dimensional (3D) depth perception and mapping ahead of the wheelchair, combined with a spherical camera system for 360-degrees of monocular vision. This unique combination allows for static components of an unknown environment to be mapped and any surrounding dynamic obstacles to be detected, during real-time autonomous navigation, minimizing blind-spots and preventing accidental collisions with people or obstacles. This novel vision system combined with shared control strategies provides intelligent assistive guidance during wheelchair navigation and can accompany any hands-free wheelchair control technology. Leading up to experimental trials with patients at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre (RRC) in Ryde, results have displayed the effectiveness of this system to assist the user in navigating safely within the RRC whilst avoiding potential collisions. © 2011 IEEE.

Nguyen, LB, Ling, SSH, Jones, TW, Nguyen, HT & IEEE 1970, 'Identification of hypoglycemic states for patients with T1DM using various parameters derived from EEG signals', 2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC), International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 2760-2763.
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For patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), hypoglycemia is a very common but dangerous complication which can lead to unconsciousness, coma and even death. The variety of hypoglycemia symptoms is originated from the inadequate supply of glucose to the brain. In this study, we explore the connection between hypoglycemic episodes and the electrical activity of neurons within the brain or electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. By analyzing EEG signals from a clinical study of five children with T1DM, associated with hypoglycemia at night, we find that some EEG parameters change significantly under hypoglycemia condition. Based on these parameters, a method of detecting hypoglycemic episodes using EEG signals with a feed-forward multi-layer neural network is proposed. In our application, the classification results are 72% sensitivity and 55% specificity when the EEG signals are acquired from 2 electrodes C3 and O2. Furthermore, signals from different channels are also analyzed to observe the contributions of each channel to the performance of hypoglycemia classification.

Nguyen, TN, Nguyen, H, Su, S & Celler, B 1970, 'Robust online adaptive neural network control for the regulation of treadmill exercises', 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, USA, pp. 1005-1008.
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The paper proposes a robust online adaptive neural network control scheme for an automated treadmill system. The proposed control scheme is based on Feedback-Error Learning Approach (FELA), by using which the plant Jacobian calculation problem is avoided. Modification of the learning algorithm is proposed to solve the overtraining issue, guaranteeing to system stability and system convergence. As an adaptive neural network controller can adapt itself to deal with system uncertainties and external disturbances, this scheme is very suitable for treadmill exercise regulation when the model of the exerciser is unknown or inaccurate. In this study, exercise intensity (measured by heart rate) is regulated by simultaneously manipulating both treadmill speed and gradient in order to achieve fast tracking for which a single input multi output (SIMO) adaptive neural network controller has been designed. Real-time experiment result confirms that robust performance for nonlinear multivariable system under model uncertainties and unknown external disturbances can indeed be achieved. © 2011 IEEE.

Niimi, K, Oliver, BG, Thomas, T, Moir, LM, Ge, Q, Burgess, JK & Black, JL 1970, 'Expression Of Phosphodiesterase 4D In Asthmatic And Non Asthmatic Airway Smooth Muscle Cells And Its Regulation By Formoterol', A30. NOVEL MECHANISMS OF AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTION AND RELAXATION: ARE THESE THERAPEUTICALLY TARGETABLE?, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Nuryani, Ling, S, Nguyen, HT & IEEE 1970, 'Ventricular Repolarization Variability for Hypoglycemia Detection', 2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC), International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 7961-7964.
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Hypoglycemia is the most acute and common complication of Type 1 diabetes and is a limiting factor in a glycemic management of diabetes. In this paper, two main contributions are presented; firstly, ventricular repolarization variabilities are introduced for hypoglycemia detection, and secondly, a swarm-based support vector machine (SVM) algorithm with the inputs of the repolarization variabilities is developed to detect hypoglycemia. By using the algorithm and including several repolarization variabilities as inputs, the best hypoglycemia detection performance is found with sensitivity and specificity of 82.14% and 60.19%, respectively.

Oliver, BG, Tang, FS, Van Ly, D, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Baines, KJ 1970, 'Imiquimod, Poly I:C And Rhinovirus Induce Interleukin (IL)-6 And IL-8 Release From Polymorphonuclear Cells And Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells: Effect Of Dexamethasone', D102. PATHOGENS IN AIRWAY DISEASE, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Patel, M, Valls Miro, J & Dissanayake, G 1970, 'Activity recognition from the interactions between an assistive robotic walker and human users', Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Human-robot interaction, HRI'11: International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, ACM, Lausanne, Switzerland, pp. 221-222.
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Detection of individuals' intention from a sequence of actions is an open and complex problem. In this paper we present a smart walker as mobility aid which can interpret the users' behaviour patterns to recognize their intentions and consequently act as an intelligent assistant. The result of the experiments performed in this paper demonstrates the potential of dynamic bayesian networks (DBN), in relation to their dynamic and unsupervised nature, for realistic human-robot interaction modelling.

Pirapinthan, M, Moulton, B & Lal, S 1970, 'Trends in home-based safety and health alert support systems for older people', 7th International Conference on Broadband Communications and Biomedical Applications, 2011 6th International Conference on Broadband and Biomedical Communications (IB2Com), IEEE, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 206-212.
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There is a trend towards the development of sensor systems to help older people improve their safety in the home environment. This is due to an increase in the average age of the population, together with a greater focus on providing non-hospital health care services, and greater availability of low-cost components to support such systems. It is expected that smart home care technologies would be potentially useful in monitoring the safety of the elderly in the home environment. The safety of older and disabled people can be continuously monitored without interrupting their daily routine with intelligent devices and modern sensors located in their home environment and on the body. While home care technologies are beneficial for older people, and encourage independence, there are still privacy and safety issue that need to be considered if such systems are to be widely adopted. Further research is required, especially with respect to regarding use cases and the cost implications of home-based systems.

Pritchett, S, Zilberg, E, Xu, ZM, Karrar, M, Burton, D & Lal, S 1970, 'Comparing accuracy of two algorithms for detecting driver drowsiness &#x2014; Single source (EEG) and hybrid (EEG and body movement)', 7th International Conference on Broadband Communications and Biomedical Applications, 2011 6th International Conference on Broadband and Biomedical Communications (IB2Com), IEEE, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, pp. 179-184.
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Driver fatigue is acknowledged to have similar effects on driving performance as driving under the influence of alcohol. As such, drowsiness detection systems should prove to be valuable in-vehicle safety measures. There are many algorithms that are currently being developed for this purpose, however, they often utilise a single source of data to detect drowsiness onset. It is anticipated that using hybrid data sources would increase the accuracy of such devices. The objective of this analysis was to compare the performance of a hybrid drowsiness detection algorithm with its single source counterpart. Addition of the body movement data to form a hybrid algorithm improved drowsiness detection performance over its EEG only (single source) counterpart, such that area under the ROC curve values increased from 0.764 (single source) to 0.783 (hybrid)

Pritchett, S, Zilberg, E, Zheng Ming Xu, Karrar, M, Lal, S & Burton, D 1970, 'Strengthening association between driver drowsiness and its physiological predictors by combining EEG with measures of body movement', 7th International Conference on Broadband Communications and Biomedical Applications, 2011 6th International Conference on Broadband and Biomedical Communications (IB2Com), IEEE, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 103-107.
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Driver fatigue is acknowledged as a major contributing factor in motor vehicle accidents that result in serious injuries or death. As a result it is valuable to develop driver drowsiness monitoring and warning systems. Many systems that are currently being developed utilise a single source of data to evaluate drowsiness level, however it is anticipated that using hybrid data sources would increase the accuracy of such devices. The objective of this analysis was to determine if using a combination of EEG and body movement parameters would increase the ability to accurately predict the graduated driver drowsiness levels compared to EEG signals alone. Addition of the body movement data has increased the goodness of fit in modelling the average driver drowsiness using a linear regression (R2 = 0.272 for EEG alone and R2 = 0.308 for EEG and body movement combined)

Qudah, I, Leijdekkers, P & Gay, VC 1970, 'Proposed Novel Solution to Improve Medication Adherence for Cardiac Patients', 2011 IEEE Jordan Conference on Applied Electrical Engineering and Computing Technologies (AEECT), IEEE Comptuting Society, Jordan Amman, pp. 310-315.
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In this paper we describe our approach to improve medication adherence. The issue of medication adherence is widely been studied. The paper discusses the differences between existing technologies/devices used to improve medication adherence and proposes a novel solution that links between technologty and behavious change model to predict and assess people tendency to make a change models to predict and assess people tendency to make a change models to predict and assess people tendency to make a change in their health behaviour towards adhering to their medication regimens. The use of technology in this intervention is aiming at assessing the effectiveness of using technology to motivate subjects and improve their medication adherence ratings.

San, PP, Ling, SH, Nguyen, HT & IEEE 1970, 'Block Based Neural Network for Hypoglycemia Detection', 2011 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC), International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 5666-5669.
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In this paper, evolvable block based neural network (BBNN) is presented for detection of hypoglycemia episodes. The structure of BBNN consists of a two-dimensional (2D) array of fundamental blocks with four variable inputoutput nodes and weight connections. Depending on the structure settings, each block can have one of four different internal configurations. To provide early detection of hypoglycemia episodes, the physiological parameters such as heart rate (HR) and corrected QT interval (QTc) of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal are used as the inputs of BBNN. The overall structure and weights of BBNN are optimized by an evolutionary algorithm called hybrid particle swarm optimization with wavelet mutation (HPSOWM). The optimized structures and weights of BBNN are capable to compensate large variations of ECG patterns caused by individual and temporal difference since a fixed structure classifiers are easy to fail to trace ECG signals with large variations. The ECG data of 15 patients are organized into a training set, a testing set and a validation set, each of which has randomly selected 5 patients. The simulation results shows that the proposed algorithm, BBNN with HPSOWM can successfully detect the hypoglycemic episodes in T1DM in term of testing sensitivity (76.74%) and test specificity (50.91%).

Santosa, H, Milton, J & Kennedy, PJ 1970, 'HMXT-GP', Proceedings of the 2011 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, SAC'11: The 2011 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, ACM, Taichung, Taiwan, pp. 1070-1075.
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This paper applies a recent informationtheoretic approach to controlling Genetic Algorithms (GAs) called HMXT to treebased Genetic Programming (GP). HMXT, in a GA domain, requires the setting of selection thresholds in a population and the application of high levels of crossover to thoroughly mix alleles. Applying these in a treebased GP setting is not trivial. We present results comparing HMXT GP to Kozastyle GP for varying amounts of crossover and over three different optimisation (minimisation) problems. Results show that average fitness is better with HMXTGP because it maintains more diversity in populations, but that the minimum fitness found was better with Koza. HMXT allows straightforward tuning of population diversity and selection pressure by altering the position of the selection thresholds.

Sivabalan, P & Khalifeh, CJ 1970, 'An experimental study on the effect of budgets on the balanced scorecard: An individual learning perspective', 34th Annual Congress - European Accounting Association, European Accounting Association, Rome, Italy.

Taha, T, Miro, JV, Dissanayake, G & IEEE 1970, 'A POMDP Framework for Modelling Human Interaction with Assistive Robots', 2011 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION (ICRA), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, Shanghai, China, pp. 544-549.
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This paper presents a framework for modelling the interaction between a human operator and a robotic device, that enables the robot to collaborate with the human to jointly accomplish tasks. States of the system are captured in a model based on a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). States representing the human operator are motivated by behaviours from the psychology of the human action cycle. Hierarchical nature of these states allows the exploitation of data structures based on algebraic decision diagrams (ADD) to efficiently solve the resulting POMDP. The proposed framework is illustrated using two examples from as-sistive robotics; a robotic wheel chair and an intelligent walking device. Experimental results from trials conducted in an office environment with the wheelchair is used to demonstrate the proposed technique. © 2011 IEEE.

Tan, X, Alrashdan, Y, Alkhouri, H, Yaputra, V, Armour, CL, Oliver, BG & Hughes, JM 1970, 'Th1-Cytokine Induced STAT1 And JNK Phosphorylation Is Altered In Airway Smooth Muscle Cells From People With Asthma', B69. NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO AIRWAY INFLAMMATION AND REMODELING IN ASTHMA AND COPD, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Thomas, T, Moir, LM, Burgess, JK, Liggett, SB, Ge, Q, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'Beta2-Agonist Induced Camp Is Decreased In Asthmatic Airway Smooth Muscle Due To Increased PDE4D', A65. MECHANISMS OF AIRWAY RESPONSE TO INJURY (RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, CIGARETTE SMOKE, AND ASTHMA), American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Tran, T, Ha, QP & Nguyen, HT 1970, 'Semi-automatic control of modular systems with intermittent data losses', 2011 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2011), IEEE, Trieste Italy, pp. 625-630.
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This paper presents a control procedure of distributed stabilising agents for dynamically-coupled systems operating in the imperfect data environment of a mesh device network. A multivariable controller is applied to each single modular subsystem, which also allows for a manual control mode. To deal with the device network, intermittent data losses are compensated for on-the-fly using the incrementally accumulative quadratic constraint (AQC). The incrementally AQC is employed in the procedure of stabilising agents to accommodate the coexistence of closed-loop control and man-in-the-loop regulation. These agents render stabilising bounds for the manipulated variables in the automatic control mode, and at the same time, provide warning signals and manipulation guidance for the operators to prevent possible plant-wide destabilisation in the semi-automatic control mode. Taking the control constraints into consideration, the feasibility of AQC-based stabilising bounds is guaranteed for the consecutive datalost periods of device networks. The innovative aspect of the proposed approach rests on the stability condition developed from the input and output evolution prescribed in the controller AQC and the system dissipativity, as well as the method of remedying data losses right after the incidents. Simulation results are provided for the model predictive control of an industrial modular system in the mineral processing industry. © 2011 IEEE.

Tran, T, Ha, QP, Nguyen, HT & Tuan, HD 1970, 'Toward Plant-wide Control of Reticulated Systems Arising in Alumina Refineries with Online Stabilisation', IFAC Proceedings Volumes, IFAC World Congress, Elsevier BV, Milano Italy, pp. 10529-10534.
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This paper presents a novel distributed model predictive control strategy for reticulated systems of the alumina refining process. The plant-wide control is facilitated by the constructive method of online stabilisations that is applicable to the model predictive controllers (MPC) as stability constraints. The plant-wide process is modeled as a large-scale system formed by the subsystems of different unit operations interconnected to each other. The stability condition for the interconnected system is derived from the accumulative quadratic constraint (AQC), which is subsequently developed into receding-horizon stability constraints for MPC. The proposed online stabilisation scheme can be implemented for a department and/or the whole alumina refinery, which consists of four main departments of digestion, clarification, precipitation-filtration, and evaporation. The theoretical results are illustrated by simulations for a typical example of three dynamically-coupled subsystems.

Tran, TS, Nguyen, ND, Center, JR, Seibel, MJ, Eisman, JA & Nguyen, TV 1970, 'SERUM TESTOSTERONE AND FRACTURE RISK INMEN: A COMPARISON OF RADIOIMMUNOASSAY VERSUS LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY', OSTEOPOROSIS INTERNATIONAL, IOF Regionals 2nd Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis and Bone Meeting / ANZBMS Annual Scientific Meeting held with the JSBMR, SPRINGER LONDON LTD, Gold Coast, AUSTRALIA, pp. S589-S590.

Tran, Y, Thuraisingham, R, Craig, A, Tomlinson, E, Davis, GM, Middleton, J & Nguyen, H 1970, 'Changes in blood volume pulse during exercise recovery in activity-based therapy for spinal cord injury', 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 693-696.
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This paper presents the results of cardiovascular changes that occur during a novel rehabilitation strategy called activity based therapy (ABT). Blood volume pulse (BVP) signals were measured during functional electrical stimulation (FES)-induced cycling in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) persons and results were compared to a passive cycling task and able-bodied controls performing normal cycling. BVP signals were compared during three conditions, a baseline preexercise condition, 5 minutes after exercise and after 30- minutes rest following exercise. Exercise recovery was evaluated using normalized inner products values in BVP signals. The results showed that FES-induced cycling in SCI participants resulted in a significantly greater peripheral resistance level and longer time to recover from exercise compared with passive cycling and normal cycling in ablebodied controls.

Vakiloroaya, V, Su, SW & Ha, QP 1970, 'HVAC Integrated Control for Energy Saving and Comfort Enhancement', 28th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2011), 28th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC), Seoul Korea, pp. 245-250.
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The overall attainable reduction in energy consumption and enhancement of human comfort of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are dependant on thermodynamic behavior of buildings as well as performance of HVAC components and device control strategies. In this paper by refining the models of HVAC components, the influence of integrated control of shading blinds and natural ventilation on HVAC system performance is discussed in terms of energy savings and human comfort. An actual central cooling plant of a commercial building in the hot and dry climate condition is used for experimental data collection, modeling and strategy testing. Subject to comfort constraints, interactions between the buildingâs transient hourly load and system performance are considered to show how the system energy consumption varies at different control strategies. For validation, a holistic approach is proposed to integrate dynamic operations of shading devices with direct and indirect ventilation of a commercial building equipped with a central cooling plant. Simulation results are provided to show possibility of significant energy saving and comfort enhancement by implementing proper control strategies.

Valls Miro, J, De Bruijn, F, Dissanayake, G, Boisard, O & Ton, P 1970, 'Robot-Assisted Inspection of Concrete Box Girders in Bridges', Proceedings for the Austroads Conference 2011: Sustainable Bridges - The Thread of Society, Austroads Bridge Conference, Austroads Ltd., Sydney, pp. 335-346.
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This paper describes a robotic solution to the structural health inspection of concrete box girders. A combination of sensors including a laser range finder, a depth (RGB-D) camera, an inertial measurement unit and a high-resolution camera are mounted on a tracked robot. The robot can be driven inside a box girder even when there are steps present, to collect high-resolution images of the concrete structure. Software that allows the information captured to be registered with a 3D geometric map of the inside of a box girder, and a visualization tool that can be used to evaluate location-annotated highly-detailed surface condition pictures by the human operator has been developed. The proposed remote evaluation technique makes it feasible to safely monitor areas over a sequence of inspections, leading to more effective maintenance procedures. The effectiveness of the system is illustrated using data gathered during a field trial where the robot was deployed within the Overpass at Huntleyâs Point, in the junction between Victoria Road and Burns Bay Road in Sydney. Functionality to automatically identify defects/regions of interest is also being investigated. It is anticipated that supplementing manual inspection tasks with robotic aids will mitigate the risk to manual entry into a confined space with a consequential saving in associated cost. This project is collaboration between the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) of NSW.

Valls Miro, J, Zhou, W & Dissanayake, G 1970, 'A strategy for efficient observation pruning in multi-objective 3D SLAM', 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011), IEEE.
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Vamplew, P, Stranieri, A, Ong, K, Christen, P & Kennedy, PJ 1970, 'Data Mining and Analytics 2011 (AusDM'11)', Proceedings of the Ninth Australasian Data Mining Conference (AusDM'11), Ninth Australasian Data Mining Conference, Australian Computer Society, Ballarat, Australia, pp. i-229.
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We are delighted to welcome you to the Ninth Australasian Data Mining Conference (AusDM'11) being held this year in Ballarat, Victoria. AusDM started in 2002 and is now the annual flagship meeting for data mining and analytics professionals in Australia. Both scholars and practitioners present the state-of-the-art in the field. Endorsed by the peak professional body, the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia, AusDM has developed a unique profile in nurturing this joint community. The conference series has grown in size each year from early events held in Canberra (2002, 2003), Cairns (2004), Sydney (2005, 2006), the Gold Coast (2007), Glenelg (2008) and Melbourne (2009).

Van Ly, D, Burgess, JK, Black, JL & Oliver, BG 1970, 'The Role Of Eicosanoids In The Deposition Of The Extracellular Matrix From Airway Cells', A69. LIPID-MEDIATED SIGNALING, American Thoracic Society 2011 International Conference, May 13-18, 2011 • Denver Colorado, American Thoracic Society.
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Van, A, Gay, V, Kennedy, PJ, Barin, E & Leijdekkers, P 1970, 'Understanding risk factors in cardiac rehabilitation patients with random forests and decision trees.', AusDM, Australian Data Mining Conference, Australian Computer Society, Ballarat, Australia, pp. 11-22.

Warkiani, ME, Gong, HQ, Fane, AG & Wicaksana, F 1970, 'Effects of Membrane Pore Morphology on Fouling Behavior of Polymeric Micro-fabricated Membrane During Crossflow Micro-filtration', CLEAN TECHNOLOGY 2011: BIOENERGY, RENEWABLES, STORAGE, GRID, WASTE AND SUSTAINABILITY, CTSI Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Conference and Expo, Clean Technology 2011, CRC PRESS-TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP, Boston, MA, pp. 220-223.

Warkiani, ME, Gong, HQ, Fane, AG & Wicaksana, F 1970, 'Effects of membrane pore morphology on fouling behavior of polymeric microfabricated membrane during crossflow micro-filtration', Technical Proceedings of the 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011, NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, CRC PRESS-TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP, Boston, MA, pp. 569-572.
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The effects of the membrane pore geometry on the fouling mechanism of high-flux polymeric micro-fabricated membranes were studied using latex particles with different sizes and concentrations. The micro-fabricated membranes are made of a thin layer SU-8 photoresist with smooth surface and well defined slotted (or circular) pores using dissolving mold technique. For particles larger than the membrane pore size, the fouling mechanism was pore blockage followed by cake filtration while pore narrowing was the dominant mechanism when the particles were smaller than the membrane pore size. Filtration with slotted membrane offers some interesting advantages over conventional filtration with circular pores. The initial rate of flux decline was slower for the membrane with slotted pores compared to the membrane with circular pores since the initial particle deposition only covered a small fraction of the slits. The flow resistance is also much lower for the slotted membrane compare to the circular membrane.

Yu, JX, Lei Chen, Sakr, S & Lei Zou 1970, 'Preface', 2011 IEEE 27th International Conference on Data Engineering Workshops, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering Workshops (ICDEW), IEEE, p. 87.
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Recently, there has been a lot of interest in the application of graphs in different domains. They have been widely used for data modeling of different application domains such as chemical compounds, multimedia databases, protein networks, social networks and semantic web. With the continued emergence and increase of massive and complex structural graph data, a graph database that efficiently supports elementary data management mechanisms is crucially required to effectively understand and utilize any collection of graphs. This workshop focuses on issues related to graph databases. GDM 2011 will be held in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE 2011) in Hannover, Germany. GDM 2011 aims at bringing together researchers in different fields related to graph databases who have common interests in interdisciplinary research. The workshop provides a forum where researchers and practitioners can share and exchange their knowledge and experience. © 2011 IEEE.

Yuwono, M, Handojoseno, AMA & Nguyen, HT 1970, 'Optimization of head movement recognition using Augmented Radial Basis Function Neural Network', 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 2776-2779.
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For people with severe spine injury, head movement recognition control has been proven to be one of the most convenient and intuitive ways to control a power wheelchair. While substantial research has been done in this area, the challenge to improve system reliability and accuracy remains due to the diversity in movement tendencies and the presence of movement artifacts. We propose a Neural- Network Configuration which we call Augmented Radial Basis Function Neural-Network (ARBF-NN). This network is constructed as a Radial Basis Function Neural-Network (RBF-NN) with a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) augmentation layer to negate optimization limitation posed by linear classifiers in conventional RBF-NN. The RBF centroid is optimized through Regrouping Particle Swarm Optimization (RegPSO) seeded with K-Means. The trial results of ARBFNN on Head-movement show a significant improvement on recognition accuracy up to 98.1% in sensitivity.

Yuwono, M, Su, SW & Moulton, B 1970, 'Fall detection using a Gaussian distribution of clustered knowledge, augmented radial basis neural-network, and multilayer perceptron', 7th International Conference on Broadband Communications and Biomedical Applications, 2011 6th International Conference on Broadband and Biomedical Communications (IB2Com), IEEE, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 145-150.
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The rapidly increasing population of elderly people has posed a big challenge to research in fall prevention and detection. Substantial amounts of injuries, disabilities, traumas and deaths among elderly people due to falls have been reported worldwide. There is therefore a need for a reliable, simple, and affordable automatic fall detection system. This paper proposes a reliable fall detection algorithm using minimal information from a single waist worn wireless tri-axial accelerometer. The method proposed is to approach fall detection using digital signal processing and neural networks. This method includes the application of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), Regrouping Particle Swarm Optimization (RegPSO), a proposed method called Gaussian Distribution of Clustered Knowledge (GCK), and an Ensemble of Classifiers using two different classifiers: Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP) and Augmented Radial Basis Neural Networks (ARBF). The proposed method has been tested on 8 healthy individuals in a home environment and yields promising result of up to 100% sensitivity on ingroup, 97.65% sensitivity on outgroup, and 99.56% specificity on Activities of Daily Living (ADL) data.

Zhang, J, Huang, M & Hoang, DB 1970, 'Detecting DDoS Attack in Spam Emails using Density-Weight Model', Volume II, Proceedings of 2011 IEEE International Conference on Information Theory and Information Security, IEEE International Conference on Information Theory and Information Security, IEEE Press, Hangzhou, China, pp. 344-352.
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DDoS attacks whose are embedded in spam emails are increasingly becoming numerous and sophisticated in nature. Hence this has given a growing need for spam email analysis to identify these attacks. The uses of these intrusion detection systems have given rise to two new challenges, 1) how to incrase the accuracy of detection, 2) how to present large spam email networks for better understanding. In this paper we introduce a new analytical model that uses two coefficient vectors: 'density' and 'weight' to measure the network density and system workload for the analysis of DDoS attack of spam emails. We then use a visual clustering method to classify and display the spam emails for better understanding of the spam email network. The experiment shows that the proposed new model can increase the accuracy of the detection of DDoS attacks.

Zhu, ZY, Li, JY, Wang, LN, Liu, W, Cui, M & Liu, L 1970, 'A Simplified Time-Division Based on Road Network Model Considering Intersection Delay for Vehicle Navigation', Applied Mechanics and Materials, 1st International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, Trans Tech Publications, Ltd., THAILAND, Phuket, pp. 1226-1232.
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How to model a dynamic road network has great practical significance in a vehicle navigation system. This paper has proposed a simplified time-division based on road network model which implicitly takes into account the delay time at various intersections, the degree of a road congestion and the different road quality, but avoids a complicated calculation and collection for these traffic data. An improved Dijkstra algorithm based on the new model has also been given. The simulation results show that the model can work well and the algorithm is efficient.

Zhu, ZY, Liu, W, Liu, L, Cui, M & Li, JY 1970, 'A Simplified Real-Time Road Network Model Considering Intersection Delay and its Application on Vehicle Navigation', Applied Mechanics and Materials, International Conference on Information Technology for Manufacturing Systems (ITMS 2011), Trans Tech Publications, Ltd., PEOPLES R CHINA, Shanghai, pp. 1959-1965.
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The complexity of a real road network structure of a city and the variability of its real traffic information make a city’s intelligent transportation system (ITS) hard to meet the needs of the city’s vehicle navigation. This paper has proposed a simplified real-time road network model which can take into account the influence of intersection delay on the guidance for vehicles but avoid the calculation of intersection delay and troublesome collection of a city’s traffic data. Based on the new model, a navigation system has been presented, which can plan a dynamic optimal path for a vehicle according to the real-time traffic data received periodically from the city’s traffic center. A simulated experiment has been given. Compared with previous real-time road network models, the new model is much simpler and more effective on the calculation of vehicle navigation.

Darcy, SA, Taylor, TL, Murphy, AJ & Lock, D Canberra: Australian Sport Commission. 2011, Getting Involved in Sport: The Participation and non-participation of people with disability in sport and active recreation, pp. 1-78, Canberra.