All roads lead to Constantinople: Exploring the Via Militaris in the medieval Balkans, 600-1204

This thesis explores the Via Militaris, the grand military highway that diagonally bisected the Balkan Peninsula, as it existed in the Middle Ages. It explores the questions of what was the physical condition of the road during this period, in what manner did its condition and route differ from the road which existed in the Roman and Ottoman periods, and what efforts, if any, did the Byzantine state make in order to maintain its surface. In doing so this thesis explores the historiographical background of the route, charting the contributions made by Konstantin Jireček amongst others, but also examining the comparatively parlous state of contemporary research on this topic, discussing how our current understanding of this route and the role it played during the crusading period in particular, is hampered by a lack of fundamental research. Finally, this thesis presents as a case study the passage of the German contingent of the Third Crusade across the Balkans, 1188-1189, as led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. This serves as an example of how a more focused study of the road and its condition can greatly enhance our understanding of this region as a whole, and furthermore provides valuable insights into how the Byzantine state sought to strategically use geographical space as a means by which to apply logistical pressure. Through an increased emphasis on fieldwork, examples of which can be found within, and the application of new techniques of GIS imaging and logistical modelling, this thesis argues it is possible to create a far more comprehensive depiction of the route as currently exists, and demonstrates how this might not only transform current thinking on medieval logistics, but through a far more nuanced understanding of the physical connections that linked the city of Constantinople with its immediate hinterland, also the cultural and social histories of the medieval Balkans as a whole

Adequacy of existing residential care arrangements available for young people with severe physical, mental or intellectual disabilities in Australia

Acknowledging that the NDIS alone will not be able to solve the issues faced by young people in nursing homes, this review makes 12 recommendations including establishing a joint taskforce to ensure the recommendations are put in place. LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations to the Australian Government Recommendation 1 6.7 The committee recommends that the Australian Government compile a database of all young people under the age of 65 years living in residential aged care facilities using the data held by the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) program. This list should be provided in a regularly updated form to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and to state and territory governments. This data should include the following information: name; age and age of entry to aged care; diagnosis; length of time spent in the aged care system; and the factors that need to be addressed for the person to move out of the aged care facility. Recommendation 2 6.8 The committee recommends that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conduct a Longitudinal Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers in addition to its triennial survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. Recommendation 3 6.10 The committee recommends that the Australian Government develop and implement a comprehensive assessment and placement tool or residential assessment instrument to assess the care and accommodation needs for all young people living in or at risk of entering residential care. Recommendation 4 6.12 The committee recommends that supplementary assessment guidelines and tools are developed for the ACAT program to ensure that all young people being considered for an aged care placement are properly assessed. As part of this process, the committee recommends that: all young people placed in aged care are intensively case managed; and all ACAT placements for those aged under 65 are reviewed on an annual basis. Recommendation 5 6.13 The committee recommends that the accreditation standards for residential aged care are amended to include standards relating to the clinical outcomes and lifestyle needs of young people. In order to assist with meeting these new accreditation standards, the committee recommends that the Australian Government: • provide a supplementary payment to residential aged care facilities to ensure that these accreditation standards can be met; and • invest in disability specific training for all staff involved in the care of young people living in aged care. This training should focus on building improved awareness of the needs of young people and those living with disability in order to provide better support. It should also lead to improved connectivity between the aged care sector and other service sectors including allied health and disability services. Recommendation 6 6.17 The committee recommends that the Department of Social Services\u27 current discussion paper on disability housing consider capital funding options for construction of specialised disability accommodation. 6.18 The committee recommends that the discussion paper is released as a matter of urgency. 6.19 The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a supported disability accommodation fund similar to the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund. Recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Recommendation 7 6.21 The committee recommends that the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) conduct an inquiry into the issue of disability housing after the release of the discussion paper on disability housing. Recommendations to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Recommendation 8 6.23 The committee recommends that the COAG develop and implement a national rehabilitation strategy including a framework for the delivery of slow stream rehabilitation in all jurisdictions. Recommendation 9 6.28 The committee recommends that the NDIS, in all NDIS trial sites, and the relevant state or territory government in all other areas: • assign an advocate to all young people living in residential care to provide information to a young person and their families about their options. If appropriate, the advocate can act on behalf of the young person; • assign an advocate to all young people at risk of entering residential care to provide information to a young person and their families about their options. If appropriate, the advocate can act on behalf of the young person. The advocate should be made available as early as possible after diagnosis of an illness or disability and be assigned before any placement commences; • extend the National Younger Onset Dementia Key Worker Program (YODKWP) to all young people identified as being at risk of placement in residential care to provide collaborative case management. The key worker should be assigned before any placement commences; and • these programs should be proactively extended to young people living in residential care facilities under the age of 65 years by June 2017. Consideration of the mental health status of young people should be prioritised with appropriate support provided where necessary. Recommendation 10 6.30 The committee recommends that the NDIS, in all NDIS trial sites, should consider how it supports those with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). 6.31 The committee also recommends that the NDIS, in all NDIS trial sites, and the relevant state or territory government in all other areas work closely with community health services to provide the following for those with FASD agreement on a standardised diagnostic tool; and provision of early intervention services and other health services such as speech pathology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Recommendation 11 6.32 The committee recommends that the COAG establish a joint taskforce for young people living in residential care. This taskforce will: • facilitate the development and implementation of integrated service pathways involving a range of portfolios at a state and federal level including housing, health, aged care, disability, and transport; and • facilitate the collation and development of information packs outlining support, transition and placement options for young people. These packs should be made available to young people, their families, health practitioners and other relevant professionals in hospitals and aged care facilities. This process should collate all information and tools developed by the states during the Younger People with Disability in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) program and lead to the development of a standardised national information pack and make available to all state and territory governments for deployment. 6.33 The joint taskforce will also be responsible for oversight of the following for young people living in a Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF):  access to appropriate prescribed specialist services including speech pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other allied health services; the national rehabilitation strategy; the provision of advocates; the expanded key worker program; access to fully funded equipment as part of all state and territory Aids and Equipment schemes; • a cross sector approach is adopted to explore options for the provision of short term respite services; and • that all young people who indicate that they do not wish to live in residential care are transitioned into appropriate alternate accommodation by June 2018. Recommendation 12 6.34 The committee recommends that the joint taskforce issues a half yearly report on the progress of Recommendation 11 to the COAG

Tooth eruption and browridge formation

One of the most reasonable hypotheses regarding the functional significance of the browridge is that the supraorbital torus forms in response to masticatory stress during development. Oyen, Walker, and Rice (1979) have recently proposed a model that tests this hypothesis: if browridges are functionally related to masticatory stresses on the cranial vault, then changes in the biomechanics of the masticatory system ought to be reflected by changes in the browridge. To test their model they attempted to relate biomechanical discontinuities resulting from tooth eruption to episodes of bone deposition on the supraorbital tori of a developmental series of dry Papio crania. This paper reports on a parallel test of the model on a cross-sectional sample of Australian Aboriginal juvenile crania. This sample showed no relation between tooth eruption and the supraorbital surface morphology thought to be indicative of active bone deposition. It is also demonstrated that no significant relationship between tooth eruption and episodes of bone deposition is shown by the Papio sample. It is concluded that the use of small cross-sectional samples of dry crania does not provide a valid test of the model.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37614/1/1330580107_ftp.pd

Craniodental Affinities of Southeast Asia\u27s Negritos and the Concordance with Their Genetic Affinities

Genetic research into Southeast Asia\u27s negritos has revealed their deep-rooted ancestry, with time depth comparable to that of Southwest Pacific populations. This finding is often interpreted as evidence that negritos, in contrast to other Southeast Asians, can trace much of their ancestry directly back to the early dispersal of Homo sapiens in the order of 70 kya from Africa to Pleistocene New Guinea and Australia. One view on negritos is to lump them and Southwest Pacific peoples into an Australoid race whose geographic distribution had included Southeast Asia prior to the Neolithic incursion of Mongoloid farmers. Studies into Semang osteology have revealed some hints of Southwest Pacific affinities in cranial shape, dental morphology, and dental metrical shape. On the other hand, the Andamanese have been shown to resemble Africans in their craniometrics and South Asians in their dental morphology, while Philippine negritos resemble Mongoloid Southeast Asians in these respects and also in their dental metrics. This study expands the scope of negrito cranial comparisons by including Melayu Malays and additional coverage of South Asians. It highlights the distinction between the Mongoloid-like Philippine negritos and the Andamanese and Semang (and Senoi of Malaya) with their non-Mongoloid associations. It proposes that the early/mid-Holocene dispersal of the B4a1a mitochondrial DNA clade across Borneo, the Philippines, and Taiwan may be important for understanding the distinction between Philippine and other negritos

Development of novel microalgal and bacterial based production platforms

The use of expression platforms is a critical aspect of biotechnology, enabling the production of proteins, enzymes and other molecules by introducing a gene of interest into a chosen expression host. Commonly used expression systems include bacterial, yeast, mammalian, plant and algal. Here we focus on the use of bacterial and microalgal expression systems specifically for the production of both proteins and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). The initial focus of this research was to establish a novel, microalgal-based, cost effective approach for shrimp disease control in South East Asia. This project utilised the microalgae C. reinhardtii, engineered to express two dsRNAs targeting the shrimp pathogen White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), which was then incorporated into the shrimp feed. This feed was tested for its effectiveness in WSSV challenge trials. The results from these trials were inconclusive regarding its effectiveness as they showed no clear benefit of feeding WSSV specific dsRNA over the control dsRNA. However, the utilisation of this technology presents promising avenues for further exploration and development as it does not require downstream processing and purification prior to feeding. The second chapter aimed to express antibodies in C. reinhardtii to be used as an effective management tool for Vibrio control in shrimp. Expression and purification were achieved, with further testing required to measure its effectiveness in shrimp as a whole-cell feed. The third chapter aimed to express a fragment fusion protein in E. coli for use as a subunit vaccine in grouper fish for V. parahaemolyticus control. This fusion protein was used to vaccinate grouper fish and results highlighted it as a promising candidate for future experiments. Finally, the expression of the plastic degrading enzyme; PETase was successfully achieved in E. coli at both shake flask and batch fed fermentation scales. The protein was also successful purified and activity was confirmed through PET breakdown analysis using HPLC, demonstrating its efficacy in degrading polyethylene terephthalate (PET)