A geometrical approach to the motion planning problem for a submerged rigid body

The main focus of this paper is the motion planning problem for a deeply submerged rigid body. The equations of motion are formulated and presented by use of the framework of differential geometry and these equations incorporate external dissipative and restoring forces. We consider a kinematic reduction of the affine connection control system for the rigid body submerged in an ideal fluid, and present an extension of this reduction to the forced affine connection control system for the rigid body submerged in a viscous fluid. The motion planning strategy is based on kinematic motions; the integral curves of rank one kinematic reductions. This method is of particular interest to autonomous underwater vehicles which can not directly control all six degrees of freedom (such as torpedo shaped AUVs) or in case of actuator failure (i.e., under-actuated scenario). A practical example is included to illustrate our technique

Isoodon fusciventer (quenda) scat as a mycorrhizal inoculant and its effects on Eucalyptus gomphocephala (tuart) seedlings

Tree declines, characterised by deteriorating tree health and increasing mortality, are a global trend with widespread consequences for the ecosystems involved. The tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) is endemic to a narrow strip of coastline in south west Western Australia and is one of many Australian trees to have undergone a decline since European colonisation. Tuarts undergoing decline have fewer mycorrhizal associations than healthy tuarts. Mycorrhizal fungi associate with tree roots, improving water and nutrient uptake as well as offering some protection from root pathogens - all of which are factors associated with tuart decline. This study aimed to determine which source of mycorrhizal spores would be most effective at introducing mycorrhizal associations to tuart seedlings, and how the associations impact tuart health and growth. Three spore sources were used: ectomycorrhizal sporocarps, a commercially available product containing arbuscular mycorrhizae spores, and the scats of an opportunistic fungi-feeder - the quenda (Isoodon fusciventer). Tuart seeds were planted with inoculants containing all three spore sources, two of which had been autoclaved to kill spores. Thus each treatment only received active spores from one source. They were compared to two control treatments: one that received no inoculant (‘contaminant control’), and another that received an inoculant where all three spore sources had been autoclaved (‘nutrient control’). The treatment with live quenda scat spores had significantly more seedlings with ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisations than any other treatment/control. Neither the sporocarp or commercial treatment differed from the two controls in terms of seedling colonisation. The quenda scat treatment also exhibited less stress and fewer foliar symptoms of nitrogen deficiency, in a glasshouse environment. Finally, the scat treatment had smaller biomass and height compared to the nutrient control, although it still out performed the contaminant control in these measures. This study demonstrates that inoculation with quenda scats can successfully introduce ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal associations to tuart seedlings. Increased mycorrhizal colonisations can result in traits, such as increased nutrient absorption, that are desirable for tuarts intended for restoration plantings. Further research is needed on the long-term growth and health of scat-inoculated tuart seedlings in the field

Social Networks Matter: A New Approach to Assess Clusters, Cultural Vitality, and Their Implications for Planning Processes in Rio de Janeiro's Historic District, Praça Tiradentes

This research investigates organizational clustering and social networks around Praça Tiradentes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Through a modified method of Social Network Analysis (SNA) clustering is understood at the local scale and highlights key issues surrounding the structural and territorial makeup of an area. SNA originated out of qualitative empirical investigation of small-scale social groups. With new technologies and the growth of SNA as an analytical tool its applications have been used to quantitatively understand large-scale phenomenon. This study combines social network analysis' theoretical framework for both qualitative and quantitative research and adds a new approach to SNA at the local level. Using onsite data collection and the open sourced platform, Gephi, this study not only illustrates connectivity and relations among stakeholders, it also statistically identifies differences in stakeholder's relationships and uncovers embedded clusters with a social network. The importance of organizations' activities and the interplay within the cultural sector and across sectors is elucidated, giving value and improved knowledge of the intricate and complex nature of small to medium scale agglomerations. The cultural economy as a term has been used to promulgate economic development and urban regeneration processes in cities across the globe. But many times the discussion falls short of understanding local activity, and the needs of local organizations and actors involved. Important characteristics of stakeholder connectivity, power dynamics, and knowledge sharing are revealed and give multi-layered insight into the social, political and economic activities around Praça Tiradentes. Specific recommendations are contextualized and given for the area. The ability to build, sustain, and expand agglomerations of productive local activity and avoid contrary path selections is discussed. This should add a new and rich layer to local planning and policy discussions

Stephanie Smile

A young African American girl struggled to stay socially afloat in a predominantly white private school. Longing for a connection with a community of black scholars in college, she surprisingly grew very intimidated of her own people. Not only was she stuck in this limbo, but she felt insecure and unconfident transitioning to a four-year university as the first in her family. After finishing her first year and returning from her first study abroad trip to the Dominican Republic, Stephanie reflects on her journey in education, pursuing her dreams, and coming into her own as a young woman

Physical activity and quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia

Background: Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) has been linked to decreased social functioning, poor mental health, and quality of life (QOL). Increased physical functioning and activity can result in improvements in social, mental and overall health, as well as lowered depression and anxiety levels. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine physical activity levels and QOL amongst patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia in the Johannesburg region of South Africa. Methods: The research design was cross-sectional. Descriptive and quantitative data were collected. FMS patients (n=38) completed an online questionnaire on the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire was comprised of four components, namely Demographics, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), and the Short Form-36 (SF-36). During data analysis, descriptive characteristics and correlations were computed. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Results revealed high FIQR scores (67%) accompanied with low QOL scores (<50% in all domains). There was no correlation between physical activity and FIQR, and physical activity and QOL. Conclusion: High scores on the impact of FMS were associated with lower overall QOL scores. However, the relationship between physical activity, and the impact of FMS and QOL remain inconclusive.

Diurnal Oviposition of Blow Flies in Different Aged Carrion

Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the first insects to oviposit (lay eggs) on carrion. The timing of blow fly oviposition is critical for determining a postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, which is the time that has passed between death and corpse discovery. The objective of this investigation is to gain more information about the timing of blow fly oviposition in relation to sunrise. Past research in our lab has shown that blow fly oviposition occurs an average of 4.75 hours after sunrise. This year’s research expanded on previous studies by placing six piglets of different ages, in a remote, wooded area one hour after sunrise. To see if there was a difference in the timing of oviposition related to the age of the carrion, three of the piglets had been thawed for 15 hours (new pigs), and the other three had been thawed for approximately 55 hours (old pigs). The piglets were checked once an hour until oviposition occurred, and it was recorded whether flies and eggs were present each hour. Egg masses were collected and reared to the third larval instar stage for identification using taxonomic keys. The timing of oviposition, in hours after sunrise, was compared between treatments and there was no significant difference found (P=.441). The research was repeated five times in the fall of 2017. The most common flies found ovipositing were Diptera: Calliphoridae, Phormia regina (Meigen) and Diptera: Calliphoridae, Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Macquart). This research has importance in both the scientific and forensic communities, as a more accurate PMI can strengthen the validity of a forensic investigation

Antilinear deformations of Coxeter groups with application to Hamiltonian systems

In this thesis we provide several different systematic methods for constructing complex root spaces that remain invariant under an antilinear transformation. The first method is based on any element of the Weyl group, which is extended to factorizations of the Coxeter element and a reduced Coxeter element thereafter. An antilinear deformation method for the longest element of the Weyl group is given as well. Our last construction method leads to an alternative construction for q-deformed roots. For each of these construction methods we provide examples. In addition, we show a method of construction that for some special cases leads to rotations in the dual space and vice versa, starting from a rotation we find the root space involved. We then continue to apply these deformations to a generalized Calogero model and Affine Toda field theory. We provide a general solution for the ground state wave function of the Calogero model that is independent of a root representation and we extend this to the deformed case. An important property of this deformed Calogero model is that the amount of singularities in its potential is significantly reduced. We find that the exchange of particles in this model then leads to anyonic exchange factors. Following this we solve the model and find the ground state eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the deformed Calogero model. We apply the q-deformed roots to an Affine Toda field theory and find that one may formulate a classical theory respecting the mass renormalisation of the quantum case.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Interactions between native and exotic plants in the context of grassland restoration and the importance of below-ground processes

The importance of native ecosystems is being ever more realised as human-induced environmental change leads to ecosystem degradation. This is spurring increased efforts to restore ecosystems. In previously cultivated landscapes (old-fields) the legacy of farming practices can persist for decades and present many challenges for restoration. This thesis is focussed on identifying and overcoming some of these challenges that limit restoration efforts. The overall aims were to develop a mechanistic understanding of the processes hindering native grass establishment and to improve the effectiveness of techniques used in the restoration of native grasslands. Two glasshouse experiments (chapters 2 and 3) were designed to investigate whether soil microbial communities present in old-fields hinder native plant establishment and allow exotic plants to dominate. The results indicate that native grasses performed better in the presence of soil microbes from remnant grassland. However, these microbial effects were heavily influenced by nutrient availability in the soil. Characterisation of the microbial communities, using molecular barcoding, revealed that they differed between old-field sites and remnant grassland. Differences in soil physiochemical properties between soil types, as well as the presence of different plant species, appear to explain the observed differences in microbial community composition. In turn, these changes in microbial communities affected plant performance, particularly when soil nutrient availability was low. High nutrient availability in old-fields from past farming practices usually results in dominance of fast-growing annual exotic plants. Reducing soil fertility is therefore seen as an effective approach to restoration. I trialled four methods (carbon supplements, slashing, burning, and scalping; chapter 4) to 1) reduce biomass of exotic species, 2) reduce soil nutrients, and 3) increase biomass of native grasses. Overall, scalping was the only method to achieve all three aims whereas carbon supplements and slashing reduced exotic biomass with no apparent benefit to native species. Both carbon supplements and scalping resulted in changes to the soil microbial community. Given the importance of plant-soil interactions, the implications of these result for future restoration works are discussed. One strategy to promote resistance to invasion in a revegetated community is to plant species that use resources in a complementary way, i.e. planting a diversity of functional groups. In a field trial (chapter 5), grass species from complementary functional groups (chosen based on phenology) were grown in different combinations and densities to test whether native communities are more resistant to invasion if resources are utilised all year round (niche saturation). Overall, high density planting was most effective at lowering exotic biomass. Planting C3 (winter-growing) and C4 (summer-growing) grasses together did not reduce invasibility, in contrast to my predictions. Instead, planting C3 plants alone was effective at reducing exotic biomass, providing evidence that planting functional groups that match the functional group of potential invaders could be an effective strategy for restoration. Findings presented in this thesis demonstrate the importance of soil amendments, both abiotic and biotic, and planting arrangements in ecological restoration. Greater consideration of these should lead to more successful and sustainable restoration outcomes in grassland habitats.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, 201

Investigating the genetic makeup and vulnerabilities in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) are well characterized to being functionally distinct in their transcriptional activity as well as exerting opposing effects on other transcription factors, notably c-MYC. While evidence has shown HIF1 inhibits while HIF2 promotes MYC activity, such efforts were not done within the context of ccRCC. Here we describe our efforts to investigate MYC activity in the presence of HIF2 (H2) or HIF1 and HIF2 (H1H2). While we confirmed HIF2 cells show elevated cell cycle promoting genes, such results did not correlate to any observable genome-wide significant difference in MYC dependent genes. Renal carcinoma is a common and aggressive malignancy whose histopathogenesis is incompletely understood and that is largely resistant to cytotoxic chemotherapy. We present two mouse models of kidney cancer that recapitulate the genomic alterations found in human papillary (pRCC) and clear cell RCC (ccRCC), the most common RCC subtypes. MYC activation results in highly penetrant pRCC tumours (MYC), while MYC activation, when combined with Vhl and Cdkn2a (Ink4a/Arf) deletion (VIM), produce kidney tumours that approximate human ccRCC. RNAseq of the mouse tumours demonstrate that MYC tumours resemble Type 2 pRCC, which are known to harbour MYC activation. Furthermore, VIM tumours more closely simulate human ccRCC. Based on their high penetrance, short latency, and histologic fidelity, these models of papillary and clear cell RCC should be significant contributions to the field of kidney cancer research.Doctor of Philosoph

Application of a Fath-Based Integration Tool to Assess Mental and Physical Health Interventions

Background: To build on current research involving faith-based interventions (FBIs) for addressing mental and physical health, this study a) reviewed the extent to which relevant publications integrate faith concepts with health and b) initiated analysis of the degree of FBI integration with intervention outcomes. Methods: Derived from a systematic search of articles published between 2007 and 2017, 36 studies were assessed with a FaithBased Integration Assessment Tool (FIAT) to quantify faith-health integration. Basic statistical procedures were employed to determine the association of faith-based integration with intervention outcomes. Results: The assessed studies possessed (on average) moderate, inconsistent integration because of poor use of faith measures, and moderate, inconsistent use of faith practices. Analysis procedures for determining the effect of FBI integration on intervention outcomes were inadequate for formulating practical conclusions. Conclusions: Regardless of integration, interventions were associated with beneficial outcomes. To determine the link between FBI integration and intervention outcomes, additional analyses are needed. Key words: faith-based integration and interventions, faith and health studies, religion and spirituality, integrative healt