The multiple proteolytic enzymes of two microsporum species : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Microbiology at Massey University

Dermatophyte infections can be contracted from animals, humans or from the soil. In the genus Microsporum some species commonly are associated with cats & dogs but also often cause infections in humans. Others are regarded as non-pathogenic & are commonly isolated from the soil. The present studies investigated the production of proteolytic enzymes by the zoophilic species M.canis & the geophilic species M.cookei, in various cultural conditions which might affect expression of such enzymes, in an attempt to detect differences between the two that could be associated with the ability of M.canis to invade skin in vivo. Biochemical assays showed M.canis produced higher azocollytic & elastase activity in a keratin containing medium(BSW) than in Sabourauds Broth(SDB). In contrast, azocollytic & elastase activity of M.cookei in the two media was relatively similar. Azocollytic & elastase activity of both species peaked in the pH range 7-10 & azocollytic activity demonstrated highest activity around 45°C in both media. Both species produced some keratinolytic activity in BSW but not in SDB. Inhibition studies of azocollytic & elastase activity revealed the presence of an aspartic elastase with little or no azocollytic activity, which also was not detected using a substrate(gelatin) SDS-PAGE technique. Other proteinase types found were serine, cysteine & metalloproteinases. Using the gelatin-SDS-PAGE technique, the mode of culture(shake & stationary) & the effect of substrate, time & temperature were analysed to compare the effects these factors may have on proteolytic enzyme expression between the two species.Substrate proved to be the most important factor in the expression of gelatinases. Mode of culture in SDB demonstrated that some proteinases were expressed in shake culture sooner than in stationary cultures. M.canis in both SDB & BSW produced 6 bands between 85,000 Da & 13,000 Da. M.cookei in SDB produced 7 bands between 64,000 Da to 19,000 Da but in BSW only 5 bands between 61,500 Da to 19,000 Da. Inhibition studies revealed that both species expressed several metalloproteinases & serine proteinases in BSW which were not expressed in SDB cultures. It is suggested that these proteinases may be important factors in the ability of dermatophytes to colonise keratin & possibly, in the case of M.canis, to invade skin in vivo

Reasons stated by commencing students for studying engineering and technology

Responses were collected from commencing engineering students and an inventory of reasons stated for electing to study engineering was developed. Commencing engineering students were strongly career oriented; they believed that engineering would be an interesting and rewarding career that would offer enjoyment and career options. No difference was found in the principal reasons stated by respondents based on gender or course of study. On-campus students nominated principally career-related reasons for their choice of study (71 percent). While career-related reasons were still important for off-campus students, the most frequent type of responses were related to career upgrading (43.9 percent).<br /

Why do Deakin students elect to study engineering?

Responses were collected from commencing engineering students and an inventory of reasons stated for electing to study engineering was developed. Commencing engineering students were strongly career oriented, they believed that engineering would be an interesting and rewarding career that would offer enjoyment and career options. No difference was found in the principal reasons stated by respondents based on gender or course of study. On-campus students nominated principally career-related reasons for their choice of study (71 percent). While career-related reasons were still important for off-campus students, the most frequent type of responses were related to career upgrading (43.9 percent).<br /

Characterization and application of objective pilling classification to patterned fabrics

Previously, the authors proposed a new, simple method of frequency domain analysis based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform to objectively measure the pilling intensity in sample fabric images. The method was further characterized, and the results obtained indicate that standard deviation and variance are the most appropriate measures of the dispersion of wavelet details coefficients for analysis, that the relationship between wavelet analysis scale and fabric inter-yarn pitch was empirically confirmed, and, that fabrics with random patterns do not appear to impact on the effectiveness of the analysis method. <br /

Report on survey of ACODE institutional representatives at Australasian Universities

The purpose of this project, supported by the Office for Learning and Teaching (formerly the Australian Learning and Teaching Council), is to design and implement a framework that uses a distributed leadership approach for the quality management of Online Learning Environments (OLE) in Australian higher education. The third phase of the research for this project included an online survey of ACODE (Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-Learning) institutional representatives at Australasian universities conducted during March 2012. A copy of the survey instrument that was employed is included as Appendix 1. The survey included items addressing:&bull; background/demographic information;&bull; respondents&rsquo; perceptions of importance of, and satisfaction with, elements of the proposed framework;&bull; respondents&rsquo; perceptions of the importance of possible interactions between elements of the proposed framework;&bull; respondents&rsquo; perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of distributed leadership at their universities;&bull; respondents&rsquo; perceptions of the importance, and evidence of presence, of a range of characteristics of distributed leadership at their universities; and&bull; respondents&rsquo; suggested strategies for building and sustaining effective institutional distributed leadership.A total of 46 current ACODE institutional representatives were publicly identifiable, and were invited to participate in the online survey. Those institutions for which an ACODE representative could be identified are highlighted in Appendix 2. This report presents the results and findings of the survey. In all of the following quantitative analyses, a statistical significance level of p &lt; 0.01 has been adopted. This significance level indicates that the observed result is likely to occur by chance only once for every hundred similar respondent samples, and hence strongly suggests that any observed difference in mean ratings is a real difference.&nbsp;</div

On-line support for students studying engineering management off-campus in summer semester

An on-line site was created to support students studying a time shortened, off-campus unit in engineering management that was being offered over summer semester for the first time. An evaluation exercise was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of this arrangement, to identify what types of on-line resources students rated as important, and to identify those on-line resources that students actually used in their summer semester studies. Most students reported that they were successful in achieving their summer semester study goals, and that summer semester study was as good as or better than studying in a standard semester. The types of on-line resources ranked most highly by students were those that assisted in strategic study and exam preparation. The on-line resource ranked as least important and used least in practice was a discussion forum for all students. Other results and statistical analysis are presented.<br /

A review of strategic issues in using the internet for teaching and learning

In 1998 the author published a paper entitled &lsquo;Current Issues and limitations in using the Internet for Teaching and Learning&rsquo; [1] that acknowledged the new educational possibilities provided by the Internet, while at the same time sought to identify the limitations and related issues of going on-line in education. As predicted, the passage of time and the advancement of technology have ameliorated many of the identified limitations, and, have brought new issues to the fore. This paper re-visits the area of important strategic issues in using the Internet for education, giving an overview of equity and access, infrastructure and costs, copyright and plagiarism, content development, libraries and on-line information access, and other strategic issues. As in the earlier paper, this paper draws on the experiences of the author in conventional and off-campus university teaching in engineering.<br /

Whither management studies in Australian engineering undergraduate courses

In response to a perceived need for management studies in engineeringundergraduate courses, the Institution of Engineers, Australia (IEAust)mandated a requirement for 10% of course content to be managementstudies in Australia in 1991. In 1996 a major review of engineeringeducation in Australia recommended that the IEAust move from a courseaccreditation regime based on prescribed inputs to one based ondemonstrated graduate attributes. In the move to the new accreditationsystem the policy on management studies in engineering undergraduatecourses has become less definitive and more open to interpretation byindividual educational institutions. A survey of recent engineeringgraduates suggests that those management skills most highly valued bygraduates were generic professional practice skills, and that moreopportunities to develop these skills in undergraduate studies would bebeneficial. Survey respondents suggested the inclusion in the course ofmore real world examples of engineering management, including casestudies, hands-on activities, industry visits, more in-depth coverage oftopics, and presentations from practicing professionals.<br /

An institutional study of the influence of ‘onlineness’ on student evaluation of teaching in a dual mode Australian university

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is now commonplace in many universities internationally. The most common criticism of SET practices is that they are influenced by a number of non-teaching-related factors. More recently, there has been dramatic growth in online education internationally, but only limited research on the use of SET to evaluate online teaching. This paper presents a large-scale and detailed investigation, using the institutional SET data from an Australian university with a significant offering of wholly online units, and whose institutional SET instrument contains items relating to student perceptions of online technologies in teaching and learning. The relationship between educational technology and SET is not neutral. The mean ratings for the ‗online&lsquo; aspects of SET are influenced by factors in the wider teaching and learning environment, and the overall perception of teaching quality is influenced by whether a unit is offered in wholly online mode or not