Edith Cowan University

About: Edith Cowan University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4040 authors who have published 13529 publications receiving 339582 citations. The organization is also known as: Edith Cowan & ECU.

Larger temporal volume in elderly with high versus low beta-amyloid deposition

Abstract: β-Amyloid deposition is one of the main hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease thought to eventually cause neuronal death. Post-mortem and neuroimaging studies have consistently reported cases with documented normal cognition despite high β-amyloid burden. It is of great interest to understand what differentiates these particular subjects from those without β-amyloid deposition or with both β-amyloid deposition and cognitive deficits, i.e. what allows these subjects to resist the damage of the pathological lesions. [¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance brain scans were obtained in 149 participants including healthy controls and patients with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Magnetic resonance data were compared between high versus low-[11C]Pittsburgh compound B cases, and between high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B cases with versus those without cognitive deficits. Larger temporal (including hippocampal) grey matter volume, associated with better episodic memory performance, was found in high- versus low-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B healthy controls. The same finding was obtained using different [¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B thresholds, correcting [¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B data for partial averaging, using age, education, Mini-Mental State Examination, apolipoprotein E4 and sex-matched subsamples, and using manual hippocampal delineation instead of voxel-based analysis. By contrast, in participants with subjective cognitive impairment, significant grey matter atrophy was found in high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B cases compared to low-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B cases, as well as in high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B cases with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease compared to high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B healthy controls. Larger grey matter volume in high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B healthy controls may reflect either a tissue reactive response to β-amyloid or a combination of higher 'brain reserve' and under-representation of subjects with standard/low temporal volume in the high-[¹¹C]Pittsburgh compound B healthy controls. Our complementary analyses tend to support the latter hypotheses. Overall, our findings suggest that the deleterious effects of β-amyloid on cognition may be delayed in those subjects with larger brain (temporal) volume.

Assessing the risk of carbon dioxide emissions from blue carbon ecosystems

Abstract: “Blue carbon” ecosystems, which include tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows, have large stocks of organic carbon (Corg) in their soils These carbon stocks are vulnerable to decomposition and – if degraded – can be released to the atmosphere in the form of CO2 We present a framework to help assess the relative risk of CO2 emissions from degraded soils, thereby supporting inclusion of soil Corg into blue carbon projects and establishing a means to prioritize management for their carbon values Assessing the risk of CO2 emissions after various kinds of disturbances can be accomplished through knowledge of both the size of the soil Corg stock at a site and the likelihood that the soil Corg will decompose to CO2

Altering the length-tension relationship with eccentric exercise : implications for performance and injury.

Abstract: The effects of eccentric exercise on muscle injury prevention and athletic performance are emerging areas of interest to researchers. Of particular interest are the adaptations that occur after a single bout, or multiple bouts of eccentric exercise. It has been established that after certain types of eccentric exercise, the optimum length of tension development in muscle can be shifted to longer muscle lengths. Altering the length-tension relationship can have a profound influence on human movements. It is thought that the length-tension relationship is influenced by the structural makeup of muscle. However, the mechanism responsible for the shift in optimum length is not readily agreed upon. Despite the conflict, several studies have reported a shift in optimum length after eccentric exercise. Unfortunately, very few of these studies have been randomised, controlled training studies, and the duration of the shift has not yet been established. Nonetheless, this adaptation may result in greater structural stability at longer muscle lengths and consequently may have interesting implications for injury prevention and athletic performance. Both contentions remain relatively unexplored and provide the focus of this review.

An overview of the system dynamics process for integrated modelling of socio-ecological systems

Abstract: Similar to other modelling methodologies, the potential of system dynamics to contribute to system understanding and decision making depends upon the practices applied by the modeller. However lessons about many of these practices are often unreported. This paper contributes to the methodology of system dynamics modelling of socio-ecological systems by 1) examining issues modellers face during the modelling process, and 2) providing guidance on how to effectively design and implement system dynamics modelling. This is achieved through an investigation of five case studies, drawing on lessons from these experiences. This is complemented by a literature review of system dynamics applied within the context of integrated modelling and environmental DSS. The case studies cover a variety of environmental issues and system dynamics modelling methods and tools. Although we used system dynamics as the common lens from which lessons are drawn, many of these insights transcend to other integrated modelling approaches.