Introduction.  Despite being thought of as common and having serious consequences, falls have not been extensively studied in Parkinson’s disease (PD).  Prior to this study commencing there were no published large-scale prospective studies looking at the risk factors for falls in PD.  This study aimed to accurately establish the incidence of falls in PD and investigate predictive risk factors for fallers from baseline data in all patients known to a district general hospital PD service.  In addition cardiovascular investigation, autonomic function and osteoporosis in PD were assessed. Methods.  Baseline data was gathered on a cohort of 109 patients with idiopathic PD and the number of falls prospectively ascertained over the following year.  The multidisciplinary baseline assessment included historical data, disease specific rating scales, physiotherapy assessment, tests of visual, cardiovascular and autonomic function and bone densitometry. Results.  Falls occurred in 68.3% of the subjects. Previous falls, disease duration and loss of armswing were independent predictors of falls and recurrent falls.  There were also statistically significant associations between disease severity, balance impairment, depression cognitive impairment and falling.  Males were more likely to suffer from recurrent falls.  Cardiovascular disorders, autonomic dysfunction and osteoporosis were also highly prevalent but not associated with falls. Conclusions.    Falls are a common problem in PD.  Some of the risk factors are potentially modifiable.  Although there are intrinsic factors inherent to PD that can cause falls, patients with PD that fall should be thoroughly assessed to look more closely at the reason for falling in those individuals.  Potential primary prevention of falls should be considered in all patients with PD.  In the future, multi-centre intervention studies will be necessary to further investigate potential methods of decreasing falls and their effects in PD.

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

No description available.

No description available.

The ascomycete Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg (teleomorph: Gibberella moniliformis Wineland) causes stalk and ear rots on maize worldwide. In addition to the economic losses due to reduced yield, the fungus produces fumonisins on infected corn. One of the unanswered questions in mycotoxin research is how fungi perceive and respond to various extracellular stimuli and produce mycotoxins. To date, extensive research has been performed on important signaling pathways that regulate mycotoxin biosynthesis, but little is known about the downstream target genes, notably transcription factors (TFs). While the roles of TFs have shown to be critical in eukaryotic transcription regulation, only a few have been characterized in F. verticillioides. TFs with zinc fingers have been reported in all living organisms, and in fungal species, members of the Cys2-Hys2 (C2H2) zinc finger TF family are predicted to be involved in cell differentiation, carbon utilization, and development. Using the available genomic resources, I constructed a library of C2H2 TF deletion mutants, and identified SDA1, FvFLBC and CHT1 genes with a potential role in carbon utilization, development and fumonisin B1 (FB1) biosynthesis. The Δsda1 strain showed complete growth inhibition when using sorbitol as the sole carbon source and produced higher levels of FB1 when grown on corn kernels. In addition, the Δsda1 strain produced less number of conidia compared to the wild-type progenitor. Through gene complementation, I also demonstrated that F. verticillioides SDA1 and Trichoderma reesei ACE1 are functionally conserved. FvFLBC acts as a regulator of asexual development but not FB1 biosynthesis. I also discovered that the FvFlbC N-terminus is critical for conidia production. CHT1 is associated with asexual development, fumonisin biosynthesis and pigmentation. Characterization of key signal transduction pathways, and more importantly the function of SDA1, FvFLBC and CHT1, should facilitate the elucidation of the mechanisms and regulations of growth, development, and secondary metabolism in F. verticillioides. The outcome of this study may help us determine how to minimize F. verticillioides contamination of crops and the resulting mycotoxins, providing safer and higher value corn in the US and worldwide.

No description available.

Bibliography: leaves 252-286. / xiii, 286 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1998

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2004. / Adviser: David E. Cochrane. Submitted to the Dept. of Biology. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-165). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.