As we gain increased understanding of genetic disorders and gene regulation more focus has turned towards complex interactions. Combinations of genes or gene and environmental factors have been suggested to explain the missing heritability behind complex diseases. Furthermore, gene activation and splicing seem to be governed by a complex machinery of histone modification (HM), transcription factor (TF), and DNA sequence signals. This thesis aimed to apply and develop multivariate machine learning methods for use on such biological problems. Monte Carlo feature selection was combined with rule-based classification to identify interactions between HMs and to study the interplay of factors with importance for asthma and allergy. Firstly, publicly available ChIP-seq data (Paper I) for 38 HMs was studied. We trained a classifier for predicting exon inclusion levels based on the HMs signals. We identified HMs important for splicing and illustrated that splicing could be predicted from the HM patterns. Next, we applied a similar methodology on data from two large birth cohorts describing asthma and allergy in children (Paper II). We identified genetic and environmental factors with importance for allergic diseases which confirmed earlier results and found candidate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. In order to interpret and present the classifiers we developed Ciruvis, a web-based tool for network visualization of classification rules (Paper III). We applied Ciruvis on classifiers trained on both simulated and real data and compared our tool to another methodology for interaction detection using classification. Finally, we continued the earlier study on epigenetics by analyzing HM and TF signals in genes with or without evidence of bidirectional transcription (Paper IV). We identified several HMs and TFs with different signals between unidirectional and bidirectional genes. Among these, the CTCF TF was shown to have a well-positioned peak 60-80 bp upstream of the transcription start site in unidirectional genes.

Conifer seed-infesting chalcids of the genus Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) are important forest pests. At least one species, M. spermotrophus Wachtl, has been shown to be able to manipulate the seed development of its host, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in remarkable ways, such as redirecting unfertilized ovules that would normally abort. The mechanism of host manipulation is currently unknown. Microbial associates and venoms are two potential mechanisms of host manipulation. Microbial associates are emerging as an important player in insect-plant interactions. There is also evidence that venoms may be important in gall-induction by phytophagous wasps. PCR and 16S rRNA pyrosequencing was used to characterize the microbial associates of Megastigmus and transcriptomic sequencing was used to identify putative venoms that were highly expressed in female M. spermotrophus. The common inherited bacterial symbionts Wolbachia and Rickettsia were found to be prevalent among several populations of Megastigmus spp. screened using a targeted PCR approach. A member of the Betaproteobacteria, Ralstonia, was identified as the dominant microbial associate of M. spermotrophus using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. The transcriptome of M. spermotrophus was assembled de novo and three putative venoms were identified as highly expressed in females. One of these putative venoms, Aspartylglucosaminidase, (AGA) appears to have originated through gene duplication within the Hymenoptera and has been identified as a major venom component of two divergent parasitoid wasps. AGA was identified as a promising candidate for further investigation as a potential mechanism of early host manipulation by M. spermotrophus. / Graduate / 0353 / 0410 / 0715 / apaulson@shaw.ca

With the convergence of the wireless networks and the Internet and the booming demand for multimedia applications, the next-generation (beyond the third generation, or B3G) wireless systems are expected to be all IP-based and provide real-time and non-real-time mobile services anywhere and anytime. Powerful and efficient mobility support is thus the key enabler to fulfil such an attractive vision by supporting various mobility scenarios. This thesis contributes to this interesting while challenging topic. After a literature review on mobility support architectures and protocols, the thesis starts presenting our contributions with a generic multi-layer mobility support framework, which provides a general approach to meet the challenges of handling comprehensive mobility issues. The cross-layer design methodology is introduced to coordinate the protocol layers for optimised system design. Particularly, a flexible and efficient cross-layer signalling scheme is proposed for interlayer interactions. The proposed generic framework is then narrowed down with several fundamental building blocks identified to be focused on as follows. As widely adopted, we assume that the IP-based access networks are organised into administrative domains, which are inter-connected through a global IP-based wired core network. For a mobile user who roams from one domain to another, macro (inter-domain) mobility management should be in place for global location tracking and effective handoff support for both real-time and non-real-lime applications. Mobile IP (MIP) and the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) are being adopted as the two dominant standard-based macro-mobility architectures, each of which has mobility entities and messages in its own right. The work explores the joint optimisations and interactions of MIP and SIP when utilising the complementary power of both protocols. Two distinctive integrated MIP-SIP architectures are designed and evaluated, compared with their hybrid alternatives and other approaches. The overall analytical and simulation results shown significant performance improvements in terms of cost-efficiency, among other metrics. Subsequently, for the micro (intra-domain) mobility scenario where a mobile user moves across IP subnets within a domain, a micro mobility management architecture is needed to support fast handoffs and constrain signalling messaging loads incurred by intra-domain movements within the domain. The Hierarchical MIPv6 (HMIPv6) and the Fast Handovers for MIPv6 (FMIPv6) protocols are selected to fulfil the design requirements. The work proposes enhancements to these protocols and combines them in an optimised way. resulting in notably improved performances in contrast to a number of alternative approaches.

Advances in DNA sequencing revolutionized the field of genomics over the last 5 years. New sequencing instruments make it possible to rapidly generate large amounts of sequence data at substantially lower cost. These high-throughput sequencing technologies (e.g. Roche 454 FLX, Life Technology SOLiD, Dover Polonator, Helicos HeliScope and Illumina Genome Analyzer) make whole genome sequencing and resequencing, transcript sequencing as well as quantification of gene expression, DNA-protein interactions and DNA methylation feasible at an unanticipated scale. In the field of evolutionary genomics, high-throughput sequencing permitted studies of whole genomes from ancient specimens of different hominin groups. Further, it allowed large-scale population genetics studies of present-day humans as well as different types of sequence-based comparative genomics studies in primates. Such comparisons of humans with closely related apes and hominins are important not only to better understand human origins and the biological background of what sets humans apart from other organisms, but also for understanding the molecular basis for diseases and disorders, particularly those that affect uniquely human traits, such as speech disorders, autism or schizophrenia. However, while the cost and time required to create comparative data sets have been greatly reduced, the error profiles and limitations of the new platforms differ significantly from those of previous approaches. This requires a specific experimental design in order to circumvent these issues, or to handle them during data analysis. During the course of my PhD, I analyzed and improved current protocols and algorithms for next generation sequencing data, taking into account the specific characteristics of these new sequencing technologies. The presented approaches and algorithms were applied in different projects and are widely used within the department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. In this thesis, I will present selected analyses from the whole genome shotgun sequencing of two ancient hominins and the quantification of gene expression from short-sequence tags in five tissues from three primates.

Sexual selection has long been a working explanation for the elaboration of appreciable traits in plants and animals, but the idea that it is an equally potent agent of change at the level of individual molecules is relatively recent. Indications that genes associated with reproductive biology evolve especially rapidly planted this notion, but many details about the genomics of sex remain elusive. Numerous studies have characterized rapid sequence and expression divergence of sex-related molecules, but few if any have demonstrated convincingly that these patterns exist as a result of sexual selection. This dissertation describes several genome-scale studies related to reproduction and the sexes in teleost fishes, a group of animals underexploited in regard to this topic. Using commercial microarrays I measured the extent of sexually dimorphic gene expression in the zebrafish, Danio rerio. Sex-biased patterns of gene expression in this species are similar to those described in other animals. A number of genes expressed at high levels in ovaries and testes relative to the body were identified as a product of the study, and these data may be useful for future studies of reproductive genes in Danio fishes. In a second study, the recent advent of high throughput cDNA pyrosequencing was leveraged to characterize the relationships between tissue-, sex-, and species-specific expression patterns of genes and rates of sequence evolution in swordtail fishes (Xiphophorus). I discovered ample evidence for expression biases of all three types, and a generally positive but idiosyncratic relationship between the magnitude of expression bias and rates of protein-coding sequence evolution. Pyrosequencing of cDNA was also used to explore the possibility that postcopulatory sexual selection drives the rapid evolution of male pregnancy genes, a novel class of reproductive molecules unique to syngnathid fishes (seahorses and pipefishes). Genes differentially expressed in the male brooding tissues as a function of pregnancy status evolve more rapidly at the amino acid level than genes exhibiting static expression. Brooding tissue genes expressed during male pregnancy have evolved especially rapidly in polyandrous lineages, a finding that supports the hypothesized relationship between postcopulatory sexual selection and the adaptive evolution of reproductive molecules.

Comparative genomics provides a tool to investigate large biological datasets, i.e. genomic datasets. In my thesis I focused on inferring patterns of selection in coding and non-coding regions of avian genomes. Until recently, large comparative studies on selection were mainly restricted to model species with sequenced genomes. This limitation has been overcome with advances in sequencing technologies and it is now possible to gather large genomic data sets for non-model species.  Next-generation sequencing data was used to study patterns of nucleotide substitutions and from this we inferred how selection has acted in the genomes of 10 non-model bird species. In general, we found evidence for a negative correlation between neutral substitution rate and chromosome size in birds. In a follow up study, we investigated two closely related bird species, to study expression levels in different tissues and pattern of selection. We found that between 2% and 18% of all genes were differentially expressed between the two species. We showed that non-coding regions adjacent to genes are under evolutionary constraint in birds, which suggests that noncoding DNA plays an important functional role in the genome. Regions downstream to genes (3’) showed particularly high level of constraint. The level of constraint in these regions was not correlated to the length of untranslated regions, which suggests that other causes play also a role in sequence conservation. We compared the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions to the rate of synonymous substitutions in order to infer levels of selection in protein-coding sequences. Synonymous substitutions are often assumed to evolve neutrally. We studied synonymous substitutions by estimating constraint on 4-fold degenerate sites of avian genes and found significant evolutionary constraint on this category of sites (between 24% and 43%). These results call for a reappraisal of synonymous substitution rates being used as neutral standards in molecular evolutionary analysis (e.g. the dN/dS ratio to infer positive selection). Finally, the problem of sequencing errors in next-generation sequencing data was investigated. We developed a program that removes erroneous bases from the reads. We showed that low coverage sequencing projects and large genome sequencing projects will especially gain from trimming erroneous reads.

Submitted by Gabriel Augusto Marques Rossi null (gabrielrossiveterinario@hotmail.com) on 2018-01-10T19:18:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Gabriel_Augusto_Marques_Rossi.pdf: 3246904 bytes, checksum: 2ed62292bd3bfa8f9ec88fe41c5bbaa2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Alexandra Maria Donadon Lusser Segali null (alexmar@fcav.unesp.br) on 2018-01-11T10:23:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 rossi_gam_dr_jabo.pdf: 3246904 bytes, checksum: 2ed62292bd3bfa8f9ec88fe41c5bbaa2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-11T10:23:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 rossi_gam_dr_jabo.pdf: 3246904 bytes, checksum: 2ed62292bd3bfa8f9ec88fe41c5bbaa2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-06 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / As bactérias pertencentes ao grupo do Bacillus cereus são importantes para indústrias processadoras de leite e produtos lácteos devido à capacidade de sobrevivência aos tratamentos térmicos utilizados durante os processamentos, e consequente deterioração dos produtos e risco à saúde pública. Assim, inicialmente, objetivou-se compreender a estrutura populacional de isolados pertencentes ao grupo do B. cereus na cadeia produtiva do leite e produtos lácteos. Por meio da utilização de amostragem estruturada e técnicas genômicas comparativas, investigou-se quais linhagens específicas e genes estão significativamente associados a estágios de produção específicos e produtos. Os genomas de 69 isolados obtidos de equipamentos, leite cru e produtos lácteos foram comparados com outros 193 disponíveis de diversas origens. A estrutura populacional incluiu os conhecidos grupos filogenéticos II, III, IV, V e VI, e quase todos os isolados dos produtos lácteos pertenceram ao grupo III. A investigação de genes específicos revelou um grande número de isolados carreando aqueles relacionados à produção de toxinas, como o cytK (53,62%), hblA (59,42%), hblC (44,93%), hblD (53,62%), nheA (84,06%), nheB (89,86%), nheC (84,06%), cesA (2,90%) e cesB (2,90%). Os isolados pertencentes aos grupos IV e V possuíram uma prevalência significativamente maior dos genes hblACD e o grupo IV do gene cytK. Os isolados obtidos de produtos lácteos tiveram uma prevalência significativamente menor dos genes cytK e hblACD comparados aos de equipamentos e leite cru/tanques de refrigeração. A análise genômica populacional demonstrou a diversidade dos isolados e a variedade de funções dentro do grupo do B. cereus da cadeia produtiva leiteira, com grande número de isolados potencialmente capazes de causar doenças alimentares. Posteriormente, objetivou-se avaliar a viabilidade do processo de tindalização de leite cru refrigerado e determinar se o processo de pasteurização do leite influencia na expressão dos genes relacionados à produção das toxinas diarreicas pelo B. cereus s.s. em leite experimentalmente contaminado. Para isso, realizou-se um processo de tindalização de leite cru refrigerado e então foi realizada a contaminação com um isolado potencialmente toxigênico, e, posteriormente, o mesmo foi pasteurizado, envasado e mantido em refrigeração durante 10 dias. Em momentos determinados, foram coletadas amostras do produto afim de avaliar a expressão de genes codificadores de toxinas (hblACD, nheABC e cytK). O protocolo de tindalização utilizado permitiu redução logarítmica da população de bactérias do grupo do B. cereus e foi possível detectar a expressão do gene hblA em amostras de leite 5 e 10 dias após a pasteurização. Conclui-se que o modelo proposto foi adequado e que a expressão do gene hblA não foi inibida após a realização da pasteurização do leite, demonstrando o potencial risco aos consumidores decorrentes do consumo de leite pasteurizado contaminado. / The bacteria belonging to Bacillus cereus group are important to dairy industries due their ability to survive to thermal treatments used during processing, and consequently cause food spoilage and risk to public health. Thus, firstly, this study aimed to better understand the population structure of B. cereus group isolates in dairy production chain. Using structured sampling of B. cereus in dairy production chain and comparative genomics techniques, we investigated if specific lineages and genes are significantly overrepresented in particular production stages. The genomes of 69 isolates obtained from equipments, raw milk and dairy products were compared with others 193 avaiable from several origins. The populational structure included the known phylogenetic groups II, III, IV, V and V, and almost all isolates from dairy products belonged to group III. The genes investigation showed a high number of isolates carrying genes related to toxins production, such as cytK (53.62%), hblA (59.42%), hblC (44.93%), hblD (53.62%), nheA (84.06%), nheB (89.86%), nheC (84.06%), cesA (2.90%) and cesB (2.90%). The isolates belonging to groups IV and V had a significant higher prevalence of genes hblACD an group VI of cytK. The isolates obtained from dairy products had a significant lower prevalence of genes cytK and hblACD compared to those from equipments and raw milk/bulk tanks. The populational genomic analyses showed the diversity of isolates and variability of functions in B. cereus group in dairy production chain, with a high number of isolates potentially able to cause foodborne disease. Posteriorly, this study aimed to evaluate the viability of tyndallizating raw milk and to establish if milk’s pasteurization influences on the expression of genes related to the production of diarrheal toxins by B. cereus s.s. using a milk contamined experimentally. For this purpose, the tyndallization of raw milk was performed and later it was contaminated with a potentially toxigenic isolate, and, posteriorly, it was pasteurized, packaged and kept under refrigeration during 10 days. In established periods, samples of this product were collected in order to evaluate the expression of genes related to toxins production (hblACD, nheABC and cytK). The protocol used for tyndallization allowed a logarithmic reduction of population of B. cereus group and the expression of hblA gene was detected in samples from milk after 5 and 10 days after pasteurization. It was concluded that the proposed model was appropriate and the expression of hblA gene was not inihibited after milk pasteurization, highlighting the potential risk for consumers through consumption of contamined pasteurized milk. / 2016/19214-9 / 2014/13104-1

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2017-12-12T19:48:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 NerivaniaNunesGodeiro_TESE.pdf: 42759157 bytes, checksum: 096a840516dd298c1623004a0fa0476d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-12-14T20:25:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 NerivaniaNunesGodeiro_TESE.pdf: 42759157 bytes, checksum: 096a840516dd298c1623004a0fa0476d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-14T20:25:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NerivaniaNunesGodeiro_TESE.pdf: 42759157 bytes, checksum: 096a840516dd298c1623004a0fa0476d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-27 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Seirinae ? uma das mais diversas subfam?lias de Collembola, e grande parte dessa diversidade ? devida a Seira Lubbock que possui, aproximadamente, 220 esp?cies reconhecidas. At? o momento, nenhuma filogenia interna foi proposta para o t?xon, o que dificulta a organiza??o do conhecimento para compara??o, descri??o de novas esp?cies e g?neros, al?m da pr?pria compreens?o dos seus padr?es evolutivos. A quetotaxia dorsal ? o principal componente morfol?gico utilizado para distinguir esp?cies, e embora comprovadamente diagn?stico, pode ser vari?vel intraespecificamente. O principal objetivo deste trabalho ? esclarecer as rela??es filogen?ticas entre os Seirinae neotropicais, do ponto de vista molecular e morfol?gico, o que poder? resultar numa melhor organiza??o interna da subfam?lia. Para tanto, foram sequenciadas 27 amostras de diferentes esp?cies de Entomobryidae e uma de Paronellidae. Para as an?lises moleculares, foi extra?do e quantificado o DNA total de um indiv?duo/amostra e bibliotecas foram constru?das e sequenciadas por Next Generation Sequencing utilizando o HiSeq 2000. O genoma mitocondrial (DNAmt) completo das esp?cies foi reconstru?do atrav?s de an?lises de bioinform?tica utilizando duas metodologias: SOAPdenovo_Trans e MIRA/MITOBim. Duas filogenias foram propostas: uma contendo somente os genomas reconstru?dos neste trabalho e outra complementar, onde foram inclu?dos 11 DNAmt de Collembola disponibilizados em bancos de dados online. As filogenias foram feitas por an?lises Bayesianas utilizando os treze genes codificantes proteicos que correspondem a quase totalidade do DNAmt. Os resultados corroboram com a proposta atual que a ordem Poduromorpha ? a mais basal de Collembola; a ordem Symphypleona aparece como grupo-irm?o de Entomobryomorpha, que apresenta clara divis?o em duas superfam?lias, Isotomoidea e Entomobryoidea; o posicionamento dos g?neros Lepidocyrtoides Sch?tt e Lepidosira Sch?tt dentro de Entomobryinae corroboram com a mais recente filogenia publicada; a monofilia de Seirinae e seus grandes grupos internos foi comprovada pela primeira vez por dados moleculares com alto apoio nodal; o g?nero Tyrannoseira Bellini & Zeppelini, recentemente descrito, foi validado filogeneticamente; Lepidocyrtinus B?rner foi al?ado a status de g?nero; e tr?s sinon?mias de esp?cies foram propostas; por fim, algumas caracter?sticas morfol?gicas de Seirinae foram identificadas como diagn?sticas e com sinal filogen?tico, como por exemplo, a quantidade de macroquetas no primeiro segmento abdominal. / Seirinae is one of the most diverse subfamilies of Collembola, and a considerable part of this diversity is comprised by Seira Lubbock, which currently gathers approximately 220 species. So far no internal phylogeny Seirinae was proposed, what leads to difficulties in the establishment of comparative knowledge, description of new taxa, and also the understanding of the evolutionary patterns within this taxon. The dorsal chaetotaxy is the main morphological component utilised to distinguish species, and although undoubtedly diagnostic, it can be variable interspecifically. The main aim of this work is to clarify the phylogenetic relations within the Neotropical Seirinae based on both molecular and morphological data, which might result in a better internal organization of the subfamily. For this aim, 27 samples of different species belonging to Entomobryidae and one of Paronellidae were sequenced. As for molecular analyses genomic DNA of one individual/sample was extracted and quantified and sequencing libraries were built and sequenced using Next-Generation Sequencing on HiSeq 2000. The whole mitochondrial genome (DNAmt) of the species was reconstructed by two methods: SOAPdenovo_Trans and MIRA/MITOBim. Two phylogenies were then proposed: one containing only genomes reconstructed in this study as well as a complementary one, where 11 Collembola DNAmt available in a public database were also included. The phylogenies were generated through Bayesian analyses using the thirteen protein coding genes that almost correspond to the entire DNAmt. The results corroborate the current proposal which claims the order Poduromorpha as the most basal order of Collembola; the order Symphypleona as the sister-group of Entomobryomorpha, which shows clear division into two superfamilies, Isotomoidea and Entomobryoidea; the placement of Lepidocyrtoides Sch?tt and Lepidosira Sch?tt genera inside Entomobryinae corroborates the most recently published phylogeny; the monophyly of the internal groups of Seirinae based on molecular evidence was confirmed for the first time showing high nodal support; Tyrannoseira Bellini & Zeppelini, recently described, was validated phylogenetically; Lepidocyrtinus B?rner was elevated to genus status; and three species synonyms were proposed; finally some morphological characteristics of Seirinae were identified as diagnostic and having phylogenetic signal, for instance, the quantity of macrochaetae on the first abdominal segment.

Objectives: This study identifies modern information technologies that can improve the clinical practice of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and determines the approaches that are needed to improve the functionality of current PACS to provide better next generation PACS and to improve the future of radiology practices and workflow with future PACS generations. Method: A parallel mixed method approach was adopted including qualitative method (semi-structured interviews), quantitative method (questionnaire survey) and observation of online discussion groups on PACS. Five databases were searched to find salient literature, including Science Direct, Springer Link, Scopus, CINAHL Plus and Google Scholar. Six radiologists were interviewed and questionnaires were collected from 120 radiologists. Four online discussion groups related to PACS were monitored via LinkedIn. The data were analysed thematically using the thematic analysis method. Finally, a focus group was held with a separate group of radiologists to validate the findings. Results: Eight themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data: (1) limitations of traditional PACS; (2) user needs and requirements that can increase PACS functionality; (3) Web based solutions of PACS; (4) PACS on mobile phones; (5) Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA); (6) full integration of voice recognition in PACS; (7) backup solutions for the system and (8) continuous training for PACS users. Discussion: With the development of healthcare information and communication technology (ICT) and with the increased demands of the radiologists to expand PACS usability, traditional PACS must be updated to follow the changes. Modern technologies can provide better solutions to enhance the functionality of current PACS. The next generation of PACS can fulfil the future requirements of users. This study considers the issues between the needs and requirements of the users of a PACS system in the future and the developing solutions in ICT and the PACS industry. Moreover, highly developed PACS systems with advanced features will have a direct impact in changing and improving radiology workflow. Accordingly, a model has been developed that proposes new features for the next generation PACS system, which may be applied to the next generation radiology practice. The model was validated with the focus group and, by using a separate group of radiologists in another country, was determined to be generalisable. Conclusion: It is widely recognised that traditional PACS must be updated to adopt recent advances in ICT. This research has identified themes that, when incorporated, will enhance the functionality of PACS and radiology workflow and provide better quality clinical practice. The findings from this empirical research can be used: as recommendations to vendors; for technology development; and by medical institutes to consider aspects when undertaking implementation of PACS and training future radiologists. Keywords: 'Picture archiving and communication system’, PACS, Future trends, next generation, Organisational efficiency, Productivity, Clinical practice, Ubiquitous.

High-performance networking (HPN) is of significance today in order to enable next-generation applications using wired and wireless networks. Some of the examples of HPN include low-latency industrial sensing, monitoring and automation using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). HPN however requires protocol optimization at many layers of the open system interface (OSI) network model in order to meet the stringent performance constraints of the given applications. Furthermore, these protocols need to be impervious to denial of service (DoS) and distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks. Some of the key performance aspects of HPN are low point-to-point and end-to-end latency, high reliability of transmitted frames and performance predictability under various network load situations. This work focuses on two discrete issues in designing protocols for HPN applications. The first research issue looks at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer of the OSI network model for designing of MAC protocols that provide low-latency and high reliability for point-to-point communication under a WSN. Existing standards in this area are governed by IEEE 802.15.4 specification which defines protocols for MAC and PHY layers for short-range, low bit-rate, and low-cost wireless networks. However, the IEEE 802.15.4 specification is inefficient in terms of latency and reliability performance and, as a result, is unable to meet the stringent operational requirements as defined by counterpart wired sensor networks. Work presented under current research issue describes new MAC protocols that are able to show low-latency transmission performance under strict timing constants for power limited WSNs. This enhancement of the MAC protocols is named extended GTS (XGTS) contained under extended CFP (ECFP) and is published under the IEEE's 802.15.4e standard. The second research issue focuses on the application layer of the OSI network model to design protocols that enhance the robustness of the text based protocols to various traffic inputs. The purpose of this is to increase the reliability of the given text based application layer protocol under a varied load. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used as a case study and the work aims to build algorithms that ensure that SIP can continue to function under specific traffic conditions, which would otherwise deem the protocol useless due to DoS and DDoS attacks. Proposed algorithms investigate techniques that enhance the robustness of the SIP against parsing attacks without performing a deep parse of the protocol data unit (PDU). The desired effect of this is to reduce the time spent in parsing the SIP messages at a SIP router and as a result increase the number of SIP messages processed per unit time at a SIP router.