Emily Harper - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Emily Harper

BMC Public Health

Background Due to the high prevalence and adverse consequences, overweight and obesity in childre... more Background Due to the high prevalence and adverse consequences, overweight and obesity in children continues to be a major public health concern worldwide. Socioeconomic background and health-related behaviours (such as diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviors) are important factors associated with weight status in children. Using a series of height and weight assessments from the Australian Capital Territory Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (ACTPANS), trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity by socioeconomic status were examined in ACT Year 6 school children between 2006 and 2018. Methods The ACTPANS has been conducted every 3 years since 2006. A total of 6729 children were surveyed. Complete data on height and weight were available for 6384 (94.9%) participants. Trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associations between weight status and risk factors (such as socioeconomic status, physical activity, screen time and consumption of sugar-sweetened...

The "deltaic" geomorphology in the Eberswalde Crater is often considered a "smoking gun" for the ... more The "deltaic" geomorphology in the Eberswalde Crater is often considered a "smoking gun" for the warm-and-wet ancient climate of Mars. The Crater displays sedimentary features, which many argue, can only be found in a river-delta system (Bhattacharya et al., 2005). However, with the advent of high-resolution images, the Eberswalde Crater delta's geomorphology has been revealed to be more complicated than could be seen previously. These high-resolution data suggest that the development of the Eberswalde delta is likely more episodic (Schieber 2007). While better resolution data has placed doubt on the wet Mars hypothesis at the Eberswalde Crater, the opposite is true of the Gale Crater. Recent images acquired by the Mars Curiosity Rover have revolutionized the hypotheses explaining the formation of Mount Sharp in the Gale Crater. The new prevailing hypothesis is that Mount Sharp was formed by a series of crater lakes (NASA, 2014). This study provides evidence supporting the crater lake hypothesis, using bedding architecture diagrams, facies diagrams, lithologic logs, paleocurrent map and rose diagram, and minimum water depth estimations of the exposed sedimentary layers. Reconstructing a detailed depositional history of the Gale Crater Lake provides a window into a more ancient Mars where life could have evolved in a wet habitable climate that is absent today.

Journal of Adolescence, 2015

To examine the prevalence and importance of psychological, behavioural, and situational correlate... more To examine the prevalence and importance of psychological, behavioural, and situational correlates of impending psychiatric inpatient admissions in children and adolescents with eating disorders. The sample consisted of 285 patients (8-17 years, M = 14.4, SD = 1.49) with DSM-5 eating disorders assessed between 2006 and 2013 from the Helping to Outline Pediatric Eating Disorders (HOPE) Project. The sample was split into two groups, those with (n = 38) and without (n = 247) impending psychiatric admission; Discriminant function analysis was used to examine correlates. The prevalence of impending psychiatric admission was 13.3%. Suicidal ideation provided the greatest discriminating power, followed by eating pathology, depressive symptoms, anxiety, multiple methods of weight control, binge eating, and family functioning. Earlier recognition of comorbid symptoms in eating disorders in the community may reduce the number of young people with eating disorders who present needing critical psychiatric care.

Journal of Eating Disorders, 2014

The prevalence and correlates of impending psychiatric inpatient admissions in children and adole... more The prevalence and correlates of impending psychiatric inpatient admissions in children and adolescents with eating disorders were examined.

Journal of Eating Disorders, 2013

Background To describe the rates, indications, and adverse effects of psychotropic drug prescript... more Background To describe the rates, indications, and adverse effects of psychotropic drug prescription in a specialist tertiary hospital child and adolescent eating disorder service. Methods Retrospective case note study of all active eating disorder patients (N = 115) over the period of treatment from referral to time of study (M = 2 years), covering patient demographics, clinical characteristics, drug prescriptions, indications, and adverse effects. Results Psychotropic drugs were prescribed in 45% of cases, most commonly antidepressants (41%), followed by anxiolytics (29%) and antipsychotics (22%), with 8% initiated before referral to the specialist eating disorder program. Common indications were depressed mood, agitation, anxiety, and insomnia. Patient clinical severity and complexity was associated with prescribing. Adverse effects, mostly minor, were recorded in 23% of antidepressant prescriptions, 39% of antipsychotic prescriptions, and 13% of anxiolytic prescriptions. Second ...

Radiotherapy and Oncology, 2010

Environmental and Experimental Botany, 2009

Neotyphodium coenophialum [Morgan-Jones and Gams], grows in the above-ground parts of tall fescue... more Neotyphodium coenophialum [Morgan-Jones and Gams], grows in the above-ground parts of tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.]. It is an asexual fungus that is transmitted through seed of its host plant. This grass/endophyte association is enhanced by the protection of the host from herbivory and improved drought stress. We investigated how a decline in leaf-level stomatal conductance impacts the instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUE), in endophyte-infected (E+) versus non-infected (E−) Kentucky-31 tall fescue grasses grown in a controlled environmental chamber over a 10-week period. Grasses were cut at 6 weeks after germination and allowed to regrow under high and low soil moisture availability. One week after cutting, soil moisture was allowed to decline in the low water treatment for 2 weeks until severe stress was demonstrated through a decline in stomatal conductance to less than 100 mmol m −2 s −1. We found no differences in WUE between E+ and E− plants when water was not limiting while higher WUE was exhibited in E+ plants relative to E− plants under severe drought stress. The E− plants showed an 18-fold reduction in mean WUE and a 70-fold reduction in photosynthesis under drought stress, while there was no change in WUE and only a fourfold decline in photosynthesis between well-watered and drought stressed E+ plants at 21 days. While there were no differences in the rates of transpiration between E+ and E− plants under severe drought stress, differences in WUE can be attributed mainly to higher photosynthetic rates of E+ than E− plants. The difference in photosynthetic rates between E+ and E− plants under drought conditions could not be explained by differences in stomatal conductance and Rubisco (EC 4.1.1.39) activities.

Cell Biology and Toxicology, 2011

Vasopressin-activated calcium-mobilizing (VACM-1) protein is a cul-5 gene product that forms comp... more Vasopressin-activated calcium-mobilizing (VACM-1) protein is a cul-5 gene product that forms complexes with a subclass of ubiquitin E3 ligases involved in proteasomal protein degradation. The expression of VACM-1 cDNA in the T47D breast cancer cell line inhibits growth and decreases phosphorylation of mitogen activated protein kinase. Factors that regulate expression or stability of VACM-1 protein have not been identified, however. In our search to identify drugs/substances that may control VACM-1 protein expression, we examined the effects of resveratrol (trans-3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene), a natural component in the human diet which inhibits tumor initiation and promotion. CMV vector and VACM-1 cDNA stably transfected T47D breast cancer-derived cells were treated with resveratrol and cell growth and VACM-1 protein concentrations were measured. Since the cellular mechanism of resveratroldependent inhibition of cell growth also involves the regulation of estrogen receptors, the effect of 17β−estradiol and resveratrol on ERα levels and on cell growth was examined in control and in VACM-1 cDNA transfected cells. Our results demonstrate that antiproliferative effect of resveratrol observed in the control T47D cancer cells was significantly enhanced in VACM-1 cDNA transfected T47D cells. Western blot results indicated that resveratrol increased VACM-1 protein concentration. Finally, treatment with resveratrol for 24 and 48 h attenuated 17-β−estradiol induced increase in cell growth both in control and in VACM-1 cDNA transfected cells. The effect was significantly higher in the VACM-1 cDNA transfected cells when compared to controls. These results indicate that the antiproliferative effect of resveratrol may involve induction of VACM-1/ cul5.

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014

ABSTRACT Phenotypes may evolve to become integrated in response to functional demands. Once evolv... more ABSTRACT Phenotypes may evolve to become integrated in response to functional demands. Once evolved, integrated phenotypes, often modular, can also influence the trajectory of subsequent responses to selection. Clearly, connecting modularity and functionally adaptive evolution has been challenging. The teleost skull and jaw structures are useful for understanding this connection because of the key roles that these structures play in feeding in novel environments with different prey resources. In the present study, we examined such a structure in the threespine stickleback: the opercular four-bar lever that functions in jaw opening. Comparing oceanic and two fresh-water populations, we find marked phenotypic divergence in the skull opercular region, and the major axes of morphological and functional variation of the lever are found to be highly correlated. All three populations share the same global skull integration structure, and a conserved, strongly-supported modular organization is evident in the region encompassing the lever. Importantly, a boundary between two modules that subdivides the lever apparatus corresponds to the region of most prominent morphological evolution. The matched modular phenotypic and functional architecture of head and jaw structures of stickleback therefore may be important for facilitating their rapid adaptive transitions between highly divergent habitats. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, ●●, ●●–●●.

The Faseb Journal, Apr 1, 2013

Background: Animal model systems have long been used to simulate and study human cardiac physiolo... more Background: Animal model systems have long been used to simulate and study human cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. However, application from the laboratory setting to human clinical studies has proven to be difficult to replicate. The purpose of this research ...