oURspace
University of Regina Institutional Repository
The mission of the oURspace digital repository is to share and preserve the scholarly, creative, and cultural work produced at the University of Regina.
What are some of the benefits of depositing your works in oURspace?
- Increased access to your scholarly publications.
- Content is indexed and discoverable in Google Scholar.
- Compliance with open access funding requirements.
- Long term preservation of your work.
Please contact ourspace@uregina.ca if you have questions or want more information about oURspace.
Communities in oURspace
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
DTL-IDS: Deep Transfer Learning-based Intrusion Detection System in 5G Networks
(2023-11-02) Farzaneh, Behnam; Shahriar, Nashid; Al Muktadir, Abu Hena; Towhid, Md. Shamim
Women in social work leadership in Saskatchewan: The myth of shattering the glass ceiling
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2024-06) Masuda, Nancy Lynn; Gebhard, Amanda; Novik, Nuelle; Jeffery, Bonnie
The purpose of this qualitative research was to enhance knowledge about the experiences
of women in the 1% of marginalized leadership representation statistics in Saskatchewan in the
field of social work. Through an intersectional feminist framework, based on the interrelatedness
of our social identities, both privileged and oppressed; narrative interviews were completed with
five women. The participants identified as belonging to the LGBTQ2S+, BIPOC, disability
and/or trans communities. Within the social work leadership sector, the women have held upper
management, director, and CEO positions. Data was analyzed through a case-by-case analysis
and a thematic analysis. Several key findings emerged from the research: Social workers in
upper management positions demonstrate a commitment to relational values in their leadership
perspectives. Women encounter micro, mezzo and macro fractures within the profession.
Women face intersecting forms of oppression, and do not relate to the metaphor of the glass
ceiling in leadership. When it comes to leadership styles, humanistic and collaborative leadership
models are embraced by social work leaders. Finally, mentorship is a profound legacy in the
momentum of creating future leaders. This thesis offers a comprehensive exploration of
leadership within the context of social work, focusing on the perspectives of marginalized
women in leadership roles in Saskatchewan. The findings highlight the significance of the
disruption of gendered leadership roles, and the multiple intersecting forms of oppression and
privilege women in leadership contend with in their everyday work. Readers are brought to
consider, through the unique and collective perspectives offered by participants, the importance
of expanding and redefining the meaning of leadership in social work.
Joint survival and longitudinal modelling for combined cohorts
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2024-04) Zhao, Qian; McVittie, James; Deng, Dianliang
A primary goal of survival analysis is modelling the time from an initial event to a failure
event and the factors which affect the hazard rate. In this thesis, we consider data drawn
from an incident cohort study with follow-up and a prevalent cohort study with follow-up,
yielding right-censored failure time data and left-truncated right-censored failure time data,
respectively. In addition to the failure/censoring times, we assume the survival data include
other measured covariates, for example, longitudinal measurements collected throughout
the failure/censoring time durations. In this thesis, we review the methods of estimation
for the proportional hazards model, the linear mixed effects model, and the joint model, to
determine the association between the survival and the longitudinal processes. We introduce
novel estimation methods for the joint model when incident and prevalent cohort data are
combined. Using simulated data, we compare the various individual and combined cohort
estimation procedures. We also apply the combined cohort joint model to examine the
relationship between the mortality of mature female baboons based on their longitudinally
measured glucocorticoid levels.
Responses to hawking attack and distress call sequences by bats in Saskatchewan
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2024-05) Wilson, Hannah Cummings; Brigham, Mark; Ratcliffe, John M.; Vanderwel, Mark; Somers, Chris
Eavesdropping on acoustic signals can be an important decision-making tool for many animals.
Despite how much research has gone into how bats use sound for orientation and foraging,
surprisingly little research has focused on eavesdropping as a decision making and survival tool.
I assessed how four insectivorous bats in North America, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus),
hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), silver haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and little brown bat
(Myotis lucifugus) responded to conspecific and heterospecific call sequences. I played distress
and aerial hawking attack sequences along Battle Creek in Southwest Saskatchewan, Canada and
used acoustic detectors to determine whether there was a change in bat activity during playbacks.
Call collection and playback experiments were conducted between June – August 2022 and
2023. I expected an overall increase in activity when I played back both conspecific and
heterospecific call sequences for both call types, with some species-specific differences based on
size and life history. However, I found that M. lucifugus did not respond to conspecific or
heterospecific distress call or hawking attack sequences. This is in contrast with previous studies
that have concluded M. lucifugus is attracted to conspecific vocalizations. I also found that while
L. cinereus are attracted to conspecific hawking sequences, they are not attracted to conspecific
distress sequences. They are, however, attracted to L. noctivagans distress sequences; but,
repelled by L. noctivagans hawking attack sequences. L. noctivagans do not respond to
conspecific or heterospecific distress calls, but are repelled by L. cinereus hawking sequences.
My research highlights how little we know about how and why bats respond to call sequences
and, by extension, how little we know about bat community relationships in general.
Examining the gut microbiota in aging
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2024-07) Verma, Priya; Totosy, Julia; Cameron, Andrew; Gordon, Jennifer
The human gut microbiome, comprised primarily of bacteria, plays a crucial role in
overall health and physiology by regulating metabolism, immunity, and behavior through the
microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). Key functions include fermenting complex carbohydrates
into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that maintain gut integrity, modulating inflammation, and
influencing energy homeostasis (i.e., food intake regulation). For example, SCFAs can play a role
in food intake regulation by directly or indirectly influencing episodic appetite signals (ghrelin,
glucagon-like peptide 1 [GLP-1]) and tonic appetite signals (leptin, insulin). Gut dysbiosis, or an
imbalance in the gut microbiome, leads to altered metabolic processes, increased epithelial
permeability, and systemic inflammation that contribute to health issues like metabolic
dysfunction (type 2 diabetes [T2D]), cardiovascular disease, and neuropsychiatric conditions.
Aging is associated with gut dysbiosis, which can affect energy homeostasis and increase the
risk for age-associated comorbidities. Regular physical activity has been shown to improve gut
health and food intake regulation in young adults. This project aimed to characterize gut
microbial communities in active older adults (60 years +) (GUMS) compared to a sedentary
cohort with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (DMP) and investigate how gut bacteria may be influenced by
physical activity/cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), body composition, appetite hormones,
cardiometabolic health, and mental health.
Data was analyzed from n=22 GUMS (active older adults) and n=6 DMP (sedentary older
adults with T2D). Gut bacterial diversity and composition were assessed by sequencing of 16S
amplicon DNA from participant stool samples. In-person data was collected to assess CRF (via
peak oxygen consumption [VO2peak] test), body composition (via air displacement
plethysmography), appetite hormones (from plasma blood samples), and cardiovascular health
(blood pressure, arterial stiffness). Mental health was assessed using standardized
questionnaires administered through Qualtrics.
Diversity measures were not significantly different between physically active older
adults (GUMS) and sedentary older adults with type 2 diabetes (DMP); however compositional
differences were observed. A nonsignificant increased proportion of opportunistic pathogens is
apparent in DMP, suggestive of gut dysbiosis in T2D. Further, lower CRF and higher body fat
[observed in DMP] were linked to decreased gut microbial diversity and increased opportunistic
pathogens. Fasted appetite hormones ghrelin and GLP-1 did not differ between groups, but
insulin and glucose levels were higher in DMP, reflecting their diabetic condition. No
correlations were found between gut microbial diversity and appetite hormones, though
positive correlations were observed between appetite hormones and SCFA-producing taxa.
Dietary patterns showed higher fat intake and lower fiber consumption in DMP, potentially
contributing to dysbiosis and metabolic issues. It was also observed that hypertension
medication was associated with reduced gut microbial diversity and increased opportunistic
pathogens, indicating a potential dysbiotic effect of hypertension treatment.
Future research should recruit a larger number of participants and conduct long-term
studies comparing older and younger populations to further understand the impact of aging
and habitual physical activity on the gut microbiome. Additionally, exploring broader ranges of
appetite hormone values could clarify their associations with gut microbial composition.
Further research is also required to confirm the dysbiotic effects of hypertension medication.