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Towards The Grounding Of Abstract Categories In Cognitive Robots, Francesca Stramandinoli Jan 2014

Towards The Grounding Of Abstract Categories In Cognitive Robots, Francesca Stramandinoli

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The grounding of language in humanoid robots is a fundamental problem, especially in social scenarios which involve the interaction of robots with human beings. Indeed, natural language represents the most natural interface for humans to interact and exchange information about concrete entities like KNIFE, HAMMER and abstract concepts such as MAKE, USE. This research domain is very important not only for the advances that it can produce in the design of human-robot communication systems, but also for the implication that it can have on cognitive science. Abstract words are used in daily conversations among people to describe events and situations …


Simplifying Authoring Of Adaptive Hypermedia Structures In An Elearning Context, Oliver Schneider Jan 2014

Simplifying Authoring Of Adaptive Hypermedia Structures In An Elearning Context, Oliver Schneider

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In an eLearning context, Adaptive Hypermedia Systems have been developed to improve learning success by increasing learner satisfaction, learning speed, and educational effectiveness. However, creating adaptive eLearning content and structures is still a time consuming and complicated task, in particular if individual lecturers are the intended authors. The way of thinking that is needed to create adaptive structures as well as the workflows is one that lecturers are unaccustomed to. The aim of this research project is to develop a concept that helps authors create adaptive eLearning content and structures, which focuses on its applicability for lecturers as intended authors. …


A Proto-Architecture For Innate Directionally Selective Visual Maps., Sv Adams, Cm Harris Jan 2014

A Proto-Architecture For Innate Directionally Selective Visual Maps., Sv Adams, Cm Harris

School of Psychology

Self-organizing artificial neural networks are a popular tool for studying visual system development, in particular the cortical feature maps present in real systems that represent properties such as ocular dominance (OD), orientation-selectivity (OR) and direction selectivity (DS). They are also potentially useful in artificial systems, for example robotics, where the ability to extract and learn features from the environment in an unsupervised way is important. In this computational study we explore a DS map that is already latent in a simple artificial network. This latent selectivity arises purely from the cortical architecture without any explicit coding for DS and prior …


The Contribution Of Planning-Related Motor Processes To Mental Practice And Imitation Learning, Bassem Khalaf Jan 2014

The Contribution Of Planning-Related Motor Processes To Mental Practice And Imitation Learning, Bassem Khalaf

School of Psychology Theses

It is still controversial whether mental practice – the internal rehearsal of movements to improve later performance – relies on processes engaged during physical motor performance and, if so, which processes these are. This series of experiments investigates this question. It utilizes a framework of ideomotor action planning theories, and tests whether mental practice may specifically draw upon planning- rather than execution-related motor processes, specifically those processes that “bind” intended action features to action plans. Experiments 1 to 4 utilize a classical stimulus response compatibility paradigm. Participants mentally practiced complex rhythms with either feet or hands while using the same …


Non-Linear Model Predictive Control Strategies For Process Plants Using Soft Computing Approaches, Kayode Olayemi Owa Jan 2014

Non-Linear Model Predictive Control Strategies For Process Plants Using Soft Computing Approaches, Kayode Olayemi Owa

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The developments of advanced non-linear control strategies have attracted a considerable research interests over the past decades especially in process control. Rather than an absolute reliance on mathematical models of process plants which often brings discrepancies especially owing to design errors and equipment degradation, non-linear models are however required because they provide improved prediction capabilities but they are very difficult to derive. In addition, the derivation of the global optimal solution gets more difficult especially when multivariable and non-linear systems are involved. Hence, this research investigates soft computing techniques for the implementation of a novel real time constrained non-linear model …


Development Of Joint Stiffness And Learnability, N Kuppuswamy, Cm Harris Jan 2014

Development Of Joint Stiffness And Learnability, N Kuppuswamy, Cm Harris

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.


Variable Response Of Three Trifolium Repens Ecotypes To Soil Flooding By Seawater., Anissia C. White, Timothy D. Colmer, Greg R. Cawthray, Mick E. Hanley Jan 2014

Variable Response Of Three Trifolium Repens Ecotypes To Soil Flooding By Seawater., Anissia C. White, Timothy D. Colmer, Greg R. Cawthray, Mick E. Hanley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite concerns about the impact of rising sea levels and storm surge events on coastal ecosystems, there is remarkably little information on the response of terrestrial coastal plant species to seawater inundation. The aim of this study was to elucidate responses of a glycophyte (white clover, Trifolium repens) to short-duration soil flooding by seawater and recovery following leaching of salts. METHODS: Using plants cultivated from parent ecotypes collected from a natural soil salinity gradient, the impact of short-duration seawater soil flooding (8 or 24 h) on short-term changes in leaf salt ion and organic solute concentrations was …


Nuclear Her4 Mediates Acquired Resistance To Trastuzumab And Is Associated With Poor Outcome In Her2 Positive Breast Cancer, Snm Nafi, D Generali, G Kramer-Marek, M Gijsen, Et Al Jan 2014

Nuclear Her4 Mediates Acquired Resistance To Trastuzumab And Is Associated With Poor Outcome In Her2 Positive Breast Cancer, Snm Nafi, D Generali, G Kramer-Marek, M Gijsen, Et Al

School of Biomedical Sciences

The role of HER4 in breast cancer is controversial and its role in relation to trastuzumab resistance remains unclear. We showed that trastuzumab treatment and its acquired resistance induced HER4 upregulation, cleavage and nuclear translocation. However, knockdown of HER4 by specific siRNAs increased trastuzumab sensitivity and reversed its resistance in HER2 positive breast cancer cells. Preventing HER4 cleavage by a γ-secretase inhibitor and inhibiting HER4 tyrosine kinase activity by neratinib decreased trastuzumab-induced HER4 nuclear translocation and enhanced trastuzumab response. There was also increased nuclear HER4 staining in the tumours from BT474 xenograft mice and human patients treated with trastuzumab. Furthermore, …


Critical Exponents Of The 3d Ising And Related Models From Conformal Bootstrap, Ferdinando Gliozzi, Antonio Rago Jan 2014

Critical Exponents Of The 3d Ising And Related Models From Conformal Bootstrap, Ferdinando Gliozzi, Antonio Rago

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.


Differentially Expressed Micrornas In Maternal Plasma For The Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), J Kamhieh-Milz, Reham Fadl Hassan Moftah, Gürkan Bal, Matthias Futschik, Viktor Sterzer, Omid Khorramshahi, Martin Burow, Gundula Thiel, Annegret Stuke-Sontheimer, Rabih Chaoui, S Kamhieh-Milz, Abdulgabar Salama Jan 2014

Differentially Expressed Micrornas In Maternal Plasma For The Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), J Kamhieh-Milz, Reham Fadl Hassan Moftah, Gürkan Bal, Matthias Futschik, Viktor Sterzer, Omid Khorramshahi, Martin Burow, Gundula Thiel, Annegret Stuke-Sontheimer, Rabih Chaoui, S Kamhieh-Milz, Abdulgabar Salama

School of Biomedical Sciences

Objectives. Most developmental processes are under the control of small regulatory RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs). We hypothesize that different fetal developmental processes might be reflected by extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma and may be utilized as biomarkers for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aneuploidies. In this proof-of-concept study, we report on the identification of extracellular miRNAs in maternal plasma of Down syndrome (DS) pregnancies.Methods. Using high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR), 1043 miRNAs were investigated in maternal plasma via comparison of seven DS pregnancies with age and fetal sex matched controls.Results. Six hundred and ninety-five miRNAs were identified. Thirty-six significantly differentially …


Qualified Doctor And Medical Students' Use Of Resources For Accessing Information: What Is Used And Why?, Nicola Brennan, Sarah Edwards, Narcie Kelly, Alice Miller, Lucy Harrower, Karen Mattick Jan 2014

Qualified Doctor And Medical Students' Use Of Resources For Accessing Information: What Is Used And Why?, Nicola Brennan, Sarah Edwards, Narcie Kelly, Alice Miller, Lucy Harrower, Karen Mattick

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Learning to access information using resources such as books and search engines is an important and fast changing challenge for doctors and medical students. Many resources exist to support evidence-based clinical decision-making, but a wide range of factors influences their use. OBJECTIVE: To explore qualified doctor and medical students' use of resources for accessing information and to determine what is used and why. METHODS: A stratified sample of 46 participants was recruited in Devon, UK. Participants kept a self-report diary of resources used over a week. The diaries were then used to stimulate recall within a semi-structured interview. Diary …


Is Neolithic Land Use Correlated With Demography? An Evaluation Of Pollen-Derived Land Cover And Radiocarbon-Inferred Demographic Change From Central Europe, Jutta Lechterbeck, Kevan Edinborough, Tim Kerig, Ralph Fyfe, Neil Roberts, Stephen Shennan Jan 2014

Is Neolithic Land Use Correlated With Demography? An Evaluation Of Pollen-Derived Land Cover And Radiocarbon-Inferred Demographic Change From Central Europe, Jutta Lechterbeck, Kevan Edinborough, Tim Kerig, Ralph Fyfe, Neil Roberts, Stephen Shennan

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Uneven Batch Data Alignment With Application To The Control Of Batch End-Product Quality, J Wan, O Marjanovic, B Lennox Jan 2014

Uneven Batch Data Alignment With Application To The Control Of Batch End-Product Quality, J Wan, O Marjanovic, B Lennox

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Batch processes are commonly characterized by uneven trajectories due to the existence of batch-to-batch variations. The batch end-product quality is usually measured at the end of these uneven trajectories. It is necessary to align the time differences for both the measured trajectories and the batch end-product quality in order to implement statistical process monitoring and control schemes. Apart from synchronizing trajectories with variable lengths using an indicator variable or dynamic time warping, this paper proposes a novel approach to align uneven batch data by identifying short-window PCA&PLS models at first and then applying these identified models to extend shorter trajectories …


Official Statistics Data Integration Using Copulas, L Dalla Valle Jan 2014

Official Statistics Data Integration Using Copulas, L Dalla Valle

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.


Modeling Causal Conditional Reasoning Data Using Sdt: Caveats And New Insights., Dries Trippas, Michael F. Verde, Simon J. Handley, Matthew E. Roser, Nicolas A. Mcnair, Jonathan St B.T. Evans Jan 2014

Modeling Causal Conditional Reasoning Data Using Sdt: Caveats And New Insights., Dries Trippas, Michael F. Verde, Simon J. Handley, Matthew E. Roser, Nicolas A. Mcnair, Jonathan St B.T. Evans

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.


Bioaccumulation And Sub-Lethal Effects Of Intermittent And Continuous Exposure To Metals On The Marine Mussel, Mytilus Galloprovincialis, Dokuboba Amachree Jan 2014

Bioaccumulation And Sub-Lethal Effects Of Intermittent And Continuous Exposure To Metals On The Marine Mussel, Mytilus Galloprovincialis, Dokuboba Amachree

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Aquatic organisms experience intermittent exposure to contaminants. The hazard from such discontinuous exposure may not simply be predicted from existing continuous exposure. Little is known about the bioaccumulation responses of shellfish to metals during intermittent compared to the continuous exposure counterparts. This study was designed to compare the bioaccumulation responses of two metals (Cd and Hg) singly (Chapters 3 and 4) or mixtures (Chapters 5 and 6) during continuous and intermittent exposure. Responses were examined using a multi-assay approach in areas of oxidative stress, osmoregulation, haematology and organ pathology. Tissue metal concentrations were highest in the gill and digestive gland …


Comparative Demography And Life History Evolution Of Plants, Cyril Mbeau Ache Jan 2014

Comparative Demography And Life History Evolution Of Plants, Cyril Mbeau Ache

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Explaining the origin and maintenance of biodiversity is a central goal in ecology and evolutionary biology. Some of the most important, theoretical explanations for this diversity centre on the evolution of life histories. Comparative studies on life history evolution, have received significant attention in the zoological literature, but have lagged in plants. Recent developments, however, have emphasised the value of comparative analysis of data for many species to test existing theories of life history evolution, as well as to provide the basis for developing additional or alternative theories. The primary goal of this study was to explore existing theories of …


Evaluating The Application Of Research-Based Guidance To The Design Of An Emergency Preparedness Leaflet., E. Hellier, J. Edworthy, L. Newbold, K. Titchener, M. Tucker, E. Gabe-Thomas Jan 2014

Evaluating The Application Of Research-Based Guidance To The Design Of An Emergency Preparedness Leaflet., E. Hellier, J. Edworthy, L. Newbold, K. Titchener, M. Tucker, E. Gabe-Thomas

School of Psychology

UNLABELLED: Guidelines for the design of emergency communications were derived from primary research and interrogation of the literature. The guidelines were used to re-design a nuclear emergency preparedness leaflet routinely distributed to households in the local area. Pre-test measures of memory for, and self-reported understanding of, nuclear safety information were collected. The findings revealed high levels of non-receipt of the leaflet, and among those who did receive it, memory for safety advice was poor. Subjective evaluations of the trial leaflet suggested that it was preferred and judged easier to understand than the original. Objective measures of memory for the two …


Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill Jan 2014

Public Perceptions Of The Uk Marine Environment, Rl Jefferson, I Bailey, Dd Laffoley, Jp Richards, Mj Attrill

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The damaging effects of human activities on marine health suggest that a major shift is required in the way marine systems are used by individuals. Identifying how to engage society in this shift is an ongoing debate. This includes strengthening the positive connections between society and the sea. This study uses a survey (n¼1047) to investigate UK public perceptions of subtidal species and marine health to assess whether it is possible to build more positive connections between society and the sea. Respondents showed considerable interest in traditionally charismatic species (puffins, seals and seahorses) although many respondents thought these species did …


'It's All A Question Of Business': Investment Identities, Networks And Decision-Making In The Cleantech Economy, Lucien Georgeson, Federico Caprotti, Ian Bailey Jan 2014

'It's All A Question Of Business': Investment Identities, Networks And Decision-Making In The Cleantech Economy, Lucien Georgeson, Federico Caprotti, Ian Bailey

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Making Sense Of The Gren Economy, Federico Caprotti, Ian Bailey Jan 2014

Making Sense Of The Gren Economy, Federico Caprotti, Ian Bailey

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


The Green Economy: Functional Domains And Theoretical Directions Of Enquiry, Ian Bailey, Federico Caprotti Jan 2014

The Green Economy: Functional Domains And Theoretical Directions Of Enquiry, Ian Bailey, Federico Caprotti

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Talking On The Move: Place‐Based Interviewing With Undergraduate Students, Mark Holton, Mark Riley Jan 2014

Talking On The Move: Place‐Based Interviewing With Undergraduate Students, Mark Holton, Mark Riley

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Recent research has begun to pay attention to the importance of place to the research encounter. This paper makes a contribution to these discussions through an investigation into the lived experiences of higher education students. Although there is a burgeoning literature on what has been termed ‘student geographies’, there has been relatively little attention focused on the methods that we might employ in exploring these geographies. Here we consider ‘walking interviews’ as an approach to helping better comprehend students’ experiences and understandings of University towns and cities. Accompanying students ‘in the field’ allowed us to explore students’ narratives ‘in place’ …


Fluency And Belief Bias In Deductive Reasoning: New Indices For Old Effects., Ies Trippas, Simon J. Handley, Michael F. Verde Jan 2014

Fluency And Belief Bias In Deductive Reasoning: New Indices For Old Effects., Ies Trippas, Simon J. Handley, Michael F. Verde

School of Psychology

Models based on signal detection theory (SDT) have occupied a prominent role in domains such as perception, categorization, and memory. Recent work by Dube et al. (2010) suggests that the framework may also offer important insights in the domain of deductive reasoning. Belief bias in reasoning has traditionally been examined using indices based on raw endorsement rates-indices that critics have claimed are highly problematic. We discuss a new set of SDT indices fit for the investigation belief bias and apply them to new data examining the effect of perceptual disfluency on belief bias in syllogisms. In contrast to the traditional …


The Fate Of Redundant Cues: Further Analysis Of The Redundancy Effect, Peter M. Jones, John M. Pearce Jan 2014

The Fate Of Redundant Cues: Further Analysis Of The Redundancy Effect, Peter M. Jones, John M. Pearce

School of Psychology

Pearce, Dopson, Haselgrove, and Esber (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 38, 167–179, 2012) conducted a series of experiments with rats and pigeons in which the conditioned responding elicited by two types of redundant cue was compared. One of these redundant cues was a blocked cue X from A+ AX+ training, whereas the other was cue Y from a simple discrimination BY+ CY–. Greater conditioned responding was elicited by X than by Y; we refer to this difference as the redundancy effect. To test an explanation of this effect in terms of comparator theory (Denniston, Savastano, & Miller, 2001), …


The Importance Of Sub-Peat Carbon Storage As Shown By Data From Dartmoor, Uk, R. M. Fyfe, R. Coombe, H. Davies, L. Parry Jan 2014

The Importance Of Sub-Peat Carbon Storage As Shown By Data From Dartmoor, Uk, R. M. Fyfe, R. Coombe, H. Davies, L. Parry

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Atomic Spectrometry Updates. Review Of Advances In Elemental Speciation, Robert Clough, Chris F. Harrington, Steve J. Hill, Yolanda Madrid, Julian F. Tyson Jan 2014

Atomic Spectrometry Updates. Review Of Advances In Elemental Speciation, Robert Clough, Chris F. Harrington, Steve J. Hill, Yolanda Madrid, Julian F. Tyson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Parameterization Of Pharmaceutical Emissions And Removal Rates For Use In Uk Predictive Exposure Models: Steroid Estrogens As A Case Study., J. D. Heffley, S. D.W. Comber, B. W. Wheeler, C. H. Redshaw Jan 2014

Parameterization Of Pharmaceutical Emissions And Removal Rates For Use In Uk Predictive Exposure Models: Steroid Estrogens As A Case Study., J. D. Heffley, S. D.W. Comber, B. W. Wheeler, C. H. Redshaw

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Newly available prescription data has been used along with census data to develop a localised method for predicting pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage influent and effluent for England, and applied to a case study: the steroid estrogens estrone, 17β-estradiol, and 17α-ethinylestradiol in a selected catchment. The prescription data allows calculation of the mass consumed of synthetic estrogens, while use of highly localised census data improves predictions of naturally excreted estrogens by accounting for regional variations in population demographics. This serves two key purposes; to increase the accuracy of predictions in general, and to call attention to the need for more accurate …


Short Form Of The Orientations To Happiness Questionnaire For The German-Speaking Countries: Development And Analysis Of The Psychometric Properties, Willibald Ruch, María Luisa Martínez-Martí, Sonja Heintz, Symen A. Brouwers Jan 2014

Short Form Of The Orientations To Happiness Questionnaire For The German-Speaking Countries: Development And Analysis Of The Psychometric Properties, Willibald Ruch, María Luisa Martínez-Martí, Sonja Heintz, Symen A. Brouwers

School of Psychology

This paper addresses the development of a 9-item Short Form of the Orientations to Happiness (OTH) Questionnaire ( Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005 ) for German-speaking countries. This questionnaire measures three ways to happiness: life of pleasure, life of engagement, and life of meaning. In Experiment 1 (replication sample, N = 1,336), we replicated the three-factor structure found in the 18-item Parent Form. In Experiment 2 (validation sample, N = 222), we again replicated the three-factor structure, which showed a good fit to the data. The coefficients of congruence between the three factors in Experiments 1 and 2 were very …


Chapter 21 Controls On Variations In Cristobalite Abundance In Ash Generated By The Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat In The Period 1997 To 2010, Cj Horwell, Se Hillman, Pd Cole, Sc Loughlin, Ew Llewellin, De Damby, Te Christopher Jan 2014

Chapter 21 Controls On Variations In Cristobalite Abundance In Ash Generated By The Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat In The Period 1997 To 2010, Cj Horwell, Se Hillman, Pd Cole, Sc Loughlin, Ew Llewellin, De Damby, Te Christopher

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.