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2013

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Event-Driven Visual Attention For The Humanoid Robot Icub, F Rea, G Metta, C Bartolozzi Jan 2013

Event-Driven Visual Attention For The Humanoid Robot Icub, F Rea, G Metta, C Bartolozzi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Fast reaction to sudden and potentially interesting stimuli is a crucial feature for safe and reliable interaction with the environment. Here we present a biologically inspired attention system developed for the humanoid robot iCub. It is based on input from unconventional event-driven vision sensors and an efficient computational method. The resulting system shows low-latency and fast determination of the location of the focus of attention. The performance is benchmarked against an instance of the state of the art in robotics artificial attention system used in robotics. Results show that the proposed system is two orders of magnitude faster that the …

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Patients’ Experience Of A Regional Allergy Service, Rb Jones, A O'Connor, E Kaminski Jan 2013

Patients’ Experience Of A Regional Allergy Service, Rb Jones, A O'Connor, E Kaminski

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

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A Systematic Review Of Educational Interventions To Change Behaviour Of Prescribers In Hospital Settings, With A Particular Emphasis On New Prescribers., Nicola Brennan, Karen Mattick Jan 2013

A Systematic Review Of Educational Interventions To Change Behaviour Of Prescribers In Hospital Settings, With A Particular Emphasis On New Prescribers., Nicola Brennan, Karen Mattick

Peninsula Medical School

AIMS: Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs across staff grades and settings but new prescribers are attributed much of the blame. New prescribers may not be confident or even competent to prescribe and probably have different support and development needs than their more experienced colleagues. Unfortunately, little is known about what interventions are effective in this group. Previous systematic reviews have not distinguished between different grades of staff, have been narrow in scope and are now out of date. Therefore, to inform the design of educational interventions to change prescribing …

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Evidence-Based Programs In Children's Services: A Critical Appraisal, Nick Axford, Louise Morpeth Jan 2013

Evidence-Based Programs In Children's Services: A Critical Appraisal, Nick Axford, Louise Morpeth

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

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Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy (Sudep): Development Of A Safety Checklist, Rohit Shankar, David Cox, Virupakshi Jalihal, Scott Brown, Jane Hanna, Brendan Mclean Jan 2013

Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy (Sudep): Development Of A Safety Checklist, Rohit Shankar, David Cox, Virupakshi Jalihal, Scott Brown, Jane Hanna, Brendan Mclean

Peninsula Medical School

Purpose The incidence of sudden death appears to be 20 times higher in patients with epilepsy compared with the general population. Epilepsy-related death, particularly sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), is still underestimated by healthcare professionals and this may reflect the mistaken belief that epilepsy is a benign condition. The risk of death associated with epilepsy appeared rarely to have been discussed with patients or their families. It appears the decision to discuss SUDEP and also to peg SUDEP risk is arbitrary and clinical. Unfortunately there is no structured evidenced mechanism at present to represent person centered risk of SUDEP …

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Large-Volume Results In Su(2) With Adjoint Fermions, Debbio L Del, B Lucini, C Pica, A Patella, A Rago, S Roman Jan 2013

Large-Volume Results In Su(2) With Adjoint Fermions, Debbio L Del, B Lucini, C Pica, A Patella, A Rago, S Roman

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Taming finite-volume effects is a crucial ingredient in order to identify the existence of IR fixed points. We present the latest results from our numerical simulations of SU(2) gauge theory with 2 Dirac fermions in the adjoint representation on large volumes. We compare with previous results, and extrapolate to thermodynamic limit when possible.

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The Evaluation Of A Biometric-Based Identification System For Remote-Based Exam Invigilation, Nathan Clarke, Paul Dowland, Steve Furnell Jan 2013

The Evaluation Of A Biometric-Based Identification System For Remote-Based Exam Invigilation, Nathan Clarke, Paul Dowland, Steve Furnell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

To critically evaluate the technology options available for a continuous biometric-based identification system. To design and implement a continuous biometric-based identification system for use within e-learning. The prototype will be independent but built around the University’s current Perception system in the first instance. To evaluate the operational characteristics of the system and the human-factors of acceptance, usability and privacy, and disseminate the system across the University. To investigate the pedagogical factors underpinning this new area of e-assessment. Prior research has raised concerns regarding information security in e-learning systems for over a decade now (Littman, 1998). However, in reality much more …

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Signature Verification Based On Moments Technique, Shaymaa Al-Juboori Jan 2013

Signature Verification Based On Moments Technique, Shaymaa Al-Juboori

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this research we will present the signature as a key to the biometric authentication technique. I shall use moment invariants as a tool to make a decision about any signature which is belonging to the certain person or not. Eighteen voluntaries give 108 signatures as a sample to test the proposed system, six samples belong to each person were taken. Moment invariants are used to build a feature vector stored in this system. Euclidean distance measure used to compute the distance between the specific signatures of persons saved in this system and with new sample acquired to same persons …

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Using Meta-Ethnography To Understand The Emotional Impact Of Caring For People With Increasing Cognitive Impairment., Jane Grose, Julia Frost, Janet Richardson, Heather Skirton Jan 2013

Using Meta-Ethnography To Understand The Emotional Impact Of Caring For People With Increasing Cognitive Impairment., Jane Grose, Julia Frost, Janet Richardson, Heather Skirton

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The majority of people with degenerative neurological conditions are cared for within their own families. Cognitive impairment can be a significant and increasing symptom of these conditions. In this article we report how a team of experienced researchers carried out a meta-ethnography of qualitative research articles focusing on the impact of caring for a loved one with cognitive impairment. We followed the seven-step process outlined by Noblit and Hare. Synthesized findings from 31 papers suggest emotional impact is complex and uncertain and varies from day to day. The benefit of using meta-ethnography is that the results represent a larger sample …

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"Until The Trial Is Complete You Can't Really Say Whether It Helped You Or Not, Can You?": Exploring Cancer Patients' Perceptions Of Taking Part In A Trial Of Acupressure Wristbands, John G. Hughes, Wanda Russell, Matthew Breckons, Janet Richardson, Mari Lloyd-Williams, Alex Molassiotis Jan 2013

"Until The Trial Is Complete You Can't Really Say Whether It Helped You Or Not, Can You?": Exploring Cancer Patients' Perceptions Of Taking Part In A Trial Of Acupressure Wristbands, John G. Hughes, Wanda Russell, Matthew Breckons, Janet Richardson, Mari Lloyd-Williams, Alex Molassiotis

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

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Pregnancy Planning, Smoking Behaviour During Pregnancy, And Neonatal Outcome: Uk Millennium Cohort Study, Anika Flower, Jill Shawe, Judith Stephenson, Pat Doyle Jan 2013

Pregnancy Planning, Smoking Behaviour During Pregnancy, And Neonatal Outcome: Uk Millennium Cohort Study, Anika Flower, Jill Shawe, Judith Stephenson, Pat Doyle

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Abstract Background Pre-pregnancy health and care are important for the health of the future generations. Smoking during pregnancy has been well-researched and there is clear evidence of harm. But there has been little research on the health impact of planning for pregnancy. This study aims to investigate the independent effects of pregnancy planning and smoking during pregnancy on neonatal outcome. Methods This analysis made use of data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. The study sample consisted of 18,178 singleton babies born in UK between 2000 and 2001. The neonatal outcomes of interest were low birthweight (<2.5 Kg) and pre-term birth (<37 completed weeks gestation). Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between pregnancy planning and/or smoking and neonatal outcome. Adjusted odds ratios were used to calculate population attributable risk fractions (PAFs). Results 43% of mothers did not plan their pregnancy and 34% were smoking just before and/or during pregnancy. Planners were half as likely to be smokers just before pregnancy, and more likely to give up or reduce the amount smoked if smokers. Unplanned pregnancies had 24% increased odds of low birth weight and prematurity compared to planned pregnancies (AORLBW1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.48; AORPREM1.24, 95% CI 1.05-1.45), independent of smoking status. The odds of low birth weight for babies of mothers who were smoking just before pregnancy was 91% higher than that of mothers who were not (AORLBW1.91, 95% CI 1.56-2.34). Women who quit or reduced the amount smoked during pregnancy lowered the risk of a low birth weight baby by one third (AORLBW0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.85) compared with women whose smoking level did not change. Smaller effects were found for prematurity. If all women planned their pregnancy and did not smoke before or during pregnancy, 30% of low birthweight and 14% of prematurity could, in theory, be avoided. Conclusions Planning a pregnancy and avoiding smoking during pregnancy has clear, independent, health benefits for babies. Quitting or reducing the amount smoked during pregnancy can reduce the risk of low birthweight.

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Modeling Speech Imitation And Ecological Learning Of Auditory-Motor Maps, C Canevari, L Badino, A D'Ausilio, L Fadiga, G Metta Jan 2013

Modeling Speech Imitation And Ecological Learning Of Auditory-Motor Maps, C Canevari, L Badino, A D'Ausilio, L Fadiga, G Metta

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Classical models of speech consider an antero-posterior distinction between perceptive and productive functions. However, the selective alteration of neural activity in speech motor centers, via transcranial magnetic stimulation, was shown to affect speech discrimination. On the automatic speech recognition (ASR) side, the recognition systems have classically relied solely on acoustic data, achieving rather good performance in optimal listening conditions. The main limitations of current ASR are mainly evident in the realistic use of such systems. These limitations can be partly reduced by using normalization strategies that minimize inter-speaker variability by either explicitly removing speakers' peculiarities or adapting different speakers to …

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The Effects Of Elevated Temperature And Pco2 On The Developmental Eco-Physiology Of The European Lobster, Homarus Gammarus (L.), Daniel Peter Small Jan 2013

The Effects Of Elevated Temperature And Pco2 On The Developmental Eco-Physiology Of The European Lobster, Homarus Gammarus (L.), Daniel Peter Small

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The successful completion of the early developmental stages in organisms with complex life cycles is crucial to the persistence of a species both at the local and global scale. Thus changes in the abiotic environment experienced during larval and early benthic development can have profound effects on the development and ultimately dynamics of populations of marine invertebrates. The effects of elevated temperature and pCO2 in line with future predictions of anthropogenic climate change, ocean warming and ocean acidification (OA), on the survivorship and growth during early development of marine invertebrates is beginning to be understood, yet the underlying physiological ontogeny …

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Understanding Sediment Mobilisation Under Plunging Waves Within A Gravel Beach, Ian Phillip Ball Jan 2013

Understanding Sediment Mobilisation Under Plunging Waves Within A Gravel Beach, Ian Phillip Ball

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Numerical modelling currently cannot accurately reproduce the onshore-offshore transport asymmetry observed on gravel beaches. The role of the impulsive pressure response generated by plunging waves has been hypothesised to aid mobilisation of sediment, and thus may contribute to transport asymmetry. This process is not currently included in models. Laboratory tests were conducted across a range of wave conditions to investigate the role of plunging wave-breaker impacts on the mobilisation of sediment of gravel beaches. Pressure records were obtained at positions close to the plunging impact locations, to monitor the localised pressures that lead to sediment mobilisation. The correction of the …

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Signalling And Behaviour Of Globodera Pallida In The Rhizosphere Of The Trap Crop Solanum Sisymbriifolium, Ayano Sasaki-Crawley Jan 2013

Signalling And Behaviour Of Globodera Pallida In The Rhizosphere Of The Trap Crop Solanum Sisymbriifolium, Ayano Sasaki-Crawley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, are economically important pests of potato (Solanum tuberosum) crops in potato growing regions worldwide. Integrated management is under threat, with effective nematicides increasingly being withdrawn on environmental and health grounds. Alternative strategies are urgently needed and trap cropping could be one of them. The non-tuber-bearing Solanum sisymbriifolium is regarded as an effective trap crop for PCN with strong hatching ability and immunity to PCN infection and has been used in the UK and The Netherlands. However, its mode of action is unknown. In order to shed light on the mode of …

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The Ecology, Distribution And Spawning Behaviour Of The Commercially Important Common Cuttlefish (Sepia Officinalis) In The Inshore Waters Of The English Channel, Isobel Bloor Jan 2013

The Ecology, Distribution And Spawning Behaviour Of The Commercially Important Common Cuttlefish (Sepia Officinalis) In The Inshore Waters Of The English Channel, Isobel Bloor

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Over the last 50 years there has been a rapid increase in global landings of cephalopods (octopus, squid and cuttlefish). In European waters, cuttlefish are among the most important commercial cephalopod resources and within the North-East Atlantic, the English Channel supports the largest cuttlefish fishery, with the common cuttlefish, Sepia o cinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), dominating landings. S. o cinalis has a short (2 year) life cycle in the English Channel that is punctuated by seasonal migrations inshore and o shore. Using a combination of di erent métiers including beam trawling, otter trawling and coastal trapping, this shared fisheries resource is …

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Energy Productivity And Efficiency Of Maize Accounting For The Choice Of Growing Season And Environmental Factors: An Empirical Analysis From Bangladesh, S Rahman, Ms Rahman Jan 2013

Energy Productivity And Efficiency Of Maize Accounting For The Choice Of Growing Season And Environmental Factors: An Empirical Analysis From Bangladesh, S Rahman, Ms Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The paper evaluates sustainability of maize cultivation in Bangladesh in terms of energy use while taking into account factors affecting choice of the growing season and farmers' production environment using a sample selection framework applied to stochastic frontier models. Results reveal that the probability of growing winter maize is influenced positively by gross return, irrigation, subsistence pressure, soil suitability and temperature variability whereas extension contact influences choice negatively. Significant differences exist between winter and summer maize regarding yield, specific energy, net energy balance, energy use efficiency and technical energy efficiency although both systems are highly sustainable and efficient. The energy …

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Predicting Malaysian Palm Oil Price Using Extreme Value Theory, K Chuangchid, S Sriboonchitta, S Rahman, A Wiboonpongse Jan 2013

Predicting Malaysian Palm Oil Price Using Extreme Value Theory, K Chuangchid, S Sriboonchitta, S Rahman, A Wiboonpongse

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This paper uses the extreme value theory (EVT) to predict extreme price events of Malaysian palm oil in the future, based on monthly futures price data for a 25 year period (mid-1986 to mid-2011). Model diagnostic has confirmed non-normal distribution of palm oil price data, thereby justifying the use of EVT. Two principal approaches to model extreme values – the Block Maxima (BM) and Peak-OverThreshold (POT) models – were used. Both models revealed that the palm oil price will peak at an incremental rate in the next 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year periods. The price growth level in …

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Flap Gate Farm: From Venice Lagoon Defense To Resonating Wave Energy Production. Part 1: Natural Modes, P. Sammarco, S. Michele, M D’Errico Jan 2013

Flap Gate Farm: From Venice Lagoon Defense To Resonating Wave Energy Production. Part 1: Natural Modes, P. Sammarco, S. Michele, M D’Errico

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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A Robust Sound Perception Model Suitable For Neuromorphic Implementation., Martin Coath, Sadique Sheik, Elisabetta Chicca, Giacomo Indiveri, Susan L. Denham, Thomas Wennekers Jan 2013

A Robust Sound Perception Model Suitable For Neuromorphic Implementation., Martin Coath, Sadique Sheik, Elisabetta Chicca, Giacomo Indiveri, Susan L. Denham, Thomas Wennekers

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We have recently demonstrated the emergence of dynamic feature sensitivity through exposure to formative stimuli in a real-time neuromorphic system implementing a hybrid analog/digital network of spiking neurons. This network, inspired by models of auditory processing in mammals, includes several mutually connected layers with distance-dependent transmission delays and learning in the form of spike timing dependent plasticity, which effects stimulus-driven changes in the network connectivity. Here we present results that demonstrate that the network is robust to a range of variations in the stimulus pattern, such as are found in naturalistic stimuli and neural responses. This robustness is a property …

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Nucleon Generalized Form Factors With Twisted Mass Fermions, C Alexandrou, M Constantinou, V Drach, K Jansen, C Kallidonis, G Koutsou Jan 2013

Nucleon Generalized Form Factors With Twisted Mass Fermions, C Alexandrou, M Constantinou, V Drach, K Jansen, C Kallidonis, G Koutsou

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We present results on the nucleon form factors, momentum fraction and helicity moment for Nf = 2 and Nf = 2+1+1 twisted mass fermions for a number of lattice volumes and lattice spacings. First results for a new Nf = 2 ensemble at the physical pion mass are also included. The implications of these results on the spin content of the nucleon are discussed taking into account the disconnected contributions at one pion mass.

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Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Uptake Across The Isolated Perfused Intestine Of Rainbow Trout: Physiological Mechanisms And A Comparison With Caco-2 Cells, Aliaa Rasheed Al-Jubory Jan 2013

Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Uptake Across The Isolated Perfused Intestine Of Rainbow Trout: Physiological Mechanisms And A Comparison With Caco-2 Cells, Aliaa Rasheed Al-Jubory

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The wide use of nanoscale materials in food and health care products raises the concern of their possible uptake across the gastrointestinal tract, but very limited data are available on their uptake kinetics, and the potential hazards for humans. In this study, the uptake mechanism of titanium dioxide (TiO2) across the isolated perfused fish intestine and human intestinal Caco-2 cells were evaluated. The in vitro preparation of the whole gut sac and the isolated perfused intestine of rainbow trout were performed using both bulk and nano TiO2 in a concentration of 1 mg l-1 for up to 4 h. The …

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Placing Livestock In Landscape Studies: Pastures New Or Out To Graze?, Jessica Sellick, Richard Yarwood Jan 2013

Placing Livestock In Landscape Studies: Pastures New Or Out To Graze?, Jessica Sellick, Richard Yarwood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

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The Impact Of Ocean Acidification, Increased Seawater Temperature And A Bacterial Challenge On The Immune Response And Physiology Of The Blue Mussel, Mytilus Edulis., Rob Ellis Jan 2013

The Impact Of Ocean Acidification, Increased Seawater Temperature And A Bacterial Challenge On The Immune Response And Physiology Of The Blue Mussel, Mytilus Edulis., Rob Ellis

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Anthropogenic activities are fundamentally altering the chemistry of the world’s oceans. Many of these modifications could have a significant impact on the health of marine organisms. Yet, despite being proposed as one of the most significant threats that marine ecosystems face, to date very little is known about the impact of anthropogenic climate change, and ocean acidification in particular, on host defence. The aims of this thesis are to investigate the impact of environmental stressors on the invertebrate immune response, providing empirical data on how anthropogenically induced stressors will impact the invertebrate immune system and how this will impact organism …

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Scattering Properties Of Suspended Particles, Emlyn John Davies Jan 2013

Scattering Properties Of Suspended Particles, Emlyn John Davies

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Effective monitoring and modelling of the marine environment is of importance to both the general public and the scientific community, but relies on the ability to obtain accurate measurements of suspended particle characteristics. Many instruments for measuring particles rely on optical and acoustic scattering from the particles and use this information to infer a particle size and concentration. However, assumptions such as spherical particles of a known composition are widely used, both in measurement technology and in numerical modelling. Various imaging techniques have shown great variability in the shape, size and composition of marine particles when measured within their natural …

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Domestic Source Of Phosphorus To Sewage Treatment Works, Sean Comber, Michael Gardner, Karyn Georges, David Blackwood, Daniel Gilmour Jan 2013

Domestic Source Of Phosphorus To Sewage Treatment Works, Sean Comber, Michael Gardner, Karyn Georges, David Blackwood, Daniel Gilmour

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

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A Review Of Bast Fibres And Their Composites. Part 3: Modelling, John Summerscales, Amandeep Virk, Wayne Hall Jan 2013

A Review Of Bast Fibres And Their Composites. Part 3: Modelling, John Summerscales, Amandeep Virk, Wayne Hall

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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The Effect Of Contextual Cues On The Encoding Of Motor Memories., Ian S. Howard, Daniel M. Wolpert, David W. Franklin Jan 2013

The Effect Of Contextual Cues On The Encoding Of Motor Memories., Ian S. Howard, Daniel M. Wolpert, David W. Franklin

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Several studies have shown that sensory contextual cues can reduce the interference observed during learning of opposing force fields. However, because each study examined a small set of cues, often in a unique paradigm, the relative efficacy of different sensory contextual cues is unclear. In the present study we quantify how seven contextual cues, some investigated previously and some novel, affect the formation and recall of motor memories. Subjects made movements in a velocity-dependent curl field, with direction varying randomly from trial to trial but always associated with a unique contextual cue. Linking field direction to the cursor or background …

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The Effects Of Environmental Conditions On Quorum Sensing And Community Interactions In Coral-Associated Bacteria, Emma Ransome Jan 2013

The Effects Of Environmental Conditions On Quorum Sensing And Community Interactions In Coral-Associated Bacteria, Emma Ransome

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The coral holobiont contains diverse communities of bacteria that play a role in the maintenance of coral ecosystems, however little is known about the structure and conservation of the host-bacterial relationship. Declines in coral ecosystems have been partly attributed to outbreaks of disease in tropical and sub-tropical regions, which have been linked to increasing temperatures. Bacteria are thought to play a role in some of these diseases, however little is understood about the mechanisms behind disease progression or the series of events involved in the shifts of coral-associated bacteria from conserved, potentially beneficial communities to those including potential pathogens. Investigations …

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A Systematic Approach For Human Communication, James Wilmot Jensen Jan 2013

A Systematic Approach For Human Communication, James Wilmot Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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