RUR53: an Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Navigation, Recognition and Manipulation

This paper proposes RUR53: an Unmanned Ground Vehicle able to autonomously navigate through, identify, and reach areas of interest; and there recognize, localize, and manipulate work tools to perform complex manipulation tasks. The proposed contribution includes a modular software architecture where each module solves specific sub-tasks and that can be easily enlarged to satisfy new requirements. Included indoor and outdoor tests demonstrate the capability of the proposed system to autonomously detect a target object (a panel) and precisely dock in front of it while avoiding obstacles. They show it can autonomously recognize and manipulate target work tools (i.e., wrenches and valve stems) to accomplish complex tasks (i.e., use a wrench to rotate a valve stem). A specific case study is described where the proposed modular architecture lets easy switch to a semi-teleoperated mode. The paper exhaustively describes description of both the hardware and software setup of RUR53, its performance when tests at the 2017 Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge, and the lessons we learned when participating at this competition, where we ranked third in the Gran Challenge in collaboration with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Lincoln (UK).Comment: This article has been accepted for publication in Advanced Robotics, published by Taylor & Franci

Public Perception of Invasive Amphibians: Using citizen science to inform management of invasive non-native species

Invasive non-native species (INNS) can cause problems - impacting the environment, economy and people's lives. Including the public in research through citizen science can engage communities and assist scientists in gaining access to sites for INNS management. Concerns have been raised regarding the validity of using citizen science data in research. This report aims to address those concerns to ensure that data of suitable quality is generated. A questionnaire conducted in an area known to have both invasive and native amphibians posed questions on participants connectedness to nature (using the NR-6 scale), their perception of INNS and opinions on INNS management (using the specially designed INNS perception scale). They also provided information on: ponds in their gardens; pond management; amphibian presence/absence; confidence in identification. Participants had NR-6 scores at the higher end of the scale, suggesting strong biophilic connections and environmental views and suggest respondents may exhibit more self-reported environmental behaviour. Respondents demonstrated good knowledge of INNS impacts. INNS perception scores were at the higher end of the scale and participants agreed that INNS should be controlled, though there was no significant correlation between these results and respondents’ NR-6 scores. Connection to nature can improve species identification skills though confidence in amphibian identification was not significantly different whether or not respondents reported amphibians as present. Respondents’ rural location suggests more frequent exposure to the natural environment and a stronger connection than those in urban areas. The older demographic implies more available time to connect with the environment than younger people not spending as much time outdoors. In summary, providing consideration is given to the target audience, framing of questions and data verification, citizen science can be a valuable tool in engaging communities and providing data for use in scientific research

A grounded theory study of the experiences of clinical psychologists working in crisis resolution and home treatment teams

There has been a rapid development and implementation of Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams (CRHT) in the United Kingdom over the past decade. The available research studies of this service provision to date have largely focussed on issues related to the ‘outputs’ of CRHT, for example cost efficacy and the impact on admission rates. There is no available research on the experiences of clinical psychologists within CRHT. This is despite the fact that it would seem that research exploring the experiences of clinical psychologists in CRHT is important, as working in a new area of service provision may present specific challenges. An understanding of the nature of these challenges is considered important in order to support clinical psychologists in these settings, and to sustain and improve service delivery. This study presents a qualitative exploration of clinical psychologists’ experiences of working in a CRHT. Eleven clinical psychologists were interviewed about their perceptions of working within CRHT, their relationships with other professionals and their experiences of working with service users in ‘crisis’. The Grounded Theory approach was employed to analyse participants’ accounts. Three broad themes relating to ‘Psychological and Clinical Work’, ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Positive and Negative Aspects of CRHT Working’ were identified in the study. The emergent themes are compared to the wider literature on clinical psychologists’ experiences of working in teams, and working with service users in crisis. The findings have a range of implications for clinical practice in CRHT, service development and future research.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Biochemical and molecular studies of the polyunsaturated fatty acid desaturation pathway in fish

Fish have an absolute dietary requirement for certain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) termed “essential fatty acids” (EFA) that include members of both the n-6 and n-3 series typified by linoleic acid, 18:2n-6, and α-linolenic acid, 18:3n-3. However, the biologically active forms of EFA are generally the C20 and C22 metabolites of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3, viz. 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3. Some fish species can convert C18 PUFA to the C20 and C22 PUFA through a series of alternating desaturation and chain elongation reactions mediated by microsomal systems containing elongases and Δ6 and Δ5 fatty acid desaturases. In species that cannot perform these conversions, the C20 and C22 PUFA themselves are dietary EFA and their C18 homologues do not satisfy EFA requirements. The extent to which the foregoing statements apply quantitatively to a given fish species varies widely. Therefore, a vital area in lipid nutrition in fish is the provision of sufficient amounts of the correct EFA to satisfy the requirements for normal growth and development, requirements that can vary quantitatively during the life of the fish and are particularly important factors in larval marine fish. This paper reviews the work on defining and characterising the fatty acid desaturation and elongation pathway in fish. Biochemical studies have been advanced by the use of cell cultures which have elucidated key parts of the pathway. Thus, the presence of the so-called Sprecher shunt, where 22:6n-3 is produced from 20:5n-3 through two successive elongations and a Δ6 desaturase followed by peroxisomal chain shortening, was demonstrated in trout. Similarly, the block in the pathway in marine and/or piscivorous fish could be due to either a deficiency of C18-20 elongase or Δ5 desaturase and this varies between different marine species. Recent work has focussed on the molecular biology of the pathway with the cloning of fatty acid desaturases and elongases from a variety of fish species. Zebrafish have been used as a model species and a unique desaturase possessing both Δ6 and Δ5 activity along with an elongase with very high C18-20 activity have been cloned and characterised. Understanding this pathway is of increased importance due to the current dependence of salmonid and marine fish aquaculture on fish oil, the supply of which is becoming increasingly limited and unsustainable, necessitating the use in fish feeds of sustainable plant oils, rich in C18 PUFA, but devoid of C20 and C22 PUFA

Expression of RUNX1 correlates with poor patient prognosis in triple negative breast cancer

The RUNX1 transcription factor is widely recognised for its tumour suppressor effects in leukaemia. Recently a putative link to breast cancer has started to emerge, however the function of RUNX1 in breast cancer is still unknown. To investigate if RUNX1 expression was important to clinical outcome in primary breast tumours a tissue microarray (TMA) containing biopsies from 483 patients with primary operable invasive ductal breast cancer was stained by immunohistochemistry. RUNX1 was associated with progesterone receptor (PR)-positive tumours (P<0.05), more tumour CD4+(P<0.05) and CD8+(P<0.01) T-lymphocytic infiltrate, increased tumour CD138+plasma cell (P<0.01) and more CD68+macrophage infiltrate (P<0.001). RUNX1 expression did not influence outcome of oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive or HER2-positive disease, however on univariate analysis a high RUNX1 protein was significantly associated with poorer cancer-specific survival in patients with ER-negative (P<0.05) and with triple negative (TN) invasive breast cancer (P<0.05). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis of cancer-specific survival showed a trend towards significance in ER-negative patients (P<0.1) and was significant in triple negative patients (P<0.05). Of relevance, triple negative breast cancer currently lacks good biomarkers and patients with this subtype do not benefit from the option of targeted therapy unlike patients with ER-positive or HER2-positive disease. Using multivariate analysis RUNX1 was identified as an independent prognostic marker in the triple negative subgroup. Overall, our study identifies RUNX1 as a new prognostic indicator correlating with poor prognosis specifically in the triple negative subtype of human breast cancer

A phenomenological description of BslA assemblies across multiple length scales

Intrinsically interfacially active proteins have garnered considerable interest recently owing to their potential use in a range of materials applications. Notably, the fungal hydrophobins are known to form robust and well-organized surface layers with high mechanical strength. Recently, it was shown that the bacterial biofilm protein BslA also forms highly elastic surface layers at interfaces. Here we describe several self-assembled structures formed by BslA, both at interfaces and in bulk solution, over a range of length scales spanning from nanometres to millimetres. First, we observe transiently stable and highly elongated air bubbles formed in agitated BslA samples. We study their behaviour in a range of solution conditions and hypothesize that their dissipation is a consequence of the slow adsorption kinetics of BslA to an air–water interface. Second, we describe elongated tubules formed by BslA interfacial films when shear stresses are applied in both a Langmuir trough and a rheometer. These structures bear a striking resemblance, although much larger in scale, to the elongated air bubbles formed during agitation. Taken together, this knowledge will better inform the conditions and applications of how BslA can be used in the stabilization of multi-phase materials. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Soft interfacial materials: from fundamentals to formulation’

A grounded theory study of the experiences of clinical psychologists working in crisis resolution and home treatment teams

There has been a rapid development and implementation of Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams (CRHT) in the United Kingdom over the past decade. The available research studies of this service provision to date have largely focussed on issues related to the ‘outputs’ of CRHT, for example cost efficacy and the impact on admission rates. There is no available research on the experiences of clinical psychologists within CRHT. This is despite the fact that it would seem that research exploring the experiences of clinical psychologists in CRHT is important, as working in a new area of service provision may present specific challenges. An understanding of the nature of these challenges is considered important in order to support clinical psychologists in these settings, and to sustain and improve service delivery. This study presents a qualitative exploration of clinical psychologists’ experiences of working in a CRHT. Eleven clinical psychologists were interviewed about their perceptions of working within CRHT, their relationships with other professionals and their experiences of working with service users in ‘crisis’. The Grounded Theory approach was employed to analyse participants’ accounts. Three broad themes relating to ‘Psychological and Clinical Work’, ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Positive and Negative Aspects of CRHT Working’ were identified in the study. The emergent themes are compared to the wider literature on clinical psychologists’ experiences of working in teams, and working with service users in crisis. The findings have a range of implications for clinical practice in CRHT, service development and future research