Human-Animal Hybrids and Chimeras: What’s in a Name?

This paper seeks to analyse public opinion and understanding of human-animal hybrid and chimera research; an area in which there are particularly strong opinions and reactions, but perhaps relatively little understanding or effective communication with the public. The paper will begin with a look at the mythological, historical and science-fiction connotations of these sorts of terms, and where the negative public opinions may have originated. The extent of this sort of research, and what precisely is covered by the various terms (such as xenotransplantation, transgenics, hybrids, and chimeras), will be examined. The case of admixed embryos in the UK will be examined as a case study in how sensationalist reporting on both sides of the debate can lead to regulatory difficulties. Finally, this paper will look at how this might more generally affect public policy and regulation in the UK

Aspects of Gold Recovery from an Indigenous Ore

This project involved the investigation into the basic electrochemistry of the thiourea-formamidine disulphide redox couple and an estimation of the formal potential, Eo1 for the couple. By carrying out optimisation experiments on the leaching of gold from an ore sample from the Avoca mine in Co. Wicklow, the optimum leaching conditions were determined for maximum gold extraction. The effects of various organic and inorganic species on the adsorption of gold onto activated carbon and modified peat were investigated with the use of factorial designed experiments. The Langmuir Isotherm model was applied to estimate the capacity of the carbon for these species. Finally, a quick reverse-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography technique was developed for the estimation of the thiourea and formamidine disulphide in leach slurrie

Multicopter Dynamics in Small Uninhabited Aerial Systems

Quadcopters and other multicopters were one of the first considered vertical take-off and landing vehicle configurations for heavier than air transport in the early 20th century. After the success of Oehmichen’s No. 2 Quadcopter and de Bothezat Quadcopter in the 1920s, multicopter designs slowly faded until a reemergence into the small unmanned aerial systems realm as toys. With the beginning of the 21st century, quadcopters have become a mainstream object with many commercial vehicles available for personal or professional usage. However, since the reemergence, the academic work on these small multirotor UAS as remained largely separated from the academic work on larger manned vertical take off and landing systems. This thesis works to review fundamental theory from basic dynamics and rudimentary aerodynamics of helicopter flight before analyzing the current state of small multicopter modeling and control to identify weaknesses in current approaches. This work also uses flow visualization and ground effect testing to help illuminate some multicopter aeromechanic and vehicle dynamics couplings that are not currently being observed from current quadcopter models. These observations can be used in the development of future robust controllers for these multirotor platforms

Feature Aggregation in Joint Sound Classification and Localization Neural Networks

This study addresses the application of deep learning techniques in joint sound signal classification and localization networks. Current state-of-the-art sound source localization deep learning networks lack feature aggregation within their architecture. Feature aggregation enhances model performance by enabling the consolidation of information from different feature scales, thereby improving feature robustness and invariance. This is particularly important in SSL networks, which must differentiate direct and indirect acoustic signals. To address this gap, we adapt feature aggregation techniques from computer vision neural networks to signal detection neural networks. Additionally, we propose the Scale Encoding Network (SEN) for feature aggregation to encode features from various scales, compressing the network for more computationally efficient aggregation. To evaluate the efficacy of feature aggregation in SSL networks, we integrated the following computer vision feature aggregation sub-architectures into a SSL control architecture: Path Aggregation Network (PANet), Weighted Bi-directional Feature Pyramid Network (BiFPN), and SEN. These sub-architectures were evaluated using two metrics for signal classification and two metrics for direction-of-arrival regression. PANet and BiFPN are established aggregators in computer vision models, while the proposed SEN is a more compact aggregator. The results suggest that models incorporating feature aggregations outperformed the control model, the Sound Event Localization and Detection network (SELDnet), in both sound signal classification and localization. The feature aggregation techniques enhance the performance of sound detection neural networks, particularly in direction-of-arrival regression

Autonomous search of real-life environments combining dynamical system-based path planning and unsupervised learning

In recent years, advancements have been made towards the goal of using chaotic coverage path planners for autonomous search and traversal of spaces with limited environmental cues. However, the state of this field is still in its infancy as there has been little experimental work done. Current experimental work has not developed robust methods to satisfactorily address the immediate set of problems a chaotic coverage path planner needs to overcome in order to scan realistic environments within reasonable coverage times. These immediate problems are as follows: (1) an obstacle avoidance technique which generally maintains the kinematic efficiency of the robot's motion, (2) a means to spread chaotic trajectories across the environment (especially crucial for large and/or complex-shaped environments) that need to be covered, and (3) a real-time coverage calculation technique that is accurate and independent of cell size. This paper aims to progress the field by proposing algorithms that address all of these problems by providing techniques for obstacle avoidance, chaotic trajectory dispersal, and accurate coverage calculation. The algorithms produce generally smooth chaotic trajectories and provide high scanning coverage of environments. These algorithms were created within the ROS framework and make up a newly developed chaotic path planning application. The performance of this application was comparable to that of a conventional optimal path planner. The performance tests were carried out in environments of various sizes, shapes, and obstacle densities, both in real-life and Gazebo simulations

Early surgery versus initial conservative treatment in patients with traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage [STITCH(Trauma)] : the first randomized trial

Acknowledgements This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 07/37/16). The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the HTA programme, NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Tekniska system för att förhindra och begränsa anlagd brand– Slutrapport

The project “Arson - a societal problem” has been running with funding from a number of players since 2008. The project consists of a number of sub-projects and the work presented in this report was conducted within the sub-project: "Technical- and risk-based methods to prevent and mitigate the consequences of arson". The goal and purpose of the project was to develop and evaluate technical systems and engineering solutions to prevent and mitigate the consequences of arson in school buildings. The project has been reported in four interim reports. The main results of these interim reports and their findings have been summarized in this final report

Surgical trial in traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (STITCH(Trauma)) : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Eliciting perspectives on remote healthcare delivery from service users with psychosis in the community: a cross-sectional survey study

IntroductionThe transition towards remote healthcare has been rapidly accelerated in recent years due to a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, however, few studies have explored service users' views of remote mental healthcare, particularly in community mental health settings.MethodsAs part of a larger study concerned with the development of a remotely delivered psychosocial intervention, a survey was conducted with service users with psychosis (N = 200) from six NHS trusts across England to gain cross-sectional data about service users' opinions and attitudes towards remote interventions and explore how digital access varies across different demographic groups and geographical localities.ResultsThe majority of service users had access to technological devices and a quiet space to receive care. Age was a key factor in motivation to engage with remote care as older participants had less access to technological devices and the internet, and reported less confidence to learn how to use new technologies compared to younger participants. Differences in access and attitudes towards remote care were found across the different geographical localities. Over half of the participants (53.1%) preferred a hybrid model (i.e., mixture of face-to-face and remotely delivered treatment), with only 4.5% preferring remote treatment exclusively. Factors that both encourage and deter service users from engaging with remote care were identified.ConclusionsThe findings of this study provide important information about the environmental and clinical barriers that prevent, or limit, the uptake of remotely delivered care for people with psychotic disorders. Although service users often have the ability and capacity to receive remote care, providers need to be cognisant of factors which may exacerbate digital exclusion and negatively impact the therapeutic alliance

Etude paramétrique expérimentale de la stabilité de colonnes en BLC lors d'essais sous feu naturel incluant une phase de refroidissement

peer reviewedThis paper is about the behaviour of glue laminated timber (GLT) columns subjected to physically based fires which include a decay phase. A summary is first given of the results of numerical analyses, of furnace tests made in a controlled environment following the parametric fire model of Eurocode 1 and of a series of seven tests made in a naturally vented compartment with wood cribs used as fire load. This paper then presents in detail the results of five additional tests performed in the same fire compartment with some variation of the parameters compared to the previously presented series. One test conducted with the same 280 × 280 mm² section as the previous series but with lower compartment temperatures, led to collapse after 45 minutes, not yet in the decay phase. Three tests were made on an increased section of 400 × 400 mm². These three specimens survived for more than 11 hours but collapsed thereafter due to localised zones of increased charring and combustion, essentially at the base of the columns. The final test investigated the effect of fire service intervention. In this test on the 280 × 280 mm² section, the column did not collapse owing to the intervention of fire fighters after 35 minutes of fire