Automated bioacoustics:methods in ecology and conservation and their potential for animal welfare monitoring

Vocalizations carry emotional, physiological and individual information. This suggests that they may serve as potentially useful indicators for inferring animal welfare. At the same time, automated methods for analysing and classifying sound have developed rapidly, particularly in the fields of ecology, conservation and sound scene classification. These methods are already used to automatically classify animal vocalizations, for example, in identifying animal species and estimating numbers of individuals. Despite this potential, they have not yet found widespread application in animal welfare monitoring. In this review, we first discuss current trends in sound analysis for ecology, conservation and sound classification. Following this, we detail the vocalizations produced by three of the most important farm livestock species: chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and cattle (Bos taurus). Finally, we describe how these methods can be applied to monitor animal welfare with new potential for developing automated methods for large-scale farming

Characterising Domestic Electricity Consumption Patterns by Dwelling and Occupant Socio-economic Variables: an Irish Case Study

This paper examines the influence of dwelling and occupant characteristics on domestic electricity consumption patterns by analysing data obtained from a smart metering survey of a representative cross section of approximately 4,200 domestic Irish dwellings. A multiple linear regression model was applied to four parameters: total electricity consumption, maximum demand, load factor and time of use (ToU) of maximum electricity demand for a number of different dwelling and occupant socio-economic variables. In particular, dwelling type, number of bedrooms, head of household (HoH) age, household composition, social class, water heating and cooking type all had a significant influence over total domestic electricity consumption. Maximum electricity demand was significantly influenced by household composition as well as water heating and cooking type. A strong relationship also existed between maximum demand and most household appliances but, in particular, tumble dryers, dishwashers and electric cookers had the greatest influence over this parameter. Time of use (ToU) for maximum electricity demand was found to be strongly influenced by occupant characteristics, HoH age and household composition. Younger head of households were more inclined to use electricity later in the evening than older occupants. The appliance that showed the greatest potential for shifting demand away from peak time use was the dishwasher

Unleash the power within

There is an extensive body of research addressing dyslexia, the challenge of dyslexia in formal education, and corrective actions to enable a person with dyslexia to engage in mainstream learning. However, there is little commentary on the learning talents of people who think through the vision and creativity of the dyslexic. This paper will explore the creative talents and potential of people with dyslexia. This paper suggests that dyslexics are one of a range of complex intelligence types needing to be engaged equally in the learning process. By engaging complex intelligence types more effectively in learning would indicate our Celebration of Diverse Approaches to Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Education expressly has a mission in shaping community citizens. To be an active citizen is about developing the cognitive and social skills of participation in all aspects of our society. Yet learners with dyslexia often have negative experiences of education where they have to conform to a systematic method of teaching. This paper will challenge the notion that dyslexics are a marginalised group who need help to engage in mainstream learning. It challenges the conference to realise that dyslexic learners and teachers are a resource of creativity that demonstrate ‘another’ diverse complexity in teaching and learning. Therefore this paper will suggest that the dyslexic needs to be valued as a teacher, or a learner, with an alternative mainstream approach that should be celebrated as a learning diversity particularly in higher education. Two of the authors are diagnosed dyslexics working in Community Education and out-reach education work. They will present their case study of how they now celebrate their diverse approach to learning and they will propose to the conference the potential of those gifted with dyslexia

A Clustering Approach to Domestic Electricity Load Profile Characterisation Using Smart Metering Data

The availability of increasing amounts of data to electricity utilities through the implementation of domestic smart metering campaigns has meant that traditional ways of analysing meter reading information such as descriptive statistics has become increasingly difficult. Key characteristic information to the data is often lost, particularly when averaging or aggregation processes are applied. Therefore, other methods of analysing data need to be used so that this information is not lost. One such method which lends itself to analysing large amounts of information is data mining. This allows for the data to be segmented before such aggregation processes are applied. Moreover, segmentation allows for dimension reduction thus enabling easier manipulation of the data. Clustering methods have been used in the electricity industry for some time. However, their use at a domestic level has been somewhat limited to date. This paper investigates three of the most widely used unsupervised clustering methods: k-means, k-medoid and Self Organising Maps (SOM). The best performing technique is then evaluated in order to segment individual households into clusters based on their pattern of electricity use across the day. The process is repeated for each day over a six month period in order to characterise the diurnal, intra-daily and seasonal variations of domestic electricity demand. Based on these results a series of Profile Classes (PC’s) are presented that represent common patterns of electricity use within the home. Finally, each PC is linked to household characteristics by applying a multi-nominal logistic regression to the data. As a result, households and the manner with which they use electricity in the home can be characterised based on individual customer attributes

THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF COMPUTATIONAL MULTI-AGENT MODELS FOR INVESTIGATING THE CULTURAL TRANSMISSION AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION OF HUMPBACK WHALE SONG

Full version: Access restricted permanently due to 3rd party copyright restrictions. Restriction set on 06.07.2018 by SE, Doctoral CollegeThree different multi-agent models are presented in this thesis, each with a different goal. The first model investigates the possible role migratory routes may have on song evolution and revolution. The second model investigates what social networks could theoretically facilitate song sharing in a population of whales. The third model implements a formal grammar algorithm in order to investigate how the hierarchal structure of the song may affect song evolution. Finally, the thesis attempts to reconnect the models with their origins and discusses how these models could potentially be adapted for composing music. Through the development of these different models, a number of findings are highlighted. The first model reveals that feeding ground sizes may be key locations where song learning from other population may be facilitated. The second model shows that small world social networks facilitate a high degree of agents converging on a single song, similar to what is observed in wild populations. The final model shows that the ability to recognise hierarchy in a sequence coupled with simple production errors, can lead to songs gradually changing over the course of time, while still retaining their hierarchal structure

The views and experiences of midwifery academics regarding LGBTQ+ health education in pre-registration programmes in the United Kingdom and Ireland: Qualitative findings from a mixed-methods study

AimThe purpose of this study was to identify the current LGBTQ+ health content within midwifery pre-registration programmes and identity education best practice and innovation.BackgroundThere have been significant developments in some countries in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ people are and do become parents and require access to maternity services. Yet some report heteronormative assumptions, negative and discriminatory attitudes from midwives that results in barriers to service access and feelings of exclusion.DesignThis mixed-methods study involved a quantitative and qualitative design. The qualitative findings are reported here.MethodsAll 135 Schools of Nursing and Midwifery across the United Kingdom and Ireland were invited to participate in an online survey and qualitative interview. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data from 29 survey responses and seven midwifery follow-up interviews were conducted.ResultsThree themes identified following data analysis: (i) preparing midwifery students for practice; (ii) the diverse family unit; and (iii) safety, privacy and respect.ConclusionsThe findings provide insights into the challenges of meeting the education needs of midwifery students, with an opportunity to develop and implement a curriculum that is reflective of the needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ people within pre-registration midwifery programmes

Fake anti-malarials: start with the facts.

This meeting report presents the key findings and discussion points of a 1-day meeting entitled 'Fake anti-malarials: start with the facts' held on 28th May 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland, to disseminate the findings of the artemisinin combination therapy consortium's drug quality programme. The teams purchased over 10,000 samples, using representative sampling approaches, from six malaria endemic countries: Equatorial Guinea (Bioko Island), Cambodia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania. Laboratory analyses of these samples showed that falsified anti-malarials (<8 %) were found in just two of the countries, whilst substandard artemisinin-based combinations were present in all six countries and, artemisinin-based monotherapy tablets are still available in some places despite the fact that the WHO has urged regulatory authorities in malaria-endemic countries to take measures to halt the production and marketing of these oral monotherapies since 2007. This report summarizes the presentations that reviewed the public health impact of falsified and substandard drugs, sampling strategies, techniques for drug quality analysis, approaches to strengthen health systems capacity for the surveillance of drug quality, and the ensuing discussion points from the dissemination meeting

Toward a wiki guide for obstetrics and gynecology trainees in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: The present paper describes the implementation of a novel, web-based, comprehensive national information hub for trainees in obstetrics and gynecology in Ireland. This was a unique development in the context of an entire medical specialty and was aligned with the communication strategy of the governing professional body. To date, trainee doctors working in Ireland undergo an incoherent and inconsistent new-staff induction and handover. In the healthcare setting, staff integration can have a major impact on the quality of patient care. METHODS: A free wiki software platform (PBworks) was used for the website, and freely available software (Google Analytics) was used to determine user interaction and level of engagement. RESULTS: In the first year, 442 user visits were recorded. The average duration of site visits was 4minutes 39seconds, which compared favorably with the 4-minute duration for visits to Wikipedia. CONCLUSION: The project was successful as a proof concept and in practice. Other medical faculties have expressed an interest in adopting the concept and developing it for their trainees. The concept is widely applicable to other countries, with the negligible cost relevant to resource-poor areas

Towards the ATS STEM conceptual framework

This report (Report #5) was written as part of a research project titled, Assessment of Transversal Skills in STEM (ATS STEM). The project is funded by Erasmus+ (Call reference: EACEA/28/2017 - European policy experimentations in the fields of Education and Training, and Youth led by high-level public authorities). The development of the ideas, concepts and understandings presented in this final report is visually synthesised in Towards the ATS STEM Conceptual Framework. Towards the ATS STEM Conceptual Framework aims to inform the classroom practices of integrated STEM education topics and their assessment. Educators can benefit from such a conceptual framework encapsulating the key ideas from the literature and that helps to inform their understanding and subsequent classroom practice

Impact of Tumour Epithelial Subtype on Circulating MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer Patients

While a range of miRNAs have been shown to be dysregulated in the circulation of patients with breast cancer, little is known about the relationship between circulating levels and tumour characteristics. The aim of this study was to analyse alterations in circulating miRNA expression during tumour progression in a murine model of breast cancer, and to detemine the clinical relevance of identified miRNAs at both tissue and circulating level in patient samples. Athymic nude mice received a subcutaneous or mammary fat pad injection of MDA-MB-231 cells. Blood sampling was performed at weeks 1, 3 and 6 following tumour induction, and microRNA extracted. MicroRNA microArray analysis was performed comparing samples harvested at week 1 to those collected at week 6 from the same animals. Significantly altered miRNAs were validated across all murine samples by RQ-PCR (n = 45). Three miRNAs of interest were then quantified in the circulation(n = 166) and tissue (n = 100) of breast cancer patients and healthy control individuals. MicroArray-based analysis of murine blood samples revealed levels of 77 circulating microRNAs to be changed during disease progression, with 44 demonstrating changes .2-fold. Validation across all samples revealed miR-138 to be significantly elevated in the circulation of animals during disease development, with miR-191 and miR-106a levels significantly decreased. Analysis of patient tissue and blood samples revealed miR-138 to be significantly up-regulated in the circulation of patients with breast cancer, with no change observed in the tissue setting. While not significantly changed overall in breast cancer patients compared to controls, circulating miR-106a and miR-191 were significantly decreased in patients with basal breast cancer. In tissue, both miRNAs were significantly elevated in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue. The data demonstrates an impact of tumour epithelial subtype on circulating levels of miRNAs, and highlights divergent miRNA profiles between tissue and blood samples from breast cancer patients