cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Textural Classification of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions in Multimodal MRI Volumes
Creators: name: Storey, Ian
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: Background and objectives: Multiple Sclerosis is a common relapsing demyelinating disease causing the significant degradation of cognitive and motor skills and contributes towards a reduced life expectancy of 5 to 10 years. The identification of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions at early stages of a patient’s life can play a significant role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for that individual. In recent years the process of disease detection has been aided through the implementation of radiomic pipelines for texture extraction and classification utilising Computer Vision and Machine Learning techniques. Eight Multiple Sclerosis Patient datasets have been supplied, each containing one standard clinical T2 MRI sequence and four diffusion-weighted sequences (T2, FA, ADC, AD, RD). This work proposes a Multimodal Multiple Sclerosis Lesion segmentation methodology utilising supervised texture analysis, feature selection and classification. Three Machine Learning models were applied to Multimodal MRI data and tested using unseen patient datasets to evaluate the classification performance of various extracted features, feature selection algorithm sand classifiers to MRI volumes uncommonly applied to MS Lesion detection.Method: First Order Statistics, Haralick Texture Features, Gray-Level Run-Lengths, Histogram of Oriented Gradients and Local Binary Patterns were extracted from MRI volumes which were minimally pre-processed using a skull stripping and background removal algorithm. mRMR and LASSO feature selection algorithms were applied to identify a subset of rankings for use in Machine Learning using Support Vector Machine, Random Forests and Extreme Learning Machine classification.Results: ELM achieved a top slice classification accuracy of 85% while SVM achieved 79% and RF 78%. It was found that combining information from all MRI sequences increased the classification performance when analysing unseen T2 scans in almost all cases. LASSO and mRMR feature selection methods failed to increase accuracy, and the highest-scoring group of features were Haralick Texture Features, derived from Grey-Level Co-occurrence matrices.
Polarization fields in GaN/AlN nanowire heterostructures studied by Off axis holography
Creators: name: Hertog, Martien Den
name: Songmuang, Rudeesun
name: Monroy, Eva
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this work, we present an off-axis holography study of GaN/AlN heterostructured nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. We discuss the sample preparation of nanowire samples for electron holography and combine potential profiles obtained using holography with theoretical calculations of the projected potential in order to gain understanding of the potential distribution in these nanostructures. The effects of surface states are discussed
Composition of an Emission Line System in Black Hole Host Globular Cluster RZ2109
Creators: name: Steele, Matthew M
name: Zepf, Stephen E.
name: Maccarone, Thomas J.
name: Kundu, Arunav
name: Rhode, Katherine L.
name: Salzer, John J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present an analysis of optical spectra from the globular cluster RZ2109 in NGC4472, which hosts the first unambiguous globular cluster black hole. We use these spectra to determine the elemental composition of the emission line system associated with this source, and to constrain the age and metallicity of the host globular cluster. For the emission line system of RZ2109, our analysis indicates the [O III]5007 equivalent width is 33.82 +- 0.39 Ang and the H beta equivalent width is 0.32 +- 0.32 Ang , producing a formal [O III]5007/H beta emission line ratio of 106 for a 3200 km/s measurement aperture covering the full velocity width of the [O~III]5007 line. Within a narrower 600 \kms aperture covering the highest luminosity velocity structure in the line complex, we find O III]5007/H beta = 62. The measured O III]5007/H beta ratios are significantly higher than can be produced in radiative models of the emission line region with solar composition, and the confidence interval limits exclude all but models which have gas masses much larger than those for a single star. Therefore, we conclude that the region from which the [O~III]5007 emission originates is hydrogen-depleted relative to solar composition gas. This finding is consistent with emission from an accretion-powered outflow driven by a hydrogen-depleted donor star, such as a white dwarf, being accreted onto a black hole.
description: 15 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in ApJ
Normal, Abby Normal, Prefix Normal
Creators: name: Burcsi, Péter
name: Fici, Gabriele
name: Lipták, Zsuzsanna
name: Ruskey, Frank
name: Sawada, Joe
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Formal Languages and Automata Theory (cs.FL)
subject: Discrete Mathematics (cs.DM)
subject: Data Structures and Algorithms (cs.DS)
subject: Combinatorics (math.CO)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: A prefix normal word is a binary word with the property that no substring has more 1s than the prefix of the same length. This class of words is important in the context of binary jumbled pattern matching. In this paper we present results about the number $pnw(n)$ of prefix normal words of length $n$, showing that $pnw(n) =Ω\left(2^{n - c\sqrt{n\ln n}}\right)$ for some $c$ and $pnw(n) = O \left(\frac{2^n (\ln n)^2}{n}\right)$. We introduce efficient algorithms for testing the prefix normal property and a "mechanical algorithm" for computing prefix normal forms. We also include games which can be played with prefix normal words. In these games Alice wishes to stay normal but Bob wants to drive her "abnormal" -- we discuss which parameter settings allow Alice to succeed.
description: Accepted at FUN '14
A Deep-learning approach to predicting availability of Industrial Gas Turbines
Creators: name: Author, Unknown
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: In this thesis a new system is proposed which applies the techniques developed in the domain of Deep Learning to predict the ongoing availability of Industrial Gas Turbines (IGT’s) in the range of 5 to 15MW. Deep learning has been targeted due to the recent rapid advances made due to the availability of increasingly mature software platforms, development methodologies and high-performance hardware.The complexity of problem is explored in the literature review (such as the difficulty of modelling accurately the many different physical processes, noisy or missing data and the complex interdependence of many of the systems), and it is summarised that the focus of this work is one which does not appear to have been comprehensively tackled within the published literature (whose main focus has been on individual component reliability rather than the IGT in its entirety). This thesis also demonstrates some of the progress that have taken place in recent years with regards the core algorithms and frameworks of deep learning by revisiting previous work and clearly showing the improvements advances such as Batch Normalisation and Adaptive Momentum (Adam) has made. Further investigation into the most appropriate such algorithms for this particular problem is also covered.The proposed deep learning architecture uses a number of traditional network components (such as Multi-Layer Perceptron’s, Convolutional Neural Network’s etc.) in a way to solve a novel problem of overall IGT ( and which is hoped is applicable in other complicated industrial environments) availability prediction problem and to account for the large gaps in visibility of issues that current systems encounter when attempting to predict availability for IGT’s as single holistic system.A further unique fact of this work is that it has also leveraged large amounts of data made available by a major OEM in order to realise the full benefit of a deep learning approach to this problem. This is in contrast to the majority of papers published to date which focus solely on a handful of units. This has made possible for the first time a digital twin wrought out of operation of an entire fleet of a diverse range of IGT’s and allow for a comprehensive coverage of the factors pertaining to the maintenance of a high availability of the industrial assets targeted.
Unsupervised classification of uncertain data objects in spatial databases using computational geometry and indexing techniques
Creators: name: Kurada, Ramachandra Rao
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Databases (cs.DB)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Unsupervised classification called clustering is a process of organizing objects into groups whose members are similar in some way. Clustering of uncertain data objects is a challenge in spatial data bases. In this paper we use Probability Density Functions (PDF) to represent these uncertain data objects, and apply Uncertain K-Means algorithm to generate the clusters. This clustering algorithm uses the Expected Distance (ED) to compute the distance between objects and cluster representatives. To further improve the performance of UK-Means we propose a novel technique called Voronoi Diagrams from Computational Geometry to prune the number of computations of ED. This technique works efficiently but results pruning overheads. In order to reduce these in pruning overhead we introduce R*-tree indexing over these uncertain data objects, so that it reduces the computational cost and pruning overheads. Our novel approach of integrating UK-Means with voronoi diagrams and R* Tree applied over uncertain data objects generates imposing outcome when compared with the accessible methods.
description: 9 pages
Evaluating Human Decisions During Time and Actor Independent Variables
Creators: name: Walker, Charles
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: The Trolley Problem, a well known thought experiment comparing decisions during life or death circumstances, was applied by the Moral Machine. This gained 40 million decisions from millions of participants. Whilst accepted and praised for its success, investigation is available of participants position in the environment and the effect of time-pressure on the decisions made.To answer this, a web study was conducted to gain a quantitative understanding of participants likelihood to make life or death decisions under the effect of the independent variables via generalised estimating equation. The effects of which proved to be non-significant across both independent variables. Time-pressure showed self-sacrifice to be twice as likely when under time-pressure (B = 0.512, p = 0.012). This effect was studied via a quantitative and qualitative virtual reality study, understanding whether the significance is repeatable. The results indicate the opposite, showing regardless of the independent variable, participants are likely to sacrifice themselves. The explanation of the prior studies findings being concluded as 5% false positive in regards to significance.The implications of both studies provide validation into the Moral Machine’s results, showing the independent variables not chosen by the Moral Machine had little significance on participants decisions. This provides understanding around the development of a Trolley Problem algorithm in autonomous vehicles and the effects that would occur in the world. The research also provides a recommendation that research is required to understand the time taken to make a decision during both time and non-time pressure decisions. This would be to see if non-time pressure is being treated as such.
Visualising Network Traffic Data From Air Traffic Control Radio Systems
Creators: name: Walker, Adam
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: In recent years the aviation industry has begun to embrace digital technology for Air Traffic Control (ATC) radio systems. This change has created challenges not only for the industry but also for personnel. However, this implementation offers many improvements over older systems; more precise control, straightforward integration with other ATC systems and a more efficient way to provide software updates. The challenge for personnel is to develop a new skillset enabling a learning transition from analogue to digital systems, with a specific emphasis on computer networking skills.This project was undertaken in collaboration between the University of Lincoln (UoL) and Park Air Systems (PAS), an industry-leading provider of Air-Space communication solutions. A system has been developed to find a mechanism to monitor and visualise network traffic. The use of graphs provides a direct interface for the end-users, enabling a mechanism for identifying performance issues to meet the transitional challenges from analogue to digital. An easy to use interface has been designed, which will enable non-technical users to interact effectively with the system.Considerable testing was undertaken to investigate the system usability concerning the practical application for users with limited networking experience. A surveyprovided a range of quantitative and qualitative data which was further analysed to scrutinize user perspectives on system usability. This involved engineers from PAS and postgraduate students from UoL to compare results between direct industry personnel and unaffiliated participants.
Reconstruction of Scalar Field Dark Energy Models in Kaluza-Klein Universe
Creators: name: Sharif, M.
name: Jawad, Abdul
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: This paper is devoted to study the modified holographic dark energy model by taking its different aspects in the flat Kaluza-Klein universe. We construct the equation of state parameter which evolutes the universe from quintessence region towards the vacuum. It is found that the modified holographic model exhibits instability against small perturbations in the early epoch of the universe but becomes stable in the later times. We also develop its correspondence with some scalar field dark energy models. It is interesting to mention here that all the results are consistent with the present observations.
description: 16 pages, 12 figures
Asymptotics of Fingerprinting and Group Testing: Capacity-Achieving Log-Likelihood Decoders
Creators: name: Laarhoven, Thijs
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Information Theory (cs.IT)
subject: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR)
subject: Statistics Theory (math.ST)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We study the large-coalition asymptotics of fingerprinting and group testing, and derive explicit decoders that provably achieve capacity for many of the considered models. We do this both for simple decoders (fast but suboptimal) and for joint decoders (slow but optimal), and both for informed and uninformed settings. For fingerprinting, we show that if the pirate strategy is known, the Neyman-Pearson-based log-likelihood decoders provably achieve capacity, regardless of the strategy. The decoder built against the interleaving attack is further shown to be a universal decoder, able to deal with arbitrary attacks and achieving the uninformed capacity. This universal decoder is shown to be closely related to the Lagrange-optimized decoder of Oosterwijk et al. and the empirical mutual information decoder of Moulin. Joint decoders are also proposed, and we conjecture that these also achieve the corresponding joint capacities. For group testing, the simple decoder for the classical model is shown to be more efficient than the one of Chan et al. and it provably achieves the simple group testing capacity. For generalizations of this model such as noisy group testing, the resulting simple decoders also achieve the corresponding simple capacities.
description: 14 pages, 2 figures
A year in the life of the low-mass X-ray transient Aql X-1
Creators: name: Zelati, F. Coti
name: Campana, S.
name: D'Avanzo, P.
name: Melandri, A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The Swift satellite monitored the quiescence of the low-mass X-ray binary transient Aql X-1 on a weekly basis during the March-November 2012 interval. A total of 42 observations were carried out in the soft X-ray (0.3-10 keV) band with the X-ray Telescope on board Swift. We investigated the X-ray variability properties of Aql X-1 during quiescence by tracking luminosity variations and characterising them with a detailed spectral analysis. The source is highly variable in this phase and two bright flares were detected, with peak luminosities of ~4x10^{34} erg s^{-1} (0.3-10 keV). Quiescent X-ray spectra require both a soft thermal component below ~2 keV and a hard component (a power law tail) above ~2 keV. Changes in the power law normalisation alone can account for the overall observed variability. Therefore, based on our data set, the quiescent X-ray emission of Aql X-1 is consistent with the cooling of the neutron star core and with mechanisms involving the accretion of matter onto the neutron star surface or magnetosphere.
description: 8 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication on MNRAS
Zero mode in a strongly coupled quark gluon plasma
Creators: name: Gao, Fei
name: Qin, Si-Xue
name: Liu, Yu-Xin
name: Roberts, Craig D.
name: Schmidt, Sebastian M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In connection with massless two-flavour QCD, we analyse the chiral symmetry restoring phase transition using three distinct gluon-quark vertices and two different assumptions about the long-range part of the quark-quark interaction. In each case, we solve the gap equation, locate the transition temperature T_c, and use the maximum entropy method to extract the dressed-quark spectral function at T>T_c. Our best estimate for the chiral transition temperature is T_c=(147 +/- 8)MeV; and the deconfinement transition is coincident. For temperatures markedly above T_c, we find a spectral density that is consistent with those produced using a hard thermal loop expansion, exhibiting both a normal and plasmino mode. On a domain T\in[T_c,T_s], with T_s approximately 1.5T_c, however, with each of the six kernels we considered, the spectral function contains a significant additional feature. Namely, it displays a third peak, associated with a zero mode, which is essentially nonperturbative in origin and dominates the spectral function at T=T_c. We suggest that the existence of this mode is a signal for the formation of a strongly-coupled quark-gluon plasma and that this strongly-interacting state of matter is likely a distinctive feature of the QCD phase transition.
description: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 table
The ecology of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and Reeves’ muntjac Muntiacus reevesi on a lowland lime wood complex
Creators: name: Author, Unknown
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: This thesis aims to understand the current status of deer in the Lincolnshire Limewoods. The Lincolnshire Limewoods are a nationally significant complex of ancient woodlands which boasts the largest concentration of small leaved lime (Tilia cordata) in the UK. Current work in the Limewoods involves regeneration, coppicing and the creation of corridors to join fragmented woods. Deer are the UK's largest herbivores and their populations are on the rise. They are widely regarded as a threat to biodiversity and a hinderance to conservation efforts. Yet, they are an important part of Britain’s ecological history and relatively little is known about them in lime woodland; a woodland that was once dominant throughout all of lowland Britain.We calculated the population densities of different deer species across a range of woodlands that form part of this complex. We analysed how seasonal change and ecological factors in the woodlands affect deer spatial distribution, and along with the synthesis of other studies, we attempted to explain their relative densities and factors associated with. We analysed the diet of the deer in these woodlands by micro-histological techniques and aimed to understand the broad composition of their diets. We then looked for seasonal and density dependant factors that might influence the targeted plant groups.Roe deer and Reeves’ muntjac were found at varying densities across different woodland sites, including some that were perceived as high. We found seasonal change of importance to different ecological features within the woodlands affecting their spatial distribution. We suggest this is largely due to food resourcing, cover for protection or both. Bramble is shown to be a major constituent of roe deer and Reeves’ muntjac diet, even more so at higher densities. We concluded by summarising our findings of deer and suggest ways forward with management strategies for the future conservation of the Lincolnshire Limewoods.
Characterization of the Turbulent Magnetic Integral Length in the Solar Wind: From 0.3 to 5 Astronomical Units
Creators: name: Ruiz, M. E.
name: Dasso, S.
name: Matthaeus, W. H.
name: Weygand, J. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The solar wind is a structured and complex system, in which the fields vary strongly over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. As an example, the turbulent activity in the wind affects the evolution in the heliosphere of the integral turbulent scale or correlation length [λ], usually associated with the breakpoint in the turbulent-energy spectrum that separates the inertial range from the injection range. This large variability of the fields demands a statistical description of the solar wind. In this work, we study the probability distribution function (PDF) of the magnetic autocorrelation lengths observed in the solar wind at different distances from the Sun. We use observations from Helios, ACE, and Ulysses spacecraft. We distinguish between the usual solar wind and one of its transient components (Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections, ICMEs), and study also solar wind samples with low and high proton beta [β_p ]. We find that in the last 3 regimes the PDF of λ is a log-normal function, consistent with the multiplicative and non-linear processes that take place in the solar wind, the initial λ (before the Alfvénic point) being larger in ICMEs.
Gene co-expression networks and their use in understanding of neural regulatory alterations during neurodegeneration
Creators: name: Yin, Wencheng
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: Gene co-expression analysis is a recently developed approach for the analysis of cellular functional organization. It involves the genome-wide profiling of patterns of coordinated gene expression as well as changes in these patterns and associated cell physiology correlates. Such changes have been shown to provide critical insights on a range of biological processes including disease mechanisms and progression. As the functional significance and mechanisms underlying gene co-expression patterns remain unclear, in this thesis, I investigate using a systems biology approach, how gene co-expression emerges in gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in the first place and specifically how co-expression changes relate to changes in coregulatory patterns. We find that while transcriptional regulators fail to display correlated activity with their direct targets; co-expression emerges as the result of genes being actively co-regulated at a given time. Next, I apply gene co-expression approaches to the analysis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative condition, using longitudinal transcriptional profiling in an animal model of AD, the 3xTg-AD mouse model. Specifically, using gene co-expression approaches, we looked at the relationship between pathological betta amyloid (A?) deposition, a key factor in AD’s aetiology, and covariations in learning and memory performance in line with global gene expression changes. We found widespread changes at every stage, before, during and after the onset of functional decline and that a distinct subset of down-regulated differentially expressed genes are specifically associated with both decline in cognitive performance and A? deposition, thereby potentially identifying a transcriptional signature directly linking pathological A? with AD’related functional decline. Combining expression data form the AD mice model and sporadic human post-mortem brain tissues, we also investigate changes in expression patterns associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in AD and found that while the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes do not show pronounced changes in AD compared with the healthy individuals, the global coordinated expression of these genes is significantly reduced in AD compared to the healthy individuals. While significant reductions in coordinated expression of mitochondrial genes where observed before and after the onset of AD-related functional decline in the mouse model, only late changes in the correlated expression are significantly different than those observed background genes, suggesting that specific regulatory alterations of the mitochondrial gene network only take place at late stages after the onset of AD-associated symptoms. Taken together these findings illustrate the importance of understanding the complex patterns of coordinated gene activity ultimately responsible for bringing about the functional complexity underlying both health anddisease states in the nervous system.
Topological metal behavior in GeBi2Te4 single crystals
Creators: name: Marcinkova, A.
name: Wang, J. K.
name: Slavonic, C.
name: Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.
name: Kelly, K. F.
name: Filinchuk, Y.
name: Morosan, E.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The metallic character of the GeBi2Te4 single crystals is probed using a combination of structural and physical properties measurements, together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The structural study shows distorted Ge coordination polyhedra, mainly of the Ge octahedra. This has a major impact on the band structure, resulting in bulk metallic behavior of GeBi2Te4, as indicated by DFT calculations. Such calculations place GeBi2Te4 in a class of a few known non-trivial topological metals, and explains why an observed Dirac point lies below the Fermi energy at about -0.12eV. A topological picture of GeBi2Te4 is confirmed by the observation of surface state modulations by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).
description: 10 pages, 8 figures
Principles of scientific research team formation and evolution
Creators: name: Milojević, Staša
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: Digital Libraries (cs.DL)
subject: Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Research teams are the fundamental social unit of science, and yet there is currently no model that describes their basic property: size. In most fields teams have grown significantly in recent decades. We show that this is partly due to the change in the character of team-size distribution. We explain these changes with a comprehensive yet straightforward model of how teams of different sizes emerge and grow. This model accurately reproduces the evolution of empirical team-size distribution over the period of 50 years. The modeling reveals that there are two modes of knowledge production. The first and more fundamental mode employs relatively small, core teams. Core teams form by a Poisson process and produce a Poisson distribution of team sizes in which larger teams are exceedingly rare. The second mode employs extended teams, which started as core teams, but subsequently accumulated new members proportional to the past productivity of their members. Given time, this mode gives rise to a power-law tail of large teams (10-1000 members), which features in many fields today. Based on this model we construct an analytical functional form that allows the contribution of different modes of authorship to be determined directly from the data and is applicable to any field. The model also offers a solid foundation for studying other social aspects of science, such as productivity and collaboration.
description: Published in PNAS. Model tested on astronomy. Published version and Supplemental Information available at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1309723111
Behavioural Activation for Low mood in Multiple Sclerosis
Creators: name: Author, Unknown
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: Purpose: People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) experience high rates of depression. Behavioural activation may represent an accessible therapeutic intervention for this group. We aimed to: (a) examine preliminary evidence of efficacy of a behavioural activation intervention, for people with secondary progressive MS experiencing low mood; (b) understand the feasibility of recruiting, retaining, and delivering the intervention; (c) explore whether/how the intervention has a positive impact on mood, fatigue, and quality of life (QoL) using process measures; and (d) understand participants’ experience of the intervention.Research method/design: A mixed-method multiple single-case experimental design was used to investigate the effectiveness of a five-session behavioural activation intervention on depression for people with secondary progressive MS. An AB design was used, and intervention was delivered after establishing a stable baseline for depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire 2. Depression was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – depression subscale and activation was measured using the Behavioural Activation for Depression Scale – Short Form. The intervention was delivered using an initial face-to-face session followed by telephone or Skype-delivered sessions. Data were analysed using visual analysis (conservative dual-criterion and percentage exceeding the median) and reliable and clinically significant change analysis. Postintervention change interviews were completed and analysed using framework analysis.Results: Eight people were recruited, of which six established a stable baseline and proceeded to intervention. Five participants completed the intervention and one participant withdrew. Five participants, including the participant who withdrew, completed change interviews. Systematic reduction in depression was observed in three of five completers and reliable and clinically significant reduction was observed in two of these three participants. Three of five participants demonstrated highly effective treatment (?.9) and two participants demonstrated moderately effective treatment (0.7-0.9). Systematic increase in activation was observed in two of five completers and reliable change was observed in one participant. In most cases, in change interviews, participants reported benefits from the intervention and that it was acceptable, even in the face of competing demands. No changes were observed in fatigue or physical components of health related QoL. Reliable change was observed in two participants for mental health related QoL.Conclusion: There was some evidence to suggest that behavioural activation for people with secondary progressive MS led to a reduction in depressive symptoms when engagement in positively reinforcing behaviour increased. Changes in fatigue or physical health QoL were not observed suggesting that engaging in behavioural activation does not worsen fatigue.
Search for Possible Connections of Sunspot Features and Torsional Waves
Creators: name: Muraközy, J.
name: Ludmány, A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The torsional oscillation is a well established observational fact and there are theoretical attempts for its description but no final solution has yet been accepted. One of the possible candidates for its cause is the presence of sunspots modifying the streaming conditions. The present work focuses on the temporally varying latitudinal distribution of several sunspot features, such as the spot sizes and spot numbers. These features are different faces of the butterfly diagram. In fact some weak spatial correlations can be recognized.
description: 6 pages, 4 figures
Regge trajectory of the f_0(500) resonance from a dispersive connection to its pole
Creators: name: Nebreda, J.
name: Londergan, J. T.
name: Pelaez, J. R.
name: Szczepaniak, A. P.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report here our results on how to obtain the Regge trajectory of a resonance from its pole in a scattering process by imposing analytic constraints in the complex angular momentum plane. The method, suited for resonances that dominate an elastic scattering amplitude, has been applied to the ρ(770) and the f_0(500) resonances. Whereas for the former we obtain a linear Regge trajectory, characteristic of ordinary quark-antiquark states, for the latter we find a non-linear trajectory with a much smaller slope at the resonance mass. This provides a strong indication of the non-ordinary nature of the sigma meson.
description: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the "Seventh International Symposium on Chiral Symmetry in Hadrons and Nuclei"
Locust Instar Classification Using Deep Learning
Creators: name: Mitchell, Arthur
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: Across the world widespread crop devastation is caused by locusts, contributing to billions of dollars worth of lost food every year. Locusts are difficult to counteract, with major obstacles occurring when trying to track their migration. Work has been done to develop methods of locust tracking using traditional forecasting methods and expertise from entomologists. However, the full potential of these applications has not yet been fully realised, as most work is still carried out manually. Our proposed solution is to build a smart app that can classify the age of a locust from a photo and saves location data which allows tracking and prediction of locust movements. Our system consists of: firstly, a large novel database, of over 53,000 labeled images of varying sizes and quality, with at least 2000 images of each instar for the purpose of locust age classification; secondly, a photo-quality discriminator to help to capture high-quality images; thirdly, a system where a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) is used to upsample and enhance low-quality images; fourthly, a classifier that can predict a locusts age from a photo. Our proposed system achieved an image classification accuracy of 82.5% when categorising locust instars; even when using an incredibly challenging dataset and working with images widely varied in image quality and size.
Resistance between two nodes in general position on an $m\times n$ fan network
Creators: name: Essam, J. W.
name: Tan, Zhi-Zhong
name: Wu, F. Y.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The resistance between two nodes in general position on a fan network with n radial lines and m transverse lines is determined. Also a similar result of Izmailian, Kenna and Wu [7] for an $m\times n$ cobweb network is reproduced but the method used here is significantly different. It avoids the use of the Kirchhoff matrix, requires the solution of just one instead of two eigenvalue problems and results directly in only a single summation. Further the current distribution is given explicitly as a biproduct of the method. The method is the same as that used by Tan, Zhou and Yang [10] to find the cobweb resistance between center and perimeter for $1\le m\le3$ and general $n$. Proof of their conjecture for general $m$ is discussed.
description: 13 pages, 4 figures
Power Allocation for Energy Harvesting Transmitter with Causal Information
Creators: name: Wang, Zhe
name: Aggarwal, Vaneet
name: Wang, Xiaodong
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Information Theory (cs.IT)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: We consider power allocation for an access-controlled transmitter with energy harvesting capability based on causal observations of the channel fading state. We assume that the system operates in a time-slotted fashion and the channel gain in each slot is a random variable which is independent across slots. Further, we assume that the transmitter is solely powered by a renewable energy source and the energy harvesting process can practically be predicted. With the additional access control for the transmitter and the maximum power constraint, we formulate the stochastic optimization problem of maximizing the achievable rate as a Markov decision process (MDP) with continuous state. To efficiently solve the problem, we define an approximate value function based on a piecewise linear fit in terms of the battery state. We show that with the approximate value function, the update in each iteration consists of a group of convex problems with a continuous parameter. Moreover, we derive the optimal solution to these convex problems in closed-form. Further, we propose power allocation algorithms for both the finite- and infinite-horizon cases, whose computational complexity is significantly lower than that of the standard discrete MDP method but with improved performance. Extension to the case of a general payoff function and imperfect energy prediction is also considered. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms closely approach the optimal performance.
New Lagrangian diagnostics for characterizing fluid flow mixing
Creators: name: Mundel, Ruty
name: Fredj, Erick
name: Gildor, Hezi
name: Rom-Kedar, Vered
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD)
subject: Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: A new kind of Lagrangian diagnostic family is proposed and a specific form of it is suggested for characterizing mixing: the maximal extent of a trajectory (MET). It enables the detection of coherent structures and their dynamics in two- (and potentially three-) dimensional unsteady flows in both bounded and open domains. Its computation is much easier than all other Lagrangian diagnostics known to us and provides new insights regarding the mixing properties on both short and long time scales and on both spatial plots and distribution diagrams. We demonstrate its applicability to two dimensional flows using two toy models and a data set of surface currents from the Mediterranean Sea.
Observation of Quantum-Tunneling Modulated Spin Texture in Ultrathin Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 Films
Creators: name: Neupane, Madhab
name: Richardella, Anthony
name: Sánchez-Barriga, Jaime
name: Xu, Su-Yang
name: Alidoust, Nasser
name: Belopolski, Ilya
name: Liu, Chang
name: Bian, Guang
name: Zhang, Duming
name: Marchenko, Dmitry
name: Varykhalov, Andrei
name: Rader, Oliver
name: Leandersson, Mats
name: Balasubramanian, Thiagarajan
name: Chang, Tay-Rong
name: Jeng, Horng-Tay
name: Basak, Susmita
name: Lin, Hsin
name: Bansil, Arun
name: Samarth, Nitin
name: Hasan, M. Zahid
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Understanding the spin-texture behavior of boundary modes in ultrathin topological insulator films is critically essential for the design and fabrication of functional nano-devices. Here by using spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with p-polarized light in topological insulator Bi2Se3 thin films, we report tunneling-dependent evolution of spin configuration in topological insulator thin films across the metal-to-insulator transition. We observe strongly binding energy- and wavevector-dependent spin polarization for the topological surface electrons in the ultra-thin gapped-Dirac-cone limit. The polarization decreases significantly with enhanced tunneling realized systematically in thin insulating films, whereas magnitude of the polarization saturates to the bulk limit faster at larger wavevectors in thicker metallic films. We present a theoretical model which captures this delicate relationship between quantum tunneling and Fermi surface spin polarization. Our high-resolution spin-based spectroscopic results suggest that the polarization current can be tuned to zero in thin insulating films forming the basis for a future spin-switch nano-device.
description: To appear in Nature Communications (2014); Expanded version of http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.5485
The Impact of Rhizospheric Microbiota Manipulation on Crops
Creators: name: Author, Unknown
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: Humanity appears on the cusp of one of the most challenging periods to date. An ever-growing population and subsequent demand for sustenance, land and living quality places pressure upon already strained resources. An ever-competitive global market exacerbates environmental concerns, placing profit over sustainability. Agriculture is at the forefront of these problems; both causing and being harmed by the implications. This project investigates the viability of potential sustainable methods of agricultural practice, in attempt to identify a remedy for much needed reform; the use of microbial inoculants within agriculture poses as a possible solution.This thesis-based hypotheses around the viability of microbial inoculation, the potential for direct manipulation of the rhizosphere and the comparative capabilities of microbial inoculation with current agrochemical-based practice. Initially microbes with the ability to promote plant growth were identified and isolated. Consortiums of these beneficial microbes were constructed. The engineering of specific microbiomes were constructed by inoculating sterilised soil with varying combinations of these microbes. Commercially relevant crop species (including wheat and mustard) were tested to provide agriculturally relevant data.The results identified the success of consortium-based treatments by increasing a multitude of important plant growth characteristics. A clear novel trend in minimal synthetic soil communities was discovered, providing data that could help shape future commercial products. While the results did not quite outcompete current agrochemical practice, it shows promise and highlights the need for further concentrated efforts in order to achieve agricultural sustainability.
Ultracold Fermi Gases with Emergent SU(N) Symmetry
Creators: name: Cazalilla, M. A.
name: Rey, A. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We review recent experimental and theoretical progress on ultracold alkaline-earth Fermi gases with emergent SU$(N)$ symmetry. Emphasis is placed on describing the ground-breaking experimental achievements of recent years. The latter include the cooling to below quantum degeneracy of various isotopes of ytterbium and strontium, the demonstration of optical Feshbach resonances and the optical Stern-Gerlach effect, the realization of a Mott insulator of $^{173}$Yb atoms, the creation of various kinds of Fermi-Bose mixtures and the observation of many-body physics in optical lattice clocks. On the theory side, we survey the zoo of phases that have been predicted for both gases in a trap and loaded into an optical lattice, focusing on two and three-dimensional systems. We also discuss some of the challenges that lie ahead for the realization of such phases, such as reaching the temperature scale required to observe magnetic and more exotic quantum orders, and dealing with collisional relaxation of excited electronic levels.
description: Review article (43 pages, 7 figures); comments are welcome
Comparing the efficacy of an eyes-free interface for target acquisition in Augmented Reality
Creators: name: Beddows, Matthew
Publisher: name: University of Lincoln
Year: 2023

description: This thesis was motivated by the growth of Augmented Reality (AR) and its usage in safety-critical fields, to improve interfaces which leave the user free to multitask. The following thesis compared the efficiency/efficacy of an eyes-free interface compared to an eyes-engaged interface in Augmented Reality. The participants had two conditions, an eyes-free interface and an eyes-engaged interface and they must use both to complete the same tasks.Two versions of an AR application were developed for the study, one version with an eyes-free interface (An interface not requiring the user’s eyes to look at operate) and the other with an eyes-engaged (a regular interface with visible buttons)interface.A two condition, within-subjects study was conducted measuring the speed, amount of mistakes made, and the number of distractions caught by the participants. After the study, the participants completed a NASA-TLX to measure subjective mental workload before ending the study with a qualitative questionnaire.The results of this study show that the eyes-free interface did provide benefits such as better multitasking with a higher score on a secondary distraction task and a higher amount of interactions per minute. However, the eye-free interface did lower the accuracy of the users’ interactions, increase the number of mistakes the participants’ made and did not decrease the time taken to complete the experiment.
Hard-photon production with b jets at hadron colliders
Creators: name: Hartanto, H. B.
name: Reina, L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present total and differential cross sections for the production of a hard photon with up to two b jets at both the Tevatron with center-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV and the Large Hadron Collider with center-of-mass energy 8 TeV, including Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) QCD corrections and full b-quark mass effects. We study the theoretical uncertainty due to the residual renormalization- and factorization-scale dependence and explain its origin on the basis of the different subprocesses contributing to the NLO cross section. We specifically address the case of the production of a hard photon with at least one b jet and compare the NLO QCD predictions in both the Four- and Five-Flavor-Number Schemes to the experimental measurements obtained by CDF and D0.
description: 33 pages, 50 postscript figures