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An update on the amphibian assemblage of the Ukaguru Mountains, Tanzania, with the description of a new giant Arthroleptis species (Amphibia: Anura)
Get PDFEffective conservation measures require accurate and complete species inventories, which are however often missing for particularly biodiverse regions of concern. The montane forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) in East Africa represent fragmented relics of unique habitats that harbour remarkable levels of plant and animal diversity, including many endemic and threatened species most of which are poorly known. The present study focuses on the Ukaguru Mountains, an important mountain block in the central EAM, and expands on a recent study that summarized data from 30 years of amphibian surveys. Using systematic sampling (2022–2024) in localities that are less heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities than previously surveyed sites, we increase the number of documented amphibian species from 17 to 19, adding Xenopus cf. victorianus and a newly described species (see below). Among the three Ukaguru-endemic toads which have not been recorded since more than two decades, we re-discovered Nectophrynoides laticeps and N. paulae but failed to record the enigmatic Churamiti maridadi, which according to a dedicated extinction model has an updated probability of only 47.6% of still being extant. Based on genetic, morphological and bioacoustic evidence, we also describe a new large-bodied species of Arthroleptis (Arthroleptis mamiwakisaraensis sp. nov.), shedding further light into the evolution of ‘giant’ congeners which inhabit other mountain blocks in the EAM. Given the rapid deforestation of the EAM for which the Ukagurus are no exception, our findings give rise to concerns regarding current and future extinction risks within unique mountain amphibian assemblages, also affecting species which potentially still await description
Enhanced Learning Networks Utilising Training, Celebration, an Authentic Conference Experience and Co-creation to Empower Placement Educators
Get PDFIntroductionPractice-based learning (PBL) is a central component of physiotherapy education within the United Kingdom (UK), with 1,000 hours required for learners to become Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) registered (CSP, 2016). Placement educators assess learners in practice and are vital to placement provision, success and the future workforce. Despite this there is no standardised training available within the UK, leading to understandable differences in practice (CSP, n.d.). In turn learner satisfaction on placement can differ, and this is something anecdotally heard by academic staff. This project aimed to combat some of these challenges.Overall aims- Improve educator confidence in assessment and feedback on placement.- Improve learner placement experience.- Develop learner professionalism skills.- Celebrate good practice.- Strengthen university and placement links
Ancient Myth, Structuralism, and Contemporary Misinformation: A Practice-as-Research Exploration of Shared Mechanisms for Consumer Behavioural Influence in Visual Media
No full textIn this practice-as-research thesis, structuralist theory, myth (specifically ancient myth), and misinformation are explored and analysed to suggest an understanding of how humans communicate today. This study also considers contemporary research conducted into the elements of misinformation, namely how it is generated, how to detect, and how to debunk the phenomenon of fake news. Within this theoretical framework, this practice-as-research thesis aims to investigate the possibility that ancient myth and misinformation are linked by exploring the structural similarities in contemporary misinformation and ancient mythic narratives, their shared intent to control perception, and their comparable mechanisms of influence.The following questions have guided this research:1.To what extent do similarities exist within the behavioural influence mechanisms utilised by both fake news and ancient myth? 2.Does misinformation reside solely within synchronic temporality, or could we assign them a diachronic element akin to ancient myth? 3.How can structuralist theories within cinematic form and content be utilised to further explore the relationship and efficacy of misinformation dissemination in consumers? 4.To what extent can consumers detect fabricated information presented through media texts? To explore the above and attempt to answer the research questions, five short films were produced. Each of the five films present as factual, documentary-style pieces, although two of these were completely fabricated. All five media texts were written and produced using structuralist concepts, informing the structure of both the narrative information and visual symbolism, whilst further interweaving ancient mythological parallels between fabricated narratives. Thus, this practice-based facet of the study serves as a conduit between previous academic thought and consequent participatory analysis, allowing each of the above research questions to be explored and answered throughout this research.114 participants from a broad range of sociocultural backgrounds, demographics, and ideologies were recruited to view the five films, and complete a participatory survey in response to each. Participants provided anonymised demographic information, alongside quantifiable data based on their assessment of authenticity presented within each filmic narrative, and qualitative responses elucidating their reasoning and justifications for each answer. Through this analysis, the permeation level of behavioural influence, by way of fabricated information in the visual media presented, was scrutinised. The analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected within this study illuminated the potency of misinformation in visual media, the semiotic signs and symbols and narrative construction that signifies authenticity to consumers, and the reasoning practices employed by consumers dependant on particular cultural identities and demographic factors. Notably, consumers aged under 25 years and above 55 years were more susceptible to visual misinformation, consumers who fall outside of conventional gender and sexuality signifiers were more likely to identify false information, and consumers who self-describe as further from the centre politically speaking were less likely to identify misinformation (with noteworthy intensification in right-leaning consumers to believe misinformation). Participant reasoning identified an alignment between the functions of visual misinformation and ancient myth: with visual misinformation employing the notions of absurdity, authority, corroboration, emotion, and familiarity (identified through inductive thematic analysis of participant responses), which aligned with previous scholarship on ancient mythic functions such as the metaphysical, cosmological, sociological, and pedagogical. This study further demonstrated that there is significant correlation between the mechanisms employed, and functions served by ancient myth orators and contemporary visual misinformation disseminators. The study also showed that there are parallelisms between ancient myth and visual misinformation in that visual misinformation constructed using structuralist theories, can have the same diachronic qualities ancient myth has, expanding the possibilities for future research to understand nonsynchronous facets of misinformation. In other words, visual misinformation in this thesis was shown to be not only synchronic, but also diachronic, like ancient myth
Neural Network Based Non-Intrusive Surrogate Modelling Scheme for Fluid-Structure Interaction
No full textThe use of surrogate modelling has recently experienced a boom in research, these methods aim to reduce the computational time and complexity of the determination of the response of a system by constructing a simple model which approximates the input-output behaviour of the underlying model. The application of this method was investigated for the application to Multiphysics simulation and parametric non-linear simulations, specifically fluid-structure interaction problems, as these generally require large simulations that can be extremely time consuming, and computationally intensive.A proposed surrogate framework, composed of a POD-NN (Proper Orthogonal Decomposition based Neural Network) surrogate modelling scheme was implemented to a number of different fluid-structure interaction high order simulations of increasing complexity. The proposed framework used the POD basis of a snapshot matrix constructed by uniform sampling to train a series of multilayer perceptron-based networks to learn the behaviour of the POD modes and coefficients. From this, generalised regression radial basis function networks were used to interpolate new system responses outside of the training data.For the framework, each domain of the high order simulations was treated as separate continuums, with separate neural networks being trained for each domain. This decoupled approach was compared to a framework where all domains were coupled and trained in the same network. The constructed decoupled surrogate provided good predictions for the full system response of all three cases. It did show however that the increase in efficiency of the surrogate framework is dependent on the complexity of the initial high order model, with the first test case investigated showing an increase in computational time. The subsequent 2 test cases however showed significant reduction in computational times whilst providing adequate predictions of the high order model. Comparing the performance of the coupled and decoupled approaches to the framework, the coupled approach in general show significantly inferior predictive capabilities, whilst also displaying an increase in computational time compared to the decoupled approach due to the increased size of the input data for the GRNN interpolation in the online stage of the surrogate model
Antimicrobial resistance and virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from Palestinian hospitals
No full textAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent global health challenge today, severely impacting regions facing issues like healthcare crises and conflict, such as Palestine. This study investigated the antibiotic susceptibility of 121 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates originating from five different hospitals in Gaza: Al Nasser, Al Shifa, Al Rantisi, European Gaza and Al Aqsa hospitals. Key virulence factors were also assessed, including biofilm formation and capsule mucoviscosity. Antibiotic susceptibility was assessed using the EUCAST disc diffusion method, and this revealed high resistance rates across all hospitals. The highest resistance rates were found towards ampicillin (98.35%), ceftaroline (73.55%), and cefuroxime (72.73%). Thecarbapenems imipenem (21.49% resistance, 2.48% intermediate) and meropenem (24.9% resistance, 3.31% intermediate) showed the highest efficacy. Resistance mechanisms were also assessed and revealed presence of Extended-Spectrum-βlactamases (32%), Metallo-β-Lactamases (38%), Oxacillinase-48 (4%), and β-lactamase activity (44%).Crystal violet biofilm formation assays determined that 54.55% of isolates were biofilm formers: strong (5.79%), moderate (24.79%), or weak (23.97%) biofilm formers, while 45.45% were non-adherent. Capsule mucoviscosity sedimentation resistance assaysdetermined that 66.94% of isolates exhibited low mucoviscosity, 26.45% displayed hypermucoviscosity, and 6.61% had no mucoviscosity. Initial virulence assays with Galleria mellonella larvae showed some variation in virulence across a few of theisolates.This study provides insights into the current state of AMR within Palestine and highlights the crucial need for more targeted antimicrobial stewardship and control strategies within Gaza. Future studies should include genetic analyses, to better understand,explain and solidify the results found here, such as whole-genome sequencing of isolates to allow for the identification of specific AMR genes (e.g., blaKPC, blaNDM, blaOXA-48, blaCTX-M) and virulence determinants (e.g., rmpA). This would provide deeper insightinto the genetic basis of observed resistance phenotypes and virulence traits
Cultivating Musical Creativity and Imagination Through Self-Imposed Limitations in Experimental Club Music Production.
No full textThis doctoral research investigates how self-imposed limitations can foster creative innovation in electronic music production. While the concept has often been explored in informal contexts, this study approaches it through a rigorous and analytical framework, aligning with the expectations of doctoral-level research. It draws on existing knowledge from academic publications, grey literature, and primary data collected through interviews with practitioners, to critically contextualise and support the investigation.Central to this research is the relationship between technology and artistic practice. The thesis examines how deliberately imposed constraints can act as productive tools for stimulating new directions in music-making. It also considers how digital production environments shape the cognitive and creative processes of artists working within contemporary electronic and experimental club music scenes.This research employs a two-fold approach. First, a qualitative inquiry collects and analyses data from interviews, literature, and public engagement activities to explore how musicians consciously interact with constraints. This phase also involves the critical engagement with key publications in the field. Second, a practice-based strand tests these concepts through hands-on experimentation, where I, as a musician-researcher, develop original works under varied sets of self-imposed limitations. These experiments are grounded in subjective practice but offer transferable strategies that illuminate how constraint functions as a catalyst for innovation within digital creative environments.The outputs of these experiments include a series of audiovisual recordings documenting the development of my compositional strategies, project files made available as open resources for other practitioners, a suite of custom-built software devices and a portfolio of released compositions that serve as examples of practice applied in real-world contexts. These outputs are not intended as isolated artistic artefacts, but as forms of knowledge that reflect the epistemic potential of practice. A written exegesis (McNamara, 2012, p. 2), accompanies the portfolio, offering critical reflection on the compositional strategies employed, the conceptual rationale behind each constraint configuration, and the challenges encountered across iterative cycles of experimentation. While inherently situated and subjective, these reflections are positioned as transferable insights that contribute to an expanded understanding of constraint as a methodological device.By reframing constraint as a fluid and actor-shaped phenomenon, rather than a fixed or externally imposed barrier, this thesis contributes to current debates around creativity and innovation in digitally mediated artistic contexts. It responds to underexplored peer-reviewed sources on constraint in composition, while also extending insights from adjacent fields such as popular music studies and digital performance cultures. In doing so, the research offers theoretical and pedagogical contributions relevant to practitioners, educators, and scholars invested in experimental sound practices and the creative affordances of limitation
Prescribing for fibromyalgia
No full textDeborah Robertson provides an overview of recently published articles that may be of interest to non-medical prescribers. Should you wish to look at any of the papers in more detail, a full reference is provide
Automated classification and explainable AI analysis of lung cancer stages using EfficientNet and gradient-weighted class activation mapping
Get PDFPrecise classification of lung cancer stages based on CT images remains a significant challenge in oncology. This is vitally necessary for determining prognosis and creating practical treatment plans. Traditional methods mainly rely on human interpretation, which can be inconsistent and prone to fluctuation. To overcome these limitations an automated deep learning model based on the EfficientNet-B0 based architecture is proposed. Explainable AI features enhanced through Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) help further boost this model. Training of the model was conducted with 1,190 CT scans from the IQ-OTH/NCCD dataset. All the images fell into the benign, malignant, and normal categories. The suggested technique performs remarkably well, reaching 99% accuracy, 99% precision, and recall rates of 96% for benign cases, 99% for malignant cases, and 100% for normal occurrences. Grad-CAM makes the model more interpretable and transparent by providing visual explanations of its results. It identifies the most important regions in the scans that significantly contribute to the classification results. Apart from contributing to the field of medical image analysis, accurate precision and complete explanations also bring automated diagnosis systems credibility and reliability
Wafer-scale correlated morphology and optoelectronic properties in GaAs/AlGaAs core–shell nanowires
Get PDFAchieving uniform nanowire size, density, and alignment across a wafer is challenging, as small variations in growth parameters can impact performance in energy harvesting devices such as solar cells and photodetectors. This study demonstrates the in-depth characterization of uniformly grown GaAs/AlGaAs core–shell nanowires on a 2-in. Si(111) substrate using Ga-induced self-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxy. We have developed a method of wafer-scale time correlated single-photon counting with micrometer-resolution and correlate this with scanning electron microscopy to establish a detailed model of structural and optoelectronic properties across the wafer. While emission intensity varies by up to 35%, carrier lifetime shows only 9% variation, indicating stable material quality despite structural inhomogeneities. These findings indicate that, for the 2-in. GaAs/AlGaAs nanowire wafer, achieving uniform nanowire coverage had a greater impact on consistent optoelectronic properties than variations in material quality, highlighting its significance for scalable III–V semiconductor integration on silicon in advanced optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and photodetectors
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