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Improved Efficient Net Architecture for Multi-Grade Brain Tumor Detection
Get PDFAccurate detection and diagnosis of brain tumors at early stages is significant for effective treatment. While numerous methods have been developed for tumor detection and classification, several rely on traditional techniques, often resulting in suboptimal performance. In contrast, AI-based deep learning techniques have shown promising results, consistently achieving high accuracy across various tumor types while maintaining model interpretability. Inspired by these advancements, this paper introduces an improved variant of EfficientNet for multi-grade brain tumor detection and classification, addressing the gap between performance and explainability. Our approach extends the capabilities of EfficientNet to classify four tumor types: glioma, meningioma, pituitary tumor, and non-tumor. For enhanced explainability, we incorporate Gradient-weighted Class Activation
Mapping (Grad-CAM) to improve model interpretability. The input MRI images undergo data augmentation before being passed through the feature extraction phase, where the underlying tumor patterns are learned. Our model achieves an average accuracy of 98.6%, surpassing other state-of-the-art methods on standard datasets while maintaining a substantially reduced parameter count. Furthermore, the explainable AI (XAI) analysis demonstrates the model’s ability to focus on relevant tumor regions, enhancing its interpretability. This accurate and interpretable model for brain tumor classification has the potential to significantly aid clinical decision-making in neuro-oncology
Recovery of Strategic High-Value Fission Products from Spent Nuclear Fuel During Reprocessing
Get PDFNuclear fission has been identified as a key technology for the Net Zero transition, but high costs and concerns of radioactive wastes hinder wider uptake, and fuel cycle inefficiencies hamper the technology’s long-term sustainability. Closing the fuel cycle through spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing is the primary method of improving sustainability, but high costs and proliferation concerns limit uptake. Current reprocessing technologies recover only the bulk U and Pu in SNF for further energy generation as MOX (mixed oxide) fuel, leaving behind a wide range of untapped, naturally scarce, high-demand, and -value fission product resources. By recovering these resources, such as the platinum group metals (PGMs – Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag), rare earth elements (REEs – Y, La to Dy), and noble gases (He, Kr, Xe), and various other useful isotopes, from SNF during reprocessing operations, the high costs incurred have the potential to be partially or completely offset, in addition to benefits from reducing waste volumes. This paper provides an overview of this concept with exploration of the most promising candidate targets and feeds within reprocessing, and the necessary actions that will be required to see this concept come to fruition in the coming decades
Deflated in shame and puffed up in pride: How affective practices matter for entrepreneuring
Get PDFAt the heart of the processual term ‘entrepreneuring’, lies something inherently optimistic: a belief that a better world could be reached beyond the actual. Embracing this perspective, we move away from a focus on entrepreneurial mastery and seek conditions for entrepreneuring understood as social change, foregrounding its affective dimension. We do so by researching and writing differently; in adopting (and adapting) the ethnography of practices (praxiography), we centre the body as the cause, subject, and instrument of the stories we tell. By reading affect with (posthumanist) practice theory, we expand the notion of affective practices to inquire how shame and pride matter for entrepreneuring within small family businesses. Employing a visceral, sensory, and embodied style of crafting our text, we invite readers to sense as well as interpret. The paper contributes to the literature in two ways: first, it proposes a novel methodological approach for studying and writing about affective practices; second, it builds an understanding of how affective practices disrupt the already organised and make room for better futures yet to come
A Sector in Crisis? Insights from how English Higher Education Apprenticeships are Weathering the Storm
Get PDFPurpose (limit 100 words) This viewpoint explores strategic lessons for wider Higher Education (HE) practices from university business and management apprenticeships in England. The paper highlights parallels between the challenges in apprenticeships and those confronting HE leaders and managers, especially regarding rising regulatory pressures, financial constraints, and the need for innovation. The authors present how collaboration and adaptive practices from university apprenticeships might inform broader institutional approaches. Design/methodology/approach (limit 100 words) The paper draws on autoethnographic experiences of business and management apprenticeship leaders to characterise the current state of the HE sector. Drawing together successful collaborative apprenticeship practices, the authors narrate how their own interactions have supported innovation in the face of resource constraints, regulatory compliance, and a complex stakeholder context. Findings (limit 100 words) Intense regulatory scrutiny and resource limitations have driven innovation and collaboration within business school apprenticeships, which could offer valuable strategies for the wider HE sector. Insights include enhanced personalised student support, proactive progress monitoring, and effective partnership. Collaborative approaches developed amongst apprenticeship providers have driven continuous improvement; highlighting potential benefits to traditional HE programmes of cross-institutional collaboration and the adoption of new practices in response to rapidly changing conditions. Originality/value (limit 100 words) Contributing to the discourse on HE resilience, the authors reflect on how innovations within HE apprenticeship practice offer potential solutions to wider challenges. The paper emphasises that addressing current and future challenges in the UK HE context requires shifting from competitive isolation to cross-institutional collaboration, and from top down to bottom-up innovation
Linear and Multidirectional Speed Testing (On-Field and Off-Field) Protocols in Senior and Elite Female Football
No full textFemale football has had a considerable rise in popularity with millions of fans following matches during the recent Women’s World Cup. Despite this, the football scientific literature is still biased towards male footballers; therefore, this review aims to present the most recent literature and best practices for assessing linear and multi-directional speed and underpinning physical qualities, and to offer practical recommendations based on the most recent evidence and authors’ expertise for practitioners working with female football players. This review categorizes tests as on-field and off-field, highlighting common protocols, their advantages, and the existing limitations. Among the most common on-field tests we found the change of direction speed, horizontal deceleration, linear sprinting, and curved sprinting; while the suggested off-field tests are multi-joint isometric, single-joint isometric, isokinetic dynamometry, Nordic hamstring and vertical jumps. These tests are valuable tools for assessing players’ physical abilities, serving as a benchmark for tracking physical changes throughout the season, and aiding practitioners in individualizing and optimizing training protocols. This review highlights that strength (eccentric, isometric, concentric, and reactive) and rapid force production are crucial for generating braking and propulsive forces, which underpin linear and multidirectional motion. In conclusion, the evidence and practical suggestions reported in this review will improve the practitioners' knowledge of which tests and the consequent training protocols can be used in senior and elite female football players. But practitioners need to be aware about the scarcity of comprehensive studies on female soccer which hinders a complete understanding of the reliability of all assessment protocols used
Being pregnant and obese: A qualitative study of the experiences of pregnancy and birth of women who are obese
No full textThis study explored the views and experiences of maternity care of postnatal women identified as being obese. A qualitative methodology was adopted using individual semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using a framework approach. Two National Health Service Hospitals- a large tertiary unit in England, and a district general hospital in Scotland. 8 women with a body mass index of greater than 35 who had recently had a baby. The overall interpretation 'Being pregnant and obese; Obese women's experiences of pregnancy and birth' was underpinned by three key emergent themes: embodiment of obesity; being pregnant and overweight, and resource intensive maternity care. These findings are encapsulated in a conceptual framework that was formed to demonstrate the trajectory from the embodiment of obesity to becoming pregnant as an obese woman, experiencing the maternity regime that is currently in place for the care of obese women and then finally returning to being an obese woman. Women who are obese have an intrinsic fear of pregnancy and birth, have a desire for normal birth and 'obese pregnancy' presents a window of opportunity for both short and long-term lifestyle change. Currently one-fifth of women in the UK are obese. There is increasing evidence of the detrimental effects obesity has on intrapartum outcomes and a lack of research on how to minimise the associated risks of obesity through non-medicalised interventions and how to support women who are obese to maximise their experience of birth. Addressing the intrapartum management through non-medicalised interventions is of paramount importance to maximise the experience of birth and reduce the associated morbidities. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Aging and word predictability during reading: Evidence from eye movements and fixation-related potentials
Get PDFThe use of context to facilitate the processing of words is recognized as a hallmark of skilled reading. This capability is also hypothesized to change with older age because of cognitive changes across the lifespan. However, research investigating this issue using eye movements or event-related potentials (ERPs) has produced conflicting findings. Specifically, whereas eye-movement studies report larger context effects for older than younger adults, ERP findings suggest that context effects are diminished or delayed for older readers. Crucially, these contrary findings may reflect methodological differences, including use of unnatural sentence displays in ERP research. To address these limitations, we used a coregistration technique to record eye movements (EMs) and fixation-related potentials (FRPs) simultaneously while 44 young adults (18–30 years) and 30 older adults (65+ years) read sentences containing a target word that was strongly or weakly predicted by prior context. Eye-movement analyses were conducted over all data (full EM dataset) and only data matching FRPs. FRPs were analysed to capture early and later components 70–900 ms following fixation-onset on target words. Both eye-movement datasets and early FRPs showed main effects of age group and context, while the full EM dataset and later FRPs revealed larger context effects for older adults. We argue that, by using coregistration methods to address limitations of earlier ERP research, our experiment provides compelling complementary evidence from eye movements and FRPs that older adults rely more on context to integrate words during reading
The Importance of Upper Body Strength Testing and Training For Performance of High-Intensity Actions in Professional Soccer Players: A Survey Exploring Perceptions and Current Practices of Soccer Strength and Conditioning Coaches
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate the perception of soccer strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches on the importance of upper body (UB) strength training for the performance of high-intensity actions (HIA) (i.e., sprinting, repeated sprint ability, change of direction, and jumping) in professional soccer players, and to identify current practices with regards to UB strength testing and training methodologies within this sport. Eighty-six S&C coaches working with professional soccer players volunteered to complete the survey. Twenty-two fixed responses and three open-ended questions were grouped into three sections: (a) demographic information, (b) perspectives on the importance of UB strength and UB strength training for HIA, and (c) current practices of UB strength training in soccer. Frequency analysis was used to assess fixed response questions, and thematic analysis established clear and recognisable themes for open-ended questions. Relative to “not important” options, UB strength was perceived as important for all HIA, especially for jumping (89%) and acceleration (87%). Coaches strongly supported the idea that UB strength plays a role in enhancing HIA, with particular influence on jumping (100%), acceleration (97%) and COD (93%). This positive influence is believed to be realised via improved force transmissions (97%) and neural drive (94%). Notably, however, surveyed coaches overwhelmingly use moderate resistance in their sessions (100%) without substantial emphasis on high-velocity contractions (64%). In conclusion, S&C practitioners value UB strength training for enhancing the performance of HIA in professional soccer players. Further research is needed to explore this link and provide clearer guidance on the implementation of UB strength training in professional soccer
Children with a tracheostomy: Global speech-language therapists' practice
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Speech-language Therapists (SLTs) are specialists in communication, feeding and swallowing as core members of the paediatric tracheostomy multidisciplinary team (MDT). Inconsistent tracheostomy care leads to staff and family frustration and delayed intervention. Little is known about international SLT tracheostomy practices.
Methods
This global survey explored training, clinical practices, perceived knowledge, skills and roles, and barriers for SLTs working with paediatric tracheostomy. Survey questions consisted of Likert scale and open-ended questions. 92 SLTs completed the survey representing 6 continents and 19 countries.
Results
Overall SLTs were confident in their knowledge of communication, and feeding but less confident in weaning, tracheostomy care skills (such as suctioning and cuff deflation) and specialist tracheostomy tube use (such as tracheostomy tubes with a subglottic suction port). Formal competency training was infrequent but most had access to supervision. Understanding of the SLT role by the MDT was perceived as good. Many felt managing one-way speaking valves was part of their role. The majority reported staffing, lack of guidelines and access to resources (one-way speaking valves and flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing) as barriers.
Conclusions
This expert opinion paper summarises the current evidence-base and international paediatric tracheostomy practice. SLTs were experienced and confident in tracheostomy. The SLT role varies internationally with a lack of formal written policy to guide practice and a variability in access to education
Athlete Individualisation: Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to Capture Elite Coaches Shared Mental Models in Paralympic Sport
No full textShared Mental Models (SMM), are critical for optimising performance in sports, particularly within team contexts where they enhance coaches decision-making. While research has explored SMMs among team sport, there is a notable gap within coaching and individual sports. Addressing this gap, this study applies a unique and innovative design to examine how coaches tailor SMMs to individual athletes, with a specific focus on Paralympic sport. Using the sport of canoeing as a case study, this research captures the integration of knowledge to align a multi-disciplinary team around individualised athlete SMMs. Utilising Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), methodology, the study provides a unique insight from the ‘lived experience’ of Paralympic Coaches (n=3), working within a World Class Programme, providing original insights into athlete preparation. Findings suggest that individualised SMMs, tailored to the athlete, task and setting, are essential for effective performance in Paralympic environments and offer five applied implications for coaching