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Student-led peer learning and support Part 2 -Mapping sector wide practices: literature review
Get PDFA Robust Object Detection System for Driverless Vehicles through Sensor Fusion and Artificial Intelligence Techniques
Get PDFSince the early 1990s, various research domains have been concerned with the concept of autonomous driving, leading to the widespread implementation of numerous advanced driver assistance features. However, fully automated vehicles have not yet been introduced to the market. The process of autonomous driving can be outlined through the following stages: environment perception, ego-vehicle localization, trajectory estimation, path planning, and vehicle control. Environment perception is partially based on computer vision algorithms that can detect and track surrounding objects. The process of objects detection performed by autonomous vehicles is considered challenging for several reasons, such as the presence of multiple dynamic objects in the same scene, interaction between objects, real-time speed requirements, and the presence of diverse weather conditions (e.g., rain, snow, fog, etc.). Although many studies have been conducted on objects detection performed by autonomous vehicles, it remains a challenging task, and improving the performance of object detection in diverse driving scenes is an ongoing field. This thesis aims to develop novel methods for the detection and 3D localization of surrounding dynamic objects in driving scenes in different rainy weather conditions.
In this thesis, firstly, owing to the frequent occurrence of rain and its negative effect on the performance of objects detection operation, a real-time lightweight deraining network is proposed; it works on single real-time images separately. Rain streaks and the accumulation of rain streaks introduce distinct visual degradation effects to captured images. The proposed deraining network effectively removes both rain streaks and accumulated rain streaks from images. It makes use of the progressive operation of two main stages: rain streaks removal and rain streaks accumulation removal. The rain streaks removal stage is based on a Residual Network (ResNet) to maintain real-time performance and avoid adding to the computational complexity.
Furthermore, the application of recursive computations involves the sharing of network parameters. Meanwhile, distant rain streaks accumulate and induce a distortion similar to fogging. Thus, it could be mitigated in a way similar to defogging. This stage relies on a transmission-guided lightweight network (TGL-Net). The proposed deraining network was evaluated on five datasets having synthetic rain of different properties and two other datasets with real rainy scenes.
Secondly, an emphasis has been put on proposing a novel sensory system that achieves realtime multiple dynamic objects detection in driving scenes. The proposed sensory system utilizes a monocular camera and a 2D Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor in a complementary fusion approach. YOLOv3- a baseline real-time object detection algorithm has been used to detect and classify objects in images captured by the camera; detected objects are surrounded by bounding boxes to localize them within the frames. Since objects present in a driving scene are dynamic and usually occluding each other, an algorithm has been developed to differentiate objects whose bounding boxes are overlapping. Moreover, the locations of bounding boxes within frames (in pixels) are converted into real-world angular coordinates. A 2D LiDAR was used to obtain depth measurements while maintaining low computational requirements in order to save resources for other autonomous driving related operations. A novel technique has been developed and tested for processing and mapping 2D LiDAR measurements with corresponding bounding boxes. The detection accuracy of the proposed system was manually evaluated in different real-time scenarios. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed deraining network was validated in terms of its impact on objects detection in the context of de-rained images.
Results of the proposed deraining network were compared to existing baseline deraining networks and have shown that the running time of the proposed network is 2.23× faster than the average running time of baseline deraining networks while achieving 1.2× improvement when tested on different synthetic datasets. Moreover, tests on the LiDAR measurements showed an average error of ±0.04m in real driving scenes. Also, both deraining and objects detection are jointly tested, and it was demonstrated that performing deraining ahead of objects detection caused 1.45× enhancement in the object detection precision
Emergence of pathogenic bacteria isolates from zea maize extract using 16s rRNA molecular sequencing protocol as a tools for microbial identification and characterization
Get PDFThe purpose of this research work is to determine the molecular identity of bacteria isolated from infected Zea maize using the 16s rRNA molecular sequencing protocol. The samples were obtained from Okeagbe, Akoko north-west local government in Ondo state with latitude and longitude of Okeagbe at 7.6450° N, and 5.7603° E respectively. Preparation of infected maize samples was cultured using the serial dilution method.. Confirmatory characterization of bacteria isolates using 16s rRNA (ribosomal RNA) sequencing procedures (purification, amplication, Sequencing, and DNA extraction) inclusive.The result shows the isolation of the bacteria isolates involved the culturing, inoculation, and plating of the isolate on a plated agar, the identification of the bacteria isolate includes the use of Gram staining, biochemical tests, and characterization using Bergey's manual and antibiotics Susceptibility Test. In Gram staining all bacteria isolates were positive except one, in the biochemical test most bacteria isolate was positive for sugar Fermentation and citrate test and all were negative for the Voges Proskauer test. In antibiotics Susceptibility test few were sensitive, most were susceptible to antibiotics used. With the use of the 16S rRNA and procedures (purification and application of product, Sequencing, and Extraction of DNA) the bacteria isolate were identified and characterized. The phylogenetic analysis and molecular identification of 16S rDNA sequencing revealed that Escherichia coli, Samonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus were found to infect maize. Molecular characterization based on 16S rRNA Gene sequencing confirms the identity of bacteria. The conventional procedure shows the presence of different arrays of microorganisms in the infected maize, microbes identified are Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus anthracis, Micrococcus luteus, Clostridium sporogenes, Microbacterium lacticum, Clostridium sporogenes, Lactobacillus casei and Micrococcus luteus. The phylogenetic analysis and molecular identification of 16s rRNA sequencing revealed that Escherichia coli, Samonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus were found to infect maize in Band fragment Base pair 1500bp. In conclusion, the hearsay that maize can only be infected by fungi, it was observed that the possibility of being infected with pathogenic bacteria is imminent. The bottom line is, there should be proper surveillance and food safety in our farm, market and food store, to prevent and totally eradicate emergence of pathogenic organism in our food item
Youth-led social action at school: ‘It made me think that there could be a way to make things better in the future.’
Get PDFThis article critically reflects on the Education Peace Project, instigated by seven young people in a northern England secondary school. It explores how this different beginning makes visible the relational, place-based approaches involved in collaborative research. We suggest schools could do more to support young people to think, talk and act on issues that concern them, by addressing deep-seated attitudes about childhood, knowledge and learning, and opening up spaces where young people can participate differently, by working collectively for meaningful change
Bending test of long-span ultra-shallow floor beam (USFB) with two lightweight concretes
Get PDFThis paper presents the bending behaviour of a partially encased ultra-shallow floor beam (USFB) with two types of lightweight concrete. The beam was fabricated by welding two asymmetric Tees together along the web to create a beam with multiple circular openings that act as ‘plug shear connectors’ with the concrete encasement. The bending resistance of the plug-shear connection system was obtained by testing a composite USFB for a beam span of 7.2 m, half of the span being made with a lightweight concrete slab and the other half span with an ultra-lightweight concrete slab. Analysis of the four-point bending tests was carried out to determine the increase in bending resistance due to composite action and the contribution of the longitudinal shear connection due to the concrete plug passing through the web openings combined with additional tie bars. Calculations of the properties of the USFB with the two types of lightweight concrete were made according to SCI documentation and Eurocode 4. It was observed that the deflections were predicted accurately by the elastic properties and that the failure mode was by concrete crushing before the plastic bending resistance of the composite section had been developed. It was also shown that the cracked section properties should be used for the deflection analysis
Doxycycline, a role in the treatment of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy?
No full textCan the antibiotic doxycycline unlock new possibilities in the fight against onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE)? Idro et al. explored this question by investigating for the first time doxycycline's impact on nodding syndrome (NS), a severe manifestation of OAE. Results reveal significant findings that may shape future treatment strategies
Exploring positional and dimensional aspects of topographic space for advanced-level British Sign Language learners
Get PDFThis study investigates how British Sign Language (BSL) learners develop positional and dimensional aspects of topographic space. The teaching of BSL has been occurring at an increasing rate, and many people are learning to use BSL to the advanced levels, which are generally referred to in the UK as BSL Levels 4 and 6 and are loosely equivalent to pre-C1 (advanced) and C1 (proficient), respectively, on the Common European Framework for Reference (Languages) scale. Spatial grammar is a crucial aspect of BSL (Brennan 1992), and this article provides insight into issues related to learning how to use topographic space, a feature of spatial grammar whereby real-world referent locations are replicated in the signing production. This study of L2 advanced learners of BSL explores the numbers and types of errors that are made when applying topographic features into their signing, with a particular focus on positioning and dimensionality aspects. Two scenarios are used do this: classroom layouts (Task 1) and a courtroom layout (Task 2). The study concludes with reflections on how BSL teachers can support L2 learners in improving their development of topographic skills
Does financing for private maternity services improve birth experiences in Poland? A mixed-methods study of the Babies Born Better Survey
Get PDFIntroduction:
Women in Poland, despite having access to publicly-funded medical care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, frequently use private care. Women's experience and satisfaction with childbirth have been considered one of the key indicators of the quality of care. In this study we explore whether and how paying for private childbirth services affects women’s experiences and satisfaction with care. The qualitative portion seeks to understand how individual women construct meaning around their childbirth experiences, including their relationships with healthcare personnel, medical interventions, birth environment, and professionalism.
Methods:
This mixed-methods study is based on data from 951 online questionnaires completed by women who gave birth between June 2017 and June 2022, in Poland. This study is part of the international Babies Born Better Survey project. The project used simultaneous quantitative and qualitative data collection, it was exploratory with equivalent status of qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and chi-squared tests were conducted to compare women who used private and public care. Qualitative data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The quantitative and qualitative results were integrated, in accordance with the chosen mixed-methods design.
Results:
There were no major differences in sociodemographic characteristics (except living standards), health status and satisfaction with labor between women who paid for private services during childbirth and those who used only publicly-funded care. For both groups of women, healthcare personnel and their behavior were the most frequently mentioned aspect shaping childbirth experiences. Other important aspects were: medical interventions, birth environment, and staff professionalism.
Conclusions:
Although accessing private perinatal services care did not provide women with care consistent with their expectations, women put a lot of trust into private services as a means to receive more attentive care. Further research investigating the interplay between private and public services is needed to explore the question how private services may impact the care women receive and why women put so much trust in these services
Fossilisation and technology: exploring ways of addressing erroneous language acquisition via computer-assisted tools and artificial intelligence for Greek adult learners of English as a Foreign Language
Get PDFFossilisation is among the most frequent issues appearing in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) studies. It is a phenomenon that is responsible for the emergence of common language mistakes even in advanced learners. Research has shown that there are many challenges in the attempt of researchers to properly define the phenomenon, though it cannot be considered as fully untreatable. On the contrary, it is suggested that, under certain circumstances, fossilised patterns can be treated and may not reappear in the learners’ linguistic output. Using technology in language learning has enough benefits, according to studies.
As such, a combination of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) could provide learners with interesting activities and accurate input that could assist with their overcoming of fossilised patterns. Instead of focusing exclusively on more traditional CALL and MALL technologies, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots was encouraged for the development of the study, due to the continuous development of AI technologies and their use in various educational-related studies. The effectiveness of AI chatbots is still evaluated in studies, and it is an area that has not been considered for research within the Greek English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting.
This study aimed to investigate effectiveness of the AI chatbots in addressing the number of mistakes and errors Greek adult learners of English can produce. In order to do this, the study used mixed methods and tasks that were completed using the participants’ computers and a chatbot of their choice. Thirty-four participants were recruited for the purpose of this study, and provided data that was collected through the use of homework tasks, an AI chatbot task, questionnaires, and interviews.
The results showed that participants in both groups managed to produce more accurate language while working with the chatbot, and after noticing the input produced by the chatbot, they managed to almost completely avoid making mistakes in their written English. The participants also expressed a favourable attitude towards the use of artificial intelligence technology in language learning, understanding that it can be a useful tool in language learning, though it should still be used alongside the human factor (teachers). The findings of this study can encourage teachers and EFL material providers to encourage the use of AI technologies in order to enhance individual learning, as well as develop materials that will be enforcing the use of AI applications in language learning. The study has also managed to provide a clearer image of the types of errors Greek adult learners of English usually produce, a fact that could help teachers and material designers to focus on certain areas while creating learning materials. Finally, the study also recommends a series of longitudinal research projects that will test the effectiveness of AI applications in different stages, and for longer periods of time