RSS 1.0Research from April 2016
This area brings together all research published after April 2016.
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Visual SLAM for dynamic environments based on object detection and optical flow for dynamic object removalIn dynamic indoor environments and for a Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM) system to operate, moving objects should be considered because they could affect the system’s visual odometer stability and it is position estimation accuracy. vSLAM can use feature points or a sequence of images as it is only source of input in order to perform localization while simultaneously creating a map of the environment. A vSLAM system based on ORB-SLAM3 and on YOLOR was proposed in this paper. The newly proposed system in combination with an object detection model (YOLOX) applied on extracted feature points is capable of achieving 2-4% better accuracy as compared to VPS-SLAM and DS-SLAM. Static feature points such as signs and benches were used to calculate the camera position and dynamic moving objects were eliminated by using the tracking thread. A specific custom personal dataset that includes indoor and outdoor RGB-D pictures of train stations including dynamic objects and high density of people, ground truth data, sequence data, video recording with the train stations and X, Y, Z data was used to validate and evaluate the proposed method. The results show that ORB-SLAM3 with YOLOR as object detection achieves 89.54% of accuracy in dynamic indoor environments compared to previous systems such as VPS-SLAM.
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The association between social vulnerability and frailty in community dwelling older people: a systematic reviewThe aim of this systematic literature review was to determine whether social vulnerability is associated with frailty in older people. Databases were searched for literature from January 2001 to March 2022. Hand searches of reference lists of the selected articles were also used to identify other relevant studies. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected. Two independent reviewers assessed the methodological quality using an established tool. Eleven eligible studies from Canada, Europe, USA, Tanzania, Mexico, and China were selected. The level of social vulnerability measured by the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) from a meta-analysis was 0.300 (95% CI: 0.242, 0.358), with the highest SVI in Tanzania (0.49), while the lowest level of SVI was reported in China (0.15). The highest frailty level of 0.32 was observed in both Tanzania and Europe, with the lowest frailty reported in a USA study from Hawaii (0.15). In all studies, social vulnerability was a significant predictor of mortality for both sexes at subsequent data collection points. The association between SVI and frailty was high in Tanzania (r = 0.81), with other studies reporting stronger correlations for females compared to males, but at small to moderate levels. In one study, an increase of 1SD in SVI was linked to a 20% increase in frailty score at a subsequent evaluation. Additional study is warranted to determine a potential causality between social vulnerability and frailty.
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Evaluating Palin Stammering Therapy for School Children (Palin STSC 8-14): protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial comparing Palin STSC(8-14) with usual treatmentHaving a stammer can have a significant effect on a child's social, emotional and educational development. With approximately 66,000 children in the UK having a stammer, there is a need to establish an adequate evidence base to inform clinical practice. We describe a feasibility trial to explore the effectiveness of a new therapy programme for children aged 8-14: Palin Stammering Therapy for School Children (Palin STSC(8-14)). Preliminary data from the Michael Palin Centre, where the programme was developed, indicate that Palin STSC(8-14) is effective in reducing stammering frequency and impact for children, with beneficial effects for parents too. We will investigate the feasibility of the methods required for a definitive randomised controlled trial to investigate the application of this therapy by NHS speech and language therapists (SLTs), compared with 'treatment as usual' (TAU), beyond the specialist context in which it was developed. This is a two-arm feasibility cluster-randomised controlled trial of Palin STSC(8-14) with TAU control arm, and randomisation at the level of the SLT. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected to examine the following: the recruitment and retention of therapists and families, the acceptability of the research processes and the therapeutic intervention and the appropriateness of the therapy outcome measures. Assessments will be completed by children and parents at baseline and 6 months later, including measures of stammering severity; the impact of child's stammering on both children and parents; child temperament, behaviour and peer relations, anxiety; quality of life; and economic outcomes. There will also be a qualitative process evaluation, including interviews with parents, children, SLTs and SLT managers to explore the acceptability of both the research and therapy methods. Treatment fidelity will be examined through analysis of therapy session records and recordings. The findings of this feasibility trial will inform the decision as to whether to progress to a full-scale randomised controlled trial to explore the effectiveness of Palin STSC(8-14) when compared to Treatment as Usual in NHS SLT services. There is a strong need for an evidence-based intervention for school age children who stammer. ISRCTN. ISRCTN17058884 . Registered on 18 December 2019.
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Edge intelligence case study on medical Internet of Things securityMIoT (Medical Internet of Things) systems produced many of sensing data in the world. Consequently, there is a demand of scientific research in this field. Edge intelligence fit in this trends, as one of the developing cutting-edge technology. A systematic approach had been applied on the health informatics edge intelligence devices’ investigation. The observing and recording action that occurs in the process of this research to date had been satisfed. This work had been reported here. The analyzing of the case study data was carried out. Eventually, some results have been summarized based on the investigation. Furthermore, a solution is proposed for the kind of medical edge intelligence device data cyber security problem-solving. Edge intelligence was defined as “the devices available at the edge layer have some limited amount of computing resource which can be utilized and incorporated with machine learning or AI (Artificial intelligence) algorithms to perform RT (real time) data analytics”. Studying more in the category of edge intelligence would influence MIoT system. This survey on edge intelligence had been carried out on investigated recent MIoT, Robot, Raspberry Pi and AV (autonomous vehicle) and so on as edge terminal - edge intelligence devices and the challenges they had encounter. In particular, AI application in edge intelligence device handle medical data security threat. AI face more challenges in edge intelligence computing. In this survey, through some case studies, some advantages and disadvantages had been studied. MIoT edge intelligence device challenges on big data security issues had been discussed.
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Disparities in the timing of antenatal care initiation and associated factors in an ethnically dense maternal cohort with high levels of area deprivationLate access to antenatal care is a contributor to excess mortality and morbidity among ethnic minority mothers compared to White British in the UK. While individual ethnicity and socioeconomic disadvantage are linked to late antenatal care initiation, studies have seldom explored patterns of late initiation and associated factors in ethnically dense socially disadvantaged settings. This study investigated disparities in the timing of antenatal care initiation, and associated factors in an ethnically dense socially disadvantaged maternal cohort.
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Fundamentals of mental health assessment for non-mental health practitionersThis chapter will focus on assessment in relation to mental health, however, it is likely in practice that you will be assessing both mental health and physical health combined. Someone may attend your service for a physical health complaint but present with a mental health problem and contrariwise. This chapter will also suggest how health care workers can increase their understanding of mental health, mental ill health and undertake a mental health assessment. Whilst it is acknowledged that the purpose of assessment is to inform the referral to the mental health specialists who will complete a full assessment, it is also important, that the information communicated is accurate and demonstrates that the person is currently safe and receiving quality care.
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Communication: a person-centred approachThis book focuses on practical nursing skills, and in this chapter, we explore interactions between nurses and people while carrying out skills. The chapter addresses aspects of the Standards of Proficiency for registered nurses and nursing associates, (Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC] 2018 a and b) which outline expectations of nurse associates, nursing students and newly qualified nurses.
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Developing practical nursing skills: foundations for nursing and healthcare studentsDeveloping Practical Nursing Skills helps you learn and perfect the practical skills required to become a qualified nurse. Adopting a patient-focused and caring approach, this essential text helps you integrate nursing values alongside physical skills in your daily practice. Now in its fifth edition, the text takes into account the NMC standards of proficiency and is relevant to nurses across all fields. Key features of the book include: i) New chapters on mental health assessment and end-of-life care, along with expanded content on sleep, pain and medication management. ii) Full-colour text design with clear illustrations and clinical photographs to aid visual learning. iii) Reader-friendly style with learning outcomes, activities and reflection points to help you link theory to practice. iv) Scenarios from a range of settings, including community, mental health and learning disabilities nursing. v) A focus on adults and young people, and with 'pointers' on caring for children and pregnant women to promote a lifespan approach. This is a complete clinical skills resource for all pre-registration nursing students. It is also a useful text for nursing associate and healthcare support workers.
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Caring for people with impaired mobilityThis chapter includes the following topics: Pressure ulcer risk assessments; Pressure ulcer prevention; Prevention of other complications of immobility; Key principles of moving and handling people; Assisting with mobilisation and preventing falls.
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#mothersday: Constructions of motherhood and femininity in social media postsImages and representations of parenting, and particularly mothering, have become commonplace on social media platforms over the past decade. These displays, however, take place in the context of popular contemporary discourses around gender and parenting that are in many ways prescriptive. This paper explores the constructions of mothering online through an analysis of posts about mothers on Mother’s Day from 2018 to 2020. Data were collected from Instagram and Twitter using hashtags such as #mothersday, #happymothersday and #motheringsunday. Both content and thematic analyses were conducted. This paper will consider three main themes that were identified in the data: “Beauty & biology”; “Grief & loss” and “Care (& COVID)”, with a focus on constructions of gendered parenting and family through the explicit celebration of the lives and roles of mothers. The findings provide insight into normative constructions of gender and how these are mediated through the affordances of social media platforms in a neoliberal context.
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Investigation into antiepileptic effect of ganoderic acid A and its mechanism in seizure rats induced by pentylenetetrazoleGanoderic acid A (GAA) exhibited neuron protection in in vitro epilepsy study, but no study has been done in vivo. Rats were administered (i.p.) pentylenetetrazole daily for 28 days to induce seizure. Rats with grade II or above of epileptic score were divided into three groups and given placebo, sodium valproate, or GAA treatment, respectively, for 7 days. The electrical signals of brain were monitored with electroencephalography (EGG); epileptic behavior was assessed using the Racine scale; morphological changes and apoptosis rate of cortical neurons were assessed with H&E staining and TUNEL staining, respectively. Protein expression of calcium-sensing receptor, p-ERK, p-JNK, and p-p38 in hippocampal tissue and Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, and Bax in cortical tissues was observed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry assay, respectively. After GAA treatment, apparent seizure-like EEG with significant arrhythmic disorder and spike waves was reduced or disappeared, and wave amplitude of EEG was reduced significantly. GAA showed similar effect with sodium valproate treatments on epilepsy. There were an apparent improvement of the epileptic behavior and a significant increase in the epileptic latency and shortening of the epileptic duration in the treatment group compared to control. GAA treatment ameliorated the nuclear pyknosis of neurons which appeared seriously in the epilepsy group. GAA treatment significantly reduced the cortical neuron apoptosis of epilepsy and the expression of calcium-sensing receptor, p-P38, p-JNK, cleaved caspase-3, and Bax but increased the expression of both p-ERK and Bcl-2. In conclusion, GAA treatment showed strong antiepileptic effect by decreasing apoptosis in cortical neuron and the expression of calcium-sensing receptor and stimulating the MAPK pathway.
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Detoxification gene families at the genome-wide level of Rhus gall aphid Schlechtendalia chinensisThe Rhus gall aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis uses the species Rhus chinensis as its primary host plant, on which galls are produced. The galls have medicinal properties and can be used in various situations due to their high tannin content. Detoxification enzymes play significant roles in the insect lifecycle. In this study, we focused on five detoxification gene families, i.e., glutathione-Stransferase (GST), ABC transporter (ABC), Carboxylesterase (CCE), cyto-chrome P450 (CYP), and UDP-glycosyltransferase (UDP), and manually annotated 144 detoxification genes of S. chinensis using genome-wide techniques. The detoxification genes appeared mostly on chromosome 1, where a total of two pair genes were identified to show tandem duplications. There were 38 gene pairs between genomes of S. chinensis and Acyrthosiphon pisum in the detoxification gene families by collinear comparison. Ka/Ks ratios showed that detoxification genes of S. chinensis were mainly affected by purification selection during evolution. The gene expression numbers of P450s and ABCs by transcriptome sequencing data were greater, while gene expression of CCEs was the highest, suggesting they might be important in the detoxification process. Our study has firstly identified the genes of the different detoxification gene families in the S. chinensis genome, and then analyzed their general features and expression, demonstrating the importance of the detoxification genes in the aphid and providing new information for further research.
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Identification of the antigens recognised by colorectal cancer patients using sera from patients who exhibit a Crohn's-like lymphoid reactionA Crohn's-like lymphoid reaction (CLR) is observed in about 15% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and is associated with favourable outcomes. To identify the immune targets recognised by CRC CLR patient sera, we immunoscreened a testes cDNA library with sera from three patients. Immunoscreening of the 18 antigens identified by SEREX with sera from normal donors showed that only the heavy chain of IgG3 (IGHG3) and a novel antigen we named UOB-COL-7, were solely recognised by sera from CRC CLR patients. ELISA showed an elevation in IgG3 levels in patients with CRC (p = 0.01). To extend our studies we analysed the expression of our SEREX-identified antigens using the RNA-sequencing dataset (GSE5206). We found that the transcript levels of multiple IGHG probesets were highly significant (p < 0.001) in their association with clinical features of CRC while above median levels of DAPK1 (p = 0.005) and below median levels of GTF2H5 (p = 0.004) and SH3RF2 (p = 0.02) were associated with improved overall survival. Our findings demonstrate the potential of SEREX-identified CRC CLR antigens to act as biomarkers for CRC and provide a rationale for their further characterization and validation.
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‘I know how it sounds on paper’ : risk talk, the use of documents and epistemic justice in child protection assessment home visitsSocial workers carry much of the frontline authority to define risk to children and discuss it with families. Assessment reports and other institutional documents record professional views about family information, and also have the potential to convey the ‘voice’ of the family to institutions. Social workers have responsibility for sharing these documents with families, yet little is known about how they do this. This paper focuses on episodes when social workers introduce institutional documents in home visits, and on the family responses elicited. These are high-stakes encounters which, when they go seriously wrong, emerge in the press as tragedies and scandals. For families, these documents carry an emotional depth-charge as intimate, potentially shaming, and sometimes inaccurate details of their lives are inscribed in them by and for others. Latour’s (1996) concept of interobjectivity sheds light on the use of documents, while concepts of epistemic authority (Heritage and Raymond, 2005) and epistemic injustice (Fricker, 2007) are employed to examine how social workers respond to parental testimony about themselves and their children. Learning how to present institutional documentation in ways that reduce the risk of emotional reactivity and treating family perspectives with epistemic justice may enhance social work practice. At a policy level, the design of documents warrants review, so that they facilitate rather than obstruct social workers’ efforts to build what are already fragile relationships with families.
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Why does systemic supervision support practitioners’ practice more effectively with children and families?The importance of supervision for social work practice is widely accepted. This paper focuses on one specific type of supervision: systemic group supervision or “systemic supervision”. Systemic social work practice is a group-based, multi-disciplinary model of service delivery that aims to work therapeutically with the whole family. Central to this model is the use of systemically-informed group supervision. This has been shown to impact positively on the quality of direct practice with families, but what is it about this type of supervision that supports frontline practitioners to practice more skillfully? This paper is based on interviews with 49 frontline staff across five children’s services departments in the UK. It identifies the key features of systemic supervision and explores why workers think that developing collective, group-based understandings of risk to children supports them to intervene more effectively with families in contact with children’s services. These findings contribute to a growing body of knowledge about the practice shaping function of supervision within child and family social work.
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‘It’s like a much deeper understanding and you kind of believe them more…’: the value of peer support for young people affected by sexual violenceResearch demonstrates that relationships are key when working to support young people affected by sexual violence. Within these relationships young people show a preference for non-judgemental, flexible, consistent and informal support. Peer support - defined here as support provided by those with similar experiences - is however an uncharted area for assisting young people affected by sexual violence. This paper draws on interviews with 25 respondents with knowledge and experience of setting up, supervising and/or participating in peer support initiatives for young people impacted by different forms of sexual violence in Europe and North America. The article highlights how one form of peer support, peer or ‘survivor’ mentoring, can provide emotional and social support; create space for ‘normality’; and give choices to young people. It outlines three unique dimensions to the support provided by peers more generally; relatability, credibility and translatability. The discussion reflects on what this might mean for traditional support provided by professionals. It also draws attention to the significance of recognising both the variety of experience and identity of young survivors of sexual trauma and the impact this may have on promoting relatability within relationships.
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The role of attachment in immigrant socio-cultural adaptation and psychological distressThe study extends recent research on the link between attachment security and the sociocultural and psychological adaptation of immigrants. It was hypothesised that attachment style would moderate the effects of sociocultural adaptation difficulties on psychological distress and the relationship between attachment style and immigrant background variables was explored. The study was correlational and questionnaire‐based, including a sample of 172 Brazilian immigrants living in the UK. According to the findings, secure and dismissing attachment styles moderated the effects of sociocultural adaptation difficulties on psychological distress. Preoccupied attachment style moderated the effects of previous immigration experience on psychological distress and the effects of duration of stay in the UK on concerns over terrorism. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs and include a variety of immigrant groups.
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Attachment style and interpersonal difficulties in immigrants with coronary heart diseaseThe aim of this study was to investigate the role of interpersonal factors and immigration in the development and management of coronary heart disease (CHD). In a cross-sectional design, three groups matched on age and gender were compared on attachment style and interpersonal difficulties: a group of 20 Greek-Cypriot immigrants with CHD, a group 20 Greek-Cypriot immigrants without CHD, and a group of 18 Greek-Cypriots with the disease living in Cyprus, without a history of immigration. Three self-report questionnaires were used: the Interpersonal Problems, the Relationship Questionnaire, and the Hostility Scale. According to the findings, a dismissive attachment style in couple relationships and difficulties indicating lack of general interpersonal engagement were associated with the presence of CHD. Although the association between dismissing attachment and CHD was indicated irrespective of immigrant status, general interpersonal problems were related to the disease only when such a status was also present. Examined in the context of the relevant literature, these findings suggested that attachment and interpersonal difficulties may play a role in the development and/or successful management of CHD. Such a role may be particularly evident in social groups experiencing additional psychosocial stressors, such as the immigrants. Future studies are needed to explore the issue further.
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Attachment and representational change in cognitive analytic therapy: developing a taxonomyA number of studies suggest that the couple relationship is a crucial aspect of the individual's supportive network, playing an important role in the maintenance of mental health and the recovery from psychological disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate how Cognitive Analytic Therapy may change the patients' understandings of their couple relationships and, possibly, the relationships themselves. Eleven outpatients presenting mostly with neurotic and personality disorders were interviewed before and after treatment about their current couple relationships, while clinical improvement was also assessed on a number of scales. A qualitative analysis was conducted on the patients' accounts, revealing that the patients experienced their interpersonal space as being defined by three dichotomies: self vs. other, autonomy vs. relatedness, and dependent vs. depended-on positions. Moreover, the patients' perception of autonomy tended to change in reference to the dependent position, while that of relatedness did so in reference to the depended-on. In addition, post-therapy changes regarding autonomy were asymmetrical, with the self being presented as strengthened and the other as relatively weakened; in contrast, changes regarding relatedness were symmetrical, presenting both partners either as more, or as less emotionally available. On the basis of differences in change, three types of patients were identified. As the findings were considered within the framework of attachment theory three research questions were formulated for further investigation: (a) the patients' subjective experience may have revealed information about their deeper attachment representations; (b) changes in that experience may have suggested shifts in the patients' security of attachment; and (c) different types of change in that experience may have suggested diverse pathways through which shifts in attachment security may have been attained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
