University of Lincoln

About: University of Lincoln is a education organization based out in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2341 authors who have published 7025 publications receiving 124797 citations.

3D-vision based detection, localization, and sizing of broccoli heads in the field

Abstract: This paper describes a 3D vision system for robotic harvesting of broccoli using low-cost RGB-D sensors, which was developed and evaluated using sensory data collected under real-world field conditions in both the UK and Spain The presented method addresses the tasks of detecting mature broccoli heads in the field and providing their 3D locations relative to the vehicle The paper evaluates different 3D features, machine learning, and temporal filtering methods for detection of broccoli heads Our experiments show that a combination of Viewpoint Feature Histograms, Support Vector Machine classifier, and a temporal filter to track the detected heads results in a system that detects broccoli heads with high precision We also show that the temporal filtering can be used to generate a 3D map of the broccoli head positions in the field Additionally, we present methods for automatically estimating the size of the broccoli heads, to determine when a head is ready for harvest All of the methods were evaluated using ground-truth data from both the UK and Spain, which we also make available to the research community for subsequent algorithm development and result comparison Cross-validation of the system trained on the UK dataset on the Spanish dataset, and vice versa, indicated good generalization capabilities of the system, confirming the strong potential of low-cost 3D imaging for commercial broccoli harvesting

Facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD: a systematic review of qualitative studies.

Abstract: Pulmonary rehabilitation has short-term benefits on dyspnea, exercise capacity and quality of life in COPD, but evidence suggests these do not always translate to increased daily physical activity on a patient level. This is attributed to a limited understanding of the determinants of physical activity maintenance following pulmonary rehabilitation. This systematic review of qualitative research was conducted to understand COPD patients’ perceived facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation. Electronic databases of published data, non-published data, and trial registers were searched to identify qualitative studies (interviews, focus groups) reporting the facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation for people with COPD. Thematic synthesis of qualitative data was adopted involving line-by-line coding of the findings of the included studies, development of descriptive themes, and generation of analytical themes. Fourteen studies including 167 COPD patients met the inclusion criteria. Seven sub-themes were identified as influential to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation. These included: intentions, self-efficacy, feedback of capabilities and improvements, relationship with health care professionals, peer interaction, opportunities following pulmonary rehabilitation and routine. These encapsulated the facilitators and barriers to physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation and were identified as sub-themes within the three analytical themes, which were beliefs, social support, and the environment. The findings highlight the challenge of promoting physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD and provide complementary evidence to aid evaluations of interventions already attempted in this area, but also adds insight into future development of interventions targeting physical activity maintenance in COPD.

Breeding Young as a Survival Strategy during Earth's Greatest Mass Extinction.

Abstract: Studies of the effects of mass extinctions on ancient ecosystems have focused on changes in taxic diversity, morphological disparity, abundance, behaviour and resource availability as key determinants of group survival. Crucially, the contribution of life history traits to survival during terrestrial mass extinctions has not been investigated, despite the critical role of such traits for population viability. We use bone microstructure and body size data to investigate the palaeoecological implications of changes in life history strategies in the therapsid forerunners of mammals before and after the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME), the most catastrophic crisis in Phanerozoic history. Our results are consistent with truncated development, shortened life expectancies, elevated mortality rates and higher extinction risks amongst post-extinction species. Various simulations of ecological dynamics indicate that an earlier onset of reproduction leading to shortened generation times could explain the persistence of therapsids in the unpredictable, resource-limited Early Triassic environments, and help explain observed body size distributions of some disaster taxa (e.g., Lystrosaurus). Our study accounts for differential survival in mammal ancestors after the PTME and provides a methodological framework for quantifying survival strategies in other vertebrates during major biotic crises.