University of Sheffield

Deep Learning-Enhanced TopoStats for the Automated Quantification of DNA and Complex Biomolecular Structures

Abstract Atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables nanometre-scale, label-free imaging of biomolecules and surfaces under near-native conditions, yet quantitative analysis of AFM data remains limited compared to other bioimaging modalities. This limitation largely arises from the abs...

Transforming Science with Large Language Models: A Survey on AI-assisted Scientific Discovery, Experimentation, Content Generation, and Evaluation

With the advent of large multimodal language models, science is now at a threshold of an AI-based technological transformation. An emerging ecosystem of models and tools aims to support researchers throughout the scientific lifecycle, including (1) searching for relevant literatu...

Oral healthcare professionals' role in reducing young people's sugar-sweetened beverage consumption: a qualitative study

Abstract Aims: This qualitative study aimed to seek views from children and young people (CYP), caregivers, and Oral Health Professionals (OHPs) on the role of OHPs in reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Methods: Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were condu...

Retinotopic remapping of the visual system in deaf adults

Abstract Deaf individuals rely on visual rather than auditory cues to detect events in the periphery, putting a greater demand on neural resources for vision. Comparing visual maps in the brains of early deaf and hearing adults, we found a redistribution of neural resources in th...

Effect of human urinary microenvironment and fluid flow on antibiotic and phage therapy efficacy against uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Abstract Urinary tract infection (UTI) remains a major global health burden, with frequent recurrences and rising antimicrobial resistance compromising treatment efficacy. Conventional susceptibility assays often fail to predict clinical outcomes, highlighting the need for more p...

Ancient DNA reveals early use of melons in China’s Song dynasty

Abstract Melon ( Cucumis melo L.) domestication is thought to have occurred independently once in Northeast Africa and twice in India, but archaeobotanical seed remains point to a possible additional domestication in China. Because Cucumis seeds are difficult to diagnose morpholo...

Towards real-time surrogate-free Bayesian inversion for neutron reflectometry

Abstract Neutron reflectometry (NR) is a key enabling technology for many areas of scientific development. Although the forward reflectivity model is well-known, inferring the physical properties of a sample from NR data requires the solution of an inverse problem. Increasingly,...

Pattern-Anchored Diagnosis of Oral Epithelial Dysplasia: A Position Paper From COST Action INTERCEPTOR Working Group 2

Abstract Purpose Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) is the principal histopathological marker for malignant risk stratification in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). Current World Health Organisation (WHO) three-tier and other binary grading systems are limited by modest...

Understanding the Cooling Mechanisms of Urban Canal-Edge Walkways Through Blue–Green Infrastructure: A Parametric ENVI-Met Study

Urban canal-edge spaces are increasingly recognised as important blue–green infrastructure for mitigating urban heat; however, the mechanisms governing pedestrian thermal comfort in these environments remain insufficiently understood. This study employed a validated ENVI-met mode...

Integral relations for the skin-friction coefficients and other quantities of annular flows

Integral identities relating the skin-friction coefficients and the Reynolds shear stresses in annular cylindrical flows are derived. In the pressure-driven case, an identity for the radial location of the maximum streamwise velocity is obtained and, in the cylinder-driven case,...

Walking on the Number Line: A Playful and Embodied Group Intervention for People with Acquired Number Deficits (Acalculia)

Numbers skills are affected in as many as 65% of cases following a stroke or abrain-injury, a condition termed ‘acalculia’. Research into re-education ofmathematical skills has focused on using intense repetitions (‘drill’). Whileeducational theory has progressed, offering more e...

Towards a deep-learning genomic tool for risk stratification and diagnostic support in sporadic ALS

Abstract Background A variety of common and rare genetic factors have been implicated in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and the evidence is that a genetic component is present in most affected individuals. However, our current understanding of ALS genetic...

Comparing the GP-CORE and WEMWBS Scores as Predictors of Future Mental Health Service Utilisation and Help-Seeking Behaviour Among UK Students in Higher Education

Background The General Population Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (GP-CORE) and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) are two instruments often used to measure psychological distress or well-being in student samples. This study aimed to directly compare t...

The development and validation of the partial denture experience questionnaire (P-DEQ): reliability and validity

Introduction This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of the Partial Denture Experience Questionnaire (P-DEQ), a new, condition-specific instrument designed to measure the multifaceted impacts of living with removable dentures. Methods The P-DEQ was develop...

Coordinated control of heterogeneous grid-connected energy storage systems

In this paper, it is demonstrated how the coordinated control of heterogeneous grid-connected Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) can result in increased profits compared to operating the ESSs independently when participating in the UK frequency market. A heterogeneous set of ESSs is m...

Efficient coding predicts synaptic conductance

Abstract Retinothalamic and thalamocortical synapses are efficient in the sense that each synapse conveys as many bits per Joule as possible, but efficiency falls rapidly if synaptic conductance deviates from its natural value Harris et al. (2015, 2019). However, the manner in wh...

Control, Communication and the Emotional Construction of Home: The Role of Home Improvements in Supporting Ageing-in-Place

Ageing populations are reshaping housing policy globally, with growing attention on supporting ‘ageing-in-place’. Alongside potential savings, there is recognition that people want to live independently in their own home as they age. This often requires housing adaptations for ac...

Utility of the second-order discontinuous Galerkin solvers for environmental modelling applications

Accurate reproduction of hydrodynamic and solute mixing processes within cylinder arrays is vital for many environmental modelling applications. Traditional approaches use a second-order finite volume (FV2) method to solve the two-dimensional (2D) planar Reynolds-Averaged Navier-...

Exploring how and why people who drink alcohol at high-risk levels use alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks when cutting down: a qualitative focus group study

Abstract Background Alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks are becoming increasingly popular in high-income countries. However, there is limited evidence on their use among general population samples. Drawing on social practice theory, this study aimed to examine how and why people...

Mitigating algorithmic bias in the UK civil service: Challenges and implications for practice

This article examines algorithmic bias mitigation in the context of the UK's civil service, specifically the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Despite various algorithmic bias mitigation approaches being suggested in the literature, little research has examined how these mig...