Research Showcase
The breadth of research conducted at the University of Lincoln is both significant and far-reaching. Below are a few interesting examples of projects that our academics are currently engaged in
- Regenerative Brakes To Power Airplanes
- Potato industry reaps benefits of new computer vision technology
- Antidepressants can cut cancer risk
- From crime scene analysis to cancer detection
- Propaganda, sexism and atrocities illustrated: major project to probe cultural impact of World Wars comics
- Lincoln collaborates with top Chinese universities on artificial vision research
- International airship research collaboration for Lincoln
- Seasonal flu vaccine lowers risk of first heart attack
Regenerative Brakes To Power Aircraft
Tomorrow's aircraft could contribute to their power needs by harnessing energy from the wheel rotation of their landing gear to generate electricity, according to research by the University of Lincoln.
Planes could use this to power their taxiing to and from airport buildings, reducing the need to use their jet engines. This would save on aviation fuel, cut emissions and reduce noise pollution at airports.
The feasibility of this has been confirmed by a team of engineers from the University of Lincoln with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The energy produced by a plane's braking system during landing – currently wasted as heat produced by friction in the aircraft's disc brakes - would be captured and converted into electricity by motor-generators built into the landing gear. The electricity would then be stored and supplied to the in-hub motors in the wheels of the plane when it needed to taxi.
'Engine-less taxiing' could therefore become a reality. ACARE (the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe) has made engine-less taxiing one of the key objectives beyond 2020 for the European aviation industry.
Full story - Earth Teaching website
Potato industry reaps benefits of new computer vision technology
A prototype computer vision system has been developed using off-the-shelf hardware to enable affordable detection, identification and quantification of common defects affecting potatoes. The University of Lincoln team from the Centre for Vision and Robotics Research worked with the Potato Council to produce a low-cost system which can assist quality control (QC) staff and improve consistency, speed and accuracy of defect identification and quantification.
Director of the Centre for Vision and Robotics Research, Dr. Tom Duckett, said: “The system relies on initial input by an expert, identifying blemishes, diseases, as well as good specimens, from sample batches of potatoes. The graphical user interface was developed to allow the software to be used by quality control experts from the industry. The system can be trained to recognise different defect types and will analyse potatoes in near-real-time – a significant improvement on previous research in this area.”
Post-graduate students from the Centre for Vision and Robotics Research played a major role in the project with Michael Barnes (PhD student) undertaking underpinning theoretic research, while Jamie Hutton (MSc student) was responsible for researching and developing the real-time prototype for industry testing. The team worked with Glyn Harper from Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research - the leading post-harvest applied research facility for agricultural storage in the UK. It is owned by the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board and operated by its Potato Council division.
Antidepressants can cut cancer risk
Antidepressants commonly prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders can significantly reduce people's chances of developing certain kinds of cancer and could present a blueprint for the development of new anti-cancer drugs.
Dr Tim Bates (University of Lincoln and New-Use Therapeutics Limited), Dr Alex Walker and Dr Tim Card (both University of Nottingham) and Professor Ken Muir (University of Warwick) points to an "Achilles heel" in cancer cells which could provide a basis for the development of new drug treatments. This vulnerability is in sub-cellular compartments know as mitochondria - the ‘boilerhouse’ of the cell which produces the chemical energy needed to perform essential functions such as muscle contraction and nerve conduction.
A study of more than 90,000 patients from across the UK found that those who were taking tricyclic antidepressants had a significantly lower incidence of colorectal cancer and glioma (a major type of brain tumour) than those who were not taking the drugs. Tricyclic antidepressants were shown to reduce the chances of developing glioma by between 41% and 64%, depending on the dose and length of time for which the drugs were taken. The effect on colorectal cancer was somewhat less, with between a 16-21% reduction in risk of getting the disease.
The anti-cancer effect was specific to glioma and colorectal cancer, as the chances of developing the other types of cancer that were investigated were not affected.
Dr Bates said although it was not realistic that tricyclic antidepressants could be widely prescribed to prevent cancer, given their side effects, it was possible that they could benefit patients identified through DNA screening as being at heightened risk of developing specific cancers.
From crime scene analysis to cancer detection
Distinguished Professor of Image Engineering, Nigel Allinson, is an internationally renowned academic whose research has led to important breakthroughs in many aspects of imaging technology, from recording x-ray images of proteins to the streaming of video over the internet.
His latest research includes the creation of the world’s largest microchip for medical imaging, which will lead in time to major advancements in radiology for cancer detection.
Professor Allinson’s high-profile forensic science projects within the criminal justice system and homeland security include using computer imaging to identify criminals by their shoeprints and speeding up the transmission of fingerprint information from crime scenes to police bureaux, reducing the time to achieve an identification from days to minutes. This technology is now in use within three-quarters ofUKpolice forces.
He is currently working on a new software system which allows scene of crime officers to take fingerprint and footprint lifts using a smart phone.
The stuff of TV dramas is now being brought to life by the University of Lincoln.
Propaganda, sexism and atrocities illustrated: major project to probe cultural impact of World Wars comics
Leading historian, Professor Jane Chapman, is embarking on a major project to understand the cultural impact of comics produced during and about the two World Wars.
In the run up to the centenary of the First World War (1914 -18), the Professor of Communications at the University of Lincoln and her team of researchers are studying comics from the UK, Europe and the USA to explore their depiction of epic events and their influence on the public consciousness and cultural heritage.
They are looking at countries’ attitudes to war as expressed through this popular form of communication - among them ‘The Red Baron', 'I Flew with Braddock', 'Charley's War' and 'C'était la Guerre des Tranches', and the various national, political and social tensions they convey and the purposes they served.
Research partners include the Cartoon Museum (London,) D.C. Thomson & co. Ltd (Dundee,) the Belgian Comic Strip Center (Brussels), Egmont UK Ltd (London) and their sub-licensee Titian Books Ltd (London).
Further information about this research
Lincoln collaborates with top Chinese universities on artificial vision research
The University of Lincoln's Dr Shigang Yue is developing a major research programme with the University of Hamburg, Tsinghua University and Xi'an Jiaotong University.
Led by Lincoln, the four research partners are working on a ground-breaking project to replicate the complexities involved in animal and human vision within machines.
The four-year project, entitled Eye2E: Building a Visual Brain for Fast Human Machine Interaction, is being funded by the Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme.
Dr Yue, who is an expert in the field of artificial intelligence, computer vision, robotics, brains, and neuroscience, said: “Many animals possess almost perfect sensory systems for fast and efficient interactions within dynamic environments. The mechanisms in biological visual pathways provide nice models for developing artificial vision systems.
“Focusing on modelling biological visual neural systems and realising them in chips for human-machine interaction, the research staff exchange programme is bringing opportunities for the four partners to complement each others’ multidisciplinary research strengths and to build strong connections between the European institutions and partner institutions in a fast growing economy."
International airship research collaboration for Lincoln
Lincoln’s PVC Research, Professor Paul Stewart and Professor of Energy Conversion, Chris Bingham, have been awarded high profile European funding for a new research project.
The MAAT (Multibody Advanced Airship for Transport) project sees Profs Stewart and Bingham working as part of a global consortium to take forward airship technology, through funding from the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
The project is being led by the Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy and the Lincoln team will focus on ‘Energy and Propulsive Systems’ with Prof Stewart in the role of principal investigator and Prof Bingham as co-investigator. http://www.energy-institute.eu/
Prof Stewart said: “Airships are currently being developed by various organisations. They open up possibilities for the future of air travel; they are quieter, don’t require runways and are low carbon.
“Prof Bingham and I will be looking at how we can make the most efficient use of the energy generated by the photovoltaic cells on the outer body of the airships. We will focus on elements such as the electrical power systems, energy storage and propulsion and the control systems used for flying. By introducing innovative systems we can overcome the limitations of traditional propellers at high altitudes.”
The €multi-million project will run over three years. FP7 is the EU funding programme for research and technological development.
Seasonal flu vaccine lowers risk of first heart attack
Patients who have the seasonal flu vaccine in the autumn could reduce their chances of suffering a first heart attack by more than a fifth, according to research carried out by Professor Niroshan Siriwardena from Lincoln's School of Health and Social Care.
The study, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggested that as heart attacks increase significantly in winter when pneumonia and flu are prevalent, there may be a link between respiratory infections and heart attacks.
Professor Siriwardena and co-authors Stella Gwini, from NHS Lincolnshire, and Carol Coupland, from the University of Nottingham, looked at data on 78,706 patients aged 40 years or older from 379 family practices in England and Wales. Of those patients, 16,012 had suffered a heart attack.
They found that patients who had an influenza vaccination within the past year had a significantly reduced rate (19 per cent) of first heart attack.
Professor Siriwardena is also a practising GP. His current research projects focus on effective treatments for common mental health problems and clinical outcome improvements to pre-hospital care.
