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Notes on methods and sources
Get PDFOnline publication : https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Centres/Global-Lives/Research-projects/Modern-Slavery/Notes-on-methodsWe have compiled two databases as part of a research project in which we investigate how funding streams prioritising 'modern slavery' as a foundational category have influenced the language, methodologies, partnerships, and outputs of individuals and institutions working on systems of vulnerability and exploitation. In this piece, we highlight the methods and sources used to create both databases, followed by a discussion of some of the current limitations of the data. In an appendix, we also provide the names of the organisations that have funded (or disbursed funds for) modern slavery-related projects from/within the United Kingdom
Model for Determining the Psycho-Emotional State of a Person Based on Multimodal Data Analysis
Get PDFData Availability Statement:
The data supporting this study’s findings are openly available in https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23596362.v1 (accessed on 1 September 2022). Datasets are used for different models’ performance evaluation, namely: FER: fer2013: https://www.kaggle.com/deadskull7/fer2013 (accessed on 1 September 2022) and CK + 48 five emotions: https://www.kaggle.com/gauravsharma99/ck48-5-emotions (accessed on 1 September 2022); SER: RAVDESS Emotional speech audio: https://www.kaggle.com/uwrfkaggler/ravdess-emotional-speech-audio (accessed on 1 September 2022); TER: Text-Emotion-detection: https://www.kaggle.com/dataset/f10c38f8f356a43b344ca82476b6b32b5d31b99af19276ba1f7846004c0851f2 (accessed on 1 September 2022); Datasets from the Internet inside the project: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZV3ceCjNND7xcUxbsJb57aitTpUbcYa9?usp=sharing (accessed on 1 September 2022); Videos for tests from YouTube: (1) Biden Delivers Remarks On Inflation_NBC News—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckCOF719atE (accessed on 1 September 2022); (2) Boris Johnson_Ukraine will win war and ‘be free’—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPM8Pvgkz7Y (accessed on 1 September 2022); (3) Father’s final words to his dying son!—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3hABRHmQoo (accessed on 1 September 2022); (4) Minecraft Warden Update is a NIGHTMARE!—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2osdz9Z5JKY (accessed on 1 September 2022). Video for Live Test: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wAR2CdlGIEtOSjKv7T9e-gQhBHIAiLLM?usp=sharing (accessed on 1 September 2022).The paper aims to develop an information system for human emotion recognition in streaming data obtained from a PC or smartphone camera, using different methods of modality merging (image, sound and text). The objects of research are the facial expressions, the emotional color of the tone of a conversation and the text transmitted by a person. The paper proposes different neural network structures for emotion recognition based on unimodal flows and models for the margin of the multimodal data. The analysis determined that the best classification accuracy is obtained for systems with data fusion after processing each channel separately and obtaining individual characteristics. The final analysis of the model based on data from a camera and microphone or recording or broadcast of the screen, which were received in the “live” mode, gave a clear understanding that the quality of the obtained results is highly dependent on the quality of the data preparation and labeling. This is directly related to the fact that the data on which the neural network is trained is highly qualified. The neural network with combined data on the penultimate layer allows a psycho-emotional state recognition accuracy of 0.90 to be obtained. The spatial distribution of emotion analysis was also analyzed for each data modality. The model with late fusion of multimodal data demonstrated the best recognition accuracy.The National Research Foundation of Ukraine funded this research under project number 2021.01/0103 and British academy fellowship number RaR\100727
Piplartine eliminates CD34+ AML stem/progenitor cells by inducing oxidative stress and suppressing NF-κB signalling
Get PDFData availability: Data will be made available on request.Supplementary information is available online at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41420-024-01909-4#Sec20 .Author notes: These authors contributed equally: Cristina Pina, Daniel P. Bezerra.Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a haematological malignancy characterised by the accumulation of transformed myeloid progenitors in the bone marrow. Piplartine (PL), also known as piperlongumine, is a pro-oxidant small molecule extracted from peppers that has demonstrated antineoplastic potential in solid tumours and other haematological malignancies. In this work, we explored the potential of PL to treat AML through the use of a combination of cellular and molecular analyses of primary and cultured leukaemia cells in vitro and in vivo. We showed that PL exhibits in vitro cytotoxicity against AML cells, including CD34+ leukaemia-propagating cells, but not healthy haematopoietic progenitors, suggesting anti-leukaemia selectivity. Mechanistically, PL treatment increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and induced ROS-mediated apoptosis in AML cells, which could be prevented by treatment with the antioxidant scavenger N-acetyl-cysteine and the pancaspase inhibitor Z-VAD(OMe)-FMK. PL treatment reduced NFKB1 gene transcription and the level of NF-κB p65 (pS536), which was depleted from the nucleus of AML cells, indicating suppression of NF-κB p65 signalling. Significantly, PL suppressed AML development in a mouse xenograft model, and its combination with current AML treatments (cytarabine, daunorubicin and azacytidine) had synergistic effects, indicating translational therapeutic potential. Taken together, these data position PL as a novel anti-AML candidate drug that can target leukaemia stem/progenitors and is amenable to combinatorial therapeutic strategies.This work received financial support and fellowships from the Brazilian agencies Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB, Brazil). Work in the Pina lab was funded by a British Society for Haematology Early-stage Research Grant (33932) and a BRIEF award by Brunel University London (2020–2022)
Workplace productivity, health and wellbeing: findings from a workplace intervention for reducing sitting time in office workers
Get PDFData Availability: The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Objective:
To evaluate the feasibility and potential effects of a workplace intervention to reduce and break up sitting.
Methods:
Office workers were randomised in clusters to intervention (=22) or control (n = 22). The intervention included a height-adjustable workstation, education, computer prompt software and line manager support. Outcomes included device-measured workplace sitting and ecological momentary assessed (EMA) workplace productivity. Recruitment, retention and data completion rates were assessed.
Results:
Recruitment (n = 44), retention (91%) and workplace sitting measurement rates demonstrated study feasibility. At 8 weeks, workplace sitting was 11% lower (95% CI: -20.71, -1.30) in the intervention group compared with control participants. Intervention participants were also more engaged, motivated and productive while sitting (p ≤ 0.016).
Conclusions:
It was feasible to implement and evaluate this office workplace intervention, with potential benefits on workplace sitting and EMA-measured productivity.Funding Sources: None declared
Emerging public perceptions of intellectual property in UK media
No full textGovernment report URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emerging-public-perceptions-of-intellectual-property-in-uk-media/emerging-public-perceptions-of-intellectual-property-in-uk-mediaThis report provides an initial review into the UK news reporting of Intellectual Property (IP) rights and draws
preliminary considerations on the impact of this media attention on the public perception of IP and rightsholders
decisions in the management of their rights. The initial findings considered copyright, design, patent, and trade
mark issues over five years, and some of the key findings can be summaries as following: [...
Wideband Dual-Polarized Filtering Antenna for Base Station Applications
Get PDFFor the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.A compact wideband dual-polarized filtering antenna based on tightly coupled cross dipoles is presented in this letter. The enhancement of impedance bandwidth is realized by introducing four impedance equalizers to equalize the input resistances of the two inherent resonant modes of tightly coupled cross dipole antenna. The enhancement of the selectivity is realized by introducing two radiation nulls in 5G sub-6 GHz n77 and n79 bands. The radiation null in n77 band is obtained by introducing the cross strips in the center of the antenna. The radiation null in the n79 band is achieved by the introduction of open-end branches. The manipulation of their key parameters allows for independent control over both radiation nulls. The validity of the antenna's design principle was confirmed by carrying out fabrication and measurements. The results obtained showcase the antenna's broad fractional bandwidth of 63.4 exceptional port isolation of 31 dB. High out-of-band rejection levels in n77 and n79 bands are also obtained. In addition, since the whole radiator of the presented antenna is coplanar, it offers the advantage of a simple structure and convenient manufacturing, making it highly suitable for the use in base stations operating across multiple bands.Royal Society - International Exchanges 2019 Cost Share (NSFC);
Huawei Technologies Ltd, in part by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Grant Number: EP/S005625/1 and EP/N032497/1)
Efficient Predefined-Time Adaptive Neural Networks for Computing Time-Varying Tensor Moore–Penrose Inverse
Get PDFThis article proposes predefined-time adaptive neural network (PTANN) and event-triggered PTANN (ET-PTANN) models to efficiently compute the time-varying tensor Moore–Penrose (MP) inverse. The PTANN model incorporates a novel adaptive parameter and activation function, enabling it to achieve strongly predefined-time convergence. Unlike traditional time-varying parameters that increase over time, the adaptive parameter is proportional to the error norm, thereby better allocating computational resources and improving efficiency. To further enhance efficiency, the ET-PTANN model combines an event trigger with the evolution formula, resulting in the adjustment of step size and reduction of computation frequency compared to the PTANN model. By conducting mathematical derivations, the article derives the upper bound of convergence time for the proposed neural network models and determines the minimum execution interval for the event trigger. A simulation example demonstrates that the PTANN and ET-PTANN models outperform other related neural network models in terms of computational efficiency and convergence rate. Finally, the practicality of the PTANN and ET-PTANN models is demonstrated through their application for mobile sound source localization.Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province of China (Grant Number: 2022RC1103 and 2021JJ20005);
10.13039/501100001809-National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 61866013
Effect of MYC and PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer Using an In Vitro Model
Get PDFFigures and Data: https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/44/5/1817/tab-figures-dataBackground/Aim: The 8q24 chromosomal region, which contains the MYC and PVT1 candidate oncogenes, is amplified in carcinomas. Both genes have been involved in the etiopathogenesis of ovarian cancer (OC). In this study, we used an in vitro OC model with a known 8q24 copy number increase and in silico tools to investigate the expression of MYC/PVT1 loci and copy number variation in OC. We also assessed the effects of rucaparib (a PARP inhibitor) in the presence or absence of 10058F4 (a MYC inhibitor) on the expression of MYC/linear PVT1/circular PVT1. Materials and Methods: Tissue culture, chromosome preparation, RNA extraction, RT-qPCR, FISH, and wound healing assays were employed. OncoDB, cBioportal, UALKAN, and ROC Plotter in silico tools were also utilized. Results: Although PVT1 and MYC expression levels remained unaltered in OC, putative copy number alterations across all cancers showed a marked difference between the two genes, particularly in gain and amplification for MYC. PVT1 expression demonstrated prognostic value for the treatment of patients with serous and endometrioid OC. Both genes correlated with PARP10, FAM83H, and DEPTOR. The use of rucaparib in the presence or absence of the MYC inhibitor (10058F4) in vitro, led to a significant down-regulation in the expression of MYC, linear, and circular PVT1. Conclusion: Our data provide a novel insight into the potential interactions of MYC and PVT1 with other genes. Moreover, we identified a new PARP inhibition mechanism down-regulating MYC, as well as the linear and circular PVT1 transcripts. Future work should expand on clinical studies to better understand the prognostic role of PVT1 in OC.Cancer Treatment & Research Trust (CTRT); Global Thesis Program 2017-2018 (University of Bari Aldo Moro)
Using reference equations to standardise incremental shuttle walk test performance in children and young people with chronic conditions and facilitate the evaluation of exercise capacity and disease severity
Get PDFData availability statement:
Data are available upon reasonable request. The data are stored at Great Ormond Street Hospital within the secure Digital Research Environment. Access is possible with permission from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Supplementary Data are available online at: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/313786/field_highwire_adjunct_files/0/bmjopen-2023-075733supp001_data_supplement.pdf .Aims: The aim was to evaluate whether standardised exercise performance during the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) can be used to assess disease severity in children and young people (CYP) with chronic conditions, through (1) identifying the most appropriate paediatric normative reference equation for the ISWT, (2) assessing how well CYP with haemophilia and cystic fibrosis (CF) perform against the values predicted by the best fit reference equation and (3) evaluating the association between standardised ISWT performance and disease severity.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out using existing data from two independent studies (2018–2019) at paediatric hospitals in London,UK. CYP with haemophilia (n=35) and CF (n=134) aged 5–18 years were included. Published reference equations for standardising ISWT were evaluated through a comparison of populations, and Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess the level of agreement between distances predicted by each equation. Associations between ISWT and disease severity were assessed with linear regression.
Results: Three relevant reference equations were identified for the ISWT that standardised performance based on age, sex and body mass index (Vardhan, Lanza, Pinho). A systematic proportional bias of standardised ISWT was observed in all equations, most pronounced with Vardhan and Lanza; the male Pinho equation was identified as most appropriate. On average, CYP with CF and haemophilia performed worse than predicted by the Pihno equation, although the range was wide. Standardised ISWT, and not ISWT distance alone, was significantly associated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s in CYP with CF. Standardised ISWT in CYP with haemophilia was slightly associated with haemophilia joint health score, but this was not significant.
Conclusions: ISWT performance may be useful in a clinic to identify those with worsening disease, but only when performance is standardised against a healthy reference population. The development of validated global reference equations is necessary for more robust assessment.This work was supported by the Sir William Coxen Trust Fund (http://opencharities.org/charities/206936), the UCL Rosetrees Stoneygate prize (M712), a Cystic Fibrosis Trust Clinical Excellence and Innovation Award (CEA010) and a UCL Partners award. HD was funded by the CF Trust Youth Activity Unlimited SRC and an NIHR GOSH BRC internship. NF received funding from a UCL, GOSH and Toronto SickKids studentship. All work at UCL GOS-ICH is supported by the NIHR GOSH BRC
The war in Ukraine and the geopolitics of migration
Get PDFNote: This article gives the views of the author, not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: Halfpoint / Shutterstock.com (https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Halfpoint).For more information, see the author’s accompanying paper at Policy Studies (https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2023.2288237).In the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU gave temporary protection rights to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and suspended a visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Matilde Rosina writes the response to the conflict illustrates the importance of migration policies for the EU’s soft power
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