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A user-centric context-aware framework for real-time optimisation of multimedia data privacy protection, and information retention within multimodal AI systems
Get PDFThe increasing use of AI systems for face, object, action, scene, and emotion recognition raises significant privacy risks, particularly when processing Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Current privacy-preserving methods lack adaptability to users’ preferences and contextual requirements, and obfuscate user faces uniformly. This research proposes a user-centric, context-aware, and ontology-driven privacy protection framework that dynamically adjusts privacy decisions based on user-defined preferences, entity sensitivity, and contextual information. The framework integrates state-of-the-art recognition models for recognising faces, objects, scenes, actions, and emotions in real time on data acquired from vision sensors (e.g., cameras). Privacy decisions are directed by a contextual ontology based in Contextual Integrity theory, which classifies entities into private, semi-private, or public categories. Adaptive privacy levels are enforced through obfuscation techniques and a multi-level privacy model that supports user-defined red lines (e.g., “always hide logos”). The framework also proposes a Re-Identifiability Index (RII) using soft biometric features such as gait, hairstyle, clothing, skin tone, age, and gender, to mitigate identity leakage and to support fallback protection when face recognition fails. The experimental evaluation relied on sensor-captured datasets, which replicate real-world image sensors such as surveillance cameras. User studies confirmed that the framework was effective, with over 85.2% of participants rating the obfuscation operations as highly effective, and the other 14.8% stating that obfuscation was adequately effective. Amongst these, 71.4% considered the balance between privacy protection and usability very satisfactory and 28% found it satisfactory. GPU acceleration was deployed to enable real-time performance of these models by reducing frame processing time from 1200 ms (CPU) to 198 ms. This ontology-driven framework employs user-defined red lines, contextual reasoning, and dual metrics (RII/IVI) to dynamically balance privacy protection with scene intelligibility. Unlike current anonymisation methods, the framework provides a real-time, user-centric, and GDPR-compliant method that operationalises privacy-by-design while preserving scene intelligibility. These features make the framework appropriate to a variety of real-world applications including healthcare, surveillance, and social media
Fibrillization versus coacervation in arginine-tryptophan repeat peptides: effects of sequence length and pH
Get PDFIn peptides, alternating sequences of hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues in general promote β-sheet formation. On the other hand, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) via self-coacervation is observed for certain peptides that can have a lower degree of sequence order due to specific intermolecular interactions (electrostatic, -stacking, cation-π and others). Here, we explore the interplay between fibril formation and LLPS in aqueous solution for tryptophan-arginine repeat peptides (WR)n with n=2-5. Peptide conformations are probed us-ing a combination of spectroscopic methods and x-ray diffraction while self-assembly is stud-ied through cryo-TEM, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), optical microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The pH-dependent aggregation is a particular focus. We find a general trend for extended nanotape structures to be favoured upon increasing the number of (WR) repeats. Coacervate droplets are observed due to LLPS for (WR)2 and (WR)3 at pH 12, whereas twisted nanotapes are formed by (WR)4 and (WR)5. Hydrogel for-mation is also observed at sufficiently high concentration at pH 12 for (WR)n with n=3-5. In contrast at lower pH, we find that (WR)2 forms micelles or globular aggregates whereas ex-tended β-sheet structures (fibrils or nanotapes) are observed for the longer sequences. The cytocompatibility of all five sequences was determined using an MTT assay on human dermal fibroblast cells, and this revealed that the peptides are well tolerated by these cells at low concentrations. Our results reveal remarkable pH-dependent phase behaviour of these model alternating peptides and we elucidate conditions for LLPS in short model (WR)2 and (WR)3 peptides
Global mean sea level over the past 4.5 million years
Get PDFChanges in global mean sea level (GMSL) during the late Cenozoic remain uncertain. We use a reconstruction of changes in δ18O of seawater to reconstruct GMSL since 4.5 million years ago (Ma) that accounts for temperature-driven changes in the δ18O of global ice sheets. Between 4.5 and 3 Ma, sea level highstands remained up to 20 m above present whereas the first lowstands below present suggest onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation at 4 Ma. Intensification of global glaciation occurred from 3 Ma to 2.5 Ma, culminating in lowstands similar to the Last Glacial Maximum lowstand at 21,000 years ago and that reoccurred throughout much of the Pleistocene. We attribute the middle Pleistocene transition in ice sheet variability (1.2 Ma to 0.62 Ma) to modulation of 41-thousand-year (kyr) obliquity forcing by an increase in ~100-kyr CO2 variability
The ESGF Virtual Aggregation (CMIP6 v20240125)
No full texthe Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) holds
several petabytes of climate data distributed across millions
of files held in data centres worldwide. The processes of ob-
taining and manipulating the scientific information (climate
variables) held in these files are non-trivial. The ESGF Vir-
tual Aggregation is one of several solutions to provide an
out-of-the-box aggregated and analysis-ready view of those
variables. Here, we discuss the ESGF Virtual Aggregation in
the context of the existing infrastructure and some of those
other solutions providing analysis-ready data. We describe
how it is constructed, how it can be used, and its benefits for
model evaluation data analysis tasks, and we provide some
performance evaluation. It will be seen that the ESGF Vir-
tual Aggregation provides a sustainable solution to some of
the problems encountered in producing analysis-ready data
without the cost of data replication to different formats, al-
beit at the cost of more data movement within the analysis
compared to some alternatives. If heavily used, it may also
require more ESGF data servers than are currently deployed
in data node deployments. The need for such data servers
should be a component of ongoing discussions about the fu-
ture of the ESGF and its constituent core services
The masked villain: the effects of facial masking, distance, lighting, and eyewitness age on eyewitness identification accuracy
Get PDFDistance, lighting, and facial masking negatively impact eyewitness identification accuracy. We investigated their combined effect on accuracy and how internal (e.g., eyes) versus external (e.g., hair) masking impacts accuracy. Using live targets witnessed by 1325 participants, we investigated the effects of distance (5m, 12.5m, 20m), lighting (optimal:300lx, suboptimal:2lx), facial masking (no facial masking, sunglasses, hood, sunglasses & hood), and eyewitness age (5-90) on identification accuracy in target-present (TP) or target-absent (TA) eight-person simultaneous photograph line-ups. TP identification accuracy, with no facial masking, for all participants was .69 (.96 for only 18-44-year-old choosers) at 5m, .34 (.58) at 12.5m, and .17 (.42) at 20m. TA rejection accuracy for all participants was .63 (.60 for only 18-44-year-olds) at 5m, .42 (.54) at 12.5m, and .46 (.46) at 20m. Facial masking further decreased accuracy; internal facial masking had the strongest negative effect. The combined negative effects of distance, lighting, and facial masking resulted in chance-level performance in TP line-ups (i.e., .125) in some instances. We also found a positive association between accuracy and high confidence and shorter response times. We recommend that law enforcement agencies and researchers report these variables to allow for the postdiction of the likely accuracy of an eyewitness decision
Impact of selected starters and cassava varieties on the proximate, rheological, and volatile profiles of lafun
Get PDFSpontaneous fermentation is currently used to produce lafun from cassava, leading to inconsistent product quality and decreased safety. Using starter cultures and optimising the selection of the raw materials can overcome this. This study evaluated the impact of various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starters and varieties of cassava (bitter: IBA30527; vitamin A fortified bitter: IBA011371; and sweet: TMEB117) on the proximate, rheological, and volatile profiles of lafun. The varieties were fermented with four selected LAB (two strains of Weissella koreensis, Lactococcus lactis, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides). The use of fortified cassava showed higher potential to improve the quality of lafun. The combination of fortified cassava and Leuconostoc mesenteroides gave the highest nutritional value (ash: 4.37% cf. 1.33%; protein: 3.08% cf. 0.87%; and fibre: 7.43% cf. 1.43%). Fermenting the fortified cassava with Weissella koreensis-2 produced lafun gruel with the best viscoelastic properties, indicating an overall better product quality. The fortified cassava fermented with combined cultures of W. koreensis-1 and L. lactis resulted in a product with lower levels of carboxylic acids (cheesy) and lipid oxidation products (fried, rancid) but higher concentrations of carotenoid-derived compounds (fruity). The use of LAB in the controlled fermentation of fortified cassava could be a sustainable alternative to improve the physical, nutritional, and flavour properties of lafun
The translator’s patronage: principles of responsible translation in the Jerome-Rufinus controversy
Get PDFThe primary aim of this article is to integrate Jerome’s statement of translation principles from Ep. 57 into its historical context: the controversy between Jerome and Rufinus about the status and the correct treatment of the writings of Origen, a third-century Christian philosopher whose ideas were now being condemned as heretical in a campaign led by Jerome’s patron Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis. A central concern is to evaluate the techniques and the reliability of Rufinus’ and Jerome’s rival translations of Origen’s work Peri Archon (On First Principles). Insights from this controversy are used to consider the status of translators in communicating between different parts of the church, bishops, and lay people. As a result of these explorations, I argue that translators of Jerome’s and Rufinus’ status were not valued merely for their linguistic expertise but also for their theological authority, as they had to defend their moral position as well as their technical skills in rapidly shifting circumstances. The emphasis on the translator’s ethical commitment and reliability, I argue in the conclusion, remains relevant in current debates around translation
Anatomy of a ritual: an examination of Romano-British ritual through the lens of the Nescot College shaft in Ewell, Surrey, England
No full textSite formation processes are an important part of archaeology, yet are often over looked in the case of
bioarchaeology. Disarticulated human remains in particular are often seen as a poor source of information despite
the wealth of taphonomic information that can be gained in their analysis. This thesis seeks to showcase how the
use of taphonomic analysis of bioarchaeolgical assemblages can be utilised to create a process-led approach to
archaeological questions with a focus on ritual. This thesis demonstrates how scientific methods can be applied to
bioarchaeological material from ritual deposits to further understand the actions which created them. In order to
show the effectiveness of this approach a single case study, an early Roman ritual shaft from first century AD
Surrey, England was used.
This study undertook a comprehensive, integrated taphonomic analysis of the human and faunal bone assemblage
(n=11,422) of the Nescot shaft from Surrey, England, focusing on: fragmentation, bone representative index,
gnawing, burning, cut marks, chop marks, weathering, root etching and microscopic bioerosion, as well as
demographic information such as age and species.
The results of this study are presented in five papers which form the core of this thesis. The first two papers detail
the treatment of the human remains. There was evidence suggesting that the bodies were allowed to decompose
within the shaft, and that there was likely some sort of cover over the shaft. After a significant degree of
skeletonization, certain portions of the body (primarily the skulls and proximal limb bones) were removed. There
was also evidence that some hand and foot bones had been curated and handled before being placed into the
shaft. The third paper compares the treatment of the human remains with the faunal assemblage and explores
the similarities between the treatment of people and dogs. This paper was aimed at illustrating the importance of
integrating the analysis of the human and faunal material in order to examine ritual practices. It demonstrates a
complex and close relationship between humans and dogs and the potential use of both species bones as ritual
objects. The fourth paper examines the health and likely origin of the large (MNI=140) assemblage of dogs within
the shaft. The dogs appeared to be in good health based on skeletal analysis, and likely were cared for individuals.
The final paper addresses the question of ‘why’, and all previously explored strands of evidence are woven
together to show the many links to fertility present within the assemblage.
This thesis serves to demonstrate, using a single in depth case study, the potential of bioarchaeological data for
understanding ritual practices in the past
The effect of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics on gut microbial community profile in overweight and obese Latin American and Caribbean populations: a systematic review of human trials
Get PDFOral supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics is a novel potential complementary therapy for addressing overweight and obesity through gut microbiota modulation. This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the existing evidence to guide future research. Literature searches were conducted in four databases to identify human trials published until May 2024 that examined the impact of probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic interventions on faecal microbiota composition changes in overweight and obese participants from Latin American and Caribbean populations (LACPs). Of the 13,090 identified records, five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) from Brazil, Mexico, and Chile met the inclusion criteria for this review. The included RCTs evaluated different forms of therapies over short-term interventions (6 or 8 weeks), with sample sizes ranging from 21 to 39 participants across the studies. Variations in the reported outcomes were observed due to differences in supplement formulation, dosage, population characteristics, and methodological heterogeneity. The findings indicate that the available data are inadequate to establish definitive conclusions regarding the impact of biotic treatments on gut microbiota profiles in LACP. Further research with larger sample sizes and precise microbiota analysis is required to elucidate the implications of dietary interventions on gut microbiota in obesity and related disorders