Revista Jurídica Digital UANDES
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A hybrid machine learning approach using LBP descriptor and PCA for age-related macular degeneration classification in OCTA images
No full textWe propose a novel hybrid machine learning approach forage-related macular degeneration (AMD) classification to support theautomated analysis of images captured by optical coherence tomographyangiography (OCTA). The algorithm uses a Rotation Invariant UniformLocal Binary Patterns (LBP) descriptor to capture local texture patternsassociated with AMD and Principal Component Analysis (PCA)to decorrelate texture features. The analysis is performed on the entireimage without targeting any particular area. The study focuses onfour distinct groups, namely, healthy; neovascular AMD (an advancedstage of AMD associated with choroidal neovascularisation (CNV)); nonneovascular AMD (AMD without the presence of CNV) and secondaryCNV (CNV due to retinal pathology other than AMD). Validation setswere created using a Stratified K-Folds Cross-Validation strategy for limitingthe overfitting problem. The overall performance was estimatedbased on the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC)curve (AUC). The classification was conducted as a binary classificationproblem. The best performance achieved with the SVM classifier basedon the AUC score for: (i) healthy vs neovascular AMD was 100%, (ii)neovascular AMD vs non-neovascular AMD was 85%; (iii) CNV (neovascularAMD plus secondary CNV) vs non-neovascular AMD was 83%
Analytical methods for perfect wedge diffraction: a review
No full textThe subject of diffraction of waves by sharp boundaries has been studied intensively for well over a century, initiated by groundbreaking mathematicians and physicists including Sommerfeld, Macdonald and Poincar\'e. The significance of such canonical diffraction models, and their analytical solutions, was recognised much more broadly thanks to Keller, who introduced a geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) in the middle of the last century, and other important mathematicians such as Fock and Babich. This has led to a very wide variety of approaches to be developed in order to tackle such two and three dimensional diffraction problems, with the purpose of obtaining elegant and compact analytic solutions capable of easy numerical evaluation. The purpose of this review article is to showcase the disparate mathematical techniques that have been proposed. For ease of exposition, mathematical brevity, and for the broadest interest to the reader, all approaches are aimed at one canonical model, namely diffraction of a monochromatic scalar plane wave by a two-dimensional wedge with perfect Dirichlet or Neumann boundaries. The first three approaches offered are those most commonly used today in diffraction theory, although not necessarily in the context of wedge diffraction. These are the Sommerfeld-Malyuzhinets method, the Wiener-Hopf technique, and the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform approach. Then follows three less well-known and somewhat novel methods, which would be of interest even to specialists in the field, namely the embedding method, a random walk approach, and the technique of functionally-invariant solutions. Having offered the exact solution of this problem in a variety of forms, a numerical comparison between the exact solution and several powerful approximations such as GTD is performed and critically assessed
RELEASE:a protocol for a systematic review based, individual participant data, meta- and network meta-analysis, of complex speech-language therapy interventions for stroke-related aphasia
No full textBackground: Speech and language therapy (SLT) benefits people with aphasia following stroke. Group level summary statistics from randomised controlled trials hinder exploration of highly complex SLT interventions and a clinically relevant heterogeneous population. Creating a database of individual participant data (IPD) for people with aphasia aims to allow exploration of individual and therapy-related predictors of recovery and prognosis.Aim: To explore the contribution that individual participant characteristics (including stroke and aphasia profiles) and SLT intervention components make to language recovery following stroke.Methods and procedures: We will identify eligible IPD datasets (including randomised controlled trials, non-randomised comparison studies, observational studies and registries) and invite their contribution to the database. Where possible, we will use meta- and network meta-analysis to explore language performance after stroke and predictors of recovery as it relates to participants who had no SLT, historical SLT or SLT in the primary research study. We will also examine the components of effective SLT interventions.Outcomes and results: Outcomes include changes in measures of functional communication, overall severity of language impairment, auditory comprehension, spoken language (including naming), reading and writing from baseline. Data captured on assessment tools will be collated and transformed to a standardised measure for each of the outcome domains.Conclusion: Our planned systematic-review-based IPD meta- and network meta-analysis is a large scale, international, multidisciplinary and methodologically complex endeavour. It will enable hypotheses to be generated and tested to optimise and inform development of interventions for people with aphasia after stroke
Oral splints for patients with temporomandibular disorders or bruxism:a systematic review and economic evaluation
No full textBackground: Splints are a non-invasive, reversible management option for temporomandibular disorders or bruxism. The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of splints remain uncertain. Objectives: The objectives were to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of splints for patients with temporomandibular disorders or bruxism. This evidence synthesis compared (1) all types of splint versus no/minimal treatment/control splints and (2) prefabricated versus custom-made splints, for the primary outcomes, which were pain (temporomandibular disorders) and tooth wear (bruxism). Review methods: Four databases, including MEDLINE and EMBASE, were searched from inception until 1 October 2018 for randomised clinical trials. The searches were conducted on 1 October 2018. Cochrane review methods (including risk of bias) were used for the systematic review. Standardised mean differences were pooled for the primary outcome of pain, using random-effects models in temporomandibular disorder patients. A Markov cohort, state-transition model, populated using current pain and Characteristic Pain Intensity data, was used to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for splints compared with no splint, from an NHS perspective over a lifetime horizon. A value-of-information analysis identified future research priorities. Results: Fifty-two trials were included in the systematic review. The evidence identified was of very low quality with unclear reporting by temporomandibular disorder subtype. When all subtypes were pooled into one global temporomandibular disorder group, there was no evidence that splints reduced pain [standardised mean difference (at up to 3 months) –0.18, 95% confidence interval –0.42 to 0.06; substantial heterogeneity] when compared with no splints or a minimal intervention. There was no evidence that other outcomes, including temporomandibular joint noises, decreased mouth-opening, and quality of life, improved when using splints. Adverse events were generally not reported, but seemed infrequent when reported. The most plausible base-case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was uncertain and driven by the lack of clinical effectiveness evidence. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve showed splints becoming more cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of ≈£6000, but the probability never exceeded 60% at higher levels of willingness to pay. Results were sensitive to longer-term extrapolation assumptions. A value-of-information analysis indicated that further research is required. There were no studies measuring tooth wear in patients with bruxism. One small study looked at pain and found a reduction in the splint group [mean difference (0–10 scale) –2.01, 95% CI –1.40 to –2.62; very low-quality evidence]. As there was no evidence of a difference between splints and no splints, the second objective became irrelevant. Limitations: There was a large variation in the diagnostic criteria, splint types and outcome measures used and reported. Sensitivity analyses based on these limitations did not indicate a reduction in pain. Conclusions: The very low-quality evidence identified did not demonstrate that splints reduced pain in temporomandibular disorders as a group of conditions. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether or not splints reduce tooth wear in patients with bruxism. There remains substantial uncertainty surrounding the most plausible incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Future work: There is a need for well-conducted trials to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of splints in patients with carefully diagnosed and subtyped temporomandibular disorders, and patients with bruxism, using agreed measures of pain and tooth wear.</p
Small Ice Particles at Slightly Supercooled Temperatures in Tropical Maritime Convection
No full textIn this paper we show that the origin of the ice phase in tropical cumulus clouds over the sea may occur by primary ice nucleation of small crystals at temperatures just between 0 and − 5 ◦C. This was made possible through use of a holographic instrument able to image cloud particles at very high resolution and small size (6 μm). The environment in which the observations were conducted was notable for the presence of desert dust advected over the ocean from the Sahara. However, there is no laboratory evidence to suggest that these dust particles can act as ice nuclei at temperatures warmer than about −10 ◦ C, the zone in which the first ice was observed in these clouds. The small ice particles were observed to grow rapidly by vapour diffusion, riming, and possibly through collisions with supercooled raindrops, causing these to freeze and potentially shatter. This in turn leads to the further production of secondary ice in these clouds. Hence, although the numbers of primary ice particles are small, they are very effective in initiating the rapid glaciation of the cloud, altering the dynamics and precipitation produc- tion processes
Communicating in Good Faith? Dynamics of the Christian Right Agenda
No full textIt is an article of faith that organized interests represent members to elected officials making use of synchronized communication channels. Rarely, have researchers had access to multiple, internal and external channels to test this notion. We mine a trove of nearly 2,500 emails the Family Research Council (FRC) sent to list subscribers from 2007 to 2018. Text tools allow us to depict message flexibility of the FRC and how internal (email) and external (press release) messages may be linked. Finally, we note the bills lobbied by FRC and the frequency these are mentioned in the internal email messages. Our findings show that different audiences are presented with considerably different political agendas in ways that appear to conform to the requisites of the different audiences. While FRC has significant, sophisticated message flexibility, our analysis indicates that such flexibility can raise serious concerns about good faith representation
Fast camera spatial characterization of photonic polarization entanglement
No full textScalable technologies to characterize the performance of quantum devices are crucial to creating large quantum networks and quantum processing units. Chief among the resources of quantum information processing is entanglement. Here we describe the full temporal and spatial characterization of polarization-entangled photons produced by Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversions using an intensified high-speed optical camera, Tpx3Cam. This novel technique allows for precise determination of Bell inequality parameters with minimal technical overhead, and for new characterization methods for the spatial distribution of entangled quantum information. The fast-optical camera could lead to multiple applications in Quantum Information Science, opening new perspectives for the scalability of quantum experiments
Personality traits and emotion regulation: A targeted review and recommendations
No full textWhere do individual differences in emotion regulation come from? This review examines theoretical and empirical evidence describing the role that personality traits play in shaping individuals’ intrapersonal and interpersonal regulation styles. We define and delineate personality traits and emotion regulation and summarize empirical relations between them. Specifically, we review research on the Big Five personality traits in relation to each stage of Gross’ (2015) extended process model of emotion regulation. In doing so, we document evidence concerning the relationships between personality traits and three key stages of emotion regulation, namely, identification (i.e., choosing which emotions to regulate), selection (i.e., choosing a broad regulatory approach), and implementation (i.e., adopting specific regulatory tactics). Finally, we make recommendations for future research that we hope will guide researchers in building a systematic understanding of how personality traits shape intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved
Influencia de los conceptos ratzingerianos “laicismo” y “relativismo” en la configuración de las relaciones Iglesia-Estado
No full textThe concepts of “secularism” and “relativism” are fundamental to an adequate understanding of the ideology that underlies today’s society. The present work tries to analyze the thought of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI on this matter, in order to understand the proposal that the German theologian, and subsequently named Pope, carries out when addressing this reality. Only from the truth and what Ratzinger calls secularism it will be possible to understand and develop conveniently the relations to be established between the Church and the State.Los conceptos “laicismo” y “relativismo” son fundamentales para una comprensión adecuada de la ideología que subyace en la sociedad actual. El presente trabajo pretende analizar el pensamiento de Joseph Ratzinger-Benedicto XVI sobre esta materia, a fin de comprender la propuesta que el teólogo, y posteriormente papa, alemán lleva a cabo a la hora de abordar esta realidad. Solo desde la verdad y lo que Ratzinger denomina laicidad, será posible entender y desarrollar convenientemente las relaciones que han de establecerse entre la Iglesia y el Estado