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Number and Quality of Diagrams in Scholarly Publications is Associated with Number of Citations
No full textDiagrams are often used in scholarly communication. We analyse a corpus of diagrams found in scholarly computational linguistics conference proceedings (ACL 2017), and find inclusion of a system diagram to be correlated with higher numbers of citations after three years. Inclusion of more than three diagrams in this 8-page limit conference was found to correlate with a lower citation count. Focusing on neural network system diagrams, we find a correlation between highly cited papers and \good diagramming practice" quantified by level of compliance with a set of diagramming guidelines. This study suggests that diagrams may be a useful source of quality data for predicting citations, and that \graphicacy" is a key skill for scholars with insufficient support at present
First pilot study of extracellular volume MRI measurement in peripheral muscle of systemic sclerosis patients suggests diffuse fibrosis
No full textObjectives Peripheral muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis may comprise myositis or a non-inflammatory myopathy. There is little understanding on the nature of SSc myopathy. This pilot study aimed to evaluate for the presence of diffuse fibrosis in the peripheral muscle of patients with SSc by determining extracellular volume (ECV) MRI measurement. Methods SSc patients, with suspected myopathy or no muscle involvement, and healthy volunteers (HV) had native T1 and ECV MRI quantification of the thigh and creatine-kinase (CK) measured. Suspected myopathy was defined as current/history of minimally raised CK (<600 IU/l) +/- presence of clinical signs-symptoms (proximal muscle weakness and/or myalgia) +/- a Manual Muscle Testing score <5 in the thighs. Results 12 SSc patients and 10 HV were recruited. 9/12 patients had limited cutaneous SSc, 4/12 interstitial lung disease, 7/12 suspected myopathy. Higher skeletal muscle ECV was recorded in SSc patients compared to HV [mean (SD) 23(11)%, vs 11(4)% p=0.04]. Peripheral muscle ECV associated with CK (rho=0.554, p=0.061) and was higher in SSc patients with myopathy compared to those with no myopathy [mean (SD) 28 (10) vs 15 (5), p=0.023]. An ECV of 22% was determined to best identify myopathy with a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 80%. Conclusion This hypothesis-generating study showed higher ECV in SSc patients compared to HV as well as association of ECV with suspected myopathy, suggesting the presence of diffuse fibrosis in the peripheral muscle of SSc patients. Further studies are needed to understand the nature of SSc myopathy
Pathogenic non-coding variants in the Neurofibromatosis and Schwannomatosis predisposition genes
No full textNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), type 2 (NF2) and schwannomatosis are a group of autosomal dominant disorders that predispose to the development of nerve sheath tumours. Pathogenic variants (PVs) that cause NF1 and NF2 are located in the NF1 and NF2 loci, respectively. To date, most variants associated with schwannomatosis have been identified in the SMARCB1 and LZTR1 genes, and a missense variant in the DGCR8 gene was recently reported to predispose to schwannomas. In spite of the high detection rate for PVs in NF1 and NF2 (over 90% of non-mosaic germline variants can be identified by routine genetic screening) underlying PVs for a proportion of clinical cases remain undetected. A higher proportion of non-NF2 schwannomatosis cases have no detected PV, with PVs currently only identified in around 70 - 86% of familial cases and 30 - 40% of non-NF2 sporadic schwannomatosis cases. A number of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) have been observed for each disorder, many of them located in non-coding, regulatory or intergenic regions. Here we summarise non-coding variants in this group of genes and discuss their established or potential role in the pathogenesis of NF1, NF2 and schwannomatosis
Evidential Reasoning for Preprocessing Uncertain Categorical Data for Trustworthy Decisions: An Application on Healthcare and Finance
No full textThe uncertainty attributed by discrepant data in AI-enabled decisions is a critical challenge in highly regulated domains such as health care and finance. Ambiguity and incompleteness due to missing values in output and input attributes, respectively, is ubiquitous in these domains. It could have an adverse impact on a certain unrepresented set of people in the training data without a developer’s intention to discriminate. The inherently non-numerical nature of categorical attributes than numerical attributes and the presence of incomplete and ambiguous categorical attributes in a dataset increases the uncertainty in decision-making. This paper addresses the challenges in handling categorical attributes as it is not addressed comprehensively in previous research. Three sources of uncertainties in categorical attributes are recognised in this research. The informational uncertainty, unforeseeable uncertainty in the decision task environment, and the uncertainty due to lack of pre-modelling explainability in categorical attributes are addressed in the proposed methodology on maximum likelihood evidential reasoning (MAKER). It can transform and impute incomplete and ambiguous categorical attributes into interpretable numerical features. It utilises a notion of weight and reliability to include subjective expert preference over a piece of evidence and the quality of evidence in a categorical attribute, respectively. The MAKER framework strives to integrate the recognised uncertainties in the transformed input data that allow a model to perceive data limitations during the training regime and acknowledge doubtful predictions by supporting trustworthy pre-modelling and post modelling explainability. The ability to handle uncertainty and its impact on explainability is demonstrated on a real-world healthcare and finance data for different missing data scenarios in three types of AI algorithms: deep-learning, tree-based, and rule-based model
The silent music sheet, the unsewn button and the replica tin: materialising nostalgia in the Marks and Spencer's archive
No full textThis paper explores how nostalgia and collective memory are materialised, imagined, curated and orchestrated through the archive. Drawing upon the example of the Marks and Spencer’s (M&S) archive, we argue that archives, particularly those containing objects, command nostalgia. They re-appropriate objects, memories and their histories into contemporary narratives. This paper adds to a body of work within and beyond geography and sociology exploring the potency and creativity of everyday materials and their ability to produce, imagine and memorialise affinities between people, places and past times. This raises questions about the politics of memory, the authenticity of objects and the nostalgic imaginaries they enliven, what we discuss as ‘faux nostalgia’. We illustrate how M&S is part of collective British memory, promoting middle-class ideals of British family life. The archive and objects on display materialise such imaginaries, creating a yearning for the spirit, values and opportunities of times gone by; interweaving them into contemporary narratives of family life to create unattainable ideals. We reflect upon the biographies of three objects from the archive: a music sheet, an unsewn button and a replica tin. By making these objects central to our account, we illustrate how they materialise and recollect nostalgia through the archive
Power Allocation for D2D NOMA in Cache-Aided Networks
No full textNon-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is effective in enhancing the spectral efficiency and sum rate of a system as compared to an orthogonal scheme. In addition to this, as mobile users consume more rich content, the role of device-todevice communications (D2D) and wireless caching will become more prominent in further optimizing the usage of resources. In this paper, we propose a system in which users are able to exchange useful cached content with each other via a D2D link which underlays a downlink NOMA transmission.We formulated a sum rate maximization problem that is subject to minimum rate constraints and derived a sub-optimal power allocation solution based on a low self-interference assumption. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of D2D communications in comparison with optimum conventional NOMA downlink, as well as highlighting the similarity in performance between the suboptimal power allocation and the optimum power allocation
Tannic interfacial linkage within ZnO-loaded fabrics for durable UV-blocking applications
No full textTo defend against the impact of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation from daily life and even changes in climate and stratospheric ozone, wearing UV-protective clothing is a simple and effective approach to reduce risks to human health from excessive UV exposure. However, normal clothes with traditional dye or additional modifications have limited UV-blocking activity and low washing fastness, bringing huge pressure on the environment. Herein, we applied a bio-interfacial material, tannic acid, to enhance the π interaction for better reusability of the nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) modified highly-improved-UV-protective natural textiles, which ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) maintained 309 despite 50 washing cycles. Moreover, the UV-protective properties of cotton-based or wool-based samples have both been significantly enhanced to UPF 500, which increased up to 4200 % compared to the previous metal salt ultraviolet screening agent method. Additionally, the endowed UV-protective characteristic contributed to tensile mechanical properties of modified wool textiles even after 120-hour UV irradiation. This biomass-inspired interface facilitated in-situ synthesis method suggested a promising strategy to take full advantage of the inner and outer walls of natural hollow fibre substrates to deposit active materials for advanced protective textiles
In Pursuit of an Effective Treatment: The Past, Present, and Future of Clinical Trials in Inclusion Body Myositis
No full textPurpose of review: No clinical trial in sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM) thus far has shown a clear and sustained therapeutic effect. We review previous trial methodology, explore why results have not translated into clinical practice, and suggest improvements for future IBM trials.Recent findings: Early trials primarily assessed immunosuppressive medications, with no significant clinical responses observed. Many of these studies had methodological issues, including small participant numbers, non-specific diagnostic criteria, short treatment and/or assessment periods, and insensitive outcome measures. Most recent IBM trials have instead focused on non-immunosuppressive therapies, but there is mounting evidence supporting a primary autoimmune aetiology, including the discovery of immunosuppression-resistant clones of cytotoxic T-cells and anti-CN-1A autoantibodies which could potentially be used to stratify patients into different cohorts. The latest trials have had mixed results. For example, bimagrumab, a myostatin blocker, did not affect the six-minute timed walk distance, whereas sirolimus, a promotor of autophagy, did. Larger studies are planned to evaluate the efficacy of sirolimus and arimoclomol.Summary: Thus far, no treatment for IBM has demonstrated a definite therapeutic effect, and effective treatment options in clinical practice are lacking. Trial design and ineffective therapies are likely to have contributed to these failures. Identification of potential therapeutic targets should be followed by future studies using a stratified approach and sensitive and relevant outcome measures.<br/