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Whale Vision: A tool for identifying sperm whales and other cetaceans by their flank or fluke
Get PDFThe Mediterranean sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is classified as endangered, and effective conservation strategies require accurate knowledge of individual whales’ movements and behaviours. However, non-invasive techniques to track individuals require photographic identification of single subjects, a time-consuming process that requires manual curation. This study presents machine learning tools developed to automate the identification of individual sperm whales from photographic data. While fluke images are traditionally used for cetacean identification, this research extends deep learning-based identification to include flank images, a novel approach for sperm whales. Two Residual Neural Network models were trained using a contrastive learning process to distinguish individuals from either fluke or flank images, representing each whale as a point in a 128-dimensional latent space for fast re-identification. Evaluation on the Oceanomare Delphis dataset demonstrated identification accuracies of 81.2% for fluke images and, notably, 76.5% for flank images, highlighting the effectiveness and potential of flank-based identification. A user-friendly interface was developed to facilitate practical application, enabling both the identification of known individuals and the incorporation of new subjects. The methods and tools presented are adaptable to other cetacean species, offering a scalable and non-invasive solution to support conservation efforts
Can you learn not to respond to irrelevant motion while making fast arm movements?
Get PDFIf the target of a goal-directed arm movement is suddenly displaced, the movement is quickly adjusted in accordance with the target’s new position. Such quick adjustments are even observed if the target is moving, so the arm is moving towards a future target position. If irrelevant items near that future position suddenly start moving, the arm produces a futile response in the direction of the irrelevant items’ motion. We wondered whether people could learn not to respond to such irrelevant motion. To find out, we had participants intercept targets that moved across a background consisting of hundreds of small dots (irrelevant items). At a fixed time before the target reached an interception zone, the background dots started moving. The response to this irrelevant motion declined across the first few hundred trials, but it never fully disappeared. Including trials in which the target jumped established that participants learnt to reduce their response to the irrelevant motion, rather than to reduce their response to any new information. We conclude that participants can reduce the extent to which they respond to irrelevant motion, but that they cannot suppress such responses altogether
Does neonatal care delivery in England and Wales vary by deprivation and ethnicity: a retrospective cohort study
Get PDFObjective: To investigate whether perinatal care delivery in England and Wales varies by ethnicity and socio-economic deprivation, using National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) measures.Design: Retrospective observational study using NNAP (2017–2023) data.Setting: Neonatal units in England and Wales participating in the NNAP.Participants: Admitted infants born at ≥22 weeks with recorded data on ethnicity, deprivation and relevant NNAP measures.Outcome measures: Fourteen NNAP measures covering perinatal optimisation, neonatal care, breastfeeding and parental partnership were explored by ethnicity (White, Black, Asian, Mixed and Other) and deprivation.Results: Ethnicity and deprivation were associated with several measures of care. Compared with White infants, Black, Asian, Mixed and ‘Other’ ethnicity babies had lower odds of receiving deferred cord clamping (adjusted ORs (aOR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.84), 0.88 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.95), 0.79 (0.68 to 0.92) and 0.75 (0.64 to 0.88), respectively) and had higher odds of abnormal admission temperature. White infants had higher odds of receiving early breastmilk compared with infants from minority ethnic groups, but had lower odds of receiving it at 14 days or at discharge. Compared with the least deprived, the most deprived infants had lower odds of receiving breastmilk, within 48 hours (aOR: 0.58 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.63)) and at discharge (aOR: 0.39 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.43)). There were lower odds of early parental updates and involvement in ward rounds for minoritised ethnic groups (compared with White families) and most deprived (compared with least deprived) families.Conclusions: Disparities exist in the delivery of perinatal care by ethnicity and deprivation. There are opportunities to improve equity, particularly around deferred cord clamping, breastfeeding support and parental partnership
Primary endocrine therapy versus surgery plus endocrine therapy for early-stage breast cancer in older women without frailty: a cost-effectiveness and value of implementation analysis
Get PDFBackground: Clinical guidelines recommend surgery for early-stage breast cancer in operable patients; however, primary endocrine therapy (PET) is often used in older women aged ≥ 70. This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness and value of implementation of surgery plus adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) compared with PET for older women with early breast cancer who are fit for surgery. Method: A partitioned survival analysis model was developed using effectiveness data from the published literature (time horizon: lifetime). Health outcomes were measured as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs; EQ-5D-3L UK tariff). Direct costs were estimated from the perspective of NHS England (discount rate: 3.5%). Probabilistic sensitivity analysis and value of implementation analysis were conducted using a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000-£30,000 per QALY gained. Results: Surgery + ET resulted in higher QALYs (4.57) compared to PET (3.87) and higher costs (£10,628 vs. £6,102). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was £6,412.62 per QALY gained, indicating that surgery + ET is cost-effective compared to PET. The value of implementation analysis showed that imperfect implementation of surgery + ET resulted in a loss of 0.12 QALYs per patient, equating to 9,267 QALYs at the population level. Conclusion: Surgery with adjuvant ET is a clinically effective and cost-effective strategy compared with PET for older women with ER + operable early-stage breast cancer. Strengthening adherence to national guidelines will improve population health outcomes and healthcare resource use. Future economic evaluations should focus on the value of management strategies for older patients unfit for surgery due to frailty or comorbidities
Use of Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP) in the selection of highly effective rejuvenators for aged bitumen
Get PDFWhile there is considerable research regarding the recycling and reuse of aged bitumen in terms of the evaluation of rheological properties, there is not much fundamental understanding regarding the underlying mechanisms of the rejuvenation process. Specifically, the rationale behind rejuvenator selection and the efficiency of rejuvenators is not well understood. This paper proposes an approach for rejuvenator selection based on Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP). To fully validate its feasibility, rheological and chemical tests were also performed. The results revealed that highly efficient rejuvenators have similar HSP with bitumen and greater HSP radii. The overlapping ratio between the Hansen spheres of bitumen and rejuvenators could be considered as a reliable tool to screen rejuvenators. Linear correlations were found between the efficiency of rejuvenators and solubility spheres. The rheological and chemical tests using master curve analysis and saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes (SARA) fractionation further supported using HSP as a basis for rejuvenator selection
A nudge in the right direction? Gender-informed support by female business-incubation managers for female STEM-entrepreneurs
Get PDFThis article critically analyzes the influence of gendered ascriptions and assumptions upon support offered by female business incubation (BI) managers to female STEM entrepreneurs. We draw upon the concept of nudges to illustrate how female managers guide female clients to behave, so as to navigate gendered challenges during the investment-readiness (IR) process. Using an interpretive ontology and social constructionist feminist epistemology, we draw upon in-depth, semi-structured interviews with female BI managers and female STEM entrepreneur clients. The findings illustrate that the gendered BI context encourages gender-aware managers to nudge clients towards behaviours congruent with prevailing masculinized norms, navigating rather than challenging gender-bias, to secure investment
Importance of FDA-Integrated Continuous Glucose Monitors to Ensure Accuracy of Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Get PDFContinuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been shown to improve glycemic control and self-monitoring, as well as to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia. Integrated CGM (iCGM) FDA-cleared systems with published performance data are established nonadjunctive and accurate CGM tools that can directly inform decision-making in the treatment of diabetes (i.e., insulin dosing). Studies have assessed accuracy and safety data of CGMs that were eventually cleared for iCGM by the FDA and that informed the recommendation for their nonadjunctive use. Subsequent robust clinical trials and real-world studies demonstrated clinical effectiveness with improvements in a range of patient outcomes. In recent years, a number of non-iCGM-approved CGM devices have entered the market outside the United States worldwide. Some of these non-iCGM-approved CGM devices require additional user verification of blood glucose levels to be performed for making treatment decisions, termed adjunctive. Moreover, in many non-iCGM-approved CGM devices, accuracy studies published in peer-reviewed journals are scarce or have many limitations. Consequently, non-iCGM-approved CGM devices cannot be automatically perceived as having the same performance or quality standards than those approved for iCGM by the FDA. As a result, although these devices tend to cost less than iCGMs that carry FDA clearance and could therefore be attractive from the point of view of a health care payer, it must be emphasized that evaluation of costs should not be limited to the device (such as the usability preference that patients have for nonadjunctive sensors compared to adjunctive sensors) but to the wider value of the total benefit that the product provides to the patient
Value-added services and e-commerce platform competitiveness: a game theoretic approach
Get PDFPurpose-In response to the intense competition in the platform economy, e-commerce platforms are actively introducing value-added services to maintain their competitiveness. However, how effective these value-added services are in fulfilling this purpose remains unclear. This paper explores how value-added services can enhance e-commerce platform competitiveness, measured by both user scale and reputation, considering the effect of network externalities. Design/methodology/approach-A bilateral e-commerce platform with potential high-quality sellers and low-quality sellers on one side and potential buyers on the other side was chosen as research setting. Game theory models are constructed to simultaneously consider the behaviors of all actors (including sellers, buyers and the platform). Findings-On the one hand, to increase the seller scale, basic services play a substituting role in determining the effect of value-added services. On the other hand, to increase the buyer scale and improve platform reputation, basic services play a fundamental role in determining the effect of value-added services. Furthermore, the higher the loss rate of the product value, the bigger the room for providing value-added services. With increasing loss rate of the product value, participating buyers who are attracted by value-added services are the fastest growing indicators; this indicates that the most significant effect of value-added services is its increase in the buyer scale. Theoretical implications-(1) While previous studies on how to enhance platform competitiveness only considered scale or reputation separately, this paper applies a new perspective of platform competitiveness, namely the improvement of both the seller scale/buyer scale and platform reputation. (2) According to the characteristics of bilateral platforms, game theory models are constructed to explore how value-added services can enhance platform competitiveness considering both positive and negative network externalities. (3) The existing literature studies basic services and value-added services in a fragmented state; this paper contributes to research on value-added services by considering the mutual effect between basic and value-added services. Managerial implications-Basic services determine the lower limit of platform competitiveness, while value-added services set the upper limit. The results of this paper can instruct different types of platforms to enhance their competitiveness in different ways
'A huge political experiment' - exploring the political brand positioning of political parties in Jersey from an internal-external perspective
Get PDFA political brand aims to project a differentiated and identifiable position in the minds of voters. However, there is limited understanding on the envisaged and realised positioning of political 'party' brands particularly in under-explored contexts. Therefore, this study investigates the brand positioning of four political 'party' brands from an insider (politician) and outsider (voter) perspective in the context of the British Crown Dependency of Jersey. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with politicians-candidates from all four political parties in Jersey and focus group discussions with young voters 18-24 years. Thematic analysis was adopted as part of the analytical strategy. It was revealed internal stakeholders created clear positioning for their political brands grounded on values and visual identity cues rather than grounded on distinct policies. However, the brand positioning of the three of the four political party brands were largely unclear from the standpoint of young voters. The study has implications for academics-practitioners beyond politics. More specifically, this study presents 'the Political Brand Positioning Toolkit'. The toolkit developed from existing theory and empirical findings represents a systematic framework, which provides guidance on how to position new or existing brands and strategically manage a brand's envisaged and realised position
Explantation with Lateral Pedicle Mastopexy
Get PDFBackground: While breast explantation combined with mastopexy is an increasingly common procedure, it does present certain technical difficulties. We present a technique of explantation mastopexy with the use of an extended lateral pedicle for auto-augmentation. Methods: A consecutive series of 40 cases was retrospectively reviewed, with patient reported outcome questionnaire and photography at 3 and 12 months. Results: The mean age was 57 years (range 40 – 70 years), and mean duration of implantation was 20.4 years (range 7 – 42 years). 12 women had undergone previous mastopexy (30%). Minor wound complications requiring simple dressings were seen in 7 cases (17.5%). Major infected wound problems occurred in 1 case, who was a smoker and had other co-morbidities. All except 1 case reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the outcome, with a mean patient reported satisfaction score of 4.9/5. When the photographs were independently assessed by a cosmetic practitioner, all cases were rated as average, good or very good, with a mean score of 4.1/5. Conclusions: The procedure is associated with low risk of post-operative complications, good cosmetic outcomes, and a high degree of patient satisfaction. We feel this technique provides a logical, reproducible method for combined explantation and mastopexy
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