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Wearable edge machine learning with synthetic photoplethysmograms
Get PDFStrict privacy regulations pose challenges to the development of machine learning (ML) in the field of health technology where data is particularly sensitive. Gathering and using robust, bias-free, and suitably anonymized datasets required by ML models is difficult, time-consuming, and thus expensive. Parametric synthetic data offers a solution by mimicking real-world processes with easily adjustable parameters that shape the information content of the data as desired. This article presents a system demonstrating how synthetic data can be used in conjunction with wearable edge devices. Importantly, the system preserves privacy as there is no risk of leaking sensitive information from the model or during the use of the wearable device. The system consists of (1) a synthetic photoplethysmogram (PPG) model, (2) convolutional neural network (CNN) models trained with the synthetic signals, (3) a wearable edge device that computes heart rate from real-time PPG signals using the developed CNN models, and (4) an accompanying mobile phone application receiving the results. The synthetic model produces realistic PPG signals together with labels that can be used in CNN model training. The quality of the synthetic data is sufficient to train even a tiny CNN model with only two convolutional layers and 28 parameters to detect PPG waveform feet. The developed wearable device is able to run the model smoothly and the performance of the model is on par with the more complex models and other foot detection algorithms.</p
Combined search in dwarf spheroidal galaxies for branon dark matter annihilation signatures with the MAGIC telescopes
Get PDFMassive brane fluctuations, called branons, behave as weakly interacting massive particles, which is one of the most favored class of candidates to fulfill the role of the dark matter (DM), an elusive kind of matter beyond the Standard Model. We present a multi-target search in dwarf spheroidal galaxies for branon DM annihilation signatures with a total exposure of 354 hours with the ground-based gamma-ray telescope system MAGIC. This search led to the most constraining limits on branon DM in the sub-TeV and multi-TeV DM mass range. Our most stringent limit on the thermally-averaged annihilation cross-section (at 95% confidence level) corresponds to similar or equal to 1.9x10-24 cm3s-1 at a branon mass of ∼ 1.5TeV.</p
Early-life environment and the risk of eczema at 2 years-Meta-analyses of six Finnish birth cohorts
Get PDFBackground: Urban-related nature exposures are suggested to contribute to the rising prevalence of allergic diseases despite little supporting evidence. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of 12 land cover classes and two greenness indices around homes at birth on the development of doctor-diagnosed eczema by the age of 2 years, and the influence of birth season.Methods: Data from 5085 children were obtained from six Finnish birth cohorts. Exposures were provided by the Coordination of Information on the Environment in three predefined grid sizes. Adjusted logistic regression was run in each cohort, and pooled effects across cohorts were estimated using fixed or random effect meta-analyses.Results: In meta-analyses, neither greenness indices (NDVI or VCDI, 250 m × 250 m grid size) nor residential or industrial/commercial areas were associated with eczema by age of 2 years. Coniferous forest (adjusted odds ratio 1.19; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.39 for the middle and 1.16; 0.98-1.28 for the highest vs. lowest tertile) and mixed forest (1.21; 1.02-1.42 middle vs. lowest tertile) were associated with elevated eczema risk. Higher coverage with agricultural areas tended to associate with elevated eczema risk (1.20; 0.98-1.48 vs. none). In contrast, transport infrastructure was inversely associated with eczema (0.77; 0.65-0.91 highest vs. lowest tertile).Conclusion: Greenness around the home during early childhood does not seem to protect from eczema. In contrast, nearby coniferous and mixed forests may increase eczema risk, as well as being born in spring close to forest or high-green areas.</p
Politics of Quality in Education: A Comparative Study of Brazil, China and Russia
No full textWe start the book with a reiteration of the idea that quality has become
one of the most important framing factors in education policies and
practices. The introductory chapter coins the concept of quality
assurance and evaluation (QAE), its differing and contested
interpretations, and its seemingly uniform transnational agenda. The
chapter discusses how QAE is linked to the questions of politics and
power as well as how it is used as a governance tool. The chapter also
describes the project’s ontological premises, which are contingency and
complexity theory. These ontological premises are then discussed in the
light of contemporary comparative education and political science
theories. The book’s analytical framework, called Comparative Analytics
of Dynamics in Education Politics (CADEP), is introduced. The CADEP
framework focuses the analysis on the dimensions of political
situations, political possibilities, and the use of political space. The
chapter concludes with a discussion of the book’s aim, which is to
analyse how QAE as a transnational flow and governance tool changes the
role of state, expertise, governance, and the room for action which
exists for politicians, teachers, and other actors in varying contexts.</p
Copyright and digital fashion designers: the democratization of authorship?
Get PDF‘Digital fashion’ has been widely recognized by the fashion media and increasingly embraced by companies and institutions. This article gives a multidisciplinary perspective on copyright protection of digital fashion designs. It places particular focus on the concepts of ‘authorship’ and ‘originality’.Authorship conventions of the traditional, physical fashion industry differ significantly from those of copyright law. In fashion, generally, authorship is hierarchic and includes many ‘gatekeepers’. However, in digital fashion specifically, authorship is more democratic and resembles its legal definition. This democratizes the authorship practices of fashion, bringing the concept of ‘author’ in fashion closer to the legal meaning of authorship. Moreover, certain practices of digital fashion designers suggest that it might be easier for digital fashion to comply with European Union copyright law.The digital leap that the fashion industry is taking deserves to be recognized from an IP law perspective. The diverging meanings of authorship between law and fashion must be inspected to avoid various legal risks related to the ownership of fashion designs.</p
Motivation across a transition: Changes in achievement goal orientations and academic well-being from elementary to secondary school
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to examine i) the prevalence of achievement goal orientation profiles among Finnish sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 419), ii) the stability and change in these profiles across the transition from elementary to lower secondary school, and iii) the profile differences in academic achievement (grades) and academic well-being (school engagement and school burnout). Using latent profile analysis, four goal orientation profiles were extracted: indifferent, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. Latent transition analysis confirmed that these profiles were stably identified over time. There was substantial stability in profiles: being assigned to the same group yielded the highest transition probabilities (0.63–0.75). Likely transitions were from success-oriented to indifferent and from indifferent to avoidance-oriented. Of those who transitioned, the majority moved from more to less favorable profiles. Students who stayed in the mastery-oriented group across the transition displayed the most adaptive pattern of motivation, academic achievement, and well-being.</p
PARP Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer-the Preclinical Rationale and Current Clinical Development
Get PDFProstate cancer is globally the second most commonly diagnosed cancer type in men. Recent studies suggest that mutations in DNA repair genes are associated with aggressive forms of prostate cancer and castration resistance. Prostate cancer with DNA repair defects may be vulnerable to therapeutic targeting by Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. PARP enzymes modify target proteins with ADP-ribose in a process called PARylation and are in particular involved in single strand break repair. The rationale behind the clinical trials that led to the current use of PARP inhibitors to treat cancer was to target the dependence of BRCA-mutant cancer cells on the PARP-associated repair pathway due to deficiency in homologous recombination. However, recent studies have proposed therapeutic potential for PARP inhibitors in tumors with a variety of vulnerabilities generating dependence on PARP beyond the synthetic lethal targeting of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutated tumors, suggesting a wider potential than initially thought. Importantly, PARP-associated DNA repair pathways are also closely connected to androgen receptor (AR) signaling, which is a key regulator of tumor growth and a central therapeutic target in prostate cancer. In this review, we provide an extensive overview of published and ongoing trials exploring PARP inhibitors in treatment of prostate cancer and discuss the underlying biology. Several clinical trials are currently studying PARP inhibitor mono-and combination therapies in the treatment of prostate cancer. Integration of drugs targeting DNA repair pathways in prostate cancer treatment modalities allows developing of more personalized care taking also into account the genetic makeup of individual tumors
Prognostic value of a novel artificial intelligence-based coronary CTA-derived ischemia algorithm among patients with normal or abnormal myocardial perfusion
Get PDFBackground: Among patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), downstream positron emission tomography (PET) perfusion imaging can be performed to assess the presence of myocardial ischemia. A novel artificial-intelligence-guided quantitative computed tomography ischemia algorithm (AI-QCTischemia) aims to predict ischemia directly from coronary CTA images. We aimed to study the prognostic value of AI-QCTischemia among patients with obstructive CAD on coronary CTA and normal or abnormal downstream PET perfusion.Methods: AI-QCTischemia was calculated by blinded analysts among patients from the retrospective coronary CTA cohort at Turku University Hospital, Finland, with obstructive CAD on initial visual reading (diameter stenosis ≥50%) being referred for downstream 15O-H2O-PET adenosine stress perfusion imaging. All coronary arteries with their side branches were assessed by AI-QCTischemia. Absolute stress myocardial blood flow ≤2.3 ml/g/min in ≥2 adjacent segments was considered abnormal. The primary endpoint was death, myocardial infarction, or unstable angina pectoris. The median follow-up was 6.2 [IQR 4.4-8.3] years.Results: 662 of 768 (86%) patients had conclusive AI-QCTischemia result. In patients with normal 15O-H2O-PET perfusion, an abnormal AI-QCTischemia result (n = 147/331) vs. normal AI-QCTischemia result (n = 184/331) was associated with a significantly higher crude and adjusted rates of the primary endpoint (adjusted HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.17-5.21, p = 0.018). This did not pertain to patients with abnormal 15O-H2O-PET perfusion (abnormal AI-QCTischemia result (n = 269/331) vs. normal AI-QCTischemia result (n = 62/331); adjusted HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.58-2.02, p = 0.794) (p-interaction = 0.039).Conclusion: Among patients with obstructive CAD on coronary CTA referred for downstream 15O-H2O-PET perfusion imaging, AI-QCTischemia showed incremental prognostic value among patients with preserved perfusion by 15O-H2O-PET imaging, but not among those with reduced perfusion</p
« Derrière OGM il y a modifié ! »: Étude sémantique sur la plurivocité du sigle OGM
Get PDFDans sa forme longue, OGM peut être écrit organisme génétiquement modifié ou organisme génétiquement manipulé. Cet article a pour but d’offrir une description sémantique de la notion d’OGM et d’en connaître les conceptions des locuteurs natifs du français. Pour ce faire, des francophones ont été interrogés dans le cadre d’un sondage sur la forme longue qu’ils préfèrent et les raisons de choisir cette forme. Leurs justifications sont abordées en prenant en compte des aspects sémantiques, normatifs et idéologiques afin de donner un regard détaillé sur la signification du sigle OGM. Les résultats de l’article montrent qu’une majorité des répondants du sondage ont préféré l’adjectif modifié. Plusieurs répondants ont trouvé que manipulé véhicule difficilement l’idée de changement qui leur était essentielle dans la signification d’OGM. Les réponses retenues esquissent une vision complexe de l’OGM qui pourrait servir pour des analyses ultérieures.</p