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Radio Frequency Based Vascular Dementia Sensing and Imaging System Targeting Smart Glasses
No full textVascular dementia is the second most prevalent type of dementia among the elderly population and is one of the leading causes of mortality. Ischemic stroke and brain atrophy are the predominant pathologies associated with vascular dementia. Early detection and regular monitoring are crucial to prevent the advancement of vascular dementia. Conventional medical imaging is expensive, requires extensive medical supervision and is not easily accessible. This research presents a novel concept of low-cost and non-invasive smart glasses, equipped with miniaturized octagonal monopole-patch antenna (OMPA) sensors and a crescent array sensor for vascular dementia detection. This Radio Frequency (RF) enabled portable system is capable of accurately identifying and imaging brain infarction, atrophy and stroke in their early stages. The fabricated device is experimentally verified using multiple artificial stroke and atrophy targets inside a realistic brain phantom. The backscattered RF data is iteratively processed using customized imaging algorithms to achieve improved image quality, noise suppression, and contrast resolution with reduced image artifacts and computational complexity. Based on the iterative refinement, the Double Stage Minimum Variance Delay Multiply and Sum (DS-MV-DMAS) algorithm is proposed for imaging stroke and brain atrophy. The quantitative results indicate that DS-MV-DMAS results in 43% lower level of side lobes and leads to 26%, 28% and 27% improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, full width at halfmaximum and contrast ratio, respectively, compared to other state-of-the-art imaging algorithms. The promising results demonstrate the feasibility of the prototype system as a cost-effective, portable and non-invasive alternative for the diagnosis and monitoring of vascular dementia
Supermarketisation, agro-industrial concentration and the food system’s shrinking interstices:Insights from South African agro-processing
No full textWe analyse processes of supermarketization in South Africa and its implications for inclusion, exclusion and industrial concentration in the mid-sections of agri-food value chains. Empirical material from maize processing shows differentiated impacts accompanying major retailers’ growing power and extended reach into the food system’s township and rural peripheries. Large firms’ co-evolutionary adaptations and constitutive power counteract supermarket buyer power. Smaller firms struggle with adverse incorporation in supermarket supply chains, relying instead on strategies targeting independent wholesale and the informal retail economy. However, this carries major risks, requires complex capabilities, and is increasingly threatened by market delocalisation accompanying supermarketization. Contrary to expectations of retail modernization enabling inclusive agri-food value chain development by connecting marginalised rural producers to larger urban markets, we highlight the potential for inverse processes whereby ‘peripheral supermarketization’ extends the reach of large firms in rural markets and shrinks the ‘interstices’ incubating small agri-food producers
Complex portal 2025: predicted human complexes and enhanced visualisation tools for the comparison of orthologous and paralogous complexes
No full textThe Complex Portal (www.ebi.ac.uk/complexportal) is a manually curated reference database for molecular complexes. It is a unifying web resource linking aggregated data on composition, topology and the function of macromolecular complexes from 28 species. In addition to significantly extending the number of manually curated complexes, we have massively extended the coverage of the human complexome through the incorporation of high confidence assemblies predicted by machine-learning algorithms trained on large-scale experimental data. The current content of the portal comprising 2150 human complexes has been augmented by 14 964 machine-learning (ML) predicted complexes from hu.MAP3.0. We have refactored the website to enable easy search and filtering of these different classes of protein complexes and have implemented the Complex Navigator, a visualisation tool to facilitate comparison of related complexes in the context of orthology or paralogy. We have embedded the Rhea reaction visualisation tool into the website to enable users to view the catalytic activity of enzyme complexes
School exclusion policy in Scotland:Investigating policy levers, drivers and warrants
No full textThis paper reports findings from a review of school exclusion policy and legislation in Scotland, conducted as part of a comparative study of school exclusion across the four UK jurisdictions by the Excluded Lives research group. Drawing on a range of policy sources, this paper adopts Hyatt’s (2013) framework to contextualise school exclusion policy through an examination of policy drivers, levers and warrants. In doing so, this paper explores how over time post-devolution, there has been a move from a focus on children and young people’s “misbehaviour” that is perceived to be “aggressive” and “anti-social” to a focus on “distressed behaviours” and restorative and relationship- based approaches to preventing school exclusion. This review of the drivers, levers and warrants that underpin school exclusion policy responses therefore provides a critical assessment of the role of legislation and policy in driving the long-term and sustained reduction in official school exclusion numbers in Scotland
Multicomponent Interventions for Adults With Cancer Cachexia:A Systematic Review
No full textBackground: Cancer cachexia has substantial impacts on patient quality of life. There is no current gold standard treatment, but the complex pathophysiology of cachexia suggests a multi-targeted and individualised treatment approach is needed. We aimed to evaluate the extent to which multi-component interventions have targeted the key features of cachexia and been tailored to individuals, and differential effects on quality of life.Methods: We conducted a systematic review of multi-component interventions for adults with cancer cachexia. We searched four databases, two clinical trial registers, and MedRxiv on 20 June 2024. Intervention components were classified by intervention category (nutritional, exercise/physical activity, pharmacological, psycho-social), cachexia feature(s) targeted (reduced energy intake, altered metabolism, involuntary weight loss, and decline in physical function), and level of tailoring. Within-arm standardised mean changes in quality of life over time, and standardised mean differences between study arms, were calculated.Results: 62 multi-component interventions were included, of which two combined components from all four intervention categories, and nine targeted all four key features of cachexia. 18 multi-component interventions were fully tailored and 30 were partly tailored to individuals. Within-arm standardised mean changes in quality of life were calculated for 13 studies; all had a high risk of bias or raised concerns. In 11 studies, quality of life scores improved following intervention, while in two studies they declined. Standardised mean differences between study arms were calculated for four studies; in three the intervention arm showed a greater improvement in quality of life scores than the usual care arm. Amongst these data, there was no indication that the number of cachexia features targeted, or the extent of tailoring, was associated with a greater improvement in quality of life scores amongst these data, however the heterogeneity prevented us from concluding on our hypothesis.Conclusions: This review mapped out in detail the combinations of intervention categories used, key features of cachexia targeted, and extent of tailoring across multi-component interventions for adults with cancer cachexia. Only a small proportion of the multi-component interventions targeted all four key features of cachexia, but most were either partly or fully tailored to individuals. Despite 62 multi-component interventions being investigated, only four studies compared these to usual care and reported quality of life outcomes. High risk of bias, low sample sizes, and variable outcome data remain challenges to the interpretability of results in this field.<br/
Preclinical models of soft tissue sarcomas – generation and applications to enhance translational research
Get PDFSoft tissue sarcomas (STS) represent a large group of rare and ultra-rare tumors distinguishedby unique morphological, molecular and clinical features. Patients with such rare cancers aregenerally underrepresented in clinical trials which has limited the introduction of new treatmentoptions and subsequent improvement of patient outcomes. Preclinical models of STS thatrecapitulate the human disease can aid progress in identifying new effective treatments.However, due to the rarity of these tumors there are limited STS models available. Here wereview the existing preclinical models of STS, including patient-derived cell lines andorganoids, patient-derived xenografts and genetically engineered mouse models. We discussthe advantages and disadvantages of the different models and describe to what extent theyhave aided clinical translation. Finally, we consider what can be done in the future to enhancetheir predictivity in the preclinical setting
Genotype, phenotype, selection and more: improving the skeletal health of laying hens
Get PDF1. This review is a comprehensive exploration of the author’s work in improving skeletal health in laying hens, focusing on the insights from genetics on nutritional, and environmental factors. It discusses the importance of the large number of disciplines that have contributed to the efforts to tackle bone quality in laying hens, particularly the keel bone. 2. The transition from cages to non-cage environments has increased keel bone damage, despite improving overall skeletal health. It is a welfare paradox that improving the hen’s environment has often been accompanied by greater skeletal damage. 3. The role of genetics has been important in understanding and addressing bone health issues and will be a major factor in their improvement. This includes the identification of specific genes, like cystathionine-β-synthase, which has led to nutritional interventions using betaine supplementation to improve bone quality by targeting the one carbon pathway. 4. The role of the timing of puberty and its genetic control is an additional factor in bone health, and new methods of measuring bone density in live birds are now important to monitor potential issues and deliver genetic solutions. 5. The review emphasises a multi-faceted approach, combining genetics, nutrition, rearing practices, and housing design is required in order to improve skeletal health and enhance the welfare and sustainable performance in laying hens.</p
Continuity and Change (con): Social class differentials in infant mortality, Ipswich 1871-1909
Get PDFClass differentials in infant mortality were first established for England and Wales following analysis of answers given to the 1911 census. While estimates of these differentials have been made for earlier periods using indirect methods, for the first time this article provides class-specific infant mortality rates based on births and infant deaths in a large English town. Using information provided in Ipswich’s smallpox vaccination registers for the period 1871–1909, a class gradient in infant mortality is shown to have developed in the town from the early 1880s onwards, particularly in the post-neonatal period. Aspects of the class differentials are then examined, including specific causes of death, housing and childcare practices
Near-real-time design of experiments for seismic monitoring of volcanoes
Get PDFMonitoring the seismic activity of volcanoes is crucial for hazard assessment and eruption forecasting. The layout of each seismic network determines the information content of recorded data about volcanic earthquakes, and experimental design methods optimise sensor locations to maximise that information. We provide a code package that implements Bayesian experimental design to optimise seismometer networks to locate seismicity at any volcano, and a practical guide to make this easily and rapidly implementable by any volcano seismologist. This work is the first to optimise travel-time, amplitude and array source location methods simultaneously, making it suitable for a wide range of volcano monitoring scenarios. The code-package is designed to be straightforward to use and can be adapted to a wide range of scenarios, and automatically links to existing global databases of topography and properties of volcanoes worldwide to allow rapid deployment. Any user should be able to obtain an initial design within minutes using a combination of generic and volcano-specific information to guide the design process, and to refine the design for their specific scenario within hours, if more specific prior information is available.Downloads<br/
Categories of sets with infinite addition
Get PDFWe consider sets with infinite addition, called Σ-monoids, and contribute to their literature in three ways. First, our definition subsumes those from previous works and allows us to relate them in terms of adjuctions between their categories. In particular, we discuss Σ-monoids with additive inverses. Second, we show that every Hausdorff commutative monoid is a Σ-monoid, and that there is a free Hausdorff commutative monoid for each Σ-monoid. Third, we prove that Σ-monoids have well-defined tensor products, unlike topological abelian groups
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