889 research outputs found
On the moral equality of artificial agents
No full textArtificial agents such as robots are performing increasingly significant ethical roles in society. As a result, there is a growing literature regarding their moral status with many suggesting it is justified to regard manufactured entities as having intrinsic moral worth. However, the question of whether artificial agents could have the high degree of moral status that is attributed to human persons has largely been neglected. To address this question, the author developed a respect-based account of the ethical criteria for the moral status of persons. From this account, the paper employs an empirical test that must be passed in order for artificial agents to be considered alongside persons as having the corresponding rights and duties
Impact of supervised aerobic exercise training on habitual physical activity in healthy older adults: the Hertfordshire physical activity randomised controlled trial
No full textObjectives: physical activity is important for health, but the influence of structured, supervised aerobic exercise sessions on habitual physical activity in healthy older adults is unclear.Methods: we evaluated habitual physical activity in the Hertfordshire Physical Activity Trial, where healthy older adults were randomised to 36 supervised 1-hour gymnasium sessions on a cycle ergometer at moderate intensity over 12 weeks or to a control group with no intervention. We estimated physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and time spent in sedentary behaviour and light and moderate or vigorous physical activity over 7 days at three time points (before, during and immediately after the intervention) with individually calibrated combined heart rate and movement sensing. Results: of 100 randomised participants (44% female, aged 67-76 years), 96% completed follow-up. Midway through the intervention, neither overall PAEE nor time spent at different intensities were different between groups. However, on the 3 days of the week that the structured exercise sessions occurred (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), the exercise group had a 9.1 kJ kg -1 day -1 ((2.5, 15.7), p=0.007) increase in PAEE, a reduction in sedentary time and increased time spent at light and moderate or vigorous physical activity, compared with the control group.Conclusions: three 1-hour bouts per week of structured aerobic exercise increased daily physical activity on the days they occurred, but not overall physical activity across the whole week. Population-wide strategies such as better cycling and walking infrastructure may increase physical activity in healthy older adults more effectively than treatment with structured exercise programmes.</p
A novel plasmid-mediated polymyxin resistance determinant (mcr-1.8) in Escherichia coli recovered from broiler chickens in Brunei Darussalam
No full textThis is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy following peer review. The version of record: Muhd Haziq F Abdul Momin, Apostolos Liakopoulos, David C Bean, Lynette M Phee, David W Wareham, A novel plasmid-mediated polymyxin resistance determinant (mcr-1.8) in Escherichia coli recovered from broiler chickens in Brunei Darussalam, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Volume 74, Issue 11, November 2019, Pages 3392–3394, https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkz352 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkz35
Waiting to Hear His Voice: How the Use of an At-Home Scanner Shaped the Lives of a Central Alberta Family
No full textWinner of the Student Writer Award Bronze Medal, Research Essay Category (1st-2nd Year). Although we are acquainted with the home police scanner as a vigilante crime-solving tool in movies and television, for the Wareham family whose patriarch John Douglas Wareham is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the home scanner is used as a reassurance of safety, and a tool for planning out their daily lives. The Warehams purchased the scanner over twenty years ago and had kept it on and playing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the RCMP switched to an encrypted digital format for their communication in 2019. The scanner itself is the product of police shaping the broader medium of radio, originally a tool used by hobbyists that was later intended to connect and unite citizens, into a tool for organizing and deploying police officers. This research paper will focus on the ability of the Wareham family to shape the medium of the radio scanner into their daily lives, as well as the influence exerted onto them by the medium.Copyright held by authors.social-shapingcommunicationsStudent Writer Award
Validity of ultrasonography to assess hepatic steatosis compared to magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a criterion method in older adults.
No full textBACKGROUND: The rising prevalence of obesity has made hepatic steatosis an increasingly common issue. Ultrasound is generally used in clinical practice to assess steatosis, but its accuracy has been inconsistent across studies. We aimed to determine the validity of ultrasound to diagnose hepatic steatosis when compared to the criterion method proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in older individuals. METHODS: A total of 72 healthy white European individuals (n = 42 men; n = 30 women aged 67-76 years) participating in the Hertfordshire Birth Cohort Physical Activity trial had hepatic steatosis assessed by ultrasound and MRS. The ultrasound scans were graded as normal, mild, moderate and severe steatosis, while hepatic fat content above 5.5% by MRS was used as a cut-off for steatosis. RESULTS: 18 participants (25%) had a level of hepatic fat measured by MRS consistent with diagnosis of steatosis. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in diagnosing hepatic steatosis (mild/moderate/severe vs normal) were 96% (95% CI: 87-99.6%) and 94% (95% CI: 73-100%) respectively, although overlap in MRS hepatic fat content was observed between the ultrasound categories. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound is a valid method for detecting the presence or absence of hepatic steatosis in older adults and can be used as an alternative tool in both clinical investigations and epidemiological studies, when other imaging techniques are not feasible
Can we predict England's Traffic?
No full text<p>The poster focusses on a single part of our wider research project on gathering traffic flow data. Part A of the project aims to infer traffic flow directly from video streams but knowing the current state of the world is only one part of the problem; we are also investigating what techniques can be used to predict the near future.</p>
Viewpoint Independent Vehicles
No full text<p>A poster presented at the SRF annual conference 2015 outlining our work on forming a viewpoint independent representation of traffic vehicles.</p>
Distribution and determinants of circulating complement factor H concentration determined by a high-throughput immunonephelometric assay
No full textBACKGROUND:
Research on complement factor H (fH) in human disease is hampered by lack of an assay suitable for use in large-scale epidemiological studies. We describe the development and validation of a high throughput nephelometric assay for fH.
METHODS:
Reagents from a commercial radial immunodiffusion (RID) assay (The Binding Site) were adapted for use on the Siemens BNII high throughput nephelometric instrument. The assay was calibrated with a highly purified human fH preparation with rigorously determined concentration, and assay performance was comprehensively evaluated using samples from healthy human volunteers, with the commercial RID assay as a comparator. The distribution and determinants of circulating fH concentration in humans were then investigated in a large representative population sample.
RESULTS:
The nephelometric assay had recovery close to 100%, was reproducible with intra- and inter-assay CV's of 11% and 5-15% respectively, and had a wider operating range than the RID assay. fH values were unaffected after multiple freeze-thaw cycles demonstrating that it is evidently a stable analyte for immunoassay. fH concentration was unaltered by an acute inflammatory stimulus. The population study showed that plasma fH concentration is associated with circulating lipids and indices of body fat.
CONCLUSION:
We present the first high throughput assay for circulating fH; the assay is accurate and reliable with reproducible measures from stored samples. It has established the distribution of fH values at a population level and demonstrated important associations with circulating lipids and indices of body fat, thus providing an important reference for future clinical and epidemiological investigations
Embodied display: A critical examination of the biopedagogical experience of wearing health
No full textWearables, technological devices for promoting health, physical activity, and weight control, have become increasingly popular. However, debates are ongoing in popular and academic settings regarding their health potential and implications. This article contributes to these conversations, offering a reflexive, collaborative exploration into the experiences of four critical health scholars using wearable technology (Fitbits). Using biopedagogies, the authors explore their experiences with body-size, fatness, and physical activity in relation to healthist and dominant “obesity” discourses. The authors contend this approach could support educators to facilitate understanding of power and knowledge dynamics that infuse new media and reinforce weight stigma, fatphobia, and bullying.Peer reviewedFinal article publishedBiopedagogieswearablesobesityhealthfatdiscoursedigital technologybod
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