Showing papers by "Northumbria University published in 2017"

Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries over 25 Years.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Although the rising pandemic of obesity has received major attention in many countries, the effects of this attention on trends and the disease burden of obesity remain uncertain. METHOD ...

Global Burden of Hypertension and Systolic Blood Pressure of at Least 110 to 115 mm Hg, 1990-2015

Abstract: Importance Elevated systolic blood (SBP) pressure is a leading global health risk. Quantifying the levels of SBP is important to guide prevention policies and interventions. Objective To estimate the association between SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg and SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher and the burden of different causes of death and disability by age and sex for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2015. Design A comparative risk assessment of health loss related to SBP. Estimated distribution of SBP was based on 844 studies from 154 countries (published 1980-2015) of 8.69 million participants. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression was used to generate estimates of mean SBP and adjusted variance for each age, sex, country, and year. Diseases with sufficient evidence for a causal relationship with high SBP (eg, ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke) were included in the primary analysis. Main Outcomes and Measures Mean SBP level, cause-specific deaths, and health burden related to SBP (≥110-115 mm Hg and also ≥140 mm Hg) by age, sex, country, and year. Results Between 1990-2015, the rate of SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg increased from 73 119 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 67 949-78 241) to 81 373 (95% UI, 76 814-85 770) per 100 000, and SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher increased from 17 307 (95% UI, 17 117-17 492) to 20 526 (95% UI, 20 283-20 746) per 100 000. The estimated annual death rate per 100 000 associated with SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg increased from 135.6 (95% UI, 122.4-148.1) to 145.2 (95% UI 130.3-159.9) and the rate for SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher increased from 97.9 (95% UI, 87.5-108.1) to 106.3 (95% UI, 94.6-118.1). Loss of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) associated with SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg increased from 148 million (95% UI, 134-162 million) to 211 million (95% UI, 193-231 million), and for SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher, the loss increased from 95.9 million (95% UI, 87.0-104.9 million) to 143.0 million (95% UI, 130.2-157.0 million). The largest numbers of SBP-related deaths were caused by ischemic heart disease (4.9 million [95% UI, 4.0-5.7 million]; 54.5%), hemorrhagic stroke (2.0 million [95% UI, 1.6-2.3 million]; 58.3%), and ischemic stroke (1.5 million [95% UI, 1.2-1.8 million]; 50.0%). In 2015, China, India, Russia, Indonesia, and the United States accounted for more than half of the global DALYs related to SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg. Conclusions and Relevance In international surveys, although there is uncertainty in some estimates, the rate of elevated SBP (≥110-115 and ≥140 mm Hg) increased substantially between 1990 and 2015, and DALYs and deaths associated with elevated SBP also increased. Projections based on this sample suggest that in 2015, an estimated 3.5 billion adults had SBP of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg and 874 million adults had SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher.

European guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia

Abstract: This European guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia was developed by a task force of the European Sleep Research Society, with the aim of providing clinical recommendations for the management of adult patients with insomnia. The guideline is based on a systematic review of relevant meta-analyses published till June 2016. The target audience for this guideline includes all clinicians involved in the management of insomnia, and the target patient population includes adults with chronic insomnia disorder. The GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system was used to grade the evidence and guide recommendations. The diagnostic procedure for insomnia, and its co-morbidities, should include a clinical interview consisting of a sleep history (sleep habits, sleep environment, work schedules, circadian factors), the use of sleep questionnaires and sleep diaries, questions about somatic and mental health, a physical examination and additional measures if indicated (i.e. blood tests, electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram; strong recommendation, moderate- to high-quality evidence). Polysomnography can be used to evaluate other sleep disorders if suspected (i.e. periodic limb movement disorder, sleep-related breathing disorders), in treatment-resistant insomnia, for professional at-risk populations and when substantial sleep state misperception is suspected (strong recommendation, high-quality evidence). Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is recommended as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia in adults of any age (strong recommendation, high-quality evidence). A pharmacological intervention can be offered if cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is not sufficiently effective or not available. Benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine receptor agonists and some antidepressants are effective in the short-term treatment of insomnia (≤4 weeks; weak recommendation, moderate-quality evidence). Antihistamines, antipsychotics, melatonin and phytotherapeutics are not recommended for insomnia treatment (strong to weak recommendations, low- to very-low-quality evidence). Light therapy and exercise need to be further evaluated to judge their usefulness in the treatment of insomnia (weak recommendation, low-quality evidence). Complementary and alternative treatments (e.g. homeopathy, acupuncture) are not recommended for insomnia treatment (weak recommendation, very-low-quality evidence).

Blockchain-Based Dynamic Key Management for Heterogeneous Intelligent Transportation Systems

Abstract: As modern vehicle and communication technologies advanced apace, people begin to believe that the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) would be achievable in one decade. ITS introduces information technology to the transportation infrastructures and aims to improve road safety and traffic efficiency. However, security is still a main concern in vehicular communication systems (VCSs). This can be addressed through secured group broadcast. Therefore, secure key management schemes are considered as a critical technique for network security. In this paper, we propose a framework for providing secure key management within the heterogeneous network. The security managers (SMs) play a key role in the framework by capturing the vehicle departure information, encapsulating block to transport keys and then executing rekeying to vehicles within the same security domain. The first part of this framework is a novel network topology based on a decentralized blockchain structure. The blockchain concept is proposed to simplify the distributed key management in heterogeneous VCS domains. The second part of the framework uses the dynamic transaction collection period to further reduce the key transfer time during vehicles handover. Extensive simulations and analysis show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework, in which the blockchain structure performs better in term of key transfer time than the structure with a central manager, while the dynamic scheme allows SMs to flexibly fit various traffic levels.

Novel molecular subgroups for clinical classification and outcome prediction in childhood medulloblastoma: a cohort study

Abstract: Summary Background International consensus recognises four medulloblastoma molecular subgroups: WNT (MB WNT ), SHH (MB SHH ), group 3 (MB Grp3 ), and group 4 (MB Grp4 ), each defined by their characteristic genome-wide transcriptomic and DNA methylomic profiles. These subgroups have distinct clinicopathological and molecular features, and underpin current disease subclassification and initial subgroup-directed therapies that are underway in clinical trials. However, substantial biological heterogeneity and differences in survival are apparent within each subgroup, which remain to be resolved. We aimed to investigate whether additional molecular subgroups exist within childhood medulloblastoma and whether these could be used to improve disease subclassification and prognosis predictions. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we assessed 428 primary medulloblastoma samples collected from UK Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) treatment centres (UK), collaborating European institutions, and the UKCCSG-SIOP-PNET3 European clinical trial. An independent validation cohort (n=276) of archival tumour samples was also analysed. We analysed samples from patients with childhood medulloblastoma who were aged 0–16 years at diagnosis, and had central review of pathology and comprehensive clinical data. We did comprehensive molecular profiling, including DNA methylation microarray analysis, and did unsupervised class discovery of test and validation cohorts to identify consensus primary molecular subgroups and characterise their clinical and biological significance. We modelled survival of patients aged 3–16 years in patients (n=215) who had craniospinal irradiation and had been treated with a curative intent. Findings Seven robust and reproducible primary molecular subgroups of childhood medulloblastoma were identified. MB WNT remained unchanged and each remaining consensus subgroup was split in two. MB SHH was split into age-dependent subgroups corresponding to infant ( SHH-Infant ; n=65) and childhood patients (≥4·3 years; MB SHH-Child ; n=38). MB Grp3 and MB Grp4 were each split into high-risk (MB Grp3-HR [n=65] and MB Grp4-HR [n=85]) and low-risk (MB Grp3-LR [n=50] and MB Grp4-LR [n=73]) subgroups. These biological subgroups were validated in the independent cohort. We identified features of the seven subgroups that were predictive of outcome. Cross-validated subgroup-dependent survival models, incorporating these novel subgroups along with secondary clinicopathological and molecular features and established disease risk-factors, outperformed existing disease risk-stratification schemes. These subgroup-dependent models stratified patients into four clinical risk groups for 5-year progression-free survival: favourable risk (54 [25%] of 215 patients; 91% survival [95% CI 82–100]); standard risk (50 [23%] patients; 81% survival [70–94]); high-risk (82 [38%] patients; 42% survival [31–56]); and very high-risk (29 [13%] patients; 28% survival [14–56]). Interpretation The discovery of seven novel, clinically significant subgroups improves disease risk-stratification and could inform treatment decisions. These data provide a new foundation for future research and clinical investigations. Funding Cancer Research UK, The Tom Grahame Trust, Star for Harris, Action Medical Research, SPARKS, The JGW Patterson Foundation, The INSTINCT network (co-funded by The Brain Tumour Charity, Great Ormond Street Children's Charity, and Children with Cancer UK).

Child and Adolescent Health From 1990 to 2015. Findings From the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 Study

Abstract: Importance: Comprehensive and timely monitoring of disease burden in all age groups, including children and adolescents, is essential for improving population health.Objective: To quantify and describe levels and trends of mortality and nonfatal health outcomes among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2015 to provide a framework for policy discussion.Evidence Review: Cause-specific mortality and nonfatal health outcomes were analyzed for 195 countries and territories by age group, sex, and year from 1990 to 2015 using standardized approaches for data processing and statistical modeling, with subsequent analysis of the findings to describe levels and trends across geography and time among children and adolescents 19 years or younger. A composite indicator of income, education, and fertility was developed (Socio-demographic Index [SDI]) for each geographic unit and year, which evaluates the historical association between SDI and health loss.Findings: Global child and adolescent mortality decreased from 14.18 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 14.09 million to 14.28 million) deaths in 1990 to 7.26 million (95% UI, 7.14 million to 7.39 million) deaths in 2015, but progress has been unevenly distributed. Countries with a lower SDI had a larger proportion of mortality burden (75%) in 2015 than was the case in 1990 (61%). Most deaths in 2015 occurred in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Global trends were driven by reductions in mortality owing to infectious, nutritional, and neonatal disorders, which in the aggregate led to a relative increase in the importance of noncommunicable diseases and injuries in explaining global disease burden. The absolute burden of disability in children and adolescents increased 4.3% (95% UI, 3.1%-5.6%) from 1990 to 2015, with much of the increase owing to population growth and improved survival for children and adolescents to older ages. Other than infectious conditions, many top causes of disability are associated with long-term sequelae of conditions present at birth (eg, neonatal disorders, congenital birth defects, and hemoglobinopathies) and complications of a variety of infections and nutritional deficiencies. Anemia, developmental intellectual disability, hearing loss, epilepsy, and vision loss are important contributors to childhood disability that can arise from multiple causes. Maternal and reproductive health remains a key cause of disease burden in adolescent females, especially in lower-SDI countries. In low-SDI countries, mortality is the primary driver of health loss for children and adolescents, whereas disability predominates in higher-SDI locations; the specific pattern of epidemiological transition varies across diseases and injuries.Conclusions and Relevance: Consistent international attention and investment have led to sustained improvements in causes of health loss among children and adolescents in many countries, although progress has been uneven. The persistence of infectious diseases in some countries, coupled with ongoing epidemiologic transition to injuries and noncommunicable diseases, require all countries to carefully evaluate and implement appropriate strategies to maximize the health of their children and adolescents and for the international community to carefully consider which elements of child and adolescent health should be monitored.

A Micro-GA Embedded PSO Feature Selection Approach to Intelligent Facial Emotion Recognition

Abstract: This paper proposes a facial expression recognition system using evolutionary particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based feature optimization. The system first employs modified local binary patterns, which conduct horizontal and vertical neighborhood pixel comparison, to generate a discriminative initial facial representation. Then, a PSO variant embedded with the concept of a micro genetic algorithm (mGA), called mGA-embedded PSO, is proposed to perform feature optimization. It incorporates a nonreplaceable memory, a small-population secondary swarm, a new velocity updating strategy, a subdimension-based in-depth local facial feature search, and a cooperation of local exploitation and global exploration search mechanism to mitigate the premature convergence problem of conventional PSO. Multiple classifiers are used for recognizing seven facial expressions. Based on a comprehensive study using within- and cross-domain images from the extended Cohn Kanade and MMI benchmark databases, respectively, the empirical results indicate that our proposed system outperforms other state-of-the-art PSO variants, conventional PSO, classical GA, and other related facial expression recognition models reported in the literature by a significant margin.

A global multiproxy database for temperature reconstructions of the Common Era

Abstract: Reproducible climate reconstructions of the Common Era (1 CE to present) are key to placing industrial-era warming into the context of natural climatic variability. Here we present a community-sourced database of temperature-sensitive proxy records from the PAGES2k initiative. The database gathers 692 records from 648 locations, including all continental regions and major ocean basins. The records are from trees, ice, sediment, corals, speleothems, documentary evidence, and other archives. They range in length from 50 to 2000 years, with a median of 547 years, while temporal resolution ranges from biweekly to centennial. Nearly half of the proxy time series are significantly correlated with HadCRUT4.2 surface temperature over the period 1850–2014. Global temperature composites show a remarkable degree of coherence between high- and low-resolution archives, with broadly similar patterns across archive types, terrestrial versus marine locations, and screening criteria. The database is suited to investigations of global and regional temperature variability over the Common Era, and is shared in the Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format, including serializations in Matlab, R and Python.

Transparent flexible thermoelectric material based on non-toxic earth-abundant p-type copper iodide thin film.

Abstract: Thermoelectric devices that are flexible and optically transparent hold unique promise for future electronics. However, development of invisible thermoelectric elements is hindered by the lack of p-type transparent thermoelectric materials. Here we present the superior room-temperature thermoelectric performance of p-type transparent copper iodide (CuI) thin films. Large Seebeck coefficients and power factors of the obtained CuI thin films are analysed based on a single-band model. The low-thermal conductivity of the CuI films is attributed to a combined effect of the heavy element iodine and strong phonon scattering. Accordingly, we achieve a large thermoelectric figure of merit of ZT=0.21 at 300 K for the CuI films, which is three orders of magnitude higher compared with state-of-the-art p-type transparent materials. A transparent and flexible CuI-based thermoelectric element is demonstrated. Our findings open a path for multifunctional technologies combing transparent electronics, flexible electronics and thermoelectricity. Flexible thermoelectric devices with high optical transparency may enable new applications; however, the lack of a p-type counterpart has hitherto hindered its development. Yanget al., report a transparent p-type thermoelectric based on polycrystalline copper iodide thin film with record performance.

Topological liquid diode

Abstract: The last two decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in the field of droplet-based microfluidics for their multifarious applications. Despite rapid innovations in strategies to generate small-scale liquid transport on these devices, the speed of motion is usually slow, the transport distance is limited, and the flow direction is not well controlled because of unwanted pinning of contact lines by defects on the surface. We report a new method of microscopic liquid transport based on a unique topological structure. This method breaks the contact line pinning through efficient conversion of excess surface energy to kinetic energy at the advancing edge of the droplet while simultaneously arresting the reverse motion of the droplet via strong pinning. This results in a novel topological fluid diode that allows for a rapid, directional, and long-distance transport of virtually any kind of liquid without the need for an external energy input.

Disorganized attachment in infancy : a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

Abstract: Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

Glass fabric reinforced cementitious matrix: Tensile properties and bond performance on masonry substrate

Abstract: Fibre-reinforced composite materials have gained an increasing success, mostly for strengthening, retrofitting, and repairing existing structures. However some problems may arise with the use of traditional FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer), particularly when the compatibility with the substrate and the reversibility of the intervention are required, as in case of cultural heritage buildings, or specific exposition conditions may compromise the long term effectiveness of the reinforcement, as in presence of high temperature and humidity. Starting from these considerations new composite materials are emerging as a more effective solution in certain fields of application and under specific service conditions; in this context, mortar-based composite systems, consisting of one or more layers of uni- or bi-directional fibre nets embedded in cement/lime-based matrix layers, can be used as reinforcement of both concrete and masonry structures. However, the research work dealing with these emerging materials and their performances when used as a strengthening system for existing structures is still limited. Both experimental and theoretical investigations are needed in order to deliver reliable design methodologies. In this work, a Round Robin Test aimed to the characterization of both bond with the existing substrate and tensile performance of glass fabric (in the form of grids) coupled with inorganic mortar matrices is presented. The investigation was conducted at fifteen laboratories involved in the RILEM Technical Committee 250-CSM (Composites for the Sustainable Strengthening of Masonry). With the aim of studying the bond behaviour between Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composites and masonry substrate, single and double lap shear tests were carried out on brick-masonry prisms. Results provide useful informations about the mechanical properties, the bond capacity and the failure mechanisms of different commercially available glass FRCM systems. Finally, critical aspects are underlined to address the progress of the research work.

Functionality and feedback: a realist synthesis of the collation, interpretation and utilisation of patient-reported outcome measures data to improve patient care

Abstract: Background: The feedback of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) data is intended to support the care of individual patients and to act as a quality improvement (QI) strategy. Objectives: To (1) identify the ideas and assumptions underlying how individual and aggregated PROMs data are intended to improve patient care, and (2) review the evidence to examine the circumstances in which and processes through which PROMs feedback improves patient care. Design: Two separate but related realist syntheses: (1) feedback of aggregate PROMs and performance data to improve patient care, and (2) feedback of individual PROMs data to improve patient care. Interventions: Aggregate – feedback and public reporting of PROMs, patient experience data and performance data to hospital providers and primary care organisations. Individual – feedback of PROMs in oncology, palliative care and the care of people with mental health problems in primary and secondary care settings. Main outcome measures: Aggregate – providers’ responses, attitudes and experiences of using PROMs and performance data to improve patient care. Individual – providers’ and patients’ experiences of using PROMs data to raise issues with clinicians, change clinicians’ communication practices, change patient management and improve patient well-being. Data sources: Searches of electronic databases and forwards and backwards citation tracking. Review methods: Realist synthesis to identify, test and refine programme theories about when, how and why PROMs feedback leads to improvements in patient care. Results: Providers were more likely to take steps to improve patient care in response to the feedback and public reporting of aggregate PROMs and performance data if they perceived that these data were credible, were aimed at improving patient care, and were timely and provided a clear indication of the source of the problem. However, implementing substantial and sustainable improvement to patient care required system-wide approaches. In the care of individual patients, PROMs function more as a tool to support patients in raising issues with clinicians than they do in substantially changing clinicians’ communication practices with patients. Patients valued both standardised and individualised PROMs as a tool to raise issues, but thought is required as to which patients may benefit and which may not. In settings such as palliative care and psychotherapy, clinicians viewed individualised PROMs as useful to build rapport and support the therapeutic process. PROMs feedback did not substantially shift clinicians’ communication practices or focus discussion on psychosocial issues; this required a shift in clinicians’ perceptions of their remit. Strengths and limitations: There was a paucity of research examining the feedback of aggregate PROMs data to providers, and we drew on evidence from interventions with similar programme theories (other forms of performance data) to test our theories. Conclusions: PROMs data act as ‘tin openers’ rather than ‘dials’. Providers need more support and guidance on how to collect their own internal data, how to rule out alternative explanations for their outlier status and how to explore the possible causes of their outlier status. There is also tension between PROMs as a QI strategy versus their use in the care of individual patients; PROMs that clinicians find useful in assessing patients, such as individualised measures, are not useful as indicators of service quality. Future work: Future research should (1) explore how differently performing providers have responded to aggregate PROMs feedback, and how organisations have collected PROMs data both for individual patient care and to improve service quality; and (2) explore whether or not and how incorporating PROMs into patients’ electronic records allows multiple different clinicians to receive PROMs feedback, discuss it with patients and act on the data to improve patient care.

Cross-View Retrieval via Probability-Based Semantics-Preserving Hashing

Abstract: For efficiently retrieving nearest neighbors from large-scale multiview data, recently hashing methods are widely investigated, which can substantially improve query speeds. In this paper, we propose an effective probability-based semantics-preserving hashing (SePH) method to tackle the problem of cross-view retrieval. Considering the semantic consistency between views, SePH generates one unified hash code for all observed views of any instance. For training, SePH first transforms the given semantic affinities of training data into a probability distribution, and aims to approximate it with another one in Hamming space, via minimizing their Kullback–Leibler divergence. Specifically, the latter probability distribution is derived from all pair-wise Hamming distances between to-be-learnt hash codes of the training data. Then with learnt hash codes, any kind of predictive models like linear ridge regression, logistic regression, or kernel logistic regression, can be learnt as hash functions in each view for projecting the corresponding view-specific features into hash codes. As for out-of-sample extension, given any unseen instance, the learnt hash functions in its observed views can predict view-specific hash codes. Then by deriving or estimating the corresponding output probabilities with respect to the predicted view-specific hash codes, a novel probabilistic approach is further proposed to utilize them for determining a unified hash code. To evaluate the proposed SePH, we conduct extensive experiments on diverse benchmark datasets, and the experimental results demonstrate that SePH is reasonable and effective.

Longitudinal development of the gut microbiome and metabolome in preterm neonates with late onset sepsis and healthy controls

Abstract: Late onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm infants is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. While studies have implicated gut bacteria in the aetiology of the disease, functional analysis and mechanistic insights are generally lacking. We performed temporal bacterial (n = 613) and metabolomic (n = 63) profiling on extensively sampled stool from 7 infants with LOS and 28 matched healthy (no LOS or NEC) controls. The bacteria isolated in diagnostic blood culture usually corresponded to the dominant bacterial genera in the gut microbiome. Longitudinal changes were monitored based on preterm gut community types (PGCTs), where control infants had an increased number of PGCTs compared to LOS infants (P = 0.011). PGCT 6, characterised by Bifidobacteria dominance, was only present in control infants. Metabolite profiles differed between LOS and control infants at diagnosis and 7 days later, but not 7 days prior to diagnosis. Bifidobacteria was positively correlated with control metabolites, including raffinose, sucrose, and acetic acid. Using multi-omic analysis, we show that the gut microbiome is involved in the pathogenesis of LOS. While the causative agent of LOS varies, it is usually abundant in the gut. Bifidobacteria dominance was associated with control infants, and the presence of this organism may directly protect, or act as a marker for protection, against gut epithelial translocation. While the metabolomic data is preliminary, the findings support that gut development and protection in preterm infants is associated with increased in prebiotic oligosaccharides (e.g. raffinose) and the growth of beneficial bacteria (e.g. Bifidobacterium).

Unsupervised Visual Hashing with Semantic Assistant for Content-Based Image Retrieval

Abstract: As an emerging technology to support scalable content-based image retrieval (CBIR), hashing has recently received great attention and became a very active research domain. In this study, we propose a novel unsupervised visual hashing approach called semantic-assisted visual hashing (SAVH). Distinguished from semi-supervised and supervised visual hashing, its core idea is to effectively extract the rich semantics latently embedded in auxiliary texts of images to boost the effectiveness of visual hashing without any explicit semantic labels. To achieve the target, a unified unsupervised framework is developed to learn hash codes by simultaneously preserving visual similarities of images, integrating the semantic assistance from auxiliary texts on modeling high-order relationships of inter-images, and characterizing the correlations between images and shared topics. Our performance study on three publicly available image collections: Wiki , MIR Flickr , and NUS-WIDE indicates that SAVH can achieve superior performance over several state-of-the-art techniques.

Home-based maintenance tele-rehabilitation reduces the risk for acute exacerbations of COPD, hospitalisations and emergency department visits

Abstract: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) remains grossly underutilised by suitable patients worldwide We investigated whether home-based maintenance tele-rehabilitation will be as effective as hospital-based maintenance rehabilitation and superior to usual care in reducing the risk for acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, hospitalisations and emergency department (ED) visits Following completion of an initial 2-month PR programme this prospective, randomised controlled trial (between December 2013 and July 2015) compared 12 months of home-based maintenance tele-rehabilitation (n=47) with 12 months of hospital-based, outpatient, maintenance rehabilitation (n=50) and also to 12 months of usual care treatment (n=50) without initial PR In a multivariate analysis during the 12-month follow-up, both home-based tele-rehabilitation and hospital-based PR remained independent predictors of a lower risk for 1) acute COPD exacerbation (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0517, 95% CI 0389–0687, and IRR 0635, 95% CI 0473–0853), respectively, and 2) hospitalisations for acute COPD exacerbation (IRR 0189, 95% CI 0100–0358, and IRR 0375, 95% CI 0207–0681), respectively However, only home-based maintenance tele-rehabilitation and not hospital-based, outpatient, maintenance PR was an independent predictor of ED visits (IRR 0116, 95% CI 0072–0185) Home-based maintenance tele-rehabilitation is equally effective as hospital-based, outpatient, maintenance PR in reducing the risk for acute COPD exacerbation and hospitalisations In addition, it encounters a lower risk for ED visits, thereby constituting a potentially effective alternative strategy to hospital-based, outpatient, maintenance PR

On Speculative Enactments

Abstract: Speculative Enactments are a novel approach to speculative design research with participants. They invite the empirical analysis of participants acting amidst speculative but consequential circumstances. HCI as a broadly pragmatic, experience-centered, and participant-focused field is well placed to innovate methods that invite first-hand interaction and experience with speculative design projects. We discuss three case studies of this approach in practice, based on our own work: Runner Spotters, Metadating and a Quantified Wedding. In distinguishing Speculative Enactments we offer not just practical guidelines, but a set of conceptual resources for researchers and practitioners to critique the different contributions that speculative approaches make to HCI discourse.