| 1. |
- Amano, Tatsuya, et al.
(författare)
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Transforming Practice : Checklists for Delivering Change
- 2022
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Ingår i: Transforming Conservation : A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making - A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making. - 9781800648562 - 9781800648586 ; , s. 367-386
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Delivering a revolution in evidence use requires a cultural change across society. For a wide range of groups (practitioners, knowledge brokers, organisations, organisational leaders, policy makers, funders, researchers, journal publishers, the wider conservation community, educators, writers, and journalists), options are described to facilitate a change in practice, and a series of downloadable checklists is provided.
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| 2. |
- Brindle, Joanne T, et al.
(författare)
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Rapid and Nonivasive Diagnosis of the Presence and Severity of Coronary Heart Disease Using 1H-NMR-Based Metabonomics
- 2002
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Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 8, s. 1439-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although a wide range of risk factors for coronary heart disease have been identified from population studies, these measures, singly or in combination, are insufficiently powerful to provide a reliable, noninvasive diagnosis of the presence of coronary heart disease. Here we show that pattern-recognition techniques applied to proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectra of human serum can correctly diagnose not only the presence, but also the severity, of coronary heart disease. Application of supervised partial least squares-discriminant analysis to orthogonal signal-corrected data sets allows >90% of subjects with stenosis of all three major coronary vessels to be distinguished from subjects with angiographically normal coronary arteries, with a specificity of >90%. Our studies show for the first time a technique capable of providing an accurate, noninvasive and rapid diagnosis of coronary heart disease that can be used clinically, either in population screening or to allow effective targeting of treatments such as statins.
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| 3. |
- Downey, Harriet, et al.
(författare)
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Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. - : Wiley. - 2688-8319. ; 2:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis.2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice.3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses.4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Bagheri, Zahra M., et al.
(författare)
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An autonomous robot inspired by insect neurophysiology pursues moving features in natural environments
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Neural Engineering. - : IOP Publishing. - 1741-2560 .- 1741-2552. ; 14:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. Many computer vision and robotic applications require the implementation of robust and efficient target-tracking algorithms on a moving platform. However, deployment of a real-time system is challenging, even with the computational power of modern hardware. Lightweight and low-powered flying insects, such as dragonflies, track prey or conspecifics within cluttered natural environments, illustrating an efficient biological solution to the target-tracking problem. Approach. We used our recent recordings from 'small target motion detector' neurons in the dragonfly brain to inspire the development of a closed-loop target detection and tracking algorithm. This model exploits facilitation, a slow build-up of response to targets which move along long, continuous trajectories, as seen in our electrophysiological data. To test performance in real-world conditions, we implemented this model on a robotic platform that uses active pursuit strategies based on insect behaviour. Main results. Our robot performs robustly in closed-loop pursuit of targets, despite a range of challenging conditions used in our experiments; low contrast targets, heavily cluttered environments and the presence of distracters. We show that the facilitation stage boosts responses to targets moving along continuous trajectories, improving contrast sensitivity and detection of small moving targets against textured backgrounds. Moreover, the temporal properties of facilitation play a useful role in handling vibration of the robotic platform. We also show that the adoption of feed-forward models which predict the sensory consequences of self-movement can significantly improve target detection during saccadic movements. Significance. Our results provide insight into the neuronal mechanisms that underlie biological target detection and selection (from a moving platform), as well as highlight the effectiveness of our bio-inspired algorithm in an artificial visual system.
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| 6. |
- Bagheri, Zahra M, et al.
(författare)
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Performance of an insect-inspired target tracker in natural conditions
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-3182 .- 1748-3190. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Robust and efficient target-tracking algorithms embedded on moving platforms, are a requirement for many computer vision and robotic applications. However, deployment of a real-time system is challenging, even with the computational power of modern hardware. As inspiration, we look to biological lightweight solutions-lightweight and low-powered flying insects. For example, dragonflies pursue prey and mates within cluttered, natural environments, deftly selecting their target amidst swarms. In our laboratory, we study the physiology and morphology of dragonfly 'small target motion detector' neurons likely to underlie this pursuit behaviour. Here we describe our insect-inspired tracking model derived from these data and compare its efficacy and efficiency with state-of-the-art engineering models. For model inputs, we use both publicly available video sequences, as well as our own task-specific dataset (small targets embedded within natural scenes). In the context of the tracking problem, we describe differences in object statistics within the video sequences. For the general dataset, our model often locks on to small components of larger objects, tracking these moving features. When input imagery includes small moving targets, for which our highly nonlinear filtering is matched, the robustness outperforms state-of-the-art trackers. In all scenarios, our insect-inspired tracker runs at least twice the speed of the comparison algorithms.
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| 7. |
- Bagheri, Zahra M, et al.
(författare)
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Properties of neuronal facilitation that improve target tracking in natural pursuit simulations.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of the Royal Society Interface. - : The Royal Society. - 1742-5662 .- 1742-5689. ; 12:108
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although flying insects have limited visual acuity (approx. 1°) and relatively small brains, many species pursue tiny targets against cluttered backgrounds with high success. Our previous computational model, inspired by electrophysiological recordings from insect 'small target motion detector' (STMD) neurons, did not account for several key properties described from the biological system. These include the recent observations of response 'facilitation' (a slow build-up of response to targets that move on long, continuous trajectories) and 'selective attention', a competitive mechanism that selects one target from alternatives. Here, we present an elaborated STMD-inspired model, implemented in a closed loop target-tracking system that uses an active saccadic gaze fixation strategy inspired by insect pursuit. We test this system against heavily cluttered natural scenes. Inclusion of facilitation not only substantially improves success for even short-duration pursuits, but it also enhances the ability to 'attend' to one target in the presence of distracters. Our model predicts optimal facilitation parameters that are static in space and dynamic in time, changing with respect to the amount of background clutter and the intended purpose of the pursuit. Our results provide insights into insect neurophysiology and show the potential of this algorithm for implementation in artificial visual systems and robotic applications.
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| 8. |
- Bagheri, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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Performance assessment of an insect-inspired target tracking model in background clutter
- 2014
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Ingår i: 2014 13th International Conference on Control Automation Robotics and Vision, ICARCV 2014. - 9781479951994 ; , s. 822-826
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biological visual systems provide excellent examples of robust target detection and tracking mechanisms capable of performing in a wide range of environments. Consequently, they have been sources of inspiration for many artificial vision algorithms. However, testing the robustness of target detection and tracking algorithms is a challenging task due to the diversity of environments for applications of these algorithms. Correlation between image quality metrics and model performance is one way to deal with this problem. Previously we developed a target detection model inspired by physiology of insects and implemented it in a closed loop target tracking algorithm. In the current paper we vary the kinetics of a salience-enhancing element of our algorithm and test its effect on the robustness of our model against different natural images to find the relationship between model performance and background clutter.
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| 9. |
- Bagheri, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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Robustness and real-time performance of an insect inspired target tracking algorithm under natural conditions
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings - 2015 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence, SSCI 2015. - 9781479975600 ; , s. 97-102
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many computer vision tasks require the implementation of robust and efficient target tracking algorithms. Furthermore, in robotic applications these algorithms must perform whilst on a moving platform (ego motion). Despite the increase in computational processing power, many engineering algorithms are still challenged by real-Time applications. In contrast, lightweight and low-power flying insects, such as dragonflies, can readily chase prey and mates within cluttered natural environments, deftly selecting their target amidst distractors (swarms). In our laboratory, we record from 'target-detecting' neurons in the dragonfly brain that underlie this pursuit behavior. We recently developed a closed-loop target detection and tracking algorithm based on key properties of these neurons. Here we test our insect-inspired tracking model in open-loop against a set of naturalistic sequences and compare its efficacy and efficiency with other state-of-The-Art engineering models. In terms of tracking robustness, our model performs similarly to many of these trackers, yet is at least 3 times more efficient in terms of processing speed.
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| 10. |
- Buytaert, Wouter, et al.
(författare)
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Citizen science in hydrology and water resources : opportunities for knowledge generation , ecosystem service management , and sustainable development
- 2014
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Earth Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-6463. ; 2:October, s. 1-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The participation of the general public in the research design, data collection and interpretation process together with scientists is often referred to as citizen science. While citizen science itself has existed since the start of scientific practice, developments in sensing technology, data processing and visualization, and communication of ideas and results, are creating a wide range of new opportunities for public participation in scientific research. This paper reviews the state of citizen science in a hydrological context and explores the potential of citizen science to complement more traditional ways of scientific data collection and knowledge generation for hydrological sciences and water resources management. Although hydrological data collection often involves advanced technology, the advent of robust, cheap, and low-maintenance sensing equipment provides unprecedented opportunities for data collection in a citizen science context. These data have a significant potential to create new hydrological knowledge, especially in relation to the characterization of process heterogeneity, remote regions, and human impacts on the water cycle. However, the nature and quality of data collected in citizen science experiments is potentially very different from those of traditional monitoring networks. This poses challenges in terms of their processing, interpretation, and use, especially with regard to assimilation of traditional knowledge, the quantification of uncertainties, and their role in decision support. It also requires care in designing citizen science projects such that the generated data complement optimally other available knowledge. Lastly, using 4 case studies from remote mountain regions we reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the integration of hydrologically-oriented citizen science in water resources management, the role of scientific knowledge in the decision-making process, and the potential contestation to established community institutions posed by co-generation of new knowledge.
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| 11. |
- Karpouzoglou, Timon, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs) : prospects for knowledge co-creation and resilience in the Information Age
- 2016
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 18, s. 40-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Developments in technologies are shaping information access globally. This presents opportunities and challenges for understanding the role of new technologies in sustainability research. This article focuses on a suite of technologies termed Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs) developed for communicating observations and simulation of environmental processes. A strength of EVOs is that they are open and decentralised, thus democratising flow and ownership of information between multiple actors. However, EVOs are discussed rarely beyond their technical aspects. By evaluating the evolution of EVOs, we illustrate why it is timely to engage with policy and societal aspects as well. While first generation EVOs are primed for scientists, second generation EVOs can have broader implications for knowledge co-creation and resilience through their participatory design.
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| 12. |
- Oortwijn, Wija, et al.
(författare)
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Designing and Implementing Deliberative Processes for Health Technology Assessment : A Good Practices Report of a Joint HTAi/ISPOR Task Force
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. - Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press. - 0266-4623 .- 1471-6348. ; 38:1, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Deliberative processes for health technology assessment (HTA) are intended to facilitate participatory decision making, using discussion and open dialogue between stakeholders. Increasing attention is being given to deliberative processes, but guidance is lacking for those who wish to design or use them. Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) and ISPOR-The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research initiated a joint Task Force to address this gap.Methods The joint Task Force consisted of fifteen members with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise relevant to the field. It developed guidance and a checklist for deliberative processes for HTA. The guidance builds upon the few, existing initiatives in the field, as well as input from the HTA community following an established consultation plan. In addition, the guidance was subject to two rounds of peer review.Results A deliberative process for HTA consists of procedures, activities, and events that support the informed and critical examination of an issue and the weighing of arguments and evidence to guide a subsequent decision. Guidance and an accompanying checklist are provided for (i) developing the governance and structure of an HTA program and (ii) informing how the various stages of an HTA process might be managed using deliberation.Conclusions The guidance and the checklist contain a series of questions, grouped by six phases of a model deliberative process. They are offered as practical tools for those wishing to establish or improve deliberative processes for HTA that are fit for local contexts. The tools can also be used for independent scrutiny of deliberative processes.
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| 13. |
- Oortwijn, Wija, et al.
(författare)
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Designing and Implementing Deliberative Processes for Health Technology Assessment: A Good Practices Report of a Joint HTAi/ISPOR Task Force
- 2022
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Ingår i: Value in Health. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. - 1098-3015 .- 1524-4733. ; 25:6, s. 869-886
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Deliberative processes for health technology assessment (HTA) are intended to facilitate participatory decision making, using discussion and open dialogue between stakeholders. Increasing attention is being given to deliberative processes, but guidance is lacking for those who wish to design or use them. Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) and ISPOR-The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research initiated a joint Task Force to address this gap. Methods: The joint Task Force consisted of 15 members with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise relevant to the field. It developed guidance and a checklist for deliberative processes for HTA. The guidance builds upon the few, existing initiatives in the field, as well as input from the HTA community following an established consultation plan. In addition, the guidance was subject to 2 rounds of peer review. Results: A deliberative process for HTA consists of procedures, activities, and events that support the informed and critical examination of an issue and the weighing of arguments and evidence to guide a subsequent decision. Guidance and an accompanying checklist are provided for (i) developing the governance and structure of an HTA program and (ii) informing how the various stages of an HTA process might be managed using deliberation. Conclusions: The guidance and the checklist contain a series of questions, grouped by 6 phases of a model deliberative process. They are offered as practical tools for those wishing to establish or improve deliberative processes for HTA that are fit for local contexts. The tools can also be used for independent scrutiny of deliberative processes.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Sattui, Sebastian E., et al.
(författare)
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Outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with primary systemic vasculitis or polymyalgia rheumatica from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry : a retrospective cohort study
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Lancet Rheumatology. - : Elsevier. - 2665-9913. ; 3:12, s. E855-E864
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Patients with primary systemic vasculitis or polymyalgia rheumatica might be at a high risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes due to the treatments used, the potential organ damage cause by primary systemic vasculitis, and the demographic factors associated with these conditions. We therefore aimed to investigate factors associated with COVID-19 outcomes in patients with primary systemic vasculitis or polymyalgia rheumatica. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, adult patients (aged >= 18 years) diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 12, 2020, and April 12, 2021, who had a history of primary systemic vasculitis (antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody [ANCA]-associated vasculitis, giant cell arteritis, Behcet's syndrome, or other vasculitis) or polymyalgia rheumatica, and were reported to the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance registry were included. To assess COVID-19 outcomes in patients, we used an ordinal COVID-19 severity scale, defined as: (1) no hospitalisation; (2) hospitalisation without supplemental oxygen; (3) hospitalisation with any supplemental oxygen or ventilation; or (4) death. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), adjusting for age, sex, time period, number of comorbidities, smoking status, obesity, glucocorticoid use, disease activity, region, and medication category. Analyses were also stratified by type of rheumatic disease. Findings Of 1202 eligible patients identified in the registry, 733 (61.0%) were women arid 469 (39.0%) were men, and their mean age was 63.8 years (SD 17.1). A total of 374 (31.1%) patients had polymyalgia rheumatica, 353 (29.4%) had ANCA-associated vasculitis, 183 (15.2%) had giant cell arteritis, 112 (9.3%) had Behcet's syndrome, and 180 (15.0%) had other vasculitis. Of 1020 (84. 9%) patients with outcome data, 512 (S0.2%) were not hospitalised, 114 (11.2%) were hospitalised and did not receive supplemental oxygen, 239 (23 - 4%) were hospitalised and received ventilation or supplemental oxygen, and 155 (15.2%) died. A higher odds of poor COVID-19 outcomes were observed in patients who were older (per each additional decade of life OR 1.44 [95% CI 1. 31-1- 571), were male compared with female (1.38 [1.05-1.801), had more comorbidities (per each additional comorbidity 1.39 [1- 23-1- 581), were taking 10 mg/day or more of prednisolone compared with none (2.14 [1.50-3.04J), or had moderate, or high or severe disease activity compared with those who had disease remission or low disease activity (2.12 [1.49-3.021). Risk factors varied among different disease subtypes. Interpretation Among patients with primary systemic vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica, severe COVID-19 outcomes were associated with variable and largely unmodifiable risk factors, such as age, sex, and number of comorbidities, as well as treatments, including high-dose glucocorticoids. Our results could be used to info rm mitigation strategies for patients with these diseases.
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