A Source-to-Sink Analysis of the Pantanal Basin (Brazil): Implications for Weathering, Erosion, and Landscape Evolution in the World\u27s Largest Wetland

Large back-bulge retro-arc basins have limited information about the sediment composition, yet they comprise important parts of the stratigraphic rock record. The exorheic Pantanal Basin is the world\u27s largest continental wetland that regulates many valuable ecosystem services (water storage, nutrient cycling, agriculture, ranching, tourism, and transportation). This dissertation is composed of three studies that utilize a suite of tools to examine the most fundamental basin-wide source-to-sink sediment processes and controls that affect the characteristics and distribution of modern sediments. The first paper consists of a metadata analysis of 76 shallow tropical floodplain lakes in the literature with bathymetric data and age models developed from 210Pb, 14C, or optically stimulated luminescence. The assessment revealed an exponential increase in sediment accumulation rate since the 1960s, sometimes by as much as an order of magnitude compared to the historical sedimentation. Short-term sedimentation showed that the average lake infill time is 100-1,000 years, well within the time span of a few human generations. We highlighted the importance of lake bathymetry surveys because computing lake volume based on average depth tends to overestimate the true volume of the lake. Tropical lakes with steeper slopes and higher population density are at risk of more rapid infill rates, which implies accelerating sedimentation rates resulting from anthropogenic land use change. The second paper presents a petrographic investigation of 97 modern fluvial sands across the Pantanal, coupled with a pour point analysis for each sampling station. The sands were prepared as grain mount thin sections, and 500 grains were counted for every sample following the Gazzi-Dickinson point counting method. We defined six provenance regions across the Pantanal Basin: lowlands, Amazon craton, Rio Apa craton, plateau, Southern Paraguay Belt, and Northern Paraguay Belt. The most commonly occurring grain was non-orogenic quartzose detritus (%Quartz\Feldspar\Lithic 88\5\7). Lithic grains were most concentrated in rivers draining the Paraguay Belt highlands, whereas K-feldspars were frequently observed in sands in rivers of the Rio Apa craton. Finer K-feldspar sands were found in the medial Taquari River megafan caused by channel avulsion and exhumation of more feldspar-rich floodplain deposits. The main control on sand is bedrock lithology, followed by mean annual precipitation. The third paper is a study of the mineralogy and geochemistry of 74 distinct modern fluvial clays in the Pantanal Basin to assess the controls on clay composition. We used wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence to measure major elemental abundance in silt + clay samples, and we used X-ray diffraction to obtain semi-quantitative clay proportions. The abundance of clay is as follows: kaolinite \u3e vermiculite \u3e illite \u3e smectite. We identified the Taquari River weathering hinge, where kaolinite is most abundant in northern Pantanal muds and vermiculite is most abundant in southern Pantanal muds. The controls on clay compositions are as follows: hydroclimate \u3e soils \u3e lithology. The geochemistry of the silt + clay reveals the influence of quartz addition from parent rocks. In the context of the Plata River watershed, the kaolinite-dominant fluvial clays from the Pantanal Basin are diluted by illite-dominant clays from the sub-Andean foreland basin

Egocentric Image Captioning for Privacy-Preserved Passive Dietary Intake Monitoring

Camera-based passive dietary intake monitoring is able to continuously capture the eating episodes of a subject, recording rich visual information, such as the type and volume of food being consumed, as well as the eating behaviours of the subject. However, there currently is no method that is able to incorporate these visual clues and provide a comprehensive context of dietary intake from passive recording (e.g., is the subject sharing food with others, what food the subject is eating, and how much food is left in the bowl). On the other hand, privacy is a major concern while egocentric wearable cameras are used for capturing. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserved secure solution (i.e., egocentric image captioning) for dietary assessment with passive monitoring, which unifies food recognition, volume estimation, and scene understanding. By converting images into rich text descriptions, nutritionists can assess individual dietary intake based on the captions instead of the original images, reducing the risk of privacy leakage from images. To this end, an egocentric dietary image captioning dataset has been built, which consists of in-the-wild images captured by head-worn and chest-worn cameras in field studies in Ghana. A novel transformer-based architecture is designed to caption egocentric dietary images. Comprehensive experiments have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and to justify the design of the proposed architecture for egocentric dietary image captioning. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that applies image captioning to dietary intake assessment in real life settings

Egocentric image captioning for privacy-preserved passive dietary intake monitoring

Camera-based passive dietary intake monitoring is able to continuously capture the eating episodes of a subject, recording rich visual information, such as the type and volume of food being consumed, as well as the eating behaviors of the subject. However, there currently is no method that is able to incorporate these visual clues and provide a comprehensive context of dietary intake from passive recording (e.g., is the subject sharing food with others, what food the subject is eating, and how much food is left in the bowl). On the other hand, privacy is a major concern while egocentric wearable cameras are used for capturing. In this article, we propose a privacy-preserved secure solution (i.e., egocentric image captioning) for dietary assessment with passive monitoring, which unifies food recognition, volume estimation, and scene understanding. By converting images into rich text descriptions, nutritionists can assess individual dietary intake based on the captions instead of the original images, reducing the risk of privacy leakage from images. To this end, an egocentric dietary image captioning dataset has been built, which consists of in-the-wild images captured by head-worn and chest-worn cameras in field studies in Ghana. A novel transformer-based architecture is designed to caption egocentric dietary images. Comprehensive experiments have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and to justify the design of the proposed architecture for egocentric dietary image captioning. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that applies image captioning for dietary intake assessment in real-life settings

Tai O dental health project 1990-91: project report

Text in Chinese.published_or_final_versio

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Non-Spine Bone Metastases

Abstract Bone is one of the most common sites of metastatic spread of malignancy, with possible deleterious effects including pain, hypercalcemia, and pathologic fracture. External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) remains the mainstay for treatment of painful bone metastases. EBRT may be combined with other local therapies like surgery or with systemic treatments like chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, osteoclast inhibitors, or radiopharmaceuticals. EBRT is not commonly recommended for patients with asymptomatic bone metastases unless they are associated with a risk of pathologic fracture. For those who do receive EBRT, appropriate fractionation schemes include 30?Gy in 10 fractions, 24?Gy in 6 fractions, 20?Gy in 5 fractions, or a single 8?Gy fraction. Single fraction treatment maximizes convenience, while fractionated treatment courses are associated with a lower incidence of retreatment. The appropriate postoperative dose fractionation following surgical stabilization is uncertain. Reirradiation with EBRT may be safe and provide pain relief, though retreatment might create side effect risks which warrant its use as part of a clinical trial. All patients with bone metastases should be considered for concurrent management by a palliative care team, with patients whose life expectancy is less than six months appropriate for hospice evaluation. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every two years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98458/1/jpm%2E2011%2E0512.pd

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Spinal Bone Metastases

The spine is a common site of involvement in patients with bone metastases. Apart from pain, hypercalcemia, and pathologic fracture, progressive tumor can result in neurologic deterioration caused by spinal cord compression or cauda equina involvement. The treatment of spinal bone metastases depends on histology, site of disease, extent of epidural disease, extent of metastases elsewhere, and neurologic status. Treatment recommendations must weigh the risk-benefit profile of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for the particular individual's circumstance, including neurologic status, performance status, extent of spinal disease, stability of the spine, extra-spinal disease status, and life expectancy. Patients with spinal instability should be evaluated for surgical intervention. Research studies are needed that evaluate the combination or sequencing of localized therapies with systemic therapies including chemotherapy, hormonal therapy (HT), osteoclast inhibitors (OI), and radiopharmaceuticals. The roles of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the management of spinal oligometastasis, radioresistant spinal metastasis, and previously irradiated but progressive spinal metastasis are emerging, but more research is needed to validate the findings from retrospective studies. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 2 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140115/1/jpm.2012.0376.pd

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Non-Spine Bone Metastases

Bone metastases are a common clinical problem, affecting many types of cancer patients. The presence of tumor in bone can cause significant morbidity including pain, neurological dysfunction, hypercalcemia, and pathological fracture leading to functional loss. The optimal treatment of a patient with bone metastases depends on many factors, including evaluation of the patient's goals of care, performance status, mechanical stability of the affected bone, life expectancy, and overall extent of disease. Treatment options may include radiotherapy, systemic therapies, surgical stabilization, medical pain management, and radiopharmaceuticals. Ideal management of bone metastases requires a coordinated multidisciplinary approach among diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, orthopedic surgeons, pain specialists, physiatrists, and palliative care specialists. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria? are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 3 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guidelines development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140118/1/jpm.2014.9395.pd

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Metastatic Epidural Spinal Cord Compression and Recurrent Spinal Metastasis

Metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) is an oncologic emergency and if left untreated, permanent paralysis will ensue. The treatment of MESCC is governed by disease, patient, and treatment factors. Patient's preferences and goals of care are to be weighed into the treatment plan. Ideally, a patient with MESCC is evaluated by an interdisciplinary team promptly to determine the urgency of the clinical scenario. Treatment recommendations must take into consideration the risk-benefit profiles of surgical intervention and radiotherapy for the particular individual's circumstance, including neurologic status, performance status, extent of epidural disease, stability of the spine, extra-spinal disease status, and life expectancy. In patients with high spinal instability neoplastic score (SINS) or retropulsion of bone fragments in the spinal canal, surgical intervention should be strongly considered. The rate of development of motor deficits from spinal cord compression may be a prognostic factor for ultimate functional outcome, and should be taken into account when a treatment recommendation is made. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every three years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140123/1/jpm.2015.28999.sml.pd

Postnatal dexamethasone, respiratory and neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years in babies born extremely preterm.

IMPORTANCE: Postnatal dexamethasone is associated with reduction in bronchopulmonary dysplasia. There remains, however, concern that its short-term benefits are accompanied by long-term adverse effects e.g. poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine the effects of administration of postnatal dexamethasone on respiratory and neurodevelopmental outcome at two years of age after adjusting for neonatal and infant risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 412 infants born at 23-28 weeks of gestation, 29% had received postnatal dexamethasone. Two outcomes were examined, respiratory hospital admissions in the past 12 months and neurodevelopmental impairment. Logistic regression, adjusted for sex, birthweight z-score, gestation, maternal smoking, oxygen dependency at 36 weeks, airleak, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary haemorrhage, major ultrasound abnormality, mode of ventilation and age at assessment, was undertaken. RESULTS: After adjustment, postnatal dexamethasone was associated with significantly increased proportions of both respiratory hospital readmission: (0.35 vs 0.15, difference = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.31) and neurodevelopmental impairment (0.59 vs 0.45, difference = 0.14; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.26). CONCLUSIONS: Postnatal dexamethasone use in extremely preterm infants is associated with increased risks of respiratory hospital admissions and neurodevelopmental impairment. These associations were not explained by excess neonatal morbidities