Humanities Heritage 3D Visualization: Theory and Practice

The past thirty years have seen a tremendous upsurge in the use of digital modeling in archaeology as well as in projects and applications based in the humanities. Digital representations can create new forms of visual knowledge, which in turn can lead to new research streams. As such, digital models have become increasingly important tools in a wide range of applications. Despite the power of these models as representational and visualization tools, the tools themselves are often difficult to use and not easily accessible by the novice. This proposal is for a 'digital toolbox' that bridges this gap. A unique feature of this institute is the incorporation of visits to Arkansas State University heritage sites modeled by the University's Center for Digital Initiatives. Beyond this, in bringing together an impressive group of lecturers working in the digital humanities, the institute itself would create an important resource in the form of a community of scholars, encouraging future collaborations between individuals and universities

Sex differences in the association of risk factors for heart failure incidence and mortality

Background: There are known risk factors associated with the development of heart failure (HF), but it is not fully understood whether these differ by sex. Objectives: To investigate sex differences in risk factors for HF incidence and mortality. Methods: 468 941 participants (55.9% women, age range 37–73 years) were included. Established CVD risk factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes type 1 and 2, adiposity, smoking, physical activity and poor diet) and novel risk factors (grip strength, fitness, TV viewing and sleep duration) were the exposures of interest. HF incidence and mortality were the outcomes. Results: Over a mean follow-up of 9.0 years, 1812 participants developed HF and 763 died due to HF. Women with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, low levels of physical activity and fitness, low strength, high levels of TV viewing, sleep duration <7 hours/day, smokers; those who were underweight and who were obese, had high body surface area and those who drink >14 units of alcohol were at higher risk of HF incidence. However, in women T2DM, hypercholesterolaemia, >3 hours/day of TV and sleep <7 hours/day, low level of physical activity and high level of TV viewing were more strongly associated with HF incidence compared with men. Conclusion: Several modifiable risk factors (in particular diabetes) appear more strongly associated with HF in women compared with men. The relevance of these findings to HF characteristics and future outcomes needs to be established

Successful Approaches for the Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems by Surface Transportation Agencies

The past decade has seen ever-increasing attention and resources dedicated to the application and operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Beginning with issuance of special airworthiness certificates in the experimental category for unmanned aircraft in 2007, up to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and creation of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §107 and §101, the complexity and breadth of applications for UAS technology have flourished. Recognizing the interest and potential benefits to the surface transportation community the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) commissioned Scan 17-01 to accelerate beneficial innovation by facilitating information sharing and technology exchange among the states and other transportation agencies. Results from a desk scan, amplifying questions, and a peer exchange workshop produced conclusions and recommendations in seven topic areas for transportation agencies to consider when getting started using a UAS

Association of injury related hospital admissions with commuting by bicycle in the UK: prospective population based study

Objective: To determine whether bicycle commuting is associated with risk of injury. Design: Prospective population based study. Setting: UK Biobank. Participants: 230 390 commuters (52.1% women; mean age 52.4 years) recruited from 22 sites across the UK compared by mode of transport used (walking, cycling, mixed mode versus non-active (car or public transport)) to commute to and from work on a typical day. Main outcome measure: First incident admission to hospital for injury. Results: 5704 (2.5%) participants reported cycling as their main form of commuter transport. Median follow-up was 8.9 years (interquartile range 8.2-9.5 years), and overall 10 241 (4.4%) participants experienced an injury. Injuries occurred in 397 (7.0%) of the commuters who cycled and 7698 (4.3%) of the commuters who used a non-active mode of transport. After adjustment for major confounding sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors, cycling to work was associated with a higher risk of injury compared with commuting by a non-active mode (hazard ratio 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.61). Similar trends were observed for commuters who used mixed mode cycling. Walking to work was not associated with a higher risk of injury. Longer cycling distances during commuting were associated with a higher risk of injury, but commute distance was not associated with injury in non-active commuters. Cycle commuting was also associated with a higher number of injuries when the external cause was a transport related incident (incident rate ratio 3.42, 95% confidence interval 3.00 to 3.90). Commuters who cycled to work had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and death than those who did not. If the associations are causal, an estimated 1000 participants changing their mode of commuting to include cycling for 10 years would result in 26 additional admissions to hospital for a first injury (of which three would require a hospital stay of a week or longer), 15 fewer first cancer diagnoses, four fewer cardiovascular disease events, and three fewer deaths. Conclusion: Compared with non-active commuting to work, commuting by cycling was associated with a higher risk of hospital admission for a first injury and higher risk of transport related incidents specifically. These risks should be viewed in context of the health benefits of active commuting and underscore the need for a safer infrastructure for cycling in the UK

Associations of fat and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality: prospective cohort study of UK Biobank participants

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the association of macronutrient intake with all cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the implications for dietary advice. DESIGN:Prospective population based study. SETTING:UK Biobank. PARTICIPANTS:195 658 of the 502 536 participants in UK Biobank completed at least one dietary questionnaire and were included in the analyses. Diet was assessed using Oxford WebQ, a web based 24 hour recall questionnaire, and nutrient intakes were estimated using standard methodology. Cox proportional models with penalised cubic splines were used to study non-linear associations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:All cause mortality and incidence of CVD. RESULTS:4780 (2.4%) participants died over a mean 10.6 (range 9.4-13.9) years of follow-up, and 948 (0.5%) and 9776 (5.0%) experienced fatal and non-fatal CVD events, respectively, over a mean 9.7 (range 8.5-13.0) years of follow-up. Non-linear associations were found for many macronutrients. Carbohydrate intake showed a non-linear association with mortality; no association at 20-50% of total energy intake but a positive association at 50-70% of energy intake (3.14 v 2.75 per 1000 person years, average hazard ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.28 (60-70% v 50% of energy)). A similar pattern was observed for sugar but not for starch or fibre. A higher intake of monounsaturated fat (2.94 v 3.50 per 1000 person years, average hazard ratio 0.58, 0.51 to 0.66 (20-25% v 5% of energy)) and lower intake of polyunsaturated fat (2.66 v 3.04 per 1000 person years, 0.78, 0.75 to 0.81 (5-7% v 12% of energy)) and saturated fat (2.66 v 3.59 per 1000 person years, 0.67, 0.62 to 0.73 (5-10% v 20% of energy)) were associated with a lower risk of mortality. A dietary risk matrix was developed to illustrate how dietary advice can be given based on current intake. CONCLUSION:Many associations between macronutrient intake and health outcomes are non-linear. Thus dietary advice could be tailored to current intake. Dietary guidelines on macronutrients (eg, carbohydrate) should also take account of differential associations of its components (eg, sugar and starch)

Do Child Soldiers Influence UN Peacekeeping?

The use of child soldiers in conflicts has received increasing academic attention in recent years. This article examines post-conflict periods to see whether the use of child soldiers mobilizes United Nations peacekeeping operations (UN PKO) in the aftermath of a conflict. Taking into consideration how child soldiers affect conflict and how important their reintegration is to sustainable peace and post-conflict development, we analyse whether the presence of child soldiers in a civil war increases the likelihood of the presence of a PKO. We argue that the UN deems a conflict with child soldiers as a difficult case for conflict resolution, necessitating a response from the international community. This is in line with our empirical results confirming that the use of child soldiers significantly increases the likelihood of peacekeeping

Contribution of type 2 diabetes to all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence and cancer incidence in white Europeans and South Asians: findings from the UK Biobank population-based cohort study

Objective: To investigate whether the health implications of having type 2 diabetes (T2D) were different in South Asian compared with white European participants. Research design and methods: Prospective data from UK Biobank were used, and 457 935 participants of white European and 7102 of South Asian background were included. Cox proportional regression was performed to investigate the association between T2D and health outcome by ethnicity. Results: Over a mean of 7.0 years (IQR 6.3–7.6) of follow-up, 12 974 participants had died, and 30 347 and 27 159 developed cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer, respectively. South Asians had a higher risk for CVD mortality (HR: 1.42, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.89) and incidence (HR: 1.78, 95% CI 1.63 to 1.94), but a decreased risk for cancer mortality (HR: 0.59, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.85) and incidence (HR: 0.80, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.92) compared with white Europeans. Compared with individuals without T2D, both white Europeans and South Asians with T2D had a higher risk for all-cause mortality (1.59 (1.48 to 1.71) vs 2.83 (1.76 to 4.53)), CVD mortality (2.04 (1.82 to 2.28) vs 4.40 (2.37 to 8.16)) and CVD incidence (1.37 (1.31 to 1.44) vs 1.60 (1.31 to 1.95)), respectively. However, the magnitude of the risk was higher for South Asians than white Europeans. Conclusions: Although T2D was associated with a higher risk for all-cause mortality and CVD incidence and mortality, in both white Europeans and South Asians, the risk experienced by South Asians with T2D was higher than their white European counterparts

Dose-response associations of cardiorespiratory fitness with all-cause mortality and incidence and mortality of cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases: the UK Biobank cohort study

Objective: To investigate the association of cardiorespiratory fitness with all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular, respiratory, COPD and cancer mortality and incidence. Design: Prospective population based study. Setting: UK Biobank. Participants: Of the 502,628 (5.5% response rate) participants recruited by UK Biobank, we included 73,259 (14.6%) participants with available data in this analysis. Of these, 1,374 participants died and 4,210 developed circulatory diseases, 1,293 respiratory diseases and 4,281 cancer, over a median of 5.0 years [IQR 4.3–5.7] follow-up. Main outcome measures - All-cause mortality and circulatory disease, respiratory disease, chronic obstructive e pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer (any-type, colorectal, lung, breast and prostate) mortality/incidence. Fitness was estimated with a submaximal cycle ergometer test. Results: The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality for each MET higher fitness was 0.96 ([95% CI 0.93–0.98]). Similar results were observed for incident circulatory (HR 0.96 [0.95–0.97]), respiratory disease (HR 0.96 [0.94–0.98]), COPD (HR 0.90 [0.86–0.95]), and colorectal cancer (HR 0.96 [0.92–1.00]). Nonlinear analysis revealed that a high level of fitness (>10 METs) was associated with a greater incidence of atrial fibrillation (HR 1.24 [1.07–1.44]) and prostate cancer (HR 1.16 [1.02–1.32]) compared with average fitness. All results were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary factors, body composition, and morbidity at baseline and excluded events in the first 2 years of follow up. Conclusions: Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with lower risk of premature mortality and incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory disease and colorectal cancer

Alzheimer’s disease susceptibility gene apolipoprotein e (APOE) and blood biomarkers in UK Biobank (N=395,769)

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition where the underlying etiology is still unclear. Investigating the potential influence of apolipoprotein E (APOE), a major genetic risk factor, on common blood biomarkers could provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms of AD and dementia risk. Objective: Our objective was to conduct the largest (to date) single-protocol investigation of blood biomarkers in the context of APOE genotype, in UK Biobank. Methods:After quality control and exclusions, data on 395,769 participants of White European ancestry were available for analysis. Linear regressions were used to test potential associations between APOE genotypes and biomarkers. Results: Several biomarkers significantly associated with APOE ɛ4 ‘risk’ and ɛ2 ‘protective’ genotypes (versus neutral ɛ3/ɛ3). Most associations supported previous data: for example, ɛ4 genotype was associated with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) (standardized beta [b] = 0.150 standard deviations [SDs] per allele, p < 0.001) and ɛ2 with lower LDL (b = –0.456 SDs, p < 0.001). There were however instances of associations found in unexpected directions: e.g., ɛ4 and increased insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) (b = 0.017, p < 0.001) where lower levels have been previously suggested as an AD risk factor. Conclusion: These findings highlight biomarker differences in non-demented people at genetic risk for dementia. The evidence herein supports previous hypotheses of involvement from cardiometabolic and neuroinflammatory pathways

Is older age associated with COVID-19 mortality in the absence of other risk factors? General population cohort study of 470,034 participants

Introduction: Older people have been reported to be at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality. This study explored the factors mediating this association and whether older age was associated with increased mortality risk in the absence of other risk factors. Methods: In UK Biobank, a population cohort study, baseline data were linked to COVID-19 deaths. Poisson regression was used to study the association between current age and COVID-19 mortality. Results: Among eligible participants, 438 (0.09%) died of COVID-19. Current age was associated exponentially with COVID-19 mortality. Overall, participants aged ≥75 years were at 13-fold (95% CI 9.13–17.85) mortality risk compared with those <65 years. Low forced expiratory volume in 1 second, high systolic blood pressure, low handgrip strength, and multiple long-term conditions were significant mediators, and collectively explained 39.3% of their excess risk. The associations between these risk factors and COVID-19 mortality were stronger among older participants. Participants aged ≥75 without additional risk factors were at 4-fold risk (95% CI 1.57–9.96, P = 0.004) compared with all participants aged <65 years. Conclusions: Higher COVID-19 mortality among older adults was partially explained by other risk factors. ‘Healthy’ older adults were at much lower risk. Nonetheless, older age was an independent risk factor for COVID-19 mortality