Diagnostic Utility of Heart Rate Recovery Following a Peak Exercise Stress Test in the Assessment of Diabetic Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy

Human recognition has become an important topic as the need and investments for security applications grow continuously. Numerous biometric systems exist which utilize various human characteristics. Among all biometrics traits, face recognition is advantageous in terms of accessibility and reliability. In the thesis, two challenges in face recognition are analyzed. The first one is face spoofing. Spoofing in face recognition is explained together with the countermeasure techniques that are proposed for the protection of face recognition systems against spoofing attacks. For this purpose, both 2D photograph and 3D mask attacks are analyzed. The second challenge explored in the thesis is disguise variations, which are due to facial alterations, facial makeup and facial accessories (occlusions). The impact of these disguise variations on face recognition is explored, separately. Then, techniques which are robust against disguise variations are proposed.La Reconnaissance automatique des personnes est devenue un sujet de plus en plus important avec l'augmentation constante des besoins en sécurité. De nombreux systèmes biométriques existent. Ils utilisent différentes caractéristiques humaines. Parmi tous les traits biométriques, la reconnaissance faciale inclut des aspects positifs en termes d'accessibilité et de fiabilité. Dans cette thèse, deux défis en reconnaissance faciales sont étudiés. Le premier est le leurrage. Le leurrage en reconnaissance faciale est présenté. Des contre-mesures permettant d'améliorer les systèmes actuels sont proposés. A cet effet, les attaques basées sur des photographies 2D ou des masques 3D sont analysées. Le second défi exploré dans cette thèse est lié aux variations dues à des altérations du visage (i.e. chirurgie plastique), maquillage et accessoires pour le visage (e.g. occultations par la présence de lunettes). L'impact de ces variations en reconnaissance de visage est étudiée séparément. Ensuite, des techniques robustes contre les variations de camouflage sont proposées

Associations of Chronic Kidney Disease Markers with Cognitive Function: A 12-Year Follow-Up Study

Background: The role of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a risk factor for cognitive impairment independent of their shared antecedents remains controversial. Objective: To determine whether kidney damage (indicated by albuminuria) or kidney dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 0.10). Conclusions: Albuminuria predicted worse memory function at 12 years follow-up, whereas its effect on processing speed was driven largely by differences in cardiovascular risk. Kidney dysfunction based on eGFR predicted neither cognitive domain

Benefits for Type 2 Diabetes of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting With Brief Bouts of Light Walking or Simple Resistance Activities

OBJECTIVE To determine whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light-intensity walking (LW) or simple resistance activities (SRA) improves postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men 62 ± 6 years old) underwent the following 8-h conditions on three separate days (with 6–14 days washout): uninterrupted sitting (control) (SIT), sitting plus 3-min bouts of LW (3.2 km · h−1) every 30 min, and sitting plus 3-min bouts of SRA (half-squats, calf raises, gluteal contractions, and knee raises) every 30 min. Standardized meals were consumed during each condition. Incremental areas under the curve (iAUCs) for glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglycerides were compared between conditions. RESULTS Compared with SIT, both activity-break conditions significantly attenuated iAUCs for glucose (SIT mean 24.2 mmol · h · L−1 [95% CI 20.4–28.0] vs. LW 14.8 [11.0–18.6] and SRA 14.7 [10.9–18.5]), insulin (SIT 3,293 pmol · h · L−1 [2,887–3,700] vs. LW 2,104 [1,696–2,511] and SRA 2,066 [1,660–2,473]), and C-peptide (SIT 15,641 pmol · h · L−1 [14,353–16,929] vs. LW 11,504 [10,209–12,799] and SRA 11,012 [9,723–12,301]) (all P &amp;lt; 0.001). The iAUC for triglycerides was significantly attenuated for SRA (P &amp;lt; 0.001) but not for LW (SIT 4.8 mmol · h · L−1 [3.6–6.0] vs. LW 4.0 [2.8–5.1] and SRA 2.9 [1.7–4.1]). CONCLUSIONS Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of LW or SRA attenuates acute postprandial glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and triglyceride responses in adults with T2D. With poor adherence to structured exercise, this approach is potentially beneficial and practical. </jats:sec

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions on psychosocial and behavioural outcomes among Australian adults with type 2 diabetes: findings from the PREDICT cohort study

AIM: To examine psychosocial and behavioural impacts of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and lockdown restrictions among adults with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Participants enrolled in the PRogrEssion of DIabetic ComplicaTions (PREDICT) cohort study in Melbourne, Australia (n = 489 with a baseline assessment pre‐2020) were invited to complete a phone/online follow‐up assessment in mid‐2020 (i.e., amidst COVID‐19 lockdown restrictions). Repeated assessments that were compared with pre‐COVID‐19 baseline levels included anxiety symptoms (7‐item Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale [GAD‐7]), depressive symptoms (8‐item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ‐8]), diabetes distress (Problem Areas in Diabetes scale [PAID]), physical activity/sedentary behaviour, alcohol consumption and diabetes self‐management behaviours. Additional once‐off measures at follow‐up included COVID‐19‐specific worry, quality of life (QoL), and healthcare appointment changes (telehealth engagement and appointment cancellations/avoidance). RESULTS: Among 470 respondents (96%; aged 66 ± 9 years, 69% men), at least ‘moderate’ worry about COVID‐19 infection was reported by 31%, and 29%–73% reported negative impacts on QoL dimensions (greatest for: leisure activities, feelings about the future, emotional well‐being). Younger participants reported more negative impacts (p < 0.05). Overall, anxiety/depressive symptoms were similar at follow‐up compared with pre‐COVID‐19, but diabetes distress reduced (p < 0.001). Worse trajectories of anxiety/depressive symptoms were observed among those who reported COVID‐19‐specific worry or negative QoL impacts (p < 0.05). Physical activity trended lower (~10%), but sitting time, alcohol consumption and glucose‐monitoring frequency remained unchanged. 73% of participants used telehealth, but 43% cancelled a healthcare appointment and 39% avoided new appointments despite perceived need. CONCLUSIONS: COVID‐19 lockdown restrictions negatively impacted QoL, some behavioural risk factors and healthcare utilisation in adults with type 2 diabetes. However, generalised anxiety and depressive symptoms remained relatively stable