Evidence for ERP biomarkers of eating disorder symptoms in women.

Growing evidence suggests that the brain processes bodies distinctively from other stimuli, but little research has addressed whether visual body perception is modulated by the observer's thoughts and feelings about their own body. The present study thus investigated the relationship between body image and electrophysiological signatures of body perception, with the aim of identifying potential biomarkers of body image disturbances. Occipito-parietal (P1 and N1) and fronto-central (VPP) processing of body and non-body stimuli were assessed in 29 weight-restored eating disordered (ED) women and compared to 27 healthy controls. Rapid early visual processing was seen in the ED group, as the entire P1-N1 complex unfolded significantly earlier compared to controls. ED women also showed a gender-sensitive response to other women's bodies over N1 and VPP components. Such gender-sensitivity was not evident in controls. Moreover, ERP effects correlated with scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory-II (EDI-2), indicating a close link between the observers' ED symptomatology, including body image, and the visual analysis of human bodies during very early stages of cortical processing. The temporal dynamics of visual body perception may therefore serve as potential neural markers for the identification of ED symptomatology in 'at risk' populations

Visual body perception: Towards identifying objective markers of body image disturbance in brain and behaviour

Previous research has shown that the brain processes bodies distinctively from other stimuli. Little research however, has addressed whether visual body perception is modulated by the observer’s conscious experience of their own body (body image). This thesis was therefore dedicated to investigating the relationship between body image disturbance and visual body perception, with the aim of identifying potential objective markers of body image disturbance in brain and behaviour. Initially, the suitability of headless body stimuli was assessed and electroencephalogram (EEG) was employed in order to evaluate the stability of early occipito-parietal (P1, N1) and fronto-central (VPP) visual event-related potentials (ERPs), including body-sensitive effects. A series of studies were then designed to investigate behavioural configural processing mechanisms and the early temporal dynamics of visual body perception (P1, N1, VPP), including the perception of own- and other- identity, in women with and without a history of disorders characterised by body image disturbance, such as eating disorders (EDs) and/or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Results confirmed the suitability of headless body stimuli, and of early visual ERP responses and their associated body-sensitivity for investigating visual body processing mechanisms. Further to this, ED participants, not controls, were found to elicit a rapid P1-N1 complex as well as gender-sensitive N1/VPP responses to other women’s bodies; effects which were associated with ED symptomatology. Moreover, results indicated rapid atypical gender-sensitive identity perception in those with EDs/BDD. Finally, behavioural evidence for configural body processing disturbance was found in those recovering from EDs and BDD, as well as in adolescents ‘at risk’ of developing such disorders. It is thus concluded that processes indicative of visual body perception, in both brain and behaviour, present atypically in women who have experienced EDs/BDD. Importantly, rapid visual ERP responses, as well as early gender-sensitive ERP effects, appear to be potential neural markers of ED symptomatology

Literature Review: Elliptic Curve Cryptography on Field Programmable Gate Array

>When it comes to encryption, low propagation error and high throughput with minimum resources are the goals to have for any cryptosystem. One type of encryption that fits these properties is elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). While ECC uses very little resources and is reliable for securely encrypt data, implementation onto a field programmable gate array (FPGA) further reduces physical resources required to stream line the efficiency of ECC. The purpose of this literature review is to research different ways ECC is being used, like in point multiplication, and how it is implemented onto FPGA chips along with what kinds of FPGA chips. A more in depth analysis on why having ECC on  FPGA is being sought after will be explored. Having a comparison of efficiency and resources will be taken into account during this review. Also, noting any limitations that may exist having ECC on a FPGA chip and how some researcher have developed answers to these problems

Hardware/Software Co-verification of DNN for IoT Edge Devices: Leveraging FPGAs

Deep neural networks (DNN) is one of the emerging types of machine learning that is being used to solve problems that are too complex to be solved by humans. However, with the growing complexity of the problems in practical applications today, there are more computations and a need for portability for these DNN. With the utilization of graphics processing units (GPUs) to perform the computations required by DNN now deep learning is becoming ubiquitous. However, the downside is that GPUs are not portable to deploy inference on non-specialized general purpose embedded system designs or internet of things (IoT) applications. An alternative is to use a Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) which is an embedded system designed for data-intensive processing and can even be used in low-power battery operated devices. FPGAs can achieve a high level of performance at a lower cost of power. In this work, a complete methodology is shown to deploy inference phase of DNN. One of the most popular DNN architecture known as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been implemented on a FPGA board known at PYNQ-Z1 using the PYNQ platform to execute the CNN. Our methodology takes the advantage of Python overlay provided for PYNQ-Z1 to easily debug and verify the CNN-IP generated by regular syntheses tools such as Xilinx’s Vivado

A mixed-methods evaluation of the Educational Supervision Agreement for Wales

Objectives In a bid to promote high-quality postgraduate education and training and support the General Medical Council’s (GMC) implementation plan for trainer recognition, the Wales Deanery developed the Educational Supervision Agreement (EdSA). This is a three-way agreement between Educational Supervisors, Local Education Providers and the Wales Deanery which clarifies roles, responsibilities and expectations for all. This paper reports on the formative evaluation of the EdSA after 1 year. Design Evaluation of pan-Wales EdSA roll-out (2013–2015) employed a mixed-methods approach: questionnaires (n=191), interviews (n=11) with educational supervisors and discussion with key stakeholders (GMC, All-Wales Trainer Recognition Group, Clinical Directors). Numerical data were analysed in SPSS V.20; open comments underwent thematic content analysis. Participants The study involved Educational Supervisors working in different specialties across Wales, UK. Results At the point of data collection, survey respondents represented 14% of signed agreements. Respondents believed the Agreement professionalises the Educational Supervisor role (85%, n=159 agreed), increases the accountability of Educational Supervisors (87%; n=160) and health boards (72%, n=131), provides leverage to negotiate supporting professional activities’ (SPA) time (76%, n=142) and continuing professional development (CPD) activities (71%, n=131). Factor analysis identified three principal factors: professionalisation of the educational supervisor role, supporting practice through training and feedback and implementation of the Agreement. Conclusions Our evidence suggests that respondents believed the Agreement would professionalise and support their Educational Supervisor role. Respondents showed enthusiasm for the Agreement and its role in maintaining high standards of training

Affective responses to body stimuli: comparing male and female bodies with cropped heads and masked faces

Three studies were conducted in order to determine whether headless bodies evoke affective responses that might confound neuroimaging and electrophysiological findings. In Experiment 1, 224 participants used an online questionnaire to rate pictures, including bodies with cropped heads and masked faces, for disgust, fear, naturalness, valence and arousal. In Experiment 2, 38 participants completed a free word association task whilst viewing images that included bodies with cropped heads and masked faces. In Experiment 3, 57 participants completed a similar rating task to that disseminated in Experiment 1, whilst galvanic skin responses were measured. Results from all studies found no differences in the affective response elicited by bodies without heads versus bodies with masked faces. Female bodies were thought of more positively than male bodies, however. These findings suggest that headless body stimuli are not abhorrent in any way and are thus the preferable stimuli for investigating body-selective perceptual processes as they do not evoke face-processing mechanisms. Our findings also suggest that differences between male and female body viewing should be considered when investigating visual body perception

Evidence for altered configural body processing in women at risk of disorders characterized by body image disturbance

Two studies were conducted to assess appearance‐related visual processing mechanisms in populations at risk of disorders characterized by body image disturbance. Using inverted stimuli, Experiment 1 assessed visual processing mechanisms associated with body, face, and house viewing in adolescents. Experiment 2 applied the same protocol to assess appearance‐related configural processing in high‐ and low‐risk adolescent women, and women recovering from disorders characterized by body image disturbance. Experiment 1 found evidence for typical configural face and body processing, although adolescent women reported higher levels of body image concern (BIC) and self‐objectified to a greater extent than adolescent men. In Experiment 2, typical body inversion effects were seen in the low‐risk group, whilst there was some evidence to suggest a disruption to the configural processing of body stimuli in high‐risk adolescents and in women recovering from body image disorders. Women in recovery were also quicker to respond to all stimuli, whilst high‐risk adolescents took longer to respond to bodies than to other stimuli. Configural face processing was intact in all groups, and effects did not directly relate to BIC or self‐objectification. These findings have implications for future research looking to inform early interventions and treatment, suggesting that there could be a tendency to visually process individual body parts at the expense of the whole‐body form in women at risk of developing body image disorders, as well as those in recovery