30 research outputs found

    EvoFIT facial composite images: a detailed assessment of impact on forensic practitioners, police investigators, victims, witnesses, offenders and the media

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    This paper assesses use of the EvoFIT facial composite system by police practitioners in the UK and overseas. Results reveal that this forensic system is used extensively: a total of 2,440 times since September 2013. With a suspect identification rate of 60% and a conviction rate of 17%, the impact of this forensic technique is appreciable for helping the police to identify offenders. It was also found that empirically-driven enhancement techniques were used frequently by police practitioners-including use of detailed context reinstatement and holistic techniques during interview, and asking the witness to focus on the eye-region during construction. Research evaluating EvoFIT images published in the media also revealed that composites were produced mostly for serious offences, in particular for sexual crimes. In addition, the vast majority were of male offenders, in their early 30's; victims were female (aged mid 20's to mid 30's); these demographics were similar to composites emerging from another recognition system, EFIT-V / 6. Although this exercise revealed that EvoFIT composites were sometimes published using a more optimal stretched mode, some were presented in a way that did not faithfully represent the constructed image, with the external features cropped. In conclusion, the EvoFIT system is clearly being deployed frequently, with appreciable impact, in the fight against crime

    The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

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    AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

    Vendetta

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    University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156261/1/EmmaKilleen_IPThesis.pd

    EvoFIT Facial Composite Images: a Detailed Assessment of Impact on Forensic Practitioners, Police Investigators, Victims, Witnesses, Offenders and the Media

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    This paper assesses use of the EvoFIT facial composite system by police practitioners in the UK and overseas. Results reveal that this forensic system is used extensively: a total of 2,440 times since September 2013. With a suspect identification rate of 60% and a conviction rate of 17%, the impact of this forensic technique is appreciable for helping the police to identify offenders. It was also found that empirically-driven enhancement techniques were used frequently by police practitioners-including use of detailed context reinstatement and holistic techniques during interview, and asking the witness to focus on the eye-region during construction. Research evaluating EvoFIT images published in the media also revealed that composites were produced mostly for serious offences, in particular for sexual crimes. In addition, the vast majority were of male offenders, in their early 30's; victims were female (aged mid 20's to mid 30's); these demographics were similar to composites emerging from another recognition system, EFIT-V / 6. Although this exercise revealed that EvoFIT composites were sometimes published using a more optimal stretched mode, some were presented in a way that did not faithfully represent the constructed image, with the external features cropped. In conclusion, the EvoFIT system is clearly being deployed frequently, with appreciable impact, in the fight against crime

    The Next Generation Research Grid: A Path Forward: Final Report

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    The TeraGrid Planning Process was funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Cyberinfrastructure through a grant to the University of Michigan's School of Information (UM-SI). Ann Zimmerman and Thomas A. Finholt served as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI, respectively. The role of the UM-SI was to support and facilitate a planning process to be led by a steering committee representative of key stakeholder communities and with diverse expertise.This is the final report of the TeraGrid Planning Process Steering Committee. TeraGrid currently uses high-speed network connections to integrate high-performance computers, data resources and tools, and experimental facilities at eleven resource provider sites around the country. To address changes that are already occurring and are anticipated to take place in high-performance computing (HPC) and computational science over the next 5-7 years, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant to the University of Michigan's School of Information (UM-SI) to facilitate a planning process to help guide the future evolution of TeraGrid. The TeraGrid Planning Process Steering Committee, representative of key stakeholder communities, was convened to lead the planning process. Our committee was charged to provide a report to NSF and to stakeholders that identifies options for the definition, design, and implementation of the next generation of the NSF TeraGrid program. In conducting our charge, we considered the results of a series of planning workshops, hosted “town hall” meetings, solicited position papers from current TeraGrid users and other national and international stakeholders, examined relevant reports and other documents, incorporated information from the TeraGrid Evaluation Research Study, interacted individually with stakeholders, and deliberated extensively. We strongly endorse a next phase for the TeraGrid program, which we refer to hereafter as the Next Generation Research Grid (NGRG). The NGRG should have an unwavering focus on science: advancing and accelerating science and engineering progress across a broad front.National Science FoundationOCI-0724300https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138144/1/Next Generation Research Grid_A Path Forward_Final Report_August2008.pdfDescription of Next Generation Research Grid_A Path Forward_Final Report_August2008.pdf : Final report from the TeraGrid Planning Proces
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