A prospective pilot study on use of liquid crystal thermography to detect early breast cancer

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. While mammography is the standard for early detection in women older than 50 years of age, there is no standard for younger women. The aim of this prospective pilot study was to assess liquid crystal contact thermography, using the Braster device, as a means for the early detection of breast cancer. The device is intended to be used as a complementary tool to standard of care (sonography, mammography, etc). Patients and Methods: A total of 274 consecutive women presenting at Polish breast centers for prophylactic breast examination were enrolled to receive thermography; 19 were excluded for errors in thermographic image acquisition. The women were divided according to age (n = 135, <50 years; n = 120, ≥50 years). A control population was included (n = 40, <50 years; n = 23, ≥50 years). The primary endpoint, stratified by age group, was the C-statistic for discrimination between breast cancer and noncancer. Results: In women with abnormal breast ultrasound (n = 95, <50 years; n = 87, ≥50 years), the C-statistic was 0.85 and 0.75, respectively (P = .20), for discrimination between breast cancer and noncancer. Sensitivity did not differ (P = .79) between the younger (82%) and older women (78%), while specificity was lower in the older women (60% vs 87%, P = .025). The false-positive rate was similar in women with normal and abnormal breast ultrasound. Positive thermographic result in women with Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) 4A on ultrasound increased the probability of breast cancer by over 2-fold. Conversely, a negative thermographic result decreased the probability of cancer more than 3-fold. Breast size and structure did not affect the thermography performance. No adverse events were observed. Conclusions: Thermography performed well in women <50 years of age, while its specificity in women ≥50 years was inadequate. These promising findings suggest that the Braster device deserves further investigation as a supporting tool for the early detection of breast cancer in women younger than 50 years of age

The applicability of self-play algorithms to trading and forecasting financial markets

The central research question to answer in this study is whether the AI methodology of Self-Play can be applied to financial markets. In typical use-cases of Self-Play, two AI agents play against each other in a particular game, e.g., chess or Go. By repeatedly playing the game, they learn its rules as well as possible winning strategies. When considering financial markets, however, we usually have one player—the trader—that does not face one individual adversary but competes against a vast universe of other market participants. Furthermore, the optimal behaviour in financial markets is not described via a winning strategy, but via the objective of maximising profits while managing risks appropriately. Lastly, data issues cause additional challenges, since, in finance, they are quite often incomplete, noisy and difficult to obtain. We will show that academic research using Self-Play has mostly not focused on finance, and if it has, it was usually restricted to stock markets, not considering the large FX, commodities and bond markets. Despite those challenges, we see enormous potential of applying self-play concepts and algorithms to financial markets and economic forecasts

Wpływ susz na wskaźniki teledetekcyjne grądu wysokiego i boru mieszanego w Lesie Młochowskim – analiza zobrazowań satelitarnych Sentinel-2 lasów objętych ochroną ścisłą oraz gospodarczych w latach 2017–2021

&lt;p&gt;The purpose of this paper was to describe processes that took place in the Łowicz-Błonia plain during the long-term drought of 2018 and the series of short-term droughts in 2019. For our analysis we used multispectral satellite images of highground hornbeam and mixed coniferous forest in the Młochowski Forest from 2017–2021. Sentinel-2 images provided the means to investigate the impact of mild droughts on the values of the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index), and MSI (Moisture Stress Index) as well as their monthly variability and differences between forest divisions. During periods without drought, the variability of all three indices was typical for each phase of the vegetation cycle: in the spring months the value of NDVI and MSI increased, NDWI decreased. During the autumn months, the behavior of the indicators reversed. In the period of long-term drought in 2018, the NDWI was higher in forest divisions with a species composition characteristic of a mixed coniferous forest compared to divisions with a higher share of deciduous trees such as oaks and hornbeams, including the rigorously protected area of high–hornbeam forest. NDWI was the only index to show a downward trend during mild droughts, while during moderate droughts, also a decrease in NDVI and MSI was observed. This was most clearly seen in deciduous forests. We did not observed any correlation of NDVI, NDWI, or MSI with the protection status of the forest or the absence thereof.&lt;/p&gt

Application of satellite remote sensing indicators to monitor the moisture of biomass in giant miscanthus crops (Miscanthus x giganteus)

Miskant olbrzymi (Miscanthus x giganteus) z powodu jego fizjologicznej adaptacji do ścieżki fotosyntezy C4 jest uważany za istotny gatunek upraw na cele energetyczne. Dostępność wody silnie wpływa na jego plony, a wysoki plon biomasy z jednostki powierzchni jest związany z miejscami, w których opady wynoszą co najmniej 762 mm rocznie. Celem pracy było wyznaczenie wskaźników teledetekcyjnych obrazujących zawartość wody w uprawach miskanta olbrzymiego za pomocą zobrazowań satelitarnych Sentinel 2 oraz określenie korelacji tych wskaźników z najpowszechniejszym wskaźnikiem teledetekcyjnym biomasy NDVI oraz z warunkami pogodowymi na wybranym terenie w latach 2016-2018. Analiza zależności warunków pogodowych i wartości teledetekcyjnych wskaźników wodnych w badanych uprawach wykazała dość silną ko-relację (ok +0,80) pomiędzy wskaźnikami wodnymi (m.in. NDWI, MSI, NDII, Water Index) a opadami oraz umiarkowaną ujemną korelację (ok -0,40) z temperaturą.Miscanthus x giganteus due to its physiological adaptation to the C4 photosynthesis pathway is considered as an important species of the crop for energy purposes. The availability of water strongly affects its yield, and the high biomass yield per unit area is associated with places where rainfall is at least 762 mm per year. The work aimed to determine re-mote sensing indicators showing the water content in Miscanthus x giganteus cultivars using Sentinel 2 satellite imagery and to determine the correlation of these indicators with the most common remote-sensing NDVI biomass and weather conditions in a selected area in 2016-2018. Analysis of the relationship between weather conditions and remote sensing values of water indicators in the studied crops showed quite strong correlation (about +0.80) between water indicators (including NDWI, MSI, NDII, Water Index) and precipitation and moderate negative correlation (about -0.40) with tem-perature

The Use of Rolling Stock as a Carrier of Sensors in the Field of Environmental Monitoring

Rozwój rynku IoT w Polsce może stać się czynnikiem upowszechniającym monitoring środowiska naturalnego i zwiększającym automatyzację tego działania. Pomiary wykonywane obecnie albo z użyciem zobrazowań niskorozdzielczych (dane satelitarne), albo punktowych (in situ) są obarczone błędami wynikającymi ze zbyt małej szczegółowości danych lub niskich rozdzielczości czasowych. Często kampanie pomiarowe są czasochłonne i generują wysokie koszty. Od wielu lat, zarówno w Europie, jak i w Ameryce Północnej, prowadzone są badania mające na celu umożliwienie użycia sensorów umiejscowionych na kolejowych platformach mobilnych (lokomotywy, wagony) w monitoringu środowiskowym. W publikacji przedstawiamy możliwość implementacji sensorów akustycznych, obrazowych oraz skaningu laserowego. Przedstawiamy przykłady zastosowań oraz odpowiadamy na pytanie o możliwość ich implementacji w Polsce.The development of the IoT market in Poland may become a factor that propagates the monitoring of the natural environment and increases the automation of it. Measurements performed currently either using low-resolution images (satellite data) or locally (in situ) are burdened with errors due to insufficient data detail or low time resolutions. Often, measurement campaigns are timeconsuming and generate high costs. For many years, both in Europe and North America, research has been carried out to enable the use of sensors located on railway mobile platforms (locomotives, carriages) in environmental monitoring. The publication presents the possibility of implementing acoustic and image sensors as well as laser scanning. We present examples of applications and answer the question about the possibility of their implementation in Poland

Proponowane zadania aparatury misji na Enceladus w kontekście ich celów astrobiologicznych

Enceladus, Saturnian satellite, is a very significant object for astrobiologists due to the presence of liquid water that forms the ice-covered ocean. Water ice geysers escape from the south pole region through cracks in the ice shield. During the Cassini flight, the probe took samples of plumes matter recognizing besides other methane and molecular hydrogen. Since then, hypotheses have been formulated that life forms similar to those found in the Lost City Hydrothermal Field in the Atlantic ocean bottom may occur near Enceladus’ hydrothermal chimneys. In our work, we analyzed the possibility of a microbial factor detection in the Enceladus geysers. We used as model organisms selected extremophiles. We investigated multi-spectral cameras and mass spectrometers intended for use in mission proposals to Enceladus: Enceladus Orbiter, Enceladus Life Finder, The Explorer of Enceladus and Titan and THEO mission. The review pointed that the configuration of mass spectrometers and the proposed parameters of scientific orbits are appropriate for detecting volatile organic compounds corresponding to selected microorganisms such as aldehyde, ethanol, benzene, toluene, indole, or violacein. The possible presence of a microbiological component with physical dimensions in the order of several micrometres can only be observed for areas of geyser formation at their higher density (> 10 ppm) and with the occurrence of the “snowing microbes” phenomenon. We have found that particularly useful optical channels are 780–975nm, 860–910 nm, and 5.0–5.3 μm.Enceladus, księżyc Saturna, jest obiektem bardzo ważnym dla astrobiologów ze względu na obecność ciekłej wody, która tworzy ocean pokryty lodem. Gejzery lodu wodnego wydobywają się z regionu bieguna południowego przez pęknięcia w pokrywie lodowej. Sonda Cassini pobrała podczas lotu próbki pióropusza, rozpoznając, między innymi, metan i wodór cząsteczkowy. Od tamtej pory sformułowano hipotezy, że w pobliżu hydrotermalnych kominów Enceladusa mogą występować formy życia podobne do występujących w polu hydrotermalnym Lost City na dnie Atlantyku. W naszej pracy przeanalizowaliśmy możliwość wykrycia czynnika mikrobiologicznego w gejzerach Enceladusa. Posłużyliśmy się wybranymi ekstremofilami jako organizmami modelowymi. Przebadaliśmy kamery wielospektralne i spektrometry masowe przeznaczone do wykorzystania w proponowanych misjach do Enceladusa: Enceladus Orbiter, Enceladus Life Finder, The Explorer of Enceladus and Titan oraz misji THEO. Ich przegląd wykazał, że konfiguracja spektrometrów masowych oraz proponowane parametry orbit są odpowiednie do wykrywania lotnych związków organicznych odpowiadających wybranym mikroorganizmom, takich jak aldehyd, etanol, benzen, toluen, indol czy wiolaceina. Ewentualną obecność składnika mikrobiologicznego o wymiarach fizycznych rzędu kilku mikrometrów można zaobserwować jedynie dla obszarów formowania się gejzerów przy ich większej gęstości (> 10 ppm) oraz przy występowaniu zjawiska „snowing microbes”. Stwierdziliśmy, że szczególnie przydatne kanały optyczne to 780-975 nm, 860-910 nm oraz 5,0-5,3 μm