Retaining Expression on De-identified Faces

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017The extensive use of video surveillance along with advances in face recognition has ignited concerns about the privacy of the people identifiable in the recorded documents. A face de-identification algorithm, named k-Same, has been proposed by prior research and guarantees to thwart face recognition software. However, like many previous attempts in face de-identification, kSame fails to preserve the utility such as gender and expression of the original data. To overcome this, a new algorithm is proposed here to preserve data utility as well as protect privacy. In terms of utility preservation, this new algorithm is capable of preserving not only the category of the facial expression (e.g., happy or sad) but also the intensity of the expression. This new algorithm for face de-identification possesses a great potential especially with real-world images and videos as each facial expression in real life is a continuous motion consisting of images of the same expression with various degrees of intensity.Peer reviewe

Palaeozoic-Recent geological development and uplift of the Amanos Mountains (S Turkey) in the critically located northwesternmost corner of the Arabian continent

<p>We have carried out a several-year-long study of the Amanos Mountains, on the basis of which we present new sedimentary and structural evidence, which we combine with existing data, to produce the first comprehensive synthesis in the regional geological setting. The ca. N-S-trending Amanos Mountains are located at the northwesternmost edge of the Arabian plate, near the intersection of the African and Eurasian plates. Mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sediments accumulated on the north-Gondwana margin during the Palaeozoic. Triassic rift-related sedimentation was followed by platform carbonate deposition during Jurassic-Cretaceous. Late Cretaceous was characterised by platform collapse and southward emplacement of melanges and a supra-subduction zone ophiolite. Latest Cretaceous transgressive shallow-water carbonates gave way to deeper-water deposits during Palaeocene-Eocene. Eocene southward compression, reflecting initial collision, resulted in open folding, reverse faulting and duplexing. Fluvial, lagoonal and shallow-marine carbonates accumulated during Late Oligocene(?)-Early Miocene, associated with basaltic magmatism. Intensifying collision during Mid-Miocene initiated a foreland basin that then infilled with deep-water siliciclastic gravity flows. Late Miocene-Early Pliocene compression created mountain-sized folds and thrusts, verging E in the north but SE in the south. The resulting surface uplift triggered deposition of huge alluvial outwash fans in the west. Smaller alluvial fans formed along both mountain flanks during the Pleistocene after major surface uplift ended. Pliocene-Pleistocene alluvium was tilted towards the mountain front in the west. Strike-slip/transtension along the East Anatolian Transform Fault and localised sub-horizontal Quaternary basaltic volcanism in the region reflect regional transtension during Late Pliocene-Pleistocene (<4 Ma).</p

Translating recent results from the Cardiovascular Outcomes Trials into clinical practice: recommendations from the Central and Eastern European Diabetes Expert Group (CEEDEG)

Aims: These recommendations aim to improve care for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at high cardiovascular (CV) risk in Central and Eastern Europe. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or chronic kidney disease (CKD) are major interdependent comorbidities in patients with T2D, accounting for 50% of mortality. Following recent CV outcomes trial (CVOT) results, including those from EMPA-REG -OUTCOME (R), LEADER (R), SUSTAIN (TM)-6 and, most recently, the CANVAS study, it is essential to develop regional expert consensus recommendations to aid physicians in interpreting these newest data to clinical practice. Methods: The Central and Eastern European Diabetes Expert Group (CEEDEG) followed a Delphi method to develop treatment algorithms to aid physicians in the clinical management of patients with T2D at high CV risk. Results: In light of the latest CVOT results, and in particular the EMPA-REG -OUTCOME (R) and -LEADER (R) trials, the diagnosis, assessment, treatment choice and monitoring of patients with T2D and established CVD and/or CKD have been considered together with existing guidelines and presented in two reference algorithms. In addition, adherence, special prescribing considerations and a proposed multidisciplinary management approach have been discussed and are presented with the proposed algorithms. Conclusions: The latest available high-level evidence on glucose-lowering drugs has enabled CEEDEG to develop practical consensus recommendations for patients with established CVD and/ or CKD. These recommendations represent an update to international and country-level guidelines used for these patients, with the aim of providing a resource not only to endocrinologists, but to cardiologists, nephrologists and primary care physicians in the region

Screening, diagnosis and management of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy in clinical practice

Diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) affects around one third of people with diabetes and accounts for considerable morbidity, increased risk of mortality, reduced quality of life, and increased health care costs resulting particularly from neuropathic pain and foot ulcers. Painful DSPN is encountered in 13-26% of diabetes patients, while up to 50% of patients with DSPN may be asymptomatic. Unfortunately, DSPN still remains inadequately diagnosed and treated. Herein we provide international expert consensus recommendations and algorithms for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of DSPN in clinical practice derived from a Delphi process. Typical neuropathic symptoms include pain, paresthesias, and numbness particularly in the feet and calves. Clinical diagnosis of DSPN is based on neuropathic symptoms and signs (deficits). Management of DSPN includes three cornerstones: 1.) lifestyle modification, optimal diabetes treatment aimed at near-normoglycemia, and multifactorial cardiovascular risk intervention, 2.) pathogenetically oriented pharmacotherapy (e.g. α-lipoic acid and benfotiamine), and 3.) symptomatic treatment of neuropathic pain including analgesic pharmacotherapy (antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioids, capsaicin 8% patch and combinations, if required) and non-pharmacological options. Considering the individual risk profile, pain management should not only aim at pain relief, but also allow for improvement in quality of sleep, functionality, and general quality of life

Need for pathogenetically oriented therapy of neuropathy in diabetes mellitus

Peripheral and/or autonomous neuropathy is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in diabetes patients. One of the common pathogenetic factors is increased production of free oxygen radicals and their derivatives; a hyperglycaemic metabolism impairs endoneural blood perfusion, leading to neuronal cell damage as typical in diabetic neuropathy. The aim of pathogenetically oriented treatment is to slow down, stop, or reverse the progression of neuropathic damage, and clear indications show that benfotiamine and alpha-lipoic acid along with blood glucose optimization and risk factor management may have a positive effect on the processes involved in neuropathy. Benfotiamine inhibits pathways involved in developing neuropathy while stimulating pathways that play a role in improving neuropathy, such as the pentose-phosphate shunt. Alpha-lipoic acid - an effective antioxidant - may partly inhibit pathogenetic processes caused by oxidative stress. Both of these substances have been shown better tolerance profiles than drugs aimed at controlling symptoms, and should play a role in treating patients with diabetic neuropathy