Learning to compare with few data for personalised human activity recognition.

Recent advances in meta-learning provides interesting opportunities for CBR research, in similarity learning, case comparison and personalised recommendations. Rather than learning a single model for a specific task, meta-learners adopt a generalist view of learning-to-learn, such that models are rapidly transferable to related (but different) new tasks. Unlike task-specific model training, a meta-learner’s training instance - referred to as a meta-instance - is a composite of two sets: a support set and a query set of instances. In our work, we introduce learning-to-learn personalised models from few data. We motivate our contribution through an application where personalisation plays an important role, mainly that of human activity recognition for self-management of chronic diseases. We extend the meta-instance creation process where random sampling of support and query sets is carried out on a reduced sample conditioned by a domain-specific attribute; namely the person or user, in order to create meta-instances for personalised HAR. Our meta-learning for personalisation is compared with several state-of-the-art meta-learning strategies: 1) matching network (MN), which learns an embedding for a metric function; 2) relation network (RN) that learns to predict similarity between paired instances; and 3) MAML, a model-agnostic machine-learning algorithm that optimizes the model parameters for rapid adaptation. Results confirm that personalised meta-learning significantly improves performance over non personalised meta-learners

Effectiveness and Equity in Community-Based Rehabilitation on Pain, Physical Function, and Quality of Life After Unilateral Lower Limb Amputation: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: To synthesize evidence for (1) the effectiveness of exercise-based rehabilitation interventions in the community and/or at home after transfemoral and transtibial amputation on pain, physical function, and quality of life and (2) the extent of inequities (unfair, avoidable differences in health) in access to identified interventions. DATA SOURCES: Embase, MEDLINE, PEDro, Cinahl, Global Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey, and ClinicalTrials.gov were systematically searched from inception to August 12, 2021, for published, unpublished, and registered ongoing randomized controlled trials. STUDY SELECTION: Three review authors completed screening and quality appraisal in Covidence using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Included were randomized controlled trials of exercise-based rehabilitation interventions based in the community or at home for adults with transfemoral or transtibial amputation that assessed effectiveness on pain, physical function, or quality of life. DATA EXTRACTION: Effectiveness data were extracted to templates defined a priori and the PROGRESS-Plus framework was used for equity factors. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eight completed trials of low to moderate quality, 2 trial protocols, and 3 registered ongoing trials (351 participants across trials) were identified. Interventions included cognitive behavioral therapy, education, and video games, combined with exercise. There was heterogeneity in the mode of exercise as well as outcome measures employed. Intervention effects on pain, physical function, and quality of life were inconsistent. Intervention intensity, time of delivery, and degree of supervision influenced reported effectiveness. Overall, 423 potential participants were inequitably excluded from identified trials (65%), limiting the generalizability of interventions to the underlying population. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that were tailored, supervised, of higher intensity, and not in the immediate postacute phase showed greater promise for improving specific physical function outcomes. Future trials should explore these effects further and employ more inclusive eligibility to optimize any future implementation

Preliminary study on Lampyrids in Kiralakelle nature reserve, Matara District, Southern Sri Lanka; An ecotourism perspective

Lampyrids  or fireflies are one of the ecotourism subjects throughout the world and there is a possibility to use them as a rapidly increasing tourism aspect in Sri Lanka. Previous records have revealed 63 species of fireflies belonging to 24 genera were listed in the country. However, the ecotourism significance of Sri Lankan firefly fauna is poorly studied and never been documented. The aim of the present study was to introduce the existing lampyrid fauna of Kiralakelle nature reserve in ecotourism view point as one of proposed tourism development site in Southern Province, Matara, Sri Lanka.Study carried out throughout year 2010 from 6.00 p.m. to 22.00 p.m. as one sampling in each month. Fireflies were observed using 6 observation points located in two types of landscapes (1-3 points closer to forest patches and 4-6 closer to marshy water filling lands) along the main pathway of the nature reserve. Each point had 2.5 m radius and distance between two points was 250m. Abundance and diversity indices were estimated. Totally, 7 adult firefly species, namely  Luciola cingulata,  L. extricans,  L. melaspis,  L. praeusta  complex, and Asymmetricata humeralis,  Curtos costipennis  and  Lamprigera tenebrosa  were recorded. Genus-  Luciola  was the dominant lampyrid group in nature reserve and the lowest abundance was recorded in genus-Lamprigera  fireflies. While  A. humeralis  was the highly abundant species in nature reserve,  L. extricanswas recorded as the less abundant one. The highest percentage abundance of recorded lampyrids was shown in observation point 1 and the lowest in point 5. The average percentage abundance of lampyrids was high in 1-3 observation points closer to forest patches than others.  L. cingulata, L. praeusta  complex and  A. humeralis were shown their abundance throughout the year in Kiralakelle nature reserve and the other 4 species were recorded as seasonally dominant lampyrids. The highest Shannon Wiener diversity was obtained from observation point 2 (1.554) and the lowest in point 6 (1.240). Records of this  study will be helpful for better understanding of firefly fauna in Kiralakelle nature reserve and provide clear outline of their usability for tourism success. The site  currently has threatened by illegal human activities such as felling, garbage filling,  animal hunting and forests firing. Hence, additional conservation strategies are needed to protect the lampyrid fauna in this nature reserve. Sustainable ecotourism based on lampyrids will be a vital aspect to succeed the night-tourism industry in Kiralakelle nature reserve in future and throughout Sri Lanka as well.Key words: Ecotourism, Kiralakelle nature reserve, Lampyrid

Homocysteine Metabolism in ZDF (Type 2) Diabetic Rats

Mild hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease. We determined the effects of insulin resistance and of type 2 diabetes on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism using Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF/Gmi fa/fa and ZDF/Gmi fa/?). Plasma total Hcy was reduced in ZDF fa/fa rats by 24% in the pre-diabetic insulin-resistant stage, while in the frank diabetic stage there was a 59% reduction. Hepatic activities of several enzymes that play a role in the removal of Hcy: cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), cystathionine γ-lyase, and betaine:Hcy methyltransferase (BHMT) were increased as was methionine adenosyltransferase. CBS and BHMT mRNA levels and the hepatic level of S-adenosylmethionine were also increased in the ZDF fa/fa rats. Studies with primary hepatocytes showed that Hcy export and the transsulfuration flux in cells from ZDF fa/fa rats were particularly sensitive to betaine. Interestingly, liver betaine concentration was found to be significantly lower in the ZDf fa/fa rats at both 5 and 11 weeks. These results emphasize the importance of betaine metabolism in determining plasma Hcy levels in type 2 diabetes

Learning to self-manage by intelligent monitoring, prediction and intervention

Despite the growing prevalence of multimorbidities, current digital self-management approaches still prioritise single conditions. The future of outof- hospital care requires researchers to expand their horizons; integrated assistive technologies should enable people to live their life well regardless of their chronic conditions. Yet, many of the current digital self-management technologies are not equipped to handle this problem. In this position paper, we suggest the solution for these issues is a model-aware and data-agnostic platform formed on the basis of a tailored self-management plan and three integral concepts - Monitoring (M) multiple information sources to empower Predictions (P) and trigger intelligent Interventions (I). Here we present our ideas for the formation of such a platform, and its potential impact on quality of life for sufferers of chronic conditions

Selection of the solvent and extraction conditions for maximum recovery of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin

The extraction of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin (CS) was studied. Firstly, the effect of different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and distilled water) on the production of antioxidant extracts was evaluated. All the extracts showed antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH assays), but those obtained with methanol and ethanol had significantly higher (p < 0.05) DPPH inhibition than the remaining ones. Due to the lower toxicity, ethanol was selected as extraction solvent, and further experiments were performed in order to define the solvent concentration, solvent/solid ratio, and time to maximize the extraction results. The best condition to produce an extract with high content of phenolic compounds (13 mg gallic acid equivalents/g CS) and antioxidant activity [DPPH = 18.24 μmol Trolox equivalents/g CS and FRAP = 0.83 mmol Fe(II)/g CS] was achieved when using 60 % ethanol in a ratio of 35 ml/g CS, during 30 min at 60–65 °C.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa Conde, student of Biological Engineering, for the help and interest in this work