ENHANCE (ENriching Health data by ANnotations of Crowd and Experts): A case study for skin lesion classification

We present ENHANCE, an open dataset with multiple annotations to complement the existing ISIC and PH2 skin lesion classification datasets. This dataset contains annotations of visual ABC (asymmetry, border, colour) features from non-expert annotation sources: undergraduate students, crowd workers from Amazon MTurk and classic image processing algorithms. In this paper we first analyse the correlations between the annotations and the diagnostic label of the lesion, as well as study the agreement between different annotation sources. Overall we find weak correlations of non-expert annotations with the diagnostic label, and low agreement between different annotation sources. We then study multi-task learning (MTL) with the annotations as additional labels, and show that non-expert annotations can improve (ensembles of) state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks via MTL. We hope that our dataset can be used in further research into multiple annotations and/or MTL. All data and models are available on Github: https://github.com/raumannsr/ENHANCE

Wearables measuring electrodermal activity to assess perceived stress in care:A scoping review

Background:Chronic stress responses can lead to physical and behavioural health problems, often experienced and observed in the care of people with intellectual disabilities or people with dementia. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a bio-signal for stress, which can be measured by wearables and thereby support stress management. However, the how, when and to what extent patients and healthcare providers can benefit is unclear. This study aims to create an overview of available wearables enabling the detection of perceived stress by using EDA.Methods:Following the PRISMA-SCR protocol for scoping reviews, four databases were included in the search of peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2022, reporting detection of EDA in relation to self-reported stress or stress-related behaviours. Type of wearable, bodily location, research population, context, stressor type and the reported relationship between EDA and perceived stress were extracted.Results:Of the 74 included studies, the majority included healthy subjects in laboratory situations. Field studies and studies using machine learning (ML) to predict stress have increased in the last years. EDA is most often measured on the wrist, with offline data processing. Studies predicting perceived stress or stress-related behaviour using EDA features, reported accuracies between 42% and 100% with an average of 82.6%. Of these studies, the majority used ML.Conclusion:Wearable EDA sensors are promising in detecting perceived stress. Field studies with relevant populations in a health or care context are lacking. Future studies should focus on the application of EDA-measuring wearables in real-life situations to support stress management

Monitorització de ruscs d'abelles

L’apicultura és una de les especialitzacions de la ramaderia que a l’actualitat encara es manté sense gairebé cap tipus de tecnologia associada. Els ruscs continuen funcionant de forma similar a fa milers d’anys, on les abelles fan la feina i l’apicultor recol·lecta els productes que en generen. El present treball consisteix en dissenyar i construir un prototip que permeti monitoritzar diferents paràmetres d’un rusc d’abelles: la temperatura interna i externa, la humitat també interna i externa així com comptabilitzar el nombre d’abelles que entren i surten del rusc. Totes les dades que es van adquirint queden emmagatzemades en una memòria SD. Per aconseguir-ho s’ha dissenyat i creat un prototip, de baix cost i de fàcil implementació e instal·lació. En aquest prototip en qualsevol moment l’usuari pot observar els diferents paràmetres monitoritzats mitjançant una pantalla LCD. Per a comprovar el correcte funcionament del prototipus, s’han realitzat proves de camp, incorporant-lo a un rusc d’abelles reals i prenent mesures durant un temps limitat. El treball s’ha realitzat seguint una planificació prèviament definida, començant per un estudi a fons del mercat, realitzant diverses consultes a experts en l’apicultura, el disseny i muntatge del prototip, la seva programació i finalment l’anàlisi dels resultats obtinguts a les proves de camp. Els resultats mostren la viabilitat del prototipus creat i dona peu a la seva utilització per part d’apicultors interessats en conèixer quelcom més de l’estat del rusc o per a la utilització a l’estudi del comportament de les abelles

Long-Term Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution on Mortality in a Dutch Cohort (NLCS-AIR Study)

BACKGROUND: Several studies have found an effect on mortality of between-city contrasts in long-term exposure to air pollution. The effect of within-city contrasts is still poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We studied the association between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and mortality in a Dutch cohort. METHODS: We used data from an ongoing cohort study on diet and cancer with 120,852 subjects who were followed from 1987 to 1996. Exposure to black smoke (BS), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter < or = 2.5 microm (PM(2.5)), as well as various exposure variables related to traffic, were estimated at the home address. We conducted Cox analyses in the full cohort adjusting for age, sex, smoking, and area-level socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Traffic intensity on the nearest road was independently associated with mortality. Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for a 10-microg/m(3) increase in BS concentrations (difference between 5th and 95th percentile) were 1.05 (1.00-1.11) for natural cause, 1.04 (0.95-1.13) for cardiovascular, 1.22 (0.99-1.50) for respiratory, 1.03 (0.88-1.20) for lung cancer, and 1.04 (0.97-1.12) for mortality other than cardiovascular, respiratory, or lung cancer. Results were similar for NO(2) and PM(2.5), but no associations were found for SO(2). CONCLUSIONS: Traffic-related air pollution and several traffic exposure variables were associated with mortality in the full cohort. Relative risks were generally small. Associations between natural-cause and respiratory mortality were statistically significant for NO(2) and BS. These results add to the evidence that long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with increased mortality

Long-Term Ambient Residential Traffic–Related Exposures and Measurement Error–Adjusted Risk of Incident Lung Cancer in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer

Background: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently declared air pollution carcinogenic to humans. However, no study of air pollution and lung cancer to date has incorporated adjustment for exposure measurement error, and few have examined specific histological subtypes. Objectives: Our aim was to assess the association of air pollution and incident lung cancer in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer and the impact of measurement error on these associations. Methods: The cohort was followed from 1986 through 2003, and 3,355 incident cases were identified. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals, for long-term exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black smoke (BS), PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm), and measures of roadway proximity and traffic volume, adjusted for potential confounders. Information from a previous validation study was used to correct the effect estimates for measurement error. Results: We observed elevated risks of incident lung cancer with exposure to BS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.32, per 10 μg/m3], NO2 (HR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.54, per 30 μg/m3), PM2.5 (HR = 1.17; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.47, per 10 μg/m3), and with measures of traffic at the baseline address. The exposures were positively associated with all lung cancer subtypes. After adjustment for measurement error, the HRs increased and the 95% CIs widened [HR = 1.19 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.39) for BS and HR = 1.37 (95% CI: 0.86, 2.17) for PM2.5]. Conclusions: These findings add support to a growing body of literature on the effects of air pollution on lung cancer. In addition, they highlight variation in measurement error by pollutant and support the implementation of measurement error corrections when possible. Citation Hart JE, Spiegelman D, Beelen R, Hoek G, Brunekreef B, Schouten LJ, van den Brandt P. 2015. Long-term ambient residential traffic–related exposures and measurement error–adjusted risk of incident lung cancer in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. Environ Health Perspect 123:860–866; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.140876