An Active Learning Approach to Efficiently Ranking Retrieval Engines

Evaluating retrieval systems, such as those submitted to the annual TREC competition, usually requires a large number of documents to be read and judged for relevance to query topics. Test collections are far too big to be exhaustively judged, so only a subset of documents is selected to form the judgment ``pool.\u27\u27 The selection method that TREC uses produces pools that are still quite large. Research has indicated that it is possible to rank the retrieval systems correctly using substantially smaller pools. This paper introduces an active learning algorithm whose goal is to reach the correct rankings using the smallest possible number of relevance judgments. It adds one document to the pool at a time, always trying to select the document with the highest information gain. Several variants of this algorithm are described, each with improvements on the one before. Results from experiments are included for comparison with the traditional TREC pooling method. The best version of the algorithm reliably outperforms the traditional method, although its degree of improvement varies

Risk-Sensitive Resource Defense in a Territorial Reef Fish

As coral reefs are home to dense aggregations of a variety of species, aggressive territoriality is often a critical component of individual behavior. Identification and assessment of the risk posed by intruders is crucial to defending a territory, and fishes on coral reefs have been found to attend to body shape, body size, and coloration when responding to intruders. We examined the extent to which dusky damselfish (Stegastes adustus) discriminate among distinct categories of intruders by measuring the distance at which a fish attacks an intruder and the relative intensity and frequency of those attacks. We found that S. adustus discriminated among perceived threats, attacking conspecifics more intensely and more often than egg-predators and herbivores, and showing a trend of attacking those groups more often than invertebrate-feeders, which do not compete with damselfish for resources. Furthermore, territory holders attacked initial-phase wrasses from a farther distance than terminal-phase wrasses, suggesting that they can discriminate among classes of individuals within a species other than their own. Dusky damselfish thus exhibit the ability to make fine distinctions among intruders in a diverse ecosystem

Workshop on the Development and Evaluation of Digital Therapeutics for Health Behavior Change: Science, Methods, and Projects

The health care field has integrated advances into digital technology at an accelerating pace to improve health behavior, health care delivery, and cost-effectiveness of care. The realm of behavioral science has embraced this evolution of digital health, allowing for an exciting roadmap for advancing care by addressing the many challenges to the field via technological innovations. Digital therapeutics offer the potential to extend the reach of effective interventions at reduced cost and patient burden and to increase the potency of existing interventions. Intervention models have included the use of digital tools as supplements to standard care models, as tools that can replace a portion of treatment as usual, or as stand-alone tools accessed outside of care settings or direct to the consumer. To advance the potential public health impact of this promising line of research, multiple areas warrant further development and investigation. The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH), a P30 Center of Excellence supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, is an interdisciplinary research center at Dartmouth College focused on the goal of harnessing existing and emerging technologies to effectively develop and deliver evidence-based interventions for substance use and co-occurring disorders. The CTBH launched a series of workshops to encourage and expand multidisciplinary collaborations among Dartmouth scientists and international CTBH affiliates engaged in research related to digital technology and behavioral health (eg, addiction science, behavioral health intervention, technology development, computer science and engineering, digital security, health economics, and implementation science). This paper summarizes a workshop conducted on the Development and Evaluation of Digital Therapeutics for Behavior Change, which addressed (1) principles of behavior change, (2) methods of identifying and testing the underlying mechanisms of behavior change, (3) conceptual frameworks for optimizing applications for mental health and addictive behavior, and (4) the diversity of experimental methods and designs that are essential to the successful development and testing of digital therapeutics. Examples were presented of ongoing CTBH projects focused on identifying and improving the measurement of health behavior change mechanisms and the development and evaluation of digital therapeutics. In summary, the workshop showcased the myriad research targets that will be instrumental in promoting and accelerating progress in the field of digital health and health behavior change and illustrated how the CTBH provides a model of multidisciplinary leadership and collaboration that can facilitate innovative, science-based efforts to address the health behavior challenges afflicting our communities

The Chemical Evolution Carousel of Spiral Galaxies : Azimuthal Variations of Oxygen Abundance in NGC1365

19 pages, 13 figures. Accepted to ApJThe spatial distribution of oxygen in the interstellar medium of galaxies is the key to understanding how efficiently metals that are synthesized in massive stars can be redistributed across a galaxy. We present here a case study in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC1365 using 3D optical data obtained in the TYPHOON Program. We find systematic azimuthal variations of the HII region oxygen abundance imprinted on a negative radial gradient. The 0.2 dex azimuthal variations occur over a wide radial range of 0.3 to 0.7 R25 and peak at the two spiral arms in NGC1365. We show that the azimuthal variations can be explained by two physical processes: gas undergoes localized, sub-kpc scale self-enrichment when orbiting in the inter-arm region, and experiences efficient, kpc scale mixing-induced dilution when spiral density waves pass through. We construct a simple chemical evolution model to quantitatively test this picture and find that our toy model can reproduce the observations. This result suggests that the observed abundance variations in NGC1365 are a snapshot of the dynamical local enrichment of oxygen modulated by spiral-driven, periodic mixing and dilution.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of integrating mental health services in primary care in low- and middle-income countries : systematic review

Q1Artículo original1-13Aims and method This systematic review examines the effectiveness and costeffectiveness of behavioural health integration into primary healthcare in the management of depression and unhealthy alcohol use in low- and middle-income countries. Following PRISMA guidelines, this review included research that studied patients aged ≥18 years with unhealthy alcohol use and/or depression of any clinical severity. An exploration of the models of integration was used to characterise a typology of behavioural health integration specific for low- and middle-income countries. Results Fifty-eight articles met inclusion criteria. Studies evidenced increased effectiveness of integrated care over treatment as usual for both conditions. The economic evaluations found increased direct health costs but cost-effective estimates. The included studies used six distinct behavioural health integration models. Clinical implications Behavioural health integration may yield improved health outcomes, although it may require additional resources. The proposed typology can assist decision-makers to advance the implementation of integrated models

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

The DIADA Project : a technology-based model of care for depression and risky alcohol use in Primary Care Centres in Colombia

Introducción Las personas con enfermedades mentales son frecuentes en atención primaria, pero son subdiagnosticadas y poco tratadas. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir un modelo para depresión y uso riesgoso de alcohol y los resultados de su implementación en centros de atención primaria en Colombia. Métodos Entre febrero de 2018 y marzo de 2020 se implementó, siguiendo una metodología modificada de stepped-wedge, un modelo de atención, basado en la tecnología, para depresión y uso riesgoso de alcohol en 6 centros de atención primaria, urbanos y rurales, en Colombia. El modelo incluye una serie de pasos dirigidos a la detección de pacientes que acuden a cita con médicos generales y al apoyo del diagnóstico y el tratamiento del médico general. Describimos el modelo, la implementación y las características de los pacientes tamizados y evaluados. Resultados Durante la implementación, se realizaron 22.354 tamizaciones en 16.188 pacientes. La tasa observada de depresión confirmada por médico general fue del 10,1% y de uso riesgoso de alcohol fue del 1.3%. Los pacientes con diagnóstico de depresión fueron principalmente mujeres de mediana edad, mientras que los pacientes con uso riesgoso de alcohol fueron principalmente hombres adultos jóvenes. Discusión Proveer capacitación y estrategias basadas en la tecnología para tamizar pacientes y apoyar la toma de decisiones de los médicos durante la cita médica mejoró el diagnóstico y la atención de los pacientes con depresión y uso riesgoso de alcohol. Sin embargo, las limitaciones de tiempo, así como las barreras estructurales y culturales, fueron desafíos para la implementación del modelo, por lo que el modelo debe tener en cuenta los valores, las políticas y los recursos locales para garantizar su sostenibilidad a largo plazo. Por lo tanto, la sostenibilidad a largo plazo del modelo dependerá de la alineación de actores, incluidos los tomadores de decisiones, las instituciones, las aseguradoras, los médicos, los pacientes y las comunidades, para reducir la cantidad de pacientes que buscan atención médica y cuyo trastorno mental sigue sin detectarse y, por lo tanto, sin manejarse, y para garantizar una respuesta adecuada a la demanda de atención de salud mental que se observó con la implementación de nuestro modelo.Introduction People with mental health conditions frequently attend primary care centres, but these conditions are underdiagnosed and undertreated. The objective of this paper is to describe the model and the findings of the implementation of a technology-based model of care for depression and unhealthy alcohol use in primary care centres in Colombia. Methods Between February 2018 and March 2020, we implemented a technology-based model of care for depression and unhealthy alcohol use, following a modified stepped wedge methodology, in 6 urban and rural primary care centres in Colombia. The model included a series of steps aimed at screening patients attending medical appointments with general practitioners and supporting the diagnosis and treatment given by the general practitioner. We describe the model, its implementation and the characteristics of the screened and assessed patients. Results During the implementation period, we conducted 22,354 screenings among 16,188 patients. The observed rate of general practitioner-confirmed depression diagnosis was 10.1% and of confirmed diagnosis of unhealthy alcohol use was 1.3%. Patients with a depression diagnosis were primarily middle-aged women, while patients with unhealthy alcohol use were mainly young adult men. Discussion The provision of training and technology-based strategies to screen patients and support the decision-making of general practitioners during the medical appointment enhanced the diagnosis and care provision of patients with depression and unhealthy alcohol use. However, time constraints, as well as structural and cultural barriers, were challenges for the implementation of the model, and the model should take into account local values, policies and resources to guarantee its long-term sustainability. As such, the long-term sustainability of the model will depend on the alignment of different stakeholders, including decision-makers, institutions, insurers, general practitioners, patients and communities, to reduce the amount of patients seeking medical care whose mental health conditions remain undetected, and therefore untreated, and to ensure an appropriate response to the demand for mental healthcare that was revealed by the implementation of our model.Revista Nacional - Indexad

Implementing evidence-based practices for persons with severe mental illnesses

Extensive empirical research, summarized in several reviews and codified in practice guidelines, recommendations, and algorithms, demonstrates that several pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are effective in improving the lives of persons with severe mental illnesses. Yet the practices validated by research are not widely offered in routine mental health practice settings. As part of an effort to promote the implementation of evidence-based practice, the authors summarize perspectives on how best to change and sustain effective practice from the research literature and from the experiences of administrators, clinicians, family advocates, and services researchers. They describe an implementation plan for evidence-based practices based on the use of toolkits to promote the consistent delivery of such practices. The toolkits will include integrated written material, Web-based resources, training experiences, and consultation opportunities. Special materials will address the concerns of mental health authorities (funders), administrators of provider organizations, clinicians, and consumers and their families