Light field (LF) photography is an emerging paradigm for capturing more immersive representations of the real world. However, arising from the inherent tradeoff between the angular and spatial ...dimensions, the spatial resolution of LF images captured by commercial micro-lens-based LF cameras is significantly constrained. In this paper, we propose effective and efficient end-to-end convolutional neural network models for spatially super-resolving LF images. Specifically, the proposed models have an hourglass shape, which allows feature extraction to be performed at the low-resolution level to save both the computational and memory costs. To fully make use of the 4D structure information of LF data in both the spatial and angular domains, we propose to use 4D convolution to characterize the relationship among pixels. Moreover, as an approximation of 4D convolution, we also propose to use spatial-angular separable (SAS) convolutions for more computationally and memory-efficient extraction of spatial-angular joint features. Extensive experimental results on 57 test LF images with various challenging natural scenes show significant advantages from the proposed models over the state-of-the-art methods. That is, an average PSNR gain of more than 3.0 dB and better visual quality are achieved, and our methods preserve the LF structure of the super-resolved LF images better, which is highly desirable for subsequent applications. In addition, the SAS convolution-based model can achieve three times speed up with only negligible reconstruction quality decrease when compared with the 4D convolution-based one. The source code of our method is available online.
Background
Due to variations in climatic conditions, the effects of meteorological factors and PM2.5 on influenza activity, particularly in subtropical regions, vary in existing literature. In this ...study, we examined the relationship between influenza activity, meteorological parameters, and PM2.5.
Methods
A total of 20 165 laboratory‐confirmed influenza cases in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, were documented in our dataset and aggregated into weekly counts for downstream analysis. We employed a combination of the quasi‐Poisson‐generalized additive model and the distributed lag non‐linear model to examine the relationship of interest, controlling for long‐term trends, seasonal trends, and holidays.
Results
A hockey‐stick association was found between absolute humidity and the risk of influenza infections. The overall cumulative adjusted relative risk (ARR) was statistically significant when weekly mean absolute humidity was low (<10 µg/m3) and high (>17.5 µg/m3). A slightly higher ARR was observed when weekly mean temperature reached over 30.5°C. A statistically significantly higher ARR was observed when weekly mean relative humidity dropped below 67%. ARR increased statistically significantly with increasing rainfall. For PM2.5, the ARR was marginally statistically insignificant. In brief, high temperature, wet and dry conditions, and heavy rainfall were the major risk factors associated with a higher risk of influenza infections.
Conclusions
The present study contributes additional knowledge to the understanding of the effects of various environmental factors on influenza activities. Our findings shall be useful and important for the development of influenza surveillance and early warning systems.
ABSTRACTWeight bias issues are rarely discussed in Asian. Therefore, we examined the relationships between weight bias, perceived weight stigma (PWS), eating behavior, and psychological distress ...among Hong Kong people. Using cross-sectional design, 400 undergraduate students (175 men) completed questionnaires and were assigned into a self-reported overweight (n = 61) or nonoverweight group (n = 339) using body mass index, and a self-perceived overweight (n = 84) or nonoverweight group (n = 316) based on self-perception. For self-reported and self-perceived overweight groups, more weight bias was related to higher depression (β = −0.403; p = 0.004). Self-perceived group additionally showed that weight bias was related to PWS and inappropriate eating behaviors; PWS related to inappropriate eating behaviors. For self-reported and self-perceived nonoverweight groups, weight bias was related to PWS, inappropriate eating behaviors, anxiety, and depression (β = −0.228 to −0.148; pʼs < 0.05); PWS was associated with inappropriate eating behaviors, anxiety, and depression. Thus, weight bias issues should not be ignored for both overweight and nonoverweight people.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common communicable disease among children and has been a global health problem in recent decades. Literature has shown that meteorological factors possibly ...drive the epidemic of HFMD, but the natures differ across regions. To elucidate the associations between meteorological factors and the epidemic of HFMD in Zhejiang province, China, the incidence rate and the number of probable and laboratory-confirmed cases of HFMD as well as meteorological factors (ambient temperature, relative humidity, total rainfall, wind speed, and total sunshine duration) during the year of 2013–2017 in the province were modelled by the Bayesian hierarchical Poisson spatiotemporal model with distributed lag nonlinear components, so as to capture spatiotemporal associations and potentially nonlinear or lagged effects of the meteorological factors. During the study period, there were altogether 689,898 HFMD cases in Zhejiang province, and the disease exhibited a strong spatiotemporal association. On average, Ningbo had the highest weekly incidence rate of 6.83/100,000. The cumulative adjusted relative risk (ARR) increased with average ambient temperature until 24.6 °C (ARR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04–1.30), at which the pattern reverted. The cumulative ARR also increased statistically significantly with average relative humidity. It was estimated that 1% increase in relative humidity corresponded to 1.07%–1.16% increase in ARR. Total rainfall, average wind speed, and total sunshine duration were not statistically significantly associated with the incidence rate. In conclusion, the existence of the associations between meteorological factors and the incidence rate of HFMD implies that the local government could make use of meteorological information for disease surveillance, allowing early preparation for the outbreak of HFMD when favorable conditions (wet and moderately hot) are forecasted, in order to reduce the heavy burden induced by the disease.
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•Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model was used to explore the associations.•HFMD tended to be more prevalent in eastern coastal areas and southern areas.•Warmer and wetter conditions favoured HFMD.•Rainfall, wind speed, and sunshine duration did not show significant associations.
Since the first reported human infection with an avian-origin influenza A (H7N9) virus in China in early 2013, there have been recurrent outbreaks of the virus in the country. Previous studies have ...shown that meteorological factors are associated with the risk of human infection with the virus; however, their possible nonlinear and lagged effects were not commonly taken into account.
To quantify the effect of meteorological factors on the risk of human H7N9 infection, daily laboratory-confirmed cases of human H7N9 infection and meteorological factors including total rainfall, average wind speed, average temperature, average relative humidity, and sunshine duration of the 11 sub-provincial/prefecture cities in Zhejiang during the first four outbreaks (13 March 2013–30 June 2016) were analyzed. Separate models were built for the 6 sub-provincial/prefecture cities with the greatest number of reported cases using a combination of logistic generalized additive model and distributed lag nonlinear models, which were then pooled by a multivariate meta-regression model to determine their overall effects.
According to the meta-regression model, for rainfall, the log adjusted overall cumulative odds ratio was statistically significant when log of rainfall was >4.0, peaked at 5.3 with a value of 12.42 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.23, 21.62). On the other hand, when wind speed was 2.1–3.0 m/s or 6.3–7.1 m/s, the log adjusted overall cumulative odds ratio was statistically significant, peaked at 7.1 m/s with a value of 6.75 (95% CI: 0.03, 13.47). There were signs of nonlinearity and lag effects in their associations with the risk of infection.
As rainfall and wind speed were found to be associated with the risk of human H7N9 infection, weather conditions should be taken into account when it comes to disease surveillance, allowing prompt actions when an outbreak takes place.
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•Meteorological factors showed lagged and nonlinear effects on human H7N9 infection.•Wind speed and rainfall are significant independent factors.•Rainfall between 60.3 and 200.3 mm favoured human H7N9 infection.•Wind speed of 2.1–3.0 m/s and 6.3–7.1 m/s favoured human H7N9 infection.
Hong Kong is a high-income city with intermediate tuberculosis (TB) burden primarily driven by endogenous reactivations. A high proportion of remote latently infected people, particularly elderly, ...hinders the effectiveness of current strategies focusing on passive TB detection. In this study, we developed a mathematical model to evaluate the impact of treating latent TB infection (LTBI) in the elderly in addition to current TB control strategies. The model was calibrated using the annual age-stratified TB notifications from 1965-2013 in Hong Kong. Our results showed that at present, approximately 75% of annual new notifications were from reactivations. Given the present treatment completion rate, even if only a low to moderate proportion (approximately 20% to 40%) of elderly people were screened and treated for LTBI, the overall TB incidence could be reduced by almost 50%, to reach the 2025 milestone of the global End TB Strategy. Nevertheless, due to a high risk of hepatotoxicity in elderly population, benefit-risk ratios were mostly below unity; thus, intervention programs should be carefully formulated, including prioritising LTBI treatment for high-risk elderly groups who are closely monitored for possible adverse side effects.
Human infection with the H7N9 virus has been reported recurrently since spring 2013. Given low pathogenicity of the virus in poultry, the outbreak cannot be noticed easily until a case of human ...infection is reported. Studies showed that the prevalence of influenza A subtype H7 in environmental samples is associated with the number of human H7N9 infection, with the latter associated with meteorological factors. Understanding the association between meteorological factors and the prevalence of H7 subtype in the environmental samples can shed light on how the virus propagates in the environment for disease control.
Environmental samples and meteorological data (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration, and wind speed) collected in Zhejiang province, China, during 2013–2017 were used. A Bayesian hierarchical binomial logistic spatiotemporal model which captures spatiotemporal effects was adopted to model the prevalence of H7 subtype with the meteorological factors.
The monthly overall prevalence of H7 subtype in the environmental samples was usually <30%. Compared with the odds at median, moderately low precipitation (49.19–115.60 mm), moderately long sunshine duration (4.22–9.25 h) and low temperature (<9.33 °C) were statistically significantly associated with a higher adjusted odds of detecting an H7-positive sample, whereas moderately high precipitation (119.51–146.85 mm), short and moderately short sunshine duration (<1.77 h; 4.00–4.17 h), and high temperature (>23.09 °C) were statistically significantly associated with a lower adjusted odds. The adjusted odds increased multiplicatively by 1.11 per 1% increase in relative humidity.
Since the prevalence of H7 subtype in environmental samples was associated with meteorological conditions and the number of human H7N9 infection, an environmental surveillance program which incorporates meteorological conditions in planning allows for early detection of the spread of the virus in the environment and better preparation for the outbreak in the human population.
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•The odds of detecting the H7 virus in samples increases with RH.•Moderately low and high PRECIP corresponds to a higher and lower odds respectively.•Moderately long and short SUNDUR relates to a higher and lower odds respectively.•Low and high TEMP are associated with a higher and lower odds respectively.•There has been an increasing risk of H7 in the southwest to south of Zhejiang.
Children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) are likely to develop self-stigma and have a poor quality of life (QoL) because of their poor academic performance. Although both self-stigma and ...poor QoL issues are likely to be found in low academic achievers without SpLD, children with SpLD have worse situation because their diagnosis of SpLD suggests that their learning struggles are biological and permanent. Specifically, students’ perception of own capabilities may be affected more by the diagnosis of SpLD than their own actual performance.
We examined the self-stigma and QoL of children with SpLD in Hong Kong, a region with an academics-focused culture.
Children with SpLD (n=49,Mage±SD=9.55±1.21; SpLD group) and typically developing children (n=32,Mage±SD=9.81±1.40; TD group) completed a Kid-KINDL to measure QoL and a Modified Self-Stigma Scale to measure self-stigma. All parents completed a parallel Kid-KINDL to measure QoL of their children.
Compared with the TD group, the SpLD group had a higher level of self-stigma (p=0.027) and lower QoL (child-reported Kid-KINDL: p=0.001; parent-reported Kid-KINDL: p<0.001).
In the academics-focused environment in Hong Kong, SpLD was associated with impaired QoL and higher self-stigma. Treatments targeting the learning process of children with SpLD may be designed to overcome self-stigma and to improve QoL. In addition, the program may involve parents of the children with SpLD or other people (e.g., the peer of the children with SpLD) for improving their understanding and perceptions of SpLD.
Breath mass spectrometry is a useful tool for identifying important compounds associated with health. However, there have been few studies that have explored human exhaled breath by full-scan mass ...spectrometry as a non-invasive method for medical diagnosis, which may be attributed to the difficulties resulting from multicollinearity and small sample sizes relative to a large number of product ions. In this study, breath samples from 54 chronic kidney disease patients were analyzed by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry in the full-scan mode. With the signal intensities of product ions, we developed a novel and robust algorithm, iterative PCA with intensity screening (IPS), to build linear models for estimating important clinical parameters of chronic kidney disease. It has been shown that IPS provided good estimations in cross-validated samples, and furthermore the identified product ions could have direct medical relevance to the disease. The study demonstrated the potential of quantitative breath analysis using mass spectrometry for medical diagnosis, and the importance of applying appropriate statistical tools to unveil the rich information in this type of data.
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