Drone and ground-truth data collection, image annotation and machine learning: A protocol for coastal habitat mapping and classification.

Aerial drone imaging is an efficient tool for mapping and monitoring of coastal habitats at high spatial and temporal resolution. Specifically, drone imaging allows for time- and cost-efficient mapping covering larger areas than traditional mapping and monitoring techniques, while also providing more detailed information than those from airplanes and satellites, enabling for example to differentiate various types of coastal vegetation. Here, we present a systematic method for shallow water habitat classification based on drone imagery.

Polymer Surface Dissection for Correlated Microscopic and Compositional Analysis of Bacterial Aggregates during Membrane Biofouling.

Multispecies biofilms are a common limitation in membrane bioreactors, causing membrane clogging, degradation, and failure. There is a poor understanding of biological fouling mechanisms in these systems due to the limited number of experimental techniques useful for probing microbial interactions at the membrane interface. Here, we develop a new experimental method, termed polymer surface dissection (PSD), to investigate multispecies assembly processes over membrane surfaces.

Explaining decisions of deep neural networks used for fish age prediction.

Age-reading of fish otoliths (ear stones) is important for the sustainable management of fish resources. However, the procedure is challenging and requires experienced readers to carefully examine annual growth zones. In a recent study, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been demonstrated to perform reasonably well on automatically predicting fish age from otolith images.

Multidimensional tracking of phenotypes and organ involvement in a complete nationwide systemic sclerosis cohort.

Objective: SSc is a severe, heterogeneous multi-organ disease where population-based estimates on phenotypic spectrum, overall disease burden and societal impact are largely missing. Here the objective was to provide the first-ever complete national-level data on phenotype and major organ afflictions in SSc.

Methods: A stepwise strategy was applied to find and characterize every SSc patient resident in Norway from 2000 to 2012.

Tracking Impact of Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis in a Complete Nationwide Cohort.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a major challenge in systemic sclerosis (SSc), but there are no precise, population-based data on its overall impact, limiting opportunities for screening and management strategies. Evaluate impact of ILD in a unique, nationwide, population-based SSc cohort. ILD was assessed prospectively in the Norwegian SSc (Nor-SSc) cohort, including all 815 patients with SSc resident in the country from 2000 to 2012.

Deep divergence-based approach to clustering.

A promising direction in deep learning research consists in learning representations and simultaneously discovering cluster structure in unlabeled data by optimizing a discriminative loss function. As opposed to supervised deep learning, this line of research is in its infancy, and how to design and optimize suitable loss functions to train deep neural networks for clustering is still an open question. Our contribution to this emerging field is a new deep clustering network that leverages the discriminative power of information-theoretic divergence measures, which have been shown to be effective in traditional clustering.

Feasibility of cardiovascular disease risk assessments in rheumatology outpatient clinics: experiences from the nationwide NOCAR project.

Objective: The European League Against Rheumatism recommends implementing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessments for patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJDs) into clinical practice. Our goal was to design a structured programme for CVD risk assessments to be implemented into routine rheumatology outpatient clinic visits.

Methods: The NOrwegian Collaboration on Atherosclerosis in patients with Rheumatic joint diseases (NOCAR) started in April 2014 as a quality assurance project including 11 Norwegian rheumatology clinics.

Guideline recommended treatment to targets of cardiovascular risk is inadequate in patients with inflammatory joint diseases.

Objectives: Patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our goal was to examine indications for, and use of, lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) and antihypertensive treatment (AntiHT) in patients with IJD. Furthermore, to investigate the frequency of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and blood pressure (BP) goal attainment among IJD patients.

Discrepancies in risk age and relative risk estimations of cardiovascular disease in patients with inflammatory joint diseases.

Objective: The European guidelines on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention advise use of relative risk and risk age algorithms for estimating CVD risk in patients with low estimated absolute risk. Patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJD) are associated with increased risk of CVD. We aimed to estimate relative risk and risk age across IJD entities and evaluate the agreement between 'cardiovascular risk age' and 'vascular age models'.

Cardiovascular disease risk profiles in inflammatory joint disease entities.

Background: Patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJD) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our aim was to compare CVD risk profiles in patients with IJD, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and evaluate the future risk of CVD.

Methods: The prevalence and numbers of major CVD risk factors (CVD-RFs) (hypertension, elevated cholesterol, obesity, smoking, and diabetes mellitus) were estimated in patients with RA, axSpA and PsA.

C-reactive protein levels according to physical activity and body weight for participants in the coronary health improvement project.

Objectives: To identify whether the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP), an intervention designed to increase physical activity and improve diet, lowers serum C-reactive protein (CRP). The study will also assess whether changes in CRP over the study period are associated with baseline levels of and changes in selected coronary risk factors.

Methods: A randomized controlled study design assigned 348 individuals to the intervention or control group with measurements taken at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months of body weight, physical activity, and serum CRP levels.

Can newly acquired healthy behaviors persist? An analysis of health behavior decay.

Introduction: We evaluated data from the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP) to determine whether improved health behaviors associated with this intervention persisted or decayed during 18 months of follow-up.

Methods: Participants were 348 volunteers aged 24 to 81 years from the Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area enrolled in CHIP, a 4-week educational course delivered as lectures. The intervention taught the importance of making better lifestyle choices and improving dietary and physical activity behaviors.

The effects of an intensive lifestyle modification program on carotid artery intima-media thickness: a randomized trial.

Purpose: This study evaluated the effect of the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease on cardiovascular disease as measured by the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery and compared this effect to outcomes from patients participating in traditional cardiac rehabilitation.

Design: Randomized clinical trial.

The effects of an intensive lifestyle modification program on sleep and stress disorders.

Background: To determine if a lifestyle change program can modify behavior to reduce sleep and stress disorders.

Methods: Analyses are based on 2,624 individuals aged 30 to 80 years from the Rockford, Illinois metropolitan area who completed a lifestyle evaluation at baseline and again after four weeks, following participation in a 40-hour educational course given over a four-week period. Participants receive instruction on the importance of making better lifestyle choices related to making long-term improvements in nutrition and physical activity and they learn ways to improve sleep and reduce stress in their lives.

A video-based lifestyle intervention and changes in coronary risk.

If population-wide improvements in nutrition and physical activity behavior are to be made, behavior change interventions must use a variety of media. This study examines whether participation in a facilitator-based video version of the Coronary Health Improvement Project could significantly reduce coronary risk. A total of 28 video classes conducted in worksite, medical and community settings were used to teach 763 middle-aged adults, ages 30-79 years, about healthy lifestyles.

Effect of intense lifestyle modification and cardiac rehabilitation on psychosocial cardiovascular disease risk factors and quality of life.

This study examined the effect of the Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease and cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on psychosocial risk factors and quality of life in patients with confirmed coronary artery disease. Participants had previously undergone a revascularization procedure. The 84 patients self-selected to participate in the Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease (n = 507 28), CR (n = 28), or a control group (n = 28).

The behavioral and clinical effects of therapeutic lifestyle change on middle-aged adults.

Introduction: Chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes are responsible for most deaths in the United States. Lifestyle factors--poor nutrition, sedentary living, and tobacco use--appear to play a prominent role in the development of many chronic diseases. This study determined the behavioral and clinical impact of a therapeutic lifestyle-modification intervention on a group of community volunteers.

The effects of a worksite chronic disease prevention program.

Objective: This study determined the behavioral and clinical impact of a worksite chronic disease prevention program.

Methods: Working adults participated in randomized clinical trial of an intensive lifestyle intervention. Nutrition and physical activity behavior and several chronic disease risk factors were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months.

Effects of an intensive diet and physical activity modification program on the health risks of adults.

Background: This study assessed the clinical impact of lifestyle change education on chronic disease risk factors within a community.

Design: Randomized clinical trial.

Setting/participants: Participants included 337 volunteers age 43 to 81 years from the Rockford, IL, metropolitan area.

The influence of an intense cardiovascular disease risk factor modification program.

In an effort to make intensive lifestyle modification programs more accessible to patients with cardiovascular disease, the Ornish Program was offered at eight independent medical centers located across the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if one of these independent sites was able to replicate outcomes produced by the original Ornish Program. Fifty program participants from six different cohorts provided baseline, 3- and 12-month data consisting of blood lipids, body fat, blood pressure, anginal pain, quality of life, stress, depression, social support, and hostility.

Cardiovascular risk reductions associated with aggressive lifestyle modification and cardiac rehabilitation.

Background: Patients who have been treated for coronary heart disease can enroll in traditional cardiac rehabilitation, the Ornish Program, or no rehabilitation at all. No study has compared the impact of each on cardiovascular disease risk (CVD) factors.

Methods: The current study compared CVD risk changes in post coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous coronary intervention procedure patients who participated in the Ornish Heart Disease Reversing Program, a traditional cardiac rehabilitation, and a control group that received no formal cardiac risk-reduction program.