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National Mapping agencies (NMA) are frequently tasked with providing highly accurate geospatial data for a range of customers. Traditionally, this challenge has been met by combining the collection of remote sensing data with extensive field work, and the manual interpretation and processing of the combined data. Consequently, this task is a significant logistical undertaking which benefits the production of high quality output, but which is extremely expensive to deliver. Therefore, novel approaches that can automate feature extraction and classification from remotely sensed data, are of great potential interest to NMAs across the entire sector. Using research undertaken at Great Britain's NMA; Ordnance Survey (OS) as an example, this paper provides an overview of the recent advances at an NMA in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) based applications. Examples of these approaches are in automating the process of feature extraction and classification from remotely sensed aerial imagery. In addition, recent OS research in applying deep (convolutional) neural network architectures to image classification are also described. This overview is intended to be useful to other NMAs who may be considering the adoption of similar approaches within their workflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mars Food UK commissioned the British Nutrition Foundation ( BNF) to develop the N utrition C ompass, and have applied this to building healthy recipes and meals. The research conducted by BNF, comparing popular meals in the UK against a set of nutritional criteria based on UK nutrient and food-based recommendations, culminated in this tool, which can be applied to evaluate the 'healthiness' of a recipe based on the criteria developed. Key outcomes showed that meals made from partly pre-prepared ingredients compare well with meals cooked from scratch provided they are used in a meal occasion that includes a healthy balance of food groups such as starchy carbohydrates, vegetables and protein-rich foods. The development of the N utrition C ompass has allowed recipes and recipe suggestions to be optimised using partly pre-prepared ingredients. Small changes in a recipe can result in a significantly healthier meal ( e.g. adding vegetables or baking rather than frying, which is comparable for taste, convenience and affordability). Mars Food UK is exploring how this tool can be used more widely across the business and how it can be used to enable consumers to eat healthier meals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

30-Day readmission rates after hospitalisation have risen and the UK Department of Health plans to introduce financial penalties for early readmissions. The surgical argument is reasonably clear but for chronic conditions such as COPD the presumption that early readmission is either avoidable or due to poor hospital care is far from clear. We used Hospital Episode Statistics data to examine the characteristics of patients readmitted within 30 days of an index COPD hospitalisation during 2006-2007. Mortality data were obtained from ONS death registration. There were 124 834 COPD admissions in 2006-2007 with 78 693 different patients discharged from hospital and we followed the first admission of each. 28 533 (36%) patients were readmitted within 1-year and 8439 (11%) within 30 days. Patients readmitted within 30 days were more likely to be male (53% vs 50%; p<0.001), older (72.7 vs 71.6 yrs; p<0.001), live in a more deprived area (55% vs 51% highest quintile; p<0.001) and much more likely to die (30-day mortality 11% vs 3%; p<0.001; and 1-year mortality 40% vs 20%; p<0.001). For the index admission, patients readmitted within 30 days were more likely to have been admitted via A&E rather than via their GP (74% vs 70%; p<0.001), more likely to have had a LRTI (88% vs 83%; p<0.001), had a longer median length of stay (6 vs 5 days; p<0.001) and were more likely to have been discharged from the care of a chest physician (44% vs 40%; p<0.001). Hospitals with the lowest inpatient mortality during the first admission had the highest 30-day readmission rate (r=0.22; p<0.01). Early readmission would appear to be driven by demographics, severity of the index admission and disease severity which cannot be influenced by care delivery or organisation of care. It's possible that better care--keeping more patients alive during their index admission--may lead to those hospitals being penalised for a higher 30-day readmission rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous research with adults born with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) has identified a range of concerns regarding mental health and quality of life, concluding that overall emotional functioning is poorer compared to the general population. The aim of the current study was to build on this previous work by investigating the self-reported emotional well-being of adults born with CL/P in the United Kingdom., Design: An online, mixed methods survey was designed by the Cleft Lip and Palate Association in collaboration with the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England. A total of 207 eligible responses were received between July and October 2018. Qualitative data were analyzed using inductive content analysis, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t tests., Results: Almost half of the sample reported a diagnosis of a mental health condition. Scores on standardized measures indicated significantly lower global self-worth, higher levels of fear of negative appearance evaluation, and lower self-perceived job competence compared to normative data. Scores of overall body esteem were in line with the general population. Most participants had not received psychological support from their regional CL/P team and 41% were unaware of their entitlement to treatment from the National Health Service., Conclusions: Individuals with CL/P may be at risk of emotional distress persisting into adulthood. The integration of routine psychological support from an early age is highly recommended, as is information for young adults about to complete routine treatment. Comprehensive psychological screening for adults returning to the service later in life is also strongly advised.

Background: A preventive vaccine for HIV is a crucial public health need; adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated antibody gene delivery could be an alternative to immunisation to induce sustained expression of neutralising antibodies to prevent HIV. We assessed safety and tolerability of rAAV1-PG9DP, a recombinant AAV1 vector encoding the gene for PG9, a broadly neutralising antibody against HIV., Methods: This first-in-human, proof-of-concept, double-blind, phase 1, randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation trial was done at one clinical research centre in the UK. Healthy men aged 18-45 years without HIV infection were randomly assigned to receive intramuscular injection with rAAV1-PG9DP or placebo in the deltoid or quadriceps in one of four dose-escalating cohorts (group A, 4 × 10 12 vector genomes; group B, 4 × 10 13 vector genomes; group C, 8 × 10 13 vector genomes; and group D, 1·2 × 10 14 vector genomes). Volunteers were followed up for 48 weeks. The primary objective was to assess safety and tolerability. A secondary objective was to assess PG9 expression in serum and related HIV neutralisation activity. All volunteers were included in primary and safety analyses. The trial is complete and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01937455., Findings: Between Jan 30, 2014, and Feb 28, 2017, 111 volunteers were screened for eligibility. 21 volunteers were eligible and provided consent, and all 21 completed 48 weeks of follow-up. Reactogenicity was generally mild or moderate and resolved without intervention. No probably or definitely related adverse events or serious adverse events were recorded. We detected PG9 by HIV neutralisation in the serum of four volunteers, and by RT-PCR in muscle biopsy samples from four volunteers. We did not detect PG9 by ELISA in serum. PG9 anti-drug antibody was present in ten volunteers in the higher dose groups. Both anti-AAV1 antibodies and AAV1-specific T-cell responses were detected., Interpretation: Future studies should explore higher doses of AAV, alternative AAV serotypes and gene expression cassettes, or other broadly neutralising HIV antibodies., Funding: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, United States Agency for International Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US National Institutes of Health., (Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)