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The global burden of diabetes is rapidly increasing, from 451 million people in 2019 to 693 million by 20451. The insidious onset of type 2 diabetes delays diagnosis and increases morbidity2. Given the multifactorial vascular effects of diabetes, we hypothesized that smartphone-based photoplethysmography could provide a widely accessible digital biomarker for diabetes. Here we developed a deep neural network (DNN) to detect prevalent diabetes using smartphone-based photoplethysmography from an initial cohort of 53,870 individuals (the ‘primary cohort’), which we then validated in a separate cohort of 7,806 individuals (the ‘contemporary cohort’) and a cohort of 181 prospectively enrolled individuals from three clinics (the ‘clinic cohort’). The DNN achieved an area under the curve for prevalent diabetes of 0.766 in the primary cohort (95% confidence interval: 0.750–0.782; sensitivity 75%, specificity 65%) and 0.740 in the contemporary cohort (95% confidence interval: 0.723–0.758; sensitivity 81%, specificity 54%). When the output of the DNN, called the DNN score, was included in a regression analysis alongside age, gender, race/ethnicity and body mass index, the area under the curve was 0.830 and the DNN score remained independently predictive of diabetes. The performance of the DNN in the clinic cohort was similar to that in other validation datasets. There was a significant and positive association between the continuous DNN score and hemoglobin A1c (P ≤ 0.001) among those with hemoglobin A1c data. These findings demonstrate that smartphone-based photoplethysmography provides a readily attainable, non-invasive digital biomarker of prevalent diabetes. A deep neural network applied to smartphone-based vascular imaging can detect diabetes, opening new possibilities for non-invasive diagnosis.

Tehnični pregledi naprav za nanos fitofarmacevtskih sredstev so se v Sloveniji začeli že v osemdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja. Na začetku so bili prostovoljni, obvezni pa so postali leta 1995. Podobno je bilo tudi v nekaterih drugih evropskih državah, kot so na primer Nemčija, Poljska, Belgija in Španija. Tehnični pregledi naprav za nanos fitofarmacevtskih sredstev so zelo pomembni v luči zagotavljanja varne pridelave hrane. Škropilnice in pršilniki so najbolj pogosto uporabljene naprave, ki so lahko traktorsko nošene, vlečene ali samohodne. V letu 2012 je bila evropska direktiva 2009/128/CE vključena v našo zakonodajo. Leta 2019 je bil sprejet nov pravilnik, ki ureja omenjene preglede. Tehnični preglede na območju jugovzhodne Slovenije opravlja Grm Novo mesto – Center biotehnike in turizma. Kvaliteta pregledanih naprav v tej regiji se je skozi leta izboljšala, kot je vidno v raziskavi med leti 2004 in 2013. V osrednji Sloveniji je bila v letu 2019 opravljena raziskava, ki prikazuje kateri deli naprav za nanos FFS so bili najbolj okvarjeni pri njih. Tehnični pregledi so organizirani kmetom prijazno, kar pomeni, da se izvajajo v bližini njihovih gospodarstev in tako ne potrebujejo premagovati velikih razdalj s traktorji.

Author(s): Tison, Geoffrey H; Avram, Robert; Kuhar, Peter; Abreau, Sean; Marcus, Greg M; Pletcher, Mark J; Olgin, Jeffrey E

Technical testing of the equipment for the application of plant protection products (PPP) was performed in Southeastern Slovenia in the period from 2004 to 2013. The technical conditions of boom or orchard sprayers was examined in details and the following parts were checked: drive, anti-drip valves, nozzles, filters, pipes and tubes, manometers, all valves, pressure regulators, agitator, pump, liquid discharge, spray solution reservoir and spray boom or fan system. The analysis revealed a poor condition of most devices in the initial years. However, technical suitability improved drastically until 2013. Technical condition was not directly related to the region of inspection although the lowest number of defective sprayers was recorded in the Posavje region. This can be linked to higher frequency of use and maintenance of the sprayers in this region as it stands out as the area with larger farms. Occasional technical disorders of the equipment can be recorded each year. It is therefore essential to continue with regular technical inspection to ensure optimal and accurate functioning of the sprayers.

The global burden of diabetes is rapidly increasing, from 451 million people in 2019 to 693 million by 2045

Up to a third of patients with diabetes are undiagnosed, and therefore go untreated. Widely available consumer technologies could detect diabetes at an early stage. Since diabetes is associated with vascular changes, we examined whether diabetes could be detected using only the photoplethysmography

Trichogramma ostriniae has shown success as a biological control agent for European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) in sweet corn and the species offers potential for suppression of lepidopteran pests of field corn. Field corn is typically planted at higher densities, is taller, and has greater leaf area than sweet corn, presenting a possible restriction on T. ostriniae dispersal and efficacy. Therefore, parasitoid dispersal in field corn from the centre of a 6.25 ha square grid was determined using sticky cards to capture adult T. ostriniae and sentinel eggs of O. nubilalis to monitor parasitism after releases of ~1 million of T. ostriniae each into four fields of corn. Dispersal was rapid and extensive, achieving distances of ~175 m within 4–7 days after release. The pattern of movement fit well with a diffusion model of dispersal, with the greatest level of dispersal occurring from 7 to 10 days post-release. Parasitism of O. nubilalis sentinel egg masses declined linearly with distance from th...

Background— The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) independently predicts congestive heart failure severity, death, and heart failure hospitalizations, but must be administered in clinic by qualified staff on a premeasured course. As part of the Health eHeart Study, we sought to develop and validate a self-administered 6MWT mobile application (SA-6MWTapp) for independent use at home by patients. Methods and Results— We performed a validation study of an SA-6MWTapp in 103 participants. In phase 1 (n=52), we developed a distance-estimation algorithm for the SA-6MWTapp by comparing step counts from an Actigraph and measured distance on a premeasured 6MWT course with step counts and estimated distance obtained simultaneously from our SA-6MWTapp (best estimation algorithm, r=0.89 [95% confidence interval 0.78–0.99]). In phase 2, 32 participants (including those with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension) used the SA-6MWTapp independently in clinic, and the distance estimated by the SA-6MWTapp was compared with the measured distance (r=0.83 [95% confidence interval 0.79–0.92]). In phase 3, 19 patients with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension consecutively enrolled from clinic performed 3.2±1 SA-6MWTapp tests per week at home over 2 weeks. Distances estimated from the SA-6MWTapp during home 6MWTs were highly repeatable (coefficient of variation =4.6%) and correlated with in-clinic–measured distance (r=0.88 [95% confidence interval 0.87–0.89]). Usability surveys performed during the second (in-clinic) and third (at-home) phases demonstrated that the SA-6MWTapp was simple and easy to use independently. Conclusions— An SA-6MWTapp is easy to use and yields accurate repeatable measurements in the clinic and at home.