Deep learning for sex determination: Analyzing over 200,000 panoramic radiographs

The objective of this study is to assess the performance of an innovative AI-powered tool for sex determination using panoramic radiographs (PR) and to explore factors affecting the performance of the convolutional neural network (CNN). The study involved 207,946 panoramic dental X-rays and their corresponding reports from 15 clinical centers in São Paulo, Brazil. The PRs were acquired with four different devices, and 58% of the patients were female. Data preprocessing included anonymizing the exams, extracting pertinent information from the reports, such as sex, age, type of dentition, and number of missing teeth, and organizing the data into a PostgreSQL database. Two neural network architectures, a standard CNN and a ResNet, were utilized for sex classification, with both undergoing hyperparameter tuning and cross-validation to ensure optimal performance. The CNN model achieved 95.02% accuracy in sex estimation, with image resolution being a significant influencing factor. The ResNet model attained over 86% accuracy in subjects older than 6 years and over 96% in those over 16 years. The algorithm performed better on female images, and the area under the curve (AUC) exceeded 96% for most age groups, except the youngest. Accuracy values were also assessed for different dentition types (deciduous, mixed, and permanent) and missing teeth. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of an AI-driven tool for sex determination using PR and emphasizes the role of image resolution, age, and sex in determining the algorithm's performance.     

Governance typology of universities’ technology transfer processes

Despite the growing interest in university-to-industry technology transfer, there are very few studies on the governance of universities’ technology transfer offices (TTOs). The few existing ones tend to focus on US universities and generally tackle one dimension of the governance. The present paper aims at contributing to this literature in two ways. First, it takes into account the diversity of organizational models with a theoretical perspective: the paper presents a discussion on which combinations of four structural dimensions should yield viable configurations. Four main types of TTOs are identified: (1) classical TTO; (2) autonomous TTO; (3) discipline-integrated Technology Transfer Alliance; and (4) discipline-specialized Technology Transfer Alliance. Second, the paper relies on 16 case studies of universities located in six European countries in order to address the pros and cons of the four types of TTOs. The results provide both a conceptual understanding and an empirical overview of how universities organize their technology transfer and intellectual property management.     

Anthropological Facial Approximation in Three Dimensions (AFA3D): Computer‐Assisted Estimation of the Facial Morphology Using Geometric Morphometrics

This study presents Anthropological Facial Approximation in Three Dimensions (AFA3D), a new computerized method for estimating face shape based on computed tomography (CT) scans of 500 French individuals. Facial soft tissue depths are estimated based on age, sex, corpulence, and craniometrics, and projected using reference planes to obtain the global facial appearance. Position and shape of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are inferred from cranial landmarks through geometric morphometrics. The 100 estimated cutaneous landmarks are then used to warp a generic face to the target facial approximation. A validation by re‐sampling on a subsample demonstrated an average accuracy of c. 4 mm for the overall face. The resulting approximation is an objective probable facial shape, but is also synthetic (i.e., without texture), and therefore needs to be enhanced artistically prior to its use in forensic cases. AFA3D, integrated in the TIVMI software, is available freely for further testing.     

Symptom Validity Testing for the detection of simulated amnesia: Not robust to coaching

Abstract

Symptom Validity Testing (SVT) has been proposed as a method to assess the veracity of claims of amnesia. Performance below chance levels on a forced choice task is indicative of malingering. Previous research has shown that the Symptom Validity Test is a promising challenge test: at levels of high specificity, it may detect approximately half of those who malinger. The present study investigated the effect of coaching on the sensitivity of the Symptom Validity Test. Participants were instructed to feign complete amnesia and tested about their identity using the Symptom Validity Test. Half of the participants were coached not to perform below chance levels. Results were straightforward: 58% of 19 naive malingerers were detected, but none of 19 coached malingerers were detected. The results show that the Symptom Validity Test is not resistant to coaching.     

The malleability of attitudes toward the police: immediate effects of the viewing of police use of force videos

Purpose: To examine whether videos of controversial police interventions shape individual opinion and, consequently, if attitudes towards use of force are malleable in the short-term. Methodology: A self-administered survey was conducted among 248 undergraduate students as part of a larger project on attitudes towards police use of force. Two groups of respondents were asked general questions about the police: one group was shown fictional videos of controversial police interventions just prior to completing the questionnaire; the other was not. Findings: Results strongly suggest that videos of police interventions have significant effects on reported opinions about use of force: the group that watched the videos was more likely to report that the police frequently use force. Implications: The wide distribution of images by police organizations might have unexpected adverse effects on public attitudes.     

Nucleotide variability of HV-I in Afro-descendents populations of the Brazilian Amazon Region

The analysis of genetic variation in the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA, provides unique information about the population diversity and human identification. In this study, the mitochondrial DNA sequences of the first hypervariable region (HV-I) were analyzed in 243 unrelated individuals of seven Afro-descendents populations of the Amazon Region. Sequence polymorphisms were detected using PCR and direct sequencing analysis. A total of 133 different haplotypes were found determined by 97 variable nucleotides. Each one of the three more frequent haplotypes was shared by 9 samples and 91 sequences were unique. The genetic diversity was estimated to 0.9898+/-0.0016 and the probability of two random individuals showed identical mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes were 1.2%.     

Outcome,Process and Power in Direct Democracy – New Econometric Results

Based on survey data for Switzerland, new empiricalfindings on direct democracy are presented. In thefirst part, the authors show that, on average, public employeesreceive lower financial compensation under more directdemocratic institutions. However, top bureaucrats aremore constrained in direct democracies and have to becompensated by higher wages for that loss of power.In the second part, they demonstrate that reportedsubjective well-being of the population is much higherin jurisdictions with stronger direct democraticrights. This is not only the case because people valuepolitical outcomes higher but also because they derive utilityfrom the political process itself.