bookofjoe

FaceAge — 'Decoding biological age from face photographs using deep learning'

From the website:

Because humans age at different rates, a person's physical appearance may yield insights into their biological age and physiological health more reliably than their chronological age.

In medicine, however, appearance is incorporated into medical judgments in a subjective and non-standardized fashion.

We developed FaceAge, a deep learning system to estimate biological age from face photographs.

FaceAge was trained on data from 58,851 healthy individuals, and clinical utility was evaluated on data from 6,196 patients with cancer diagnoses from two trans-Atlantic institutions.

We found that, on average, cancer patients look older than their chronological age, and looking older is correlated with worse overall survival.

FaceAge demonstrated significant independent prognostic performance in a range of cancer types and stages.

We found that FaceAge can improve physicians' survival predictions in incurable patients receiving palliative treatments, highlighting the clinical utility of the algorithm to support end-of-life decision-making.

FaceAge was also found to be significantly associated with molecular mechanisms of senescence through gene analysis, while age was not.

Our results demonstrate that deep learning can provide a means to estimate biological age from easily obtainable and low-cost face photographs, improving prognostication across a spectrum of cancer diagnoses.

These findings may extend to diseases beyond cancer, motivating using deep learning algorithms to translate a patient’s visual appearance into objective, quantitative, and clinically useful measures.

Today's Guardian article features the app.

Experts' Experts: What To Do If You Come Face To Face With An Alligator

Florida readers may want to rouse themselves and pay attention.

Johnny Diaz of the New York Times interviewed experts for an excellent and potentially life-saving article which appeared yesterday in the New York Times.

tl;dr?

I hear you.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been urging people to exercise caution in or near the water during alligator mating season, which runs from early April to June.

The risk of an attack is higher, it said, because alligators tend to be more aggressive, active and visible during this time.

Below, the most salient points from the commission.

• Be Alligator Aware

If you encounter an alligator on land you can simply back away from it.

Alligators will also hiss if they feel someone is too close and they can't get away.

People should be wary of any alligator that approaches as it may be a sign that it has been fed and associates humans with food.

They rarely chase people, but they can outrun or outswim the fastest person for the first 30 feet. Alligators can sprint up to 35 miles per hour for short distances on land.

• Watch Your Children and Dogs Closely

Alligators prefer to pursue prey they can easily overpower.

Pets often resemble alligators' natural prey.

People should keep their pets on a leash and under control, and not allow them to swim or exercise in canals, ponds, or lakes that may have alligators.

The sound of dogs barking and playing may draw an alligator to the area.

• Be Careful Where You Swim

Wildlife agencies suggest that people swim only in designated areas during daylight hours, and without a pet.

Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.

• Don't Feed Them

It is illegal, and dangerous, to feed alligators in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas (except during that state's hunting season).

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said that people should not throw fish scraps into the water or feed other wildlife in areas where alligators congregate.

Donald Houser, the general manager at Gator Park, which is just south of Miami and features shows with alligators, noted that an alligator loses its fear of humans after three days of a person feeding it.

Just don't do it, he said.

• How to Fight Back

You should fight back against an alligator if it gets hold of you, officials said.

"In that case, aim for its eyes, nose, or throat, which are its most sensitive areas," according to Everglades National Park in South Florida, adding that people should "hit, kick, or jab with as much strength as you can muster to try and force the gator to release its grip."

Still, if you are grasped in an alligator's jaws, there is a slim chance that you would be able to escape, Mr. Houser said.

"You better have someone close that knows what they are doing," he said.

"Alligators don't eat people," he said, but they may bite someone and then spit the person out. By then, it may have held the person under water too long, he said, "and it may be too late."

Cat Butt Meowing Pencil Sharpener

From websites:

It kind of freaks us out that it "meows."

This is a bold statement, but I think we can go so far as to say that this is the silliest and doubtless the most tasteless piece of desk paraphernalia that we have ever encountered here.

Two attributes, of course, that make showing it to you an absolute necessity.

Sigh.

There are no words that readily spring to mind to soften the blow.

It's a cat, you stick your pencil in its derrière, it meows, and it sharpens your pencil.

Your feline friend stands in his own litter tray which catches your pencil shavings.

Of course, not many people use pencils much these days, but this is perhaps the best reason there has ever been for going out and buying one right now.

A "meowing" sound chip is activated as you sharpen.

The cat is made of plastic.

No animals were harmed in the making of this product.

Don't try sharpening your pencil in a real cat if you value your life.

Or even if you don't, come to think of it.

A necessity for that boring office cubicle.

Sure to get a few laughs and a few looks of disgust.

The most unusual pencil sharpener you will find on anyone's desk.

$28.49.

On the fence?

Watch — and listen to —

the video.

But isn't crossing paths with a black cat bad luck?

I hear you.

How about 

a

white one?

$50.99.

Wait a sec — what's that song I'm hearing?