Medical Image Segmentation Using Multifractal Analysis

Image segmentation plays a key role in image analysis processes. The operations performed on a segmented image tend to affect it differently than if they were performed on the original image; therefore, segmenting an image can show radically different results from the original image and successfully doing so can yield features and other important information about the image. Proper image analysis is of high importance to the medical community as accurately classifying different conditions and diseases can be facilitated with excellent patient imaging. Multifractal analysis can be leveraged for performing texture classification and image segmentation. In this paper, we propose fusion-based algorithms utilizing multifractal analysis for medical image segmentation. We use two specific multifractal masks: square and quincunx. Our techniques show new insights by using methods such as histogram decomposition in conjunction with new techniques, such as fusion. By fusing different slope images, we can extract more features thus making our proposed algorithms more robust and accurate than traditional multifractal analysis techniques. These methods are further capable of reliably segmenting medical images by implementing multifractal analysis techniques in coordination with methods such as gaussian blurring and morphological operations. The resulting image can then be easily analyzed by medical professionals for diagnosing medical conditions. The outcomes show that the proposed algorithms extract dominant features that are more encompassing and powerful than classical techniques

Distribution of influenza A and B antibodies and correlation with ABO/Rh blood grouping

Background: Influenza is a clinically-significant infection with significant number of globally reported annual deaths. The aim of this study was to study the distribution of influenza A and B antibodies in Najran, the Southwest region of Saudi Arabia, and to investigate the correlation between demographic characteristics and influenza virus antibody levels.Methods: Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect antibody level of influenza A and B. The correlation with ABO/Rh blood groupings was also examined. The total number of participants was 252. Only twenty-four subjects received the flu vaccine.Results: It was found that 33.7% and 24.1% of unvaccinated subjects were IgG-positive for influenza A and B, respectively. Interestingly, the antibody levels of the unvaccinated participants were higher than the vaccinated group. A significant difference was found between unvaccinated participants with O+ and influenza A and B antibody levels (**p=0.0045). The antibody level was inversely correlated with age in influenza B IgG subjects but not influenza A IgG (r=-0.1379; R squared=0.01900; p=0.0375). Forty-three subjects (17%) were positive for antibodies of both influenza A and B.Conclusions: IgG antibody positivity is greater in cases of influenza type A compared to influenza B. A significant correlation was found in the unvaccinated group between influenza B IgG antibody levels and age, but not influenza A (*p=0.0375). More research is needed to investigate the role of O+ blood group in influenza infections

A meta-analysis of meta-analyses of the effectiveness of FIFA injury prevention programmes in soccer

FIFA has a Medical and Research Centre (F-MARC) which has designed a comprehensive programme targeting muscle strength, kinaesthetic awareness, and neuromuscular control during static and dynamic movements to decrease injury risk for soccer players. A number of meta-analyses now exist on how effective FIFA's programmes to prevent and reduce injury actually are, with various degrees of injury reduction reported. This research aimed to carry out a systematic review and to meta analyse the existing meta-analyses so that a conclusion can be drawn on how effective the injury programmes are. Relevant studies were identified by searching five databases for the period January 1990 till 1 July 2018. Results of each meta-analysis were combined together using risk ratios (RR) in a summary meta-analysis. QUOROM checklist and AMSTAR 2 assessment were used to assess the quality of reporting and methodology in the meta-analyses. Four meta-analyses met the inclusion criteria covering fifteen primary studies. All four meta-analyses scored quite highly on QUOROM, but two were rated by AMSTAR 2 as moderate quality and two were found to be of critically low quality. An overall risk reduction of 34% [RR= 0.66 (0.60 - 0.73)] for all injuries and a reduction of 29% [RR= 0.71 (0.63 - 0.81)] for injuries to the lower limbs were revealed by this meta-analysis of meta-analyses. Combining every previous meta-analysis into a single source in this paper produced decisive evidence that the risk of injuries while playing soccer is reduced as a result of FIFA's injury prevention programmes

A Comparison Between Students’ Performance In Multiple Choice and Modified Essay Questions in the MBBS Pediatrics Examination at the College of Medicine, King Khalid University, KSA

Objectives: To investigate the relation between the students' scores in MCQs and MEQs of the summative assessment in pediatrics at the College of medicine KKU. Introduction: Student assessment is the most difficult task in medicine since it is ultimately related to human life and safety. Assessment can take different types of formats with advantages and disadvantages and there is no single prescribed method of choice. Research Methods: This is a quantitative, observational retrospective study enrolling 50 students who completed the final MBBS examination in pediatrics in 2015.The medical students’ scores in MCQs and MEQs in the final MBBS pediatrics examination were collected and SPSS used for analysis. Results: 52% of the students scored A and B, 46% scored C and 2% scored D and nobody scored F. The mean percentage scores in MCQs, MEQs and the combined are75.03%, 79.99% and 76.68% respectively. The standard deviation (SD) for MCQs, MEQs and combined are 0.0753, 0.0763 and 0.0559 respectively.There are no significant differences in means and SD. The correlation (CR) between MCQs and MEQs is -1.73%. The CR between MCQs and MEQs for those who scored A and B is 7.38% which could indicate a weak but significant +ve CR (p value 0.017), (table3). For those who scored C inverse CR (-74.38%) was observed between MCQs and MEQs. Discussion: The main finding of this study was the weakly negative CR between students' performance on MCQs and MEQs. Good performance in MCQs is not necessary correlated with good performance in LEQs. This is not in agreement with Oyebola et al. and Moqattash et al findings, who reported positive CR in the performance of their students. The discrepancy observed in performance between MCQs and MEQs could be explained by the subjectivity and the difficulty in avoiding bias in setting and marking essay questions.   Key Words: multiple choice questions, Modified long essay questions, correlation

Experimental Study of Breast Cancer Detection Using UWB Imaging

Breast cancer detection using UWB imaging is presented in this paper. The study is performed experimentally. Homogeneous breast phantom is constructed using pure petroleum jelly. The tumor is modeled using mixture of water and wheat flour. The breast fatty tissue and tumor tissue are put in breast shaped glass which mimics the skin. The dielectric properties values are comparable to previous study. Neural Network (NN) was trained and tested using feature vector which is prepared by performing discrete cosine transform (DCT) of the received UWB signals. Very encouraging results were obtained. Up to 100 % tumor existence detection was achieved. Tumor size and location detection rate were 91.3% and 95.6% respectively

Acute effects of cigarette smoking on the cardiac diastolic functions

AbstractBackgroundSmoking is an independent risk factor for coronary heart diseases and it increases all causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Aim of the workTo assess the acute effect of cigarette smoking on ventricular diastolic functions (LV and RV) in healthy, young, and slim smokers.MethodsThirty volunteers who had recently commenced smoking (less than one year) and who smoked 1–2 cigarettes per day, underwent ECG, 2D and M-mode echocardiography, standard Doppler echocardiography, pulsed TDI (tissue Doppler imaging) on septal and lateral side of mitral annulus and lateral tricuspid annulus. Vp values were measured. The investigator asked them to hold smoking for at least two days after which echocardiographic examination was conducted before smoking one cigarette and the second examination conducted immediately after smoking one cigarette containing at least 0.4mg of nicotine.ResultsDoppler findings over the mitral valve showed the E wave was significantly reduced from 82.7±10.4 to 74.6±10.4 after smoking; the A wave increased; the E/A ratio was reduced from 1.5±0.3 to 1.2±0.2; the E′ septal significantly decreased (15.3±2.4 vs. 11.2±1.1) after smoking, and the E/E′ ratio increased from 5.5±1.1 to 6.7±1.1. Doppler findings over the tricuspid valve showed the E wave was reduced from 60.6±9.7 to 52.7±9.6; the A wave increased from 42.2±6.5 to 50.1±6.6; and the E/A ratio decreased (1.45±0.25 vs. 1.06±0.19). The E′ significantly decreased from 14.1±1.8 to 10.9±2.4, while the A′ increased (10.2±2.4 vs. 12.7±3.6) after smoking; and the IVRT of the RV was significantly prolonged from 62.9±7.5 to 68.7±7.9 after smoking. The Vp was markedly reduced from 67.8±8 to 55.2±3.5 after smoking. These findings reflected on the LV filling pressure (LVFvp) which increased from 9.8±1.4 to 10.5±1.3 after smoking. All changes were statistically significant at P<0.001.ConclusionsOur study reveals that cigarette smoking can result in significant acute alteration in the diastolic functions of both ventricles

The Prevalence of Obesity among School Students and its Relation to Dietary and Physical Habits

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that unhealthy food practices and lack of exercise are the main cause of the progressive increase in the obesity prevalence. AIM: We aim to assess the prevalence of obesity among school students and its relationship to dietary and physical habits. METHODS: A cross-sectional study from 18 intermediate and high schools located in Taif, Saudi Arabia, between April 2014 and June 2015. We excluded any student with a psychological disease or chronic diseases. We calculated the body mass index (BMI) of students by measuring their height and weight. Dietary, physical, sleep habits, and socioeconomic status were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 2943 students participated with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.7 years. The majority of these were boys and attending government schools with a mean BMI 22.7 ± 8.6 kg/m2. Overall, 13.6% were overweight and 12.8% were obese. One-third of students report a sedentary lifestyle. Compared to girls, boys were more likely to have lower BMI (p &lt; 0.001), be overweight (p &lt; 0.001), exercise for &gt;300 min/week (p &lt; 0.001), own electronic devices other than smartphone (p &lt; 0.001), use the electronic devices &lt;3 h/day (p = 0.007), eat their meals with their family (p &lt; 0.001), eat fruits and vegetables daily (p &lt; 0.05), exercise for &gt;300 min/week (p &lt; 0.001), and walk to and from school at least once weekly (p &lt; 0.001). CONCLUSION: A quarter of the students were either overweight or obese. Girls were more likely to be obese with less favorable socioeconomic, media consumption, dietary, and physical profiles

Dermatological Lesions of Cholesterol Embolization Syndrome and Kaposi Sarcoma Mimic Primary Systemic Vasculitis: Case Report Study

Primary systemic vasculitis can present with a wide spectrum of manifestations ranging from systemic non-specific features such as fever, malaise, arthralgia, and myalgia to specific organ damage. We describe two cases of cholesterol embolization syndrome and Kaposi sarcoma mimicking primary systemic vasculitis, both of which were characterized by features such as livedo reticularis, blue toe syndrome, a brown, purpuric skin rash, and positive p-ANCA associated with Kaposi sarcoma. Establishing the right diagnosis was&nbsp;challenging, and thus we&nbsp;aim in this study to highlight the possible ways to distinguish them from&nbsp;primary systemic vasculitis. Keywords: Dermatological lesions, Cholesterol embolization syndrome, Kaposi sarcoma, vasculitis mimic

Biomimetic Whitening Effect of Polyphosphate-Bleaching Agents on Dental Enamel.

This in vitro study investigated the extrinsic tooth-whitening effect of bleaching products containing polyphosphates on the dental enamel surface compared to 10% carbamide peroxide (CP). Eighty human molars were randomly allocated into four whitening-products groups. Group A (control) was treated with 10% CP (Opalescence). The other groups with non-CP over-the-counter (OTC) products were group B = polyphosphates (iWhiteWhitening-Kit); group C = polyphosphates+fluoride (iWhite-toothpaste); and group D = sodium bicarbonate (24K-Whitening-Pen). L*, a*, b* color-parameters were spectrophotometer-recorded at baseline (T0), one day (T1), and one month (T2) post-treatment. Changes in teeth color (ΔEab) were calculated. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and the Bonferroni test (α = 0.05). Groups A, B, and D showed significant differences in ΔL*&Δa* parameters at T1, but not in Δb* at T0. Group C showed no difference for ΔL*, Δa*, Δb* at T0 and T1. Group A showed differences for ΔL*, Δa*, Δb*, at T2, while groups B, C, and D had no difference in any parameters at T0. At T1, ΔEab values = A &gt; D&gt; B &gt; C (ΔEab = 13.4 &gt; 2.4 &gt; 2.1 &gt; 1.2). At T2, ΔEab values increased = A &gt; B &gt; C &gt; D (ΔEab = 12.2 &gt; 10.6 &gt; 9.2 &gt; 2.4). In conclusion, the 10% CP and Biomimetic polyphosphate extrinsic whitening kit demonstrated the highest color change, while simulated brushing with dark stain toothpaste and a whitening pen demonstrated the lowest color change at both measurement intervals