Drought Stress Classification using 3D Plant Models

Quantification of physiological changes in plants can capture different drought mechanisms and assist in selection of tolerant varieties in a high throughput manner. In this context, an accurate 3D model of plant canopy provides a reliable representation for drought stress characterization in contrast to using 2D images. In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end pipeline including 3D reconstruction, segmentation and feature extraction, leveraging deep neural networks at various stages, for drought stress study. To overcome the high degree of self-similarities and self-occlusions in plant canopy, prior knowledge of leaf shape based on features from deep siamese network are used to construct an accurate 3D model using structure from motion on wheat plants. The drought stress is characterized with a deep network based feature aggregation. We compare the proposed methodology on several descriptors, and show that the network outperforms conventional methods.Comment: Appears in Workshop on Computer Vision Problems in Plant Phenotyping (CVPPP), International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV) 201

Measuring pathways to care in first-episode psychosis : a systematic review

Background Adequately understanding and measuring pathways to care is a prerequisite for early detection and effective treatment of first-episode psychosis. Method We conducted a systematic review of studies on pathways to care in first-episode psychosis to establish what measures currently exist to assess pathways in first-episode psychosis and to compare these measures. Results We identified 15 studies which had used six different measures of pathways to care. Differences in aims, methodology and lack of psychometric data did not allow a direct comparison of pathways measures but certain common themes emerged. Discussion Pathways to care in first-episode psychosis are diverse and varied. There is no measure with established psychometric properties that has been devised on a well-developed theoretical or conceptual framework and had its psychometric properties established. The conflict between exploring the patient's narrative and journey through the healthcare system and developing an empirical measure of pathways with optimal outcomes has hindered the development of such a measure

Hysterectomy: retrospective analysis of 476 cases

Background: Diseases of the female genital tract are commonly encountered in clinical practice. Hysterectomy is the definite treatment for many of the pelvic pathologies. The present study is aimed at analysis of age and types of hysterectomy and evaluation of histopathological reports of the hysterectomy specimens.Methods: A total of 476 consecutive hysterectomy were studied over a period of two years from January 2016 to December 2017.Results: The peak age group of hysterectomy was 41-50 years with 221 (46.43%) cases. The commonest type of hysterectomy was abdominal. The most common endometrial pathology was atrophic endometrium, seen in 131 (27.52%) cases. In myometrium, the most common pathology was leiomyoma in 179 (37.61%) cases. Among cervical lesions, chronic cervicitis was the most common finding, seen in 274 (57.56%) cases.Conclusions: The experience with various types of hysterectomies at our institution has been reviewed. A wide spectrum of lesions were observed when histopathology reports of the hysterectomy specimens were analysed

Prevalence and predictors of video game addiction: a study based on a national representative sample of gamers

Video gaming has become a popular leisure activity in many parts of the world, and an increasing number of empirical studies examine the small minority that appears to develop problems as a result of excessive gaming. This study investigated prevalence rates and predictors of video game addiction in a sample of gamers, randomly selected from the National Population Registry of Norway (N =3389). Results showed there were 1.4 % addicted gamers, 7.3 % problem gamers, 3.9 % engaged gamers, and 87.4 % normal gamers. Gender (being male) and age group (being young) were positively associated with addicted-, problem-, and engaged gamers. Place of birth (Africa, Asia, South- and Middle America) were positively associated with addicted- and problem gamers. Video game addiction was negatively associated with conscientiousness and positively associated with neuroticism. Poor psychosomatic health was positively associated with problem- and engaged gaming. These factors provide insight into the field of video game addiction, and may help to provide guidance as to how individuals that are at risk of becoming addicted gamers can be identified

Effectiveness of guided self-help in decreasing expressed emotion in family caregivers of people diagnosed with depression in Thailand: a randomised controlled trial

Background: High expressed emotion (EE) can extend the duration of illness and precipitate relapse; however, little evidence-based information is available to assist family caregivers of individuals with depression. In the present exploratory study, we examined the effectiveness of a cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) based guided self-help (GSH) manual in decreasing EE in caregivers of people with depression, in Thailand. Method: A parallel group randomised controlled trial was conducted, following CONSORT guidelines, with 54 caregivers who were allocated equally to GSH or control group (standard outpatient department support). In addition, both groups were contacted weekly by telephone. EE was assessed, using the Family Questionnaire (FQ), at baseline, post-test (Week 8) and follow-up (Week 12). Results: FQ scores at baseline indicated that both groups had similar, though moderately high level of EE. However, between baseline and post-test EE scores decreased markedly in the intervention group, but in contrast, they increased slightly in the control group. Between post-test and follow-up, little change took place in the EE scores of either group. Overall, the intervention group recipients of GSH showed a significant decrease in EE whereas the control group recipients of standard outpatient department support reported a slight increase in EE. Conclusion: These findings provide preliminary evidence that GSH is beneficial in reducing EE in caregivers, which is advantageous to family members with depression and caregivers. The approach may be used as an adjunct to the limited outpatient department support given to caregivers by mental health professionals and, perhaps, to caregivers who do not attend these departments

Mental health literacy: a cross-cultural approach to knowledge and beliefs about depression, schizophrenia and generalized anxiety disorder

Many families worldwide have at least one member with a behavioral or mental disorder, and yet the majority of the public fails to correctly recognize symptoms of mental illness. Previous research has found that Mental Health Literacy (MHL)—the knowledge and positive beliefs about mental disorders—tends to be higher in European and North American cultures, compared to Asian and African cultures. Nonetheless quantitative research examining the variables that explain this cultural difference remains limited. The purpose of our study was fourfold: (a) to validate measures of MHL cross-culturally, (b) to examine the MHL model quantitatively, (c) to investigate cultural differences in the MHL model, and (d) to examine collectivism as a predictor of MHL. We validated measures of MHL in European American and Indian samples. The results lend strong quantitative support to the MHL model. Recognition of symptoms of mental illness was a central variable: greater recognition predicted greater endorsement of social causes of mental illness and endorsement of professional help-seeking as well as lesser endorsement of lay help-seeking. The MHL model also showed an overwhelming cultural difference; namely, lay help-seeking beliefs played a central role in the Indian sample, and a negligible role in the European American sample. Further, collectivism was positively associated with causal beliefs of mental illness in the European American sample, and with lay help-seeking beliefs in the Indian sample. These findings demonstrate the importance of understanding cultural differences in beliefs about mental illness, particularly in relation to help-seeking beliefs

Pathways to care of young people accessing a pilot specialist youth mental health service in Norfolk, United Kingdom

Aim: Pathways to care (PtC) are a means of examining and understanding routes into mental health care. It is important to examine PtC in order to identify ways in which individuals access services, as well as highlighting barriers or delays to appropriate treatment. This study aimed to examine PtC experienced by young people accessing a pilot specialist youth mental health service (SYMHS) for those with non-psychotic, severe and complex mental health conditions in Norfolk, UK. Methods: Data were collected on a subsample of referrals accepted into the pilot SYMHS (n = 94) over a 12-month period. Duration and number of PtC were assessed using a semi-structured interview augmented by health record examination. Measures of premorbid history, symptoms and functioning were also collected. Results: The mean length of PtC was 3.74 years, and a mean of 5.53 pathways was experienced before appropriate services were accessed. Individuals were most likely to first seek help from their general practitioner followed by an educational provider. There were no associations between PtC and current symptoms, although individuals with a premorbid history of mental health problems experienced shorter PtC. There was a trend suggesting that individuals with long pathways had poorer functioning compared with those with shorter pathways. Conclusions: Pathways to care are variable in a group of young people presenting to mental health services. A majority of participants experienced ‘long pathways’, which may negatively impact on outcome. The results indicate the need to improve access to appropriate services by overcoming pathway barriers. Service implications are discussed

Ethnicity and baseline symptomatology in patients with an At Risk Mental State for psychosis

Ethnicity has been associated with different incidence rates and different symptom profiles in young patients with psychotic-like disorders. No studies so far have examined the effect of ethnicity on symptoms in people with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS). In this cross-sectional study, we analysed the relationship between ethnicity and baseline data on the severity of psychopathology scores in 201 help-seeking patients who met the ARMS criteria and agreed to participate in the Dutch Early Detection and Intervention (EDIE-NL) trial. Eighty-seven of these patients had a non-Dutch ethnicity. We explored the possible mediating role of ethnic identity. Higher rates of negative symptoms, and of anhedonia in particular, were found in the ethnic minority group. This result could be attributed mainly to the Moroccan-Dutch and Turkish-Dutch subgroups, who also presented with more depression symptoms when the groups were examined separately. The ethnic minority group displayed a lower level of ethnic group identity compared to the immigrants of the International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY). Ethnic identity was inversely related to symptoms in the Moroccan-Dutch patient group. The prevalence of more severe negative symptoms and depression symptoms in ethnic minority groups deserves more attention, as the experience of attenuated positive symptoms when accompanied by negative symptoms or distress has proven to be predictive for transition to a first psychotic episod