Accessibility-as-a-service an open-source reading assistive tool for education

As technology evolves, more and more articles and materials are readily available on the internet for the world to use. This project proposes and demonstrates the implementation of an application to further increase the accessibility of web pages, through the use of image recognition techniques, object detection, and optical character recognition (OCR). The proposed application allows users to input URLs and the application will process the web page in under a minute and outputs a modified web page with translated words detected from images

Retinoblastoma seeds: impact on American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical staging

Aim To investigate whether the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical category cT2b needs to be subclassified by the type and distribution of retinoblastoma (RB) seeding. Methods Multicentre, international registry-based data were collected from RB centres enrolled between January 2001 and December 2013. 1054 RB eyes with vitreous or subretinal seeds from 18 ophthalmic oncology centres, in 13 countries within six continents were analysed. Local treatment failure was defined as the use of secondary enucleation or external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Clinical category cT2b included 1054 eyes. Median age at presentation was 16.0 months. Of these, 428 (40.6%) eyes were salvaged, and 430 (40.8%) were treated with primary and 196 (18.6%) with secondary enucleation. Of the 592 eyes that had complete data for globe salvage analysis, the distribution of seeds was focal in 143 (24.2%) and diffuse in 449 (75.8%). The 5-year Kaplan-Meier cumulative globe-salvage (without EBRT) was 78% and 49% for eyes with focal and diffuse RB seeding, respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis confirmed a higher local treatment failure risk with diffuse seeds as compared with focal seeds (hazard rate: 2.8; p<0.001). There was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove an association between vitreous seed type and local treatment failure risk(p=0.06). Conclusion This international, multicentre, registry-based analysis of RB eyes affirmed that eyes with diffuse intraocular distribution of RB seeds at diagnosis had a higher risk of local treatment failure when compared with focal seeds. Subclassification of AJCC RB category cT2b into focal vs diffuse seeds will improve prognostication for eye salvage.Ophthalmic researc

Growth of gallium nitride thin film with the aid of polymethyl methacrylate

Wurtzite structure gallium nitride (GaN) thin film was grown on a c-plane sapphire (0001) substrate through spin coating method followed by nitridation process. Readily available and cheap gallium (III) nitrate hydrate (Ga(NO3)3·xH2O) powder was used as the gallium source. Besides that, ethanol-based precursor solution which has better wetting properties and fast evaporation rate was prepared. In addition, a thin layer of polymethyl methacrylate was introduced as a bonding adhesive layer for the growth of the GaN thin film. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the deposited film consists of nanocrystallite GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy showed the morphologies of the small and well-defined spherical grains that coated on the substrate. The synthesized GaN thin film demonstrated a pronounced and broad exciton peak at 380 nm in Photoluminescence spectrum. Raman scattering measurements showed two features that correspond to the E2 (high) and A1 (LO) phonon modes of the hexagonal GaN

The efficacy of physical exercise interventions on mental health, cognitive function, and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD: an umbrella reviewResearch in context

Summary: Background: A considerable number of published reviews have addressed the effects of physical exercise on mental health, cognitive function, or attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) symptoms as outcomes in children and adolescents with ADHD. Their findings have often conflicted, therefore, there is an urgent need to synthesise a hierarchy of the evidence and examine the credibility of previous meta-analyses. To establish the robustness of these findings, we conducted an additional meta-analysis on a number of individual studies that were not covered in previous reviews but were suitable for inclusion in our own study. Methods: Three reviewers independently searched Web of Science, Psych INFO, Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for meta-analyses published between database inceptions to December 1, 2022. The individual studies were also screened from 1 January 2015 to 1 December 2022. We included meta-analyses and eligible individual studies that addressed the effects of exercise on at least one outcome of mental health, cognitive function, or ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD. We excluded systematic reviews and articles that lacked sufficient data for a meaningful second analysis. The effect estimates (Hedges’ g), 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 95% prediction interval (95% PI), small study effects, and excess significance bias were calculated. Finally, we categorised the meta-analyses based on the credibility of the evidence criteria and their quality using a Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 checklist. This umbrella review was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42022361331. Findings: Of 181 listed review articles and 60 individual papers, 10 reviews and 12 individual articles were included in the meta-analyses. This yielded 37 meta-analyses based on 106 study estimates. Evidence was highly suggestive for the effectiveness of exercise (class II) for improving inattention (G = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.44–1.39, 95%), inhibitory control (G = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.52–1.13), and cognitive flexibility (G = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.32–0.72). However, evidence for the effectiveness of exercise on emotional, social, and working memory outcomes was weak, and these results were not significant for hyperactivity and behavioural functioning. Interpretation: Improvement of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and inattention in children and adolescents with ADHD was highly suggested by exercise interventions. However, results were weak for other outcomes (emotional functioning, social functioning, and working memory). Further high-quality randomised controlled trials are, therefore, warranted to determine the effectiveness of exercise on weak outcomes. Funding: None

The importance of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry for correct identification of Clostridium difficile isolated from chromID C. difficile chromogenic agar

The clinical workflow of using chromogenic agar and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-fight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for Clostridium difficile identification was evaluated. The addition of MALDI-TOF MS identification after the chromID C. difficile chromogenic agar culture could significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy of C. difficile