A framework for creating natural language descriptions of video streams

This contribution addresses generation of natural language descriptions for important visual content present in video streams. The work starts with implementation of conventional image processing techniques to extract high-level visual features such as humans and their activities. These features are converted into natural language descriptions using a template-based approach built on a context free grammar, incorporating spatial and temporal information. The task is challenging particularly because feature extraction processes are erroneous at various levels. In this paper we explore approaches to accommodating potentially missing information, thus creating a coherent description. Sample automatic annotations are created for video clips presenting humans’ close-ups and actions, and qualitative analysis of the approach is made from various aspects. Additionally a task-based scheme is introduced that provides quantitative evaluation for relevance of generated descriptions. Further, to show the framework’s potential for extension, a scalability study is conducted using video categories that are not targeted during the development

Assessment of Conformity: Instrument Development

Current educational systems, including medical programs, incorporate learning in groups. However, subtle social factors functioning within these groups can influence learning and professional development. Thus, these social factors should be considered by both educators and learners. One social factor that has gained the attention of medical educators is conformity. Conformity is submission to the pressure of the group or its members and is represented by changing one’s behaviour, attitudes or beliefs to align with those of the group. It is associated with peer pressure and hierarchy whereby the need to be accepted within a professional milieu is paramount. Hence, conformity could prevent learners from actively engaging (e.g., asking questions) in education. Moreover, conformity has been associated with learners reporting feeling overwhelmed, and it has contributed to information mismanagement, inaccurate decision-making, and learners inefficiently using health care resources or compromising their role as patient advocates. The eventual outcome is deterioration in the provision of health care. The aim of this study was to create an instrument that enables both learners and educators to track verbal and nonverbal behaviours that are indicative of conformity. An observational cross-sectional design was used in three phases in this study. In Phase I, an initial conformity instrument was created based on behaviours identified in the communication, social psychology, and medical education literature and through discussion with conformity experts. The researcher then used this instrument in Phase II to code archival videos of the conformity behaviours of medical and nursing students from a prior study on conformity. Finally, in Phase III the instrument was used in real-time simulation sessions to record the behaviours of medical residents and students who were given the challenge of managing a patient case. This case was designed to expose the medical residents and students to pressure that would potentially influence their clinical decision making. Also, this study examined whether conformity as a construct is uni- or multidimensional. The study results showed that the instrument’s scores did not differentiate conforming from nonconforming behaviours. Also, the principal component analysis generated uninterpretable results, suggesting that the behaviours measured are not multidimensional. Participants also shared their perspectives about conformity, and revealed that they viewed conformity as a natural dynamic in their daily practice and could potentially yield to the pressure of the group or their senior colleagues when faced with a conflict. The implications for teaching and practice are discussed. It is also recommended that further research examine conformity in clinical settings to determine if the results obtained in clinical simulations are consistent with practice

A comparison between two current irrigation concepts for smear layer removal efficacy at the apical third of root canal system

PLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please click Download and log in with a valid BU account to access. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact [email protected] (MSD) --Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education, Dubai, 2012 (Endodontics).Includes bibliographic references: leaves 71-87.INTRODUCTION: Multiple studies have suggested that bacteria and debris remain in the apical area within the root canal system even after meticulous chemo-mechanical debridement. However, some studies have suggested that agitation of the irrigation can increase efficacy of debris and smear layer removal in all areas of the canal system. PURPOSE: To compare between negative-pressure irrigation technique at two different exposure times to the passive ultrasonic irrigation technique for smear layer removal efficacy at the apical third of root canal system using EndoVac[R] (Discus Dental[R], Culver City, CA) versus ProUltra[R] PiezoFlow[TM] ultasonic irrigation needle (DENTSPLY Tulsa). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of eighty extracted human teeth or roots with fully developed apices with single canal will be assigned in this in vitro study. Canal was instrumented to a master apical file size#40/.04 taper. The samples was assigned into 2 main groups according to the final agitation of irrigation technique and then each main group was randomly divided into 2 different test subgroups with five teeth in each group according to the irrigation protocols. Two control groups of 2 teeth in each was included to confirm that the basic conditions of the experiment were able to produce a negative or positive result. Subsequently, the roots were split longitudinally in a buccolingual direction, resulting in 5 samples per subgroup. Each specimen was mounted on stubs, gold-sputtered, and was examined under scanning electron microscope the amount of remaining debris and smear layer at the apical region of each specimen was scored by three blinded expert observers with a 5-score system. RESULTS: For the apical aspect, there were significant differences in smear layer for the testing groups and the controls with significantly lower scores for EndoVac[R] and PiezoFlow[TM] among groups when one additional minute of EDTA was used. There was not a significant difference in debris scores among groups and none of the pairwise differences were significant. For the apical location of canal there was not a significant difference in debris scores among groups (p=0.8619), and none of the pairwise differences were significant. CONCLUSION: Additional application of activated 17% EDTA for 1 min was actively working upon the smear layer, which it partially removed, remaining only in some obliterated dentinal tubules

Ecofriendly and radiation shielding properties of newly developed epoxy with waste marble and WO3 nanoparticles

Research into protection techniques from harmful effects of gamma radiation have increased contemporarily. The development of radiation-resistant materials having a high radiation resistance and absorption of different types of ionizing radiation could offer promising solutions to this matter. For this purpose, the preparation and examination of a novel type of polymer doped with various WO3 concentrations are presented in this study. To accomplish our main objective, we evaluated the effectiveness of their radiation shielding against gamma radiation from 137Cs, 60Co, and 241Am. At all investigated energies, the measured and theoretical linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values are highly similar, proving that the experimental LAC values can be used to reliably predict other radiation shielding characteristics. The half value layer (HVL) values decreased as the samples' WO3 level rises indicating that increasing the amount of WO3 in these samples increases their radiation shielding effectiveness. In addition, it was found a positive correlation between radiation energy and the mean free path (MFP) values. At 0.060 MeV, the MFP values are equal to 1.374 cm, 0.691 cm, 0.521 cm, and 0.369 cm at concentrations of 0, 10, 20, and 25% WO3, respectively reflecting that the MFP is reduced by 3.7 times due to the addition of 20% WO3 nanoparticles. From the transmission factor, it was found that improving the shielding ability of the proposed materials could be achieved by increasing and adjusting the thickness of the absorber depending on the required energy range used. It is noteworthy that the present studied samples (epoxy + waste marble + nano-WO3) that have exhibited a greater shielding ability than other nanoparticles added polymers like (Epoxy + nano-MgO30), and (silicone rubber + nano-WO330)

Rs10204525 Polymorphism of the Programmed Death (PD-1) Gene Is Associated with Increased Risk in a Saudi Arabian Population with Colorectal Cancer

Checkpoint programmed death-1 (PD-1) has been identified as an immunosuppressive molecule implicated in the immune evasion of transformed cells. It is highly expressed in tumor cells in order to evade host immunosurveillance. In this study, we aimed to assess the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of PD-1 and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Saudi population. For this case-control study, the TaqMan assay method was used for genotyping three SNPs in the PD-1 gene in 100 CRC patients and 100 healthy controls. Associations were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for multiple inheritance models (codominant, dominant, recessive, over-dominant, and log-additive). Moreover, PD-1 gene expression levels were evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR in colon cancer tissue and adjacent colon tissues. We found that the PD-1 rs10204525 A allele was associated with an increased risk of developing CRC (OR = 2.35; p = 0.00657). In addition, the PD-1 rs10204525 AA homozygote genotype was associated with a high risk of developing CRC in the codominant (OR = 21.65; p = 0.0014), recessive (OR = 10.97; p = 0.0015), and additive (OR = 1.98; p = 0.012) models. A weak protective effect was found for the rs2227981 GG genotype (OR = 2.52; p = 0.034), and no significant association was found between the rs2227982 and CRC. Haplotype analysis showed that the rs10204525, rs2227981, rs2227982 A-A-G haplotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of CRC (OR = 6.79; p =0.031)

A cross-sectional study factors associated with resilience among medical staff in radiology departments during COVID-19, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objectives This study aims to assess the level of resilience of medical workers in radiology departments in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore associated factors.Setting Medical staff, including nurses, technicians, radiology specialists and physicians, working in radiology departments at government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 outbreak.Design A cross-sectional study.Participants The study was conducted among 375 medical workers in radiology departments in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data collection took place from 15 February 2022 to 31 March 2022.Results The total resilience score was 29.37±6.760 and the scores of each dimension showed that the higher mean score was observed in the domain of ‘flexibility’, while the lowest was observed in ‘maintaining attention under stress’. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that there was a significant negative correlation between resilience and perceived stress (r=–0.498, p<0.001). Finally, based on multiple linear regression analysis, factors affecting resilience among participants are the availability of psychological hotline (available, B=2.604, p<0.050), knowledge of COVID-19 protective measures (part of understanding, B=−5.283, p<0.001), availability of adequate protective materials (partial shortage, B=−2.237, p<0.050), stress (B=−0.837, p<0.001) and education (postgraduate, B=−1.812, p<0.050).Conclusions This study sheds light on the level of resilience and the factors that contribute to resilience in radiology medical staff. Moderate levels of resilience call for health administrators to focus on developing strategies that can effectively help cope with workplace adversities

Assessment of anti-factor Xa activity of enoxaparin for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in morbidly obese surgical patients

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be encountered by 60% of hospitalized patients. Anticoagulants have been recommended to reduce the risk of VTE in patients with risk factors. However, no specific dosing recommendations for obese patients are provided in the current practice guidelines. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of weight-based dosing of enoxaparin for VTE prophylaxis among morbidly obese patients undergoing surgery. Methods: Adult patients were enrolled if they have a body mass index (BMI) of ≥35 kg/m2 and were scheduled for surgery. These patients were prescribed enoxaparin (0.5 mg/kg subcutaneously [SC] once daily). Peak anti-factor Xa levels were measured 4 h after the third dose of enoxaparin. The primary outcome measure was to determine whether a weight-based dosing of enoxaparin of 0.5 mg/kg produce the anticipated peak anti-Xa levels (0.2–0.6 IU/m) among obese patients undergoing surgery. Secondary outcomes include the incidence of VTE, the incidence of minor or major bleeding, and the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Results: Fifty patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 53 ± 16 years, 74% of the patients were female. The mean BMI was 40.5 ± 5, and the average enoxaparin dose was 50 ± 9.8 SC daily. Nearly 88% of the patients reached the target anti-factor Xa (0.427 ± 0.17). None of the patients developed HIT or VTE. There was no incidence of major or minor bleeding. Conclusions: Weight-based enoxaparin dose led to the anticipated peak anti-Xa levels (0.2–0.6 IU/mL) in most of the morbidly obese study patients undergoing surgery without any evidence of major side effects. The weight-based dosing of enoxaparin was also effective in preventing VTE in all patients. Although these results are promising, further comparative trials are needed in the setting of morbidly obese surgical patients

Pregnant women’s use and attitude toward herbal, vitamin, and mineral supplements in an academic tertiary care center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background: Herbal medicine has been widely utilized by pregnant women despite the limited available evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of that practice. The current available studies, from different countries, estimated that the use of herbal medicine during pregnancy range from 7% up to 96%. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, attitude, source of information, and reasoning behind the use of herbal medicine among pregnant women in Saudia Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted using a convenience sample including pregnant women who visited the obstetric clinics at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A survey was administered in order to evaluate the prevalence and perception toward herbal medicine use among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 297 pregnant women completed the survey. The results showed that 56% of the respondents have used some type of herbal medicine during their pregnancy. Olive oil was utilized in 26% of the respondents followed by cumin 20% and garlic 15%. In addition, 37% of the respondents used herbal medicine by their own initiative, while 33% and 12% used herbal medicine based on recommendations from their families and friends, respectively. Furthermore, 19% of the respondents reported a positive attitude toward herbal medicine use during pregnancy. In addition, the percentage of women with positive attitude was marginally higher among respondents with lower educational level. Conclusion: The prevalence of using herbal medicine is considerably high among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, the majority of the users relied on informal sources to use herbal medicine during pregnancy. Keywords: Herbal medicine, Supplements, Pregnancy, Prevalence, Attitudes, Saudi Arabi