What Context Features Can Transformer Language Models Use?

Transformer-based language models benefit from conditioning on contexts of hundreds to thousands of previous tokens. What aspects of these contexts contribute to accurate model prediction? We describe a series of experiments that measure usable information by selectively ablating lexical and structural information in transformer language models trained on English Wikipedia. In both mid- and long-range contexts, we find that several extremely destructive context manipulations -- including shuffling word order within sentences and deleting all words other than nouns -- remove less than 15% of the usable information. Our results suggest that long contexts, but not their detailed syntactic and propositional content, are important for the low perplexity of current transformer language models.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, to be published at ACL 202

Even better than the real thing? Using video assisted structured reflection in Simulated Clinical Scenarios and Real-Life Clinical Experiences in the Flipped Classroom.

BackgroundThis paper explores the attitudes of practitioners to the use of video assisted structured reflection in simulated clinical scenarios and real-life clinical experiences in the context of a Flipped Classroomto encourage and support reflection and reflective practice among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.  It also examines the experiences of practitioners who participated in this process.MethodologiesThis paper is part of a larger project which consisted of tree cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with various stake-holders.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and educators from emergency service providers, private ambulance services, and voluntary organisations.FindingsWhen combined, a simulation experience with audio-visual recording and a structured model of reflection in the context of a Flipped Classroom has become a powerful learning experience. The process of a simulation experience with audio-visual recording, and a structured model of reflection appears to dovetail very nicely with the concept of the Flipped Classroom. The review of footage from audio-visual recording in the real-life clinical context provides a reliable and accurate means of evaluating clinical performance. Concerns were raised about the potential for abuse and misuse of audio-visual recordings. There are perceptions that audio-visual footage of real-life clinical experiences could potentially be used for unintended purposes such as, disciplinary procedures.RecommendationsSince the process of combining a simulation experience with audio-visual recording and a structured model of reflection in the context of a Flipped Classroom has shown great promise as a learning experience, a larger scale pilot study is proposed. Develop a pilot programme with student practitioners during their undergraduate internship, and evaluate its findings. Develop a policy which clearly defines the use of audio-visual recording footage prior to the commencement of the pilot programme. A Learning Contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of the process

It’s good to talk! Reflective Discussion Forums to support and develop Reflective Practice among Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Practitioners in Ireland.

BackgroundSince the mid 1980’s, reflective practice has become formally acknowledged and adopted as a key strategy for learning and has become one of the cornerstones of medical education for doctors, nurses, and many of the allied healthcare professions. In the education of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland, it is only in the last decade that the notion of reflective practice has been tentatively approached.  Indeed until recently it has largely been ignored by practitioners and educators alike, who have been slow to engage with this new way of learning. This paper explores the attitudes of practitioners to the use of a reflective discussion forum to encourage and support reflection and reflective practice among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.  It also examines the experiences of practitioners who participated in a collaborative reflective discussion forum.LiteratureThe research was informed by reviewing literature from a number of areas including:  Adult Learning, Reflective Practice, Educational Research directly relating to Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and EMS & Nursing Journals and publications.MethodologiesThis paper is part of a larger project which consisted of three cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with participants in the reflective discussion forum.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and the three hierarchical levels within the organisation.FindingsThe collaborative reflective discussion forum was found to be beneficial.  Among the benefits cited were, the opportunity to draw on the experience of more experienced colleagues, the development of critical thinking skills, and the potential for use as part of a mentoring process.  It was also felt that the collaborative nature of the forum had the potential to improve workplace relationships through the empowerment of the staff. Concerns were raised regarding the potential for abuse and misuse, particularly in relation to the areas of patient confidentiality and a lack of trust within organisations.RecommendationsThe establishment of a regular Reflective Discussion Forum within organisations as a key learning strategy. Any collaborative forum must be chaired by a trusted, experienced and highly skilled facilitator. A learning contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of any collaborative forum

Even better than the real thing? Using video assisted structured reflection in Simulated Clinical Scenarios and Real-Life Clinical Experiences in the Flipped Classroom.

BackgroundThis paper explores the attitudes of practitioners to the use of video assisted structured reflection in simulated clinical scenarios and real-life clinical experiences in the context of a Flipped Classroomto encourage and support reflection and reflective practice among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.  It also examines the experiences of practitioners who participated in this process.MethodologiesThis paper is part of a larger project which consisted of tree cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with various stake-holders.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and educators from emergency service providers, private ambulance services, and voluntary organisations.FindingsWhen combined, a simulation experience with audio-visual recording and a structured model of reflection in the context of a Flipped Classroom has become a powerful learning experience. The process of a simulation experience with audio-visual recording, and a structured model of reflection appears to dovetail very nicely with the concept of the Flipped Classroom. The review of footage from audio-visual recording in the real-life clinical context provides a reliable and accurate means of evaluating clinical performance. Concerns were raised about the potential for abuse and misuse of audio-visual recordings. There are perceptions that audio-visual footage of real-life clinical experiences could potentially be used for unintended purposes such as, disciplinary procedures.RecommendationsSince the process of combining a simulation experience with audio-visual recording and a structured model of reflection in the context of a Flipped Classroom has shown great promise as a learning experience, a larger scale pilot study is proposed. Develop a pilot programme with student practitioners during their undergraduate internship, and evaluate its findings. Develop a policy which clearly defines the use of audio-visual recording footage prior to the commencement of the pilot programme. A Learning Contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of the process

Fat quantification in MRI-defined lumbar muscles

Some studies suggest fat infiltration in the lumbar muscles (LM) is associated with lower back pain (LBP) in adults. Usually fat in MRI-defined lumbar muscles is qualitatively valuated by visual grading via a 3 point scale, whereas a quantitative continuous (0 - 100%) approach may provide a greater insight. In this paper, we propose a method to precisely quantify the fat content / infiltration in a user-defined region of the lumbar muscles, which may aid better diagnosis. The key steps are segmenting the region of interest (ROI) from the lumbar muscles, identifying the fatty regions in the segmented region based on the selected threshold and softness levels, computing the parameters (such as total and region-wise fat content percentage, total-cross sectional area (TCSA), functional cross- sectional area (FCSA)) and exporting the computations and associated patient information from the MRI, into a atabase. A standalone application using MATLAB R2010a was developed to perform the required computations along with an intuitive GUI

An interactive segmentation tool for quantifying fat in lumbar muscles using axial lumbar-spine MRI

In this paper we present an interactive tool that can be used to quantify fat infiltration in lumbar muscles, which is useful in studying fat infiltration and lower back pain (LBP) in adults. Currently, a qualitative assessment by visual grading via a 5-point scale is used to study fat infiltration in lumbar muscles from an axial view of lumbar-spine MR Images. However, a quantitative approach (on a continuous scale of 0–100%) may provide a greater insight. In this paper, we propose a method to precisely quantify the fat deposition/infiltration in a user-defined region of the lumbar muscles, which may aid better diagnosis and analysis. The key steps are interactively segmenting the region of interest (ROI) from the lumbar muscles using the well known livewire technique, identifying fatty regions in the segmented region based on variable-selection of threshold and softness levels, automatically detecting the center of the spinal column and fragmenting the lumbar muscles into smaller regions with reference to the center of the spinal column, computing key parameters [such as total and region-wise fat content percentage, total-cross sectional area (TCSA) and functional cross-sectional area (FCSA)] and exporting the computations and associated patient information from the MRI, into a database. A standalone application using MATLAB R2014a was developed to perform the required computations along with an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI)

Anthropometric profiles of elite athletes

Quantifying body composition is central to monitoring performance and training in athletes, however limited sport-specific anthropometric reference data, assessed and reported in a standardised manner, is available. This study provides anthropometric profiles in elite male athletes from different sports. Elite male athletes (n = 73) from National squads of boxing (n = 10), cricket (n = 21), swimming (n = 23), hockey (n = 10) and eventing (n = 9) were assessed for body mass, height, eight skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, biceps, iliac crest, supraspinal, abdominal, thigh and medial calf), body circumferences (arm, waist, hip, thigh and calf) and muscle circumferences (arm, thigh, calf) using ISAK standardised guidelines. For all athletes, large variability exists for measures of skinfold thickness at each skinfold site. Swimming (64.6 ± 16.1 mm) and boxing (63.5 ± 16.1 mm) were similar for the sum of eight skinfolds (Σ8SKF) but swimming had lower Σ8SKF compared to cricket (86.1 ± 21.3 mm; p = .011) and eventing (89.9 ± 30.7 mm; p = .028). Hockey (81.9 ± 26.3 mm) and eventing had the most varied Σ8SKF. Thigh body (p=.006) and muscle circumferences (p = .005) were significantly reduced in boxing compared to hockey. No differences were seen between sports for arm (p = .346; ES = .06) and calf (p = .382; ES = .06) muscle circumferences. The anthropometric profiles for elite athletes from various sports during pre-season training will be a useful resource for sports professionals when monitoring and interpreting body composition data. Large variation exists in anthropometric profiles between the different athletes and different sports, highlighting the necessity to have sport-specific normative ranges available to allow optimal monitoring of individual athletes particularly varying across sports as well as age, training status and position

Using pre-stimulus EEG to predict driver reaction time to road events

The ability to predict a driver's reaction time to road events could be used in driver safety assistance systems, allowing for autonomous control when a driver may be about to react with sup-optimal performance. In this paper, we evaluate a number of machine learning and feature engineering strategies that we use to predict the reaction time(s) of 24 drivers to road events using EEG (Electroencephalography) captured in an immersive driving simulator. Subject-independent models are trained and evaluated using EEG features extracted from time periods that precede the road events that we predict the reaction times for. Our paper has two contributions: 1) we predict the reaction times corresponding to individual road events using EEG spectral features from a time period before the onset of the road event, i.e. we take EEG data from 2 seconds before the event, and 2) we predict whether a subject will be a slow or fast responder compared to other drivers

Reduction of inequalities in health: assessing evidence-based tools

BACKGROUND: The reduction of health inequalities is a focus of many national and international health organisations. The need for pragmatic evidence-based approaches has led to the development of a number of evidence-based equity initiatives. This paper describes a new program that focuses upon evidence- based tools, which are useful for policy initiatives that reduce inequities. METHODS: This paper is based on a presentation that was given at the "Regional Consultation on Policy Tools: Equity in Population Health Reports," held in Toronto, Canada in June 2002. RESULTS: Five assessment tools were presented. 1. A database of systematic reviews on the effects of educational, legal, social, and health interventions to reduce unfair inequalities is being established through the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations. 2 Decision aids and shared decision making can be facilitated in disadvantaged groups by 'health coaches' to help people become better decision makers, negotiators, and navigators of the health system; a pilot study in Chile has provided proof of this concept. 3. The CIET Cycle: Combining adapted cluster survey techniques with qualitative methods, CIET's population based applications support evidence-based decision making at local and national levels. The CIET map generates maps directly from survey or routine institutional data, to be used as evidence-based decisions aids. Complex data can be displayed attractively, providing an important tool for studying and comparing health indicators among and between different populations. 4. The Ottawa Equity Gauge is applying the Global Equity Gauge Alliance framework to an industrialised country setting. 5 The Needs-Based Health Assessment Toolkit, established to assemble information on which clinical and health policy decisions can be based, is being expanded to ensure a focus on distribution and average health indicators. CONCLUSION: Evidence-based planning tools have much to offer the goal of equitable health development