Evaluating Embeddings for One-Shot Classification of Doctor-AI Consultations

Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients is crucial to providing high-quality patient care. In this work, we investigate how Doctor-written and AI-generated texts in healthcare consultations can be classified using state-of-the-art embeddings and one-shot classification systems. By analyzing embeddings such as bag-of-words, character n-grams, Word2Vec, GloVe, fastText, and GPT2 embeddings, we examine how well our one-shot classification systems capture semantic information within medical consultations. Results show that the embeddings are capable of capturing semantic features from text in a reliable and adaptable manner. Overall, Word2Vec, GloVe and Character n-grams embeddings performed well, indicating their suitability for modeling targeted to this task. GPT2 embedding also shows notable performance, indicating its suitability for models tailored to this task as well. Our machine learning architectures significantly improved the quality of health conversations when training data are scarce, improving communication between patients and healthcare providers

Comparative Analysis of Market Efficiency and Volatility of Energy Prices Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic Periods

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected energy demand and pricing globally due to different lockdown measures embarked on by governments in different economies. As a result, prices of oil and petroleum products dropped drastically at the peak of the pandemic period. The present paper, therefore, investigates the effect of the pandemic on energy markets and compared the levels of market efficiency, volatility, and volatility persistence. Two 5-monthly daily data windows are considered, each for the period before and during the pandemic, and an updated nonlinear fractional integration approach in time series analysis is employed. Having considered prices of Crude oil, Gasoline, Diesel, Heating oil, Kerosene, and Propane from US markets, we find that energy markets are less efficient during the Covid-19 pandemic period, even though with higher volatility but with lesser volatility persistence compared to the period before the pandemic. Thus, volatility shocks last for a shorter period during the 5-month pandemic period than in the 5-month period that precedes the pandemic. It is hoped that the findings of this work will be of interest to oil marketers and administrators in the international oil markets

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Human Resources Development as Correlates of Job Performance of Library Staff in Selected Academic Libraries, Ekiti State, Nigeria

The general opinion was that human resources development and job performance of library staff in academic library in Ekiti State, Nigeria was low and a cause for concern. This paper investigated the relationship between human resources development and job performance of library staff in three selected academic library, Ekiti State, Nigeria. A total enumeration sampling techniques and survey research design was adopted. The study population consisted of 100 library staff in the three selected academic libraries in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The research instrument used was a self-developed questionnaire titled “Human resource development as correlate of job performance in three selected academic libraries, Ekiti State, Nigeria”. The questionnaire validation was subjected to experts in the areas of the variables studied; it gave a reliability coefficient of 0.75 for Human Resource Development; and 0.78 for Job Performance. A response rate of 100% was achieved. Data were analysed using descriptive (percentage, mean, average mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and Cross tabs) statistics. The study revealed a significant relationship between human resource development and job performance (r = 0.000c, N = 100, P \u3c 0.05) of library staff in the selected academic library in, Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study concluded that contrary to general belief, human resource development and job performance levels of library staff in academic library were high. It is recommended that management should continue to promote values such as improved library staff recognition, library staff training programmes and effective use of human resource academic libraries that would increase human resource development and job performance of its workforce

Factors associated with female high-risk drinking in a rural and an urban South African site

Objective. To assess and compare the extent of high-risk drinking and factors associated with high-risk drinking in the adult female population of a rural and an urban region in South Africa. Design. Cross-sectional household survey using multistage sampling methods. Setting. A rural wine farming area of the Western Cape and an urban site in Gauteng. Subjects. Women of reproductive age (18 - 44 years). Outcome measures. The extent of risky alcohol consumption measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scale which categorises current drinkers into high- and low-risk drinkers. Results. Twenty-seven per cent (166/606) and 46% (188/412) of the women interviewed in Gauteng and the Western Cape respectively were current drinkers. In turn, 20% (33/166) of the Gauteng current drinkers and 68% (128/188) of the Western Cape current drinkers were classified as high-risk drinkers. Multivariate analysis indicated that employed people in Gauteng were less likely to be high-risk drinkers (odds ratio (OR) 0.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1 - 0.8). Living in a household that never/seldom went hungry was inversely associated with risky drinking for both sites (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1 - 0.9 for Gauteng and OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.3 - 1.2 for the Western Cape). Current smokers (Western Cape) (OR 7.6, 95% CI 3.1 - 18.9) and respondents with an alcohol problem in one or more family members (both sites) (OR 6.0, 95% CI 2.3 - 15.7 and OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.5 - 6.4) were more likely to be high-risk drinkers. Conclusions. High-risk drinking by women is a major problem, especially in the Western Cape. Targeted interventions are needed for women with alcohol problems in the family setting, lower socio-economic status, and concurrent substance abuse

Assessment of the quality of antenatal care services provided by health workers using a mobile phone decision support application in northern Nigeria: a pre/post-intervention study.

Given the shortage of skilled healthcare providers in Nigeria, frontline community health extension workers (CHEWs) are commonly tasked with providing maternal and child health services at primary health centers. In 2012, we introduced a mobile case management and decision support application in twenty primary health centers in northern Nigeria, and conducted a pre-test/post-test study to assess whether the introduction of the app had an effect on the quality of antenatal care services provided by this lower-level cadre.Using the CommCare mobile platform, the app dynamically guides CHEWs through antenatal care protocols and collects client data in real time. Thirteen health education audio clips are also embedded in the app for improving and standardizing client counseling. To detect changes in quality, we developed an evidence-based quality score consisting of 25 indicators, and conducted a total of 266 client exit interviews. We analyzed baseline and endline data to assess changes in the overall quality score as well as changes in the provision of key elements of antenatal care.Overall, the quality score increased from 13.3 at baseline to 17.2 at endline (p<0.0001), out of a total possible score of 25, with the most significant improvements related to health counseling, technical services provided, and quality of health education.These study results suggest that the introduction of a low-cost mobile case management and decision support application can spur behavior change and improve the quality of services provided by a lower level cadre of healthcare workers. Future research should employ a more rigorous experimental design to explore potential longer-term effects on client health outcomes

Detail of Content of the m4Change ANC Application.

<p>Detail of Content of the m4Change ANC Application.</p

Client Satisfaction during first ANC visit.

<p>*Statistically significant at 0.05 level</p><p>Client Satisfaction during first ANC visit.</p