Efficient segmentation and classification of the tumor using improved encoder-decoder architecture in brain MRI images

Primary diagnosis of brain tumors is crucial to improve treatment outcomes for patient survival. T1-weighted contrast-enhanced images of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provide the most anatomically relevant images. But even with many advancements, day by day in the medical field, assessing tumor shape, size, segmentation, and classification is very difficult as manual segmentation of MRI images with high precision and accuracy is indeed a time-consuming and very challenging task. So newer digital methods like deep learning algorithms are used for tumor diagnosis which may lead to far better results. Deep learning algorithms have significantly upgraded the research in the artificial intelligence field and help in better understanding medical images and their further analysis. The work carried out in this paper presents a fully automatic brain tumor segmentation and classification model with encoder-decoder architecture that is an improvisation of traditional UNet architecture achieved by embedding three variants of ResNet like ResNet 50, ResNet 101, and ResNext 50 with proper hyperparameter tuning. Various data augmentation techniques were used to improve the model performance. The overall performance of the model was tested on a publicly available MRI image dataset containing three common types of tumors. The proposed model performed better in comparison to several other deep learning architectures regarding quality parameters including Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) and Mean Intersection over Union (Mean IoU) thereby enhancing the tumor analysis

Mapping Activity Area Localization in Functional MRI Imaging with Deep Learning based Automatic Segmented Brain Tumor for Presurgical Tumor Resection Planning

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) determines small blood flow variations that arise due to brain activity. fMRI major study is about functional anatomy which determines the area of the brain controlling vital functions such as hand and foot motor movements for both left and right, speech mantra, and speech word activities. For this instinctive localization of activity areas for specific tasks is very important. This paper appropriately describes the fMRI paradigm timeline with a modified fMRI paradigm timeline due to the hemodynamic response function (HRF).   Efficient activity area localization of thirty-three patients for fMRI data acquired from the hospital is achieved with dynamic thresholding. Dynamic thresholding is also effective in removing excess highlighted areas which helps in the reduction in expert efforts and time required to generate the patient report.  The localize activity area is further mapped with deep learning-based automatic segmented brain tumor regions to find overlapping regions. The exact location of the overlapping region is recovered which helps with preoperative counseling and tumor resection planning. All the results are verified and validated by two expert radiologists from the Hospital

Equity and Inclusion in Sanitation and Hygiene in South Asia: A Regional Synthesis

Today, 2.6 billion people in the world have nowhere safely to defecate on a daily basis or to follow hygienic practices that are important for their health and wellbeing. People are different and require support to overcome the specific impediments that stand in the way of their being able to use services sustainably. There is a greater likelihood of success if we focus on the forgotten millions, first . When pastoralists, ethnic or religious minorities, the disabled, the chronically ill, children, the aged, adolescent girls, women, or anyone without voice or agency are centre stage, their needs are reflected in design and investment decisions, with gains for all, including the larger community. To make this happen for all those without sustainable sanitation and hygiene, we will need to redefine policy and practise so that equity is woven into the fabric of every investment, every supervisory mission, every reward and every audit

Invest in adolescents and young people: it pays

Abstract This year’s Women Deliver conference made a strong call for investing in the health and development of adolescents and young people. It highlighted the unique problems faced by adolescent girls and young women–some of the most vulnerable and neglected individuals in the world–and stressed the importance of addressing their needs and rights, not only for their individual benefit, but also to achieve global goals such as reducing maternal mortality and HIV infection.In response to an invitation from the editors of Reproductive Health, we-the sixteen coauthors of this commentary–put together key themes that reverberated throughout the conference, on the health and development needs of adolescents and young people, and promising solutions to meet them.1. Investing in adolescents and young people is crucial for ensuring health, creating prosperity and fulfilling human rights.2. Gender inequality contributes to many health and social problems. Adolescent girls and boys, and their families and communities, should be challenged and supported to change inequitable gender norms.– Child marriage utterly disempowers girls. It is one of the most devastating manifestations of gender discrimination.– Negative social and cultural attitudes towards menstruation constrain the lives of millions of girls. This may well establish the foundation for lifelong discomfort felt by girls about their bodies and reticence in seeking help when problems arise.3. Adolescents need comprehensive, accurate and developmentally appropriate sexuality education. This will provide the bedrock for attitude formation and decision making.4. Adolescent-centered health services can prevent sexual and reproductive health problems and detect and treat them if and when they occur.5. National governments have the authority and the responsibility to address social and cultural barriers to the provision of sexual and reproductive health education and services for adolescents and young people.6. Adolescents should be involved more meaningfully in national and local actions intended to meet their needs and respond to their problems.7. The time to act is now. We know more now than ever before about the health and development needs of adolescents and young people, as well as the solutions to meeting those needs

Transgender inclusive sanitation - insights from South Asia

This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Three case studies of recent actions to make sanitation inclusive for transgender people (in India and Nepal) are presented, accompanied by reflections and recommendations to guide future practice. Practitioners are recommended to: engage with transgender people as partners at all stages of an initiative; recognise that the language of gender identity is not fixed, varying across cultures and between generations; and acknowledge that transgender people are not a single homogenous group but rather have diverse identities, histories and priorities. The case studies aim to raise awareness of the diversity of transgender identities, exploring the needs and aspirations of transgender women, transgender men, and third gender people

The state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and suggestions for future action and research

In recognition of the opportunity created by the increasing attention to menstrual health at global, regional, and national levels, the World Health Organization’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction convened a global research collaborative meeting on menstrual health in adolescents in August 2018. Experts considered nine domains of menstrual health (awareness and understanding; stigma, norms, and socio-cultural practices; menstrual products; water and sanitation; disposal; empathy and support; clinical care; integration with other programmes; and financing) and answered the following five questions: (1) What is the current situation? (2) What are the factors contributing to this situation? (3) What should the status of this domain of adolescent menstrual health be in 10 years? (4) What actions are needed to achieve these goals? (5) What research is needed to achieve these goals? This commentary summarizes the consensus reached in relation to these questions during the expert consultation. In doing so, it describes the state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and sets out suggestions for action and research that could contribute to meeting the holistic menstrual health needs of adolescent girls and others who menstruate worldwide

External evaluation of the Rural Poverty and Environment (RPE) Program Initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) : final report

The Rural Poverty and Environment (RPE) Program Initiative merged selected ongoing activities of four previous research programs: Sustainable Use of Biodiversity; Managing Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean; People, Land and Water; and Community-Based Natural Resource Management. The evaluation assesses the extent to which the RPE Program is meeting its objectives, how risks to the achievement of program objectives were identified and managed as per its prospectus. RPE partners point out the excellent working relationship with the Program and its representatives. RPE is viewed as an able and agile partner responsive to the needs of, and constraints faced by partners

DNA damage regulation and its role in drug-related phenotypes in the malaria parasites

DNA of malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, is subjected to extraordinary high levels of genotoxic insults during its complex life cycle within both the mosquito and human host. Accordingly, most of the components of DNA repair machinery are conserved in the parasite genome. Here, we investigated the genome-wide responses of P. falciparum to DNA damaging agents and provided transcriptional evidence of the existence of the double strand break and excision repair system. We also showed that acetylation at H3K9, H4K8, and H3K56 play a role in the direct and indirect response to DNA damage induced by an alkylating agent, methyl methanesulphonate (MMS). Artemisinin, the first line antimalarial chemotherapeutics elicits a similar response compared to MMS which suggests its activity as a DNA damaging agent. Moreover, in contrast to the wild-type P. falciparum, two strains (Dd2 and W2) previously shown to exhibit a mutator phenotype, fail to induce their DNA repair upon MMS-induced DNA damage. Genome sequencing of the two mutator strains identified point mutations in 18 DNA repair genes which may contribute to this phenomenon.Published versio

Gender Disparities in Water, Sanitation and Global Health

Celebrating World Water Day, The Lancet Editors1 highlighted the gains made towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7c, “to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”, and noted UN-Water\u27s call for sustainable water management in view of future increases in demand and shortfalls in supply. As the primary water collectors worldwide, women are disproportionately affected by the scarcity of adequate resources; however, global estimates of improvements in water access do not reflect gender-disaggregated benefits and burdens