53 research outputs found
Attitudes and practices on antibiotic use and its emerging threats among Lebanese dairy veterinarians: a case study from a developing country
IntroductionThis study aimed to explore how veterinarians (vets) rationalized their prescribing decisions for antimicrobial (AM) uses, the barriers they perceived to implement proper farm management in Lebanon, and the consecutive threats that might arise concerning the emergent spread of antimicrobial resistance in animals and the population.MethodsAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, phone call interviews were conducted with 34 veterinarians working in different demographic regions across the country. Data were analyzed qualitatively using an inductive thematic analysis.Results and discussionThe majority of veterinarians called for responsible antibiotic use. The prescribing decision of veterinarians was based mainly on suspected disease from field examination, farmerās reports via phone calls, and the ability of the farmer to cover antibiotic costs. Very few veterinarians referred to laboratory diagnosis before prescribing a specific AM due to many obstacles. This study uncovered the absence of a trust relationship between veterinarians and farmers in Lebanon. Veterinarians provided different insights into farming practices, reflecting that farmers, in general, lack proper knowledge and implementation of farm management and that they mainly treat the herd on their own, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic crisis that Lebanon has been facing in the last three years. Above all, veterinarians revealed that AM resistance in Lebanon is markedly spreading, which calls for a serious and instantaneous set of governmental policies and regulations
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Motion-preserving technologies for degenerative lumbar spine: The past, present, and future horizons
Over the past few decades, remarkable advancements in the understanding of the origin of low-back pain and lumbar spinal disorders have been achieved. Spinal fusion is generally considered the āgold standardā in the treatment of low-back pain; however, fusion is also associated with accelerated degeneration of adjacent levels. Spinal arthroplasty and dynamic stabilization technologies, as well as the continuous improvement in diagnosis and surgical interventions, have opened a new era of treatment options. Recent advancements in nonfusion technologies such as motion-preservation devices and posterior dynamic stabilization may change the gold standard. These devices are designed with the intent to provide stabilization and eliminate pain while preserving motion of the functional spinal unit. The adaption of nonfusion technologies by the surgical community and payers for the treatment of degenerative spinal conditions will depend on the long-term clinical outcome of controlled randomized clinical studies. Although the development of nonfusion technology has just started and the adoption is very slow, it may be considered a viable option for motion preservation in coming years. This review article provides technical and surgical views from the past and from the present, as well as a glance at the future endeavors and challenges in instrumentation development for lumbar spinal disorders. Ā© 2011 SAS - The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Empirical Research on the Ethics of Creative Accounting
The issue of ethics in financial accounting arises in the conditions under
which it aims to produce an image of reality so that diverse recipients are informed,
and which depend on the assessment of the participants. Their ethics play a particular
part in finding the truth, however, because they are those who observe, understand,
formalize, and, finally, create financial statements which should reflect the reality
faithfully. As temptations are considerable, the search for truth, through formalizing a
concrete economic reality, is guaranteed only by the professionalism and
consciousness of those involved in the accounting of finance. Accounting practices are
basic, however, for creative accounting numerous problems occur. Creating
accounting does not clearly correspond to its spirit, even though it fulfils statutory
requirements, accounting principles, and reporting norms. The creative accounting
function for academics, regulators and investors is of great importance in developing
and reporting on financial performance in business. The aim of this research is to
identify the degree in which employees in accounting firms in Lebanon use creative
accounting techniques
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Do design variations in the artificial disc influence cervical spine biomechanics? A finite element investigation
Various ball and socket-type designs of cervical artificial discs are in use or under investigation. Many artificial disc designs claim to restore the normal kinematics of the cervical spine. What differentiates one type of design from another design is currently not well understood. In this study, authors examined various clinically relevant parameters using a finite element model of C3āC7 cervical spine to study the effects of variations of ball and socket disc designs. Four variations of ball and socket-type artificial disc were placed at the C5āC6 level in an experimentally validated finite element model. Biomechanical effects of the shape (oval vs. spherical ball) and location (inferior vs. superior ball) were studied in detail. Range of motion, facet loading, implant stresses and capsule ligament strains were computed to investigate the influence of disc designs on resulting biomechanics. Motions at the implant level tended to increase following disc replacement. No major kinematic differences were observed among the disc designs tested. However, implant stresses were substantially higher in the spherical designs when compared to the oval designs. For both spherical and oval designs, the facet loads were lower for the designs with an inferior ball component. The capsule ligament strains were lower for the oval design with an inferior ball component. Overall, the oval design with an inferior ball component, produced motion, facet loads, implant stresses and capsule ligament strains closest to the intact spine, which may be key to long-term implant survival
Using Large Language Models to Automate Category and Trend Analysis of Scientific Articles: An Application in Ophthalmology
Purpose: In this paper, we present an automated method for article
classification, leveraging the power of Large Language Models (LLM). The
primary focus is on the field of ophthalmology, but the model is extendable to
other fields. Methods: We have developed a model based on Natural Language
Processing (NLP) techniques, including advanced LLMs, to process and analyze
the textual content of scientific papers. Specifically, we have employed
zero-shot learning (ZSL) LLM models and compared against Bidirectional and
Auto-Regressive Transformers (BART) and its variants, and Bidirectional Encoder
Representations from Transformers (BERT), and its variant such as distilBERT,
SciBERT, PubmedBERT, BioBERT. Results: The classification results demonstrate
the effectiveness of LLMs in categorizing large number of ophthalmology papers
without human intervention. Results: To evalute the LLMs, we compiled a dataset
(RenD) of 1000 ocular disease-related articles, which were expertly annotated
by a panel of six specialists into 15 distinct categories. The model achieved
mean accuracy of 0.86 and mean F1 of 0.85 based on the RenD dataset.
Conclusion: The proposed framework achieves notable improvements in both
accuracy and efficiency. Its application in the domain of ophthalmology
showcases its potential for knowledge organization and retrieval in other
domains too. We performed trend analysis that enables the researchers and
clinicians to easily categorize and retrieve relevant papers, saving time and
effort in literature review and information gathering as well as identification
of emerging scientific trends within different disciplines. Moreover, the
extendibility of the model to other scientific fields broadens its impact in
facilitating research and trend analysis across diverse disciplines
Model Free Control vs Sliding Mode Control: Application to a coupled Three-Tank System
International audienc
SD: Is galvanic corrosion between titanium alloy and stainless steel spinal implants a clinical concern
Abstract BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Surgeons are hesitant to mix components made of differing metal classes for fear of galvanic corrosion complications. However, in vitro studies have failed to show a significant potential for galvanic corrosion between titanium and stainless steel, the two primary metallic alloys used for spinal implants. Galvanic corrosion resulting from metal mixing has not been described in the literature for spinal implant systems. PURPOSE: To determine whether galvanic potential significantly affects in vitro corrosion of titanium and stainless steel spinal implant components during cyclical compression bending. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: Bilateral spinal implant constructs consisting of pedicle screws, slotted connectors, 6.35-mm diameter rods and a transverse rod connector assembled in polyethylene test blocks were tested in vitro. Two constructs had stainless steel rods with mixed stainless steel (SS-SS) and titanium (SS-Ti) components, and two constructs had titanium rods with mixed stainless steel (Ti-SS) and titanium (Ti-Ti) components. METHODS: Each construct was immersed in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4) at 37 C and tested in cyclic compression bending using a sinusoidal load-controlling function with a peak load of 300 N and a frequency of 5 Hz until a level of 5 million cycles was reached. The samples were then removed and analyzed visually for evidence of corrosion. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were used to evaluate the extent of corrosion at the interconnections. RESULTS: None of the constructs failed during testing. Gross observation of the implant components after disassembly revealed that no corrosion had occurred on the surface of the implants that had not been in contact with another component. The Ti-Ti interfaces showed some minor signs of corrosion only detectable using SEM and EDS. The greatest amount of corrosion occurred at the SS-SS interfaces and was qualitatively less at the SS-Ti and Ti-SS interfaces. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that when loaded dynamically in saline, stainless steel implant components have a greater susceptibility to corrosion than titanium. Furthermore, the galvanic potential between the dissimilar metals does not cause a discernible effect on the corrosion of either. Although the mixture of titanium alloy with stainless steel is not advocated, the results of this study suggest that galvanic corrosion is less pronounced in SS-Ti mixed interface
Food allergies and allergens in Lebanon: Characterization and perceptions toward labeling
Background: Food allergy is a life-threatening medical condition of public health concern. The aim of our study was to characterize food allergies, in terms of sources, symptoms, severity, and history, as well as to assess the knowledge, practices, and attitudes towards food allergens and allergies, in addition to food allergen labeling, in Lebanon. Methods: For this, 1100 participants filled over the phone a comprehensive valid questionnaire composed of 41 questions. Results: Fruits were reported as top food allergens (29.6%), while itching and rash were the most reported symptoms (9.6% and 8.0%, respectively). In terms of knowledge, participants scored on average 67.9Ā Ā±Ā 16.2%. Participants who identified as females, below 35 years, highly educated, and from health backgrounds had a significantly higher score (pĀ Ā 0.05). Participants who are medically diagnosed with allergies and those with health background were found to check the ingredients list and read nutritional claims significantly more frequently than those from a non-health background and who are non-medically diagnosed, respectively, while females were found to check ingredients list and read nutritional claims significantly more frequently (pĀ <Ā 0.05). The majority reported that ingredients are easy to understand (63.2%) and simple to read (61.3%), while allergic individuals agreed that the font size of the ingredients list is not big enough (56.8%) and that E-code numbers are not understood (68.7%). The majority considered it āimportantā to have the label writings larger and bolded (85.7%), to use simple language (95.5%), to place allergen warning (82.2%), and to use a striking allergen symbol (93.5%). Conclusions: Our results emphasize the need for national awareness campaigns to improve knowledge and practices, and to lobby policymakers for appropriate management of food allergies and allergens in Lebanon
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