Detecting Distracted Driving with Deep Learning

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017Driver distraction is the leading factor in most car crashes and near-crashes. This paper discusses the types, causes and impacts of distracted driving. A deep learning approach is then presented for the detection of such driving behaviors using images of the driver, where an enhancement has been made to a standard convolutional neural network (CNN). Experimental results on Kaggle challenge dataset have confirmed the capability of a convolutional neural network (CNN) in this complicated computer vision task and illustrated the contribution of the CNN enhancement to a better pattern recognition accuracy.Peer reviewe

The human experience of social transformation: Insights from comparative archaeology.

Archaeologists and other scholars have long studied the causes of collapse and other major social transformations and debated how they can be understood. This article instead focuses on the human experience of living through those transformations, analyzing 18 transformation cases from the US Southwest and the North Atlantic. The transformations, including changes in human securities, were coded based on expert knowledge and data analyzed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis techniques. Results point to the following conclusions: Major transformations, including collapses, generally have a strong and negative impact on human security; flexible strategies that facilitate smaller scale changes may ameliorate those difficulties. Community security is strongly implicated in these changes; strong community security may minimize other negative changes. The relationships among the variables are complex and multi-causal; while social transformation may lead to declines in human securities, declining conditions of life can also push people to transform their societies in negative ways. Results show that some societies are better able to deal with difficulties than others. One important policy implication is that community security and local conditions can be instrumental both in helping people to cope with difficulties and in staving off some of those difficulties. A multi-scalar approach is essential as we face the increasing problems of climate change in the decades ahead

Al-hijamah (wet cupping therapy of prophetic medicine) significantly and safely reduces iron overload and oxidative stress in thalassemic children: a novel pilot study

Mohamed El-Shanshory,1,2 Nahed M Hablas,2 Yasmin Shebl,2 Ahmed R Fakhreldin,3 Mohamed Attia,4 Hamdi H Almaramhy,5 Hussam Baghdadi,6 Mongi Ayat,1,6 Amal Albeihany,7 Amr El-Dardear,1,8,9 Hoda Ali Ibrahim,10 Hany Salah Mahmoud,11 Manal Mohamed Helmy Nabo,12,13 Salah Mohamed El Sayed1,6,14 1Prophetic Medicine Course and Research, Taibah College of Medicine, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pediatrics, Tanta University Faculty of Medicine, Tanta Gharbia, Egypt; 3Department of Pediatrics, Aswan Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt; 4Department of Clinical Pathology, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt; 5Department of Surgery, Taibah Faculty of Medicine, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Taibah Faculty of Medicine, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Hematology, King Fahd Hospital, Ministry of Health, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 8Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 10Department of Biochemistry, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt; 11Scientific Center for Experimental and Research Studies, Cairo, Egypt; 12Division of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, King Fahad Hospital, Ministry of Health, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 13Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatrics Department, Sohag Teaching Hospital, Ministry of Health, Sohag, Egypt; 14Department of Medical Biochemistry, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt Background: Thalassemia is a major health problem due to iron overload, iron deposition and oxidative stress-induced tissue damage. Here, we introduce Al-hijamah (a minor surgical excretory procedure) as a novel percutaneous iron excretion therapy. Al-hijamah is a wet cupping therapy of prophetic medicine, and prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, strongly recommended Al-hijamah, saying: “The best of your treatment is Al-hijamah”. Aim of the study: Our study aimed at investigating the safety, iron chelation, pharmacological potentiation and oxidant clearance effects exerted by Al-hijamah to thalassemic children. Patients and methods: Ethical committee’s approval and patients’ written agreement consents were obtained. We treated 20 thalassemic children (15 males and five females aged 9.07±4.26 years) with iron chelation therapy (ICT) plus Al-hijamah (using sterile disposable sets and in a complete aseptic environment) vs a control group treated with ICT only. This clinical trial was registered in the ClinicalTrial.gov registry under the name “Study of the Therapeutic Benefits of Al-hijamah in Children with Beta Thalassemia Major” (identifier no NCT 02761395) on 30 January 2016. Results: Al-hijamah was quite simple, safe, effective, tolerable (with no side effects) and time-saving procedure (30–60 minutes). A single session of Al-hijamah significantly reduced iron overload (P<0.001) in all thalassemic children. Al-hijamah significantly decreased serum ferritin by 25.22% (from 3,778.350±551.633 ng/mL to 2,825.300±558.94 ng/mL), significantly decreased oxidative stress by 68.69% (P<0.05; serum malondialdehyde dropped from 42.155±12.42 to 13.195±0.68 nmol/L), exerted pharmacological potentiation to ICT and significantly increased total antioxidant capacity (P<0.001) by 260.95% (from 13.195±0.68 nmol/L to 42.86±12.40 nmol/L through excreting reactive oxygen species). Moreover, therapeutic indices for evaluating Al-hijamah were promising. Conclusion: Al-hijamah is a novel, safe, effective percutaneous iron excretion therapy through percutaneous iron excretion with minimal blood loss in agreement with the evidence-based Taibah mechanism. Al-hijamah is an effective outpatient hematological procedure that is safer than many pediatric procedures such as catheterization, hemofiltration and dialysis. Increasing the number of cups during Al-hijamah session or the number of sessions reduces iron overload more strongly. Medical practice of Al-hijamah is strongly recommended in hospitals. Keywords: thalassemia, Al-hijamah, iron chelation therapy, oxidative stress, clearance, Al-hijamah indice

Frequency of Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR-1) Gene Polymorphism (PvuII and XbaI) in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease "Frequency of Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR-1) Gene Polymorphism (PvuII and XbaI) in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract Sex hormones might be viewed as biomarkers for cardiovascular health status, as well as protective agents against heart diseases. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common disease in humans and has a complex etiology. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of CAD with ESR1 PvuII and XbaI gene mutation frequencies and to see if it's important as a genetic risk factor and the susceptibility for CAD in Tanta region, Egypt. By polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), we determined the frequency of the ESR1 gene polymorphisms in 110 healthy and 100 CAD sample. Results revealed that there were no significant differences between CAD patients and the control group as regard the frequency AA, AG and GG of XbaI genotype. PvuII genotype frequencies were TT, TC and CC with no significant value. Regarding allele frequencies of PvuII and XbaI polymorphism, they were not statistically important. There was no significant difference among all studied subjects regarding sex, age, menopausal status, cardiac complications and lipid profile, but there was highly significant differences regarding the body mass index. In conclusion, estrogen receptor alpha gene polymorphism Pvu II and XbaI site are not associated with the coronary artery disease