A New Sparse Representation Algorithm for 3D Human Pose Estimation

This paper addresses the problem of recovering 3D human pose from single 2D images using Sparse Representation. While recent Sparse Representation (SR) based 3D human pose estimation methods have attained promising results estimating human poses from single images, their performance depends on the availability of large labeled datasets. However, in many real world applications, accessing to sufficient labeled data may be expensive and/or time consuming, but it is relatively easy to acquire a large amount of unlabeled data. Moreover, all SR based 3D pose estimation methods only consider the information of the input feature space and they cannot utilize the information of the pose space. In this paper, we propose a new framework based on sparse representation for 3D human pose estimation which uses both the labeled and unlabeled data. Furthermore, the proposed method can exploit the information of the pose space to improve the pose estimation accuracy. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is significantly better than the state of the art 3D human pose estimation methods

The Prevalence and Determinants of Suicidal Behaviors in the Central Region of Iran

Background: Today, there are great concerns about the high frequency of suicidal attempts which are a major health problem. Identifying the prevalence of suicide and its predisposing elements could be helpful in preventing suicide. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in an emergency ward of a local hospital in a small city in the central region of Iran. The study duration was one year from 8 April 2011 to 7 April 2012. We collected demographic, psychosocial, and suicide characteristics, and the time of referral of a total of 466 patients who had referred to the hospital due to suicidal attempts. Results: The mean age of suicidal patients was 24.97 ± 10.05 years. Participants’ who were between 15 and 24 years of age had the highest rate of suicide attempt regardless of age. The suicidal attempt rate during the study period was 300.1 and 153.5 per 100.000 in females and males, respectively. Most attempted suicide patients were single and undergraduated. Approximately 60.8% of male and 63.3% of female subjects had depression with different severity. We observed higher frequency of stressors in males compared to females (p = 0.007). Moreover, the main cause of suicide was relational problem in both genders. Suicidal thought was reported in about 41.5% of patients before attempting suicide. In 4.7%, 12.2%, and 12.9% of our study subjects a positive past history, plan for suicide, and family history of suicidal attempt were reported. Nearly 75.9% of suicidal attempts occurred between 1 pm to 12 am. The highest rate of suicidal attempts was observed in summer and the lowest rate in winter. Conclusion: Given our findings regarding specified suicide determinants in the present study, we believe interventions need to target young age groups and focus on providing social support settings in places such as schools and referral centers with educated individuals on communication and problem solving skills.</div

Persian Registry Of cardioVascular diseasE (PROVE): Design and methodology

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to create and establish a database called &ldquo;Persian Registry Of cardioVascular diseasE (PROVE)&rdquo; in order to be used for future research and in addition, as a tool to develop national guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this paper, the design and methodology of the PROVE pilot study will be discussed, launched in Isfahan, Iran, in 2015-2016. METHODS: Through establishing PROVE, patients' data were collected from hospitals and outpatient clinics prospectively or retrospectively and followed up for a maximum of three years based on the type of CVDs. The inclusion criteria were as patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), stroke, atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), congenital heart disease (CHD), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and chronic ischemic cardiovascular disease (CICD). Specific protocols, questionnaires, and glossaries were developed for each registry. In order to ensure the validation of the protocols, questionnaires, data collection, management, and analysis, a well-established quality control (QC) protocol was developed and implemented. Data confidentiality was considered. RESULTS: In order to register patients with ACS, STEMI, stroke, HF, PCI, and CICD, the hospital recorded data were used, whereas, in case of AF and CHD registries, the data were collected from hospitals and outpatient clinics. During the pilot phase of the study in Isfahan, from March 2015 to September 2016, 9427 patients were registered as ACS including 809 as STEMI, 1195 patients with HF, 363 with AF, 761 with stroke, 1136 with CHD, 1200 with PCI, and 9 with CICD. Data collection and management were performed under the supervision of the QC group. CONCLUSION: PROVE was developed and implemented in Isfahan as a pilot study, in order to be implemented at national level in future. It provides a valuable source of valid data that could be used for future research, re-evaluation of current CVD management and more specifically, gap analysis and as a tool for assessment of the type of CVDs, prevention, treatment, and control by health care decision makers. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p