Osteoporosis Classification Using Texture Features

Assessment of osteoporotic disease from the radiograph image is a significant challenge. Texture characteristics when observed from the naked eye for the bone microarchitecture of the osteoporotic and healthy cases are visually very similar making it a challenging classification problem. To extract the discriminative patterns in all the orientations and scales simultaneously in this study we have proposed an approach that is based on a combination of multi resolution Gabor filters and 1D local binary pattern (1DLBP) features. Gabor filter are used due to their advantages in yielding a scale and orientation sensitive analysis whereas LBPs are useful for quantifying microstructural changes in the images. Our experiment show that the proposed method shows good classification results with an overall accuracy of about 72.71% and outperforms the other methods that have been considered in this paper

Beyond the Horizon, Backhaul Connectivity for Offshore IoT Devices

The prevalent use of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices over the Sea, such as, on oil and gas platforms, cargo, and cruise ships, requires high-speed connectivity of these devices. Although satellite based backhaul links provide vast coverage, but they are inherently constrained by low data rates and expensive bandwidth. If a signal propagated over the sea is trapped between the sea surface and the Evaporation Duct (ED) layer, it can propagate beyond the horizon, achieving long-range backhaul connectivity with minimal attenuation. This paper presents experimental measurements and simulations conducted in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) Band Wi-Fi frequencies, such as 5.8 GHz to provide hassle-free offshore wireless backhaul connectivity for IoT devices over the South China Sea in the Malaysian region. Real-time experimental measurements are recorded for 10 km to 80 km path lengths to determine average path loss values. The fade margin calculation for ED must accommodate additional slow fading on top of average path loss with respect to time and climate-induced ED height variations to ensure reliable communication links for IoT devices. Experimental results confirm that 99% link availability of is achievable with minimum 50 Mbps data rate and up to 60 km distance over the Sea to connect offshore IoT devices

A Content Analysis of Arabic and English Newspapers Before, During and After the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Campaign in the United Arab Emirates

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer amongst females in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an estimated incidence of 7.4 per 100,000 persons per year. In March 2008, the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi launched a free school-based campaign to provide all female Emirati students aged 15-17 years in the emirate of Abu Dhabi with the Human Papillomavirus vaccine (HPVV). Despite the proven efficacy of the HPVV in clinical trials, there has been limited research exploring the acceptance of this vaccine within a conservative Islamic society. The media plays a key role in changing beliefs and attitudes towards specific public health initiatives, such as vaccination programmes. The primary aim of this study was to explore the content and communication style of the UAE newspapers (both Arabic and English) before, during and after the HPV vaccination programme.Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on six national newspapers with the highest circulation figures in the UAE (Arabic: Al Ittihad, Al Khaleej, Emarat El Youm; English: Khaleej Times, The National, Gulf News) to retrieve articles related to cervical cancer prevention from January 2000 to May 2013. One bilingual researcher (Arabic-English) utilised content analysis to study the subject matter of communication in each article.Results: A total of 79 newspaper articles (N=31 Arabic) were included in the study. Content analysis coding revealed five main themes: (i) ‘HPV Screening or Vaccination Programmes in the UAE’ (N=30); (ii) ‘Cervical Cancer Statistics in the UAE’ (N=22); (iii) ‘Aetiology of Cervical Cancer and HPVV Efficacy’ (N=12); (iv) ‘Cultural Sensitivity and Misconceptions Surrounding HPVV in School-Aged Females’ (e.g. promoting promiscuity) (N=8); and (v) ‘Cost- Effectiveness, Efficacy and Safety’ (N=7). Conclusion: The UAE media is playing an important role in raising public awareness about cervical cancer and specific governmental health initiatives such as the HPVV programme. Governmental health authorities may want to consider collaborating with the UAE media to develop a communication strategy to reduce the fears and misconceptions surrounding HPVV. Improved parental and adolescent knowledge on the HPVV may lead to increased acceptance and uptake in the UAE society

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of contraception among Afghan refugee women in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: During the 1980s, approximately three million people migrated from Afghanistan to Pakistan and sought refuge in several cities including the city of Karachi. After the initial settlement of the refugees, the international organizations transitioned the health care of these refugees to the two local non-profit service agencies in Karachi. One of these agencies subsidized health care to the refugees under their care and the other agency encouraged the refugees under their care to utilize governmental and non-governmental private health resources at the disposal of general public. Our objective was to measure the effect of health subsidy on the uptake of contraception among Afghan refugee women and compare them to the group of Afghan women without such a subsidy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A randomly selected group of 650 married Afghan women--325 women in each group--participated in a detailed survey regarding the knowledge, attitude and practices of family planning and contraceptive use. 90 percent of the women in the health subsidy group had had heard of family planning, compared to the 45 percent in the non-subsidized group. The use of contraceptives was greater than two-fold in the former versus the latter. Results of logistic regression analysis revealed that the refugee women who had had access to subsidized healthcare were significantly more likely to use the contraceptive methods with advancing age as compared to the women in the non-health subsidy group. The difference remained significant after adjusting for other variables. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Refugee women who are provided subsidized healthcare are more inclined to use contraceptives. It is therefore important that Afghan refugee women living elsewhere in Pakistan be provided healthcare subsidy, whereby their reproductive health indicators could improve with reduced fertility. We strongly encourage facilities introducing such subsidies to refugees in resource poor settings to assess the impact through similar inquiry

Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of Afghan refugee women residing in Karachi.

<p>Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of Afghan refugee women residing in Karachi.</p

Logistic Regression analysis of family planning (FP) indicators associated with healthcare subsidy.

*<p>Estimates were obtained after controlling for age, number of pregnancies, family type and time spent in Karachi.</p

Knowledge attitude and practices about family planning (FP).

<p>Knowledge attitude and practices about family planning (FP).</p

High Resolution NMR Spectroscopy as a Structural and Analytical Tool for Unsaturated Lipids in Solution

Abstract: Mono- and polyunsaturated lipids are widely distributed in Nature, and are structurally and functionally a diverse class of molecules with a variety of physicochemical, biological, medicinal and nutritional properties. High resolution NMR spectroscopic techniques including 1H-, 13C- and 31P-NMR have been successfully employed as a structural and analytical tool for unsaturated lipids. The objective of this review article is to provide: (i) an overview of the critical 1H-, 13C- and 31P-NMR parameters for structural and analytical investigations; (ii) an overview of various 1D and 2D NMR techniques that have been used for resonance assignments; (iii) selected analytical and structural studies with emphasis in the identification of major and minor unsaturated fatty acids in complex lipid extracts without the need for the isolation of the individual components; (iv) selected investigations of oxidation products of lipids; (v) applications in the emerging field of lipidomics; (vi) studies of protein-lipid interactions at a molecular level; (vii) practical considerations and (viii) an overview of future developments in the field

Implementing health communication tools at scale: mobile audio messaging and paper-based job aids for front-line workers providing community health education to mothers in Bihar, India.

As part of an investment by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation to support the Government of Bihar to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition (RMNCHN) statewide, BBC Media Action implemented multiple communication tools to support front-line worker (FLW) outreach. We analyse the impacts of a package of mHealth audio messaging and paper-based job aids used by FLWs during government-sponsored village health, sanitation and nutrition days (VHSNDs) on knowledge and practices of childbearing women across the RMNCHN continuum of care. Data from two surveys collected between July and September 2016 were analysed using logistic regression to compare health-related knowledge and behaviours between women who had been exposed at VHSNDs to the mHealth GupShup Potli (GSP) audio recordings or interpersonal communication (IPC) tools versus those who were unexposed. Exposure to GSP recordings (n=2608) was associated with improved knowledge across all continuum-of-care domains, as well as improved health-related behaviours in some domains. The odds of having taken iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets were significantly higher in exposed women (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.2), as was contraceptive use (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.2). There were no differences in birth preparedness or complementary feeding practices between groups. Exposure to IPC paper-based tools (n=2002) was associated with a twofold increased odds of IFA consumption (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.2) and contraceptive use (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.8). Women exposed to both tools were generally at least twice as likely to subsequently discuss the messages with others. BBC Media Action's mHealth audio messaging job aids and paper-based IPC tools were associated with improved knowledge and practices of women who were exposed to them across multiple domains, suggesting their important potential for improving health outcomes for beneficiaries at scale in low-resource settings. NCT02726230