scholarly journals Investigating the Effect of COVID-19 Infection on P300 Based BCI Application Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1767-1773
Author(s):  
Onur Erdem Korkmaz ◽  
Onder Aydemir ◽  
Emin Argun Oral ◽  
Ibrahim Yucel Ozbek

The COVID-19, which has rapidly spread and infected millions of people from all over the world, causes various problems including psychiatric, economic, educational as well as health. Many studies have been reported that COVID-19 can be characterized by vascular damage predominantly involving micro vessels. In this study, we proposed a method to examine whether COVID-19 effects on brain computer interface (BCI) performance or not. We collected P300 based electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from six subjects before and after the COVID-19 infection. For classifying the P300 and non-P300 EEG signals, single output and two-layer artificial neural network was utilized. Based on the t-test analysis, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the before and after COVID-19 infection test groups especially on Oz channel in occipital region for alpha=0.05 percent while that of for alpha=0.01 percent shows no statistical difference for P300 classification results. The latency values, on the other hand, before and after COVID-19 infection did not represent any difference for both significance levels. It is clearly understood from the literature that COVID-19 negatively effects to the microvascular bed. Therefore, it might be expected that it could cause to reduce the P300 based BCI performance. This was the first study to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on P300-based BCI performance, taking into account the EEG signals of the COVID-19 infection. The obtained results showed that although the COVID-19 infection did not generally effected P300 based BCI application performance and latency values, the performance of the occipital region electrodes slightly effected.

e-CliniC ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meilany D. Wongkar ◽  
Joudy Gessal ◽  
Leonard S. Angliadi

Abstract: Medical rehabilitation aims to lessen the impact of a disability and enhance the ability of people with disabilities, therefore, they can be involved in social interaction. One of the rehabilitation treatments is occupation therapy which helps individuals by giving suggestions and enhancing independence. Quality is a dynamic condition which fills or surpass the expectations. Quality is closely related to costumers’ satisfaction. It encourages the costumers to create a strong bond of relationship. This study aimed to obtain patients’ satisfaction degree toward the implementation of occupation therapy in the Medical Rehabilitation Installation Prof. Dr. R. D Kandou Hospital, Manado. This was a descriptive observational study. Sampleds were collected by using purposive sampling. The result of the T Test analysis showed that there was a significant difference between before and after the therapy with a p value = 0.000. Based on the result of the satisfaction degree to the variable of expectation and reality, the average obatined was 7.9. Conclusion: Patients’ expectation degree was higher than the reality of service that they received.Keywords: medical rehabilitation, occupation therapy, patients satisfaction degree.Abstrak: Rehabilitasi medik bertujuan untuk mengurangi dampak keadaan cacat dan meningkatkan kemampuan penyandang cacat sampai interaksi sosial. Salah satu pelayanan rehabilitasi ialah terapi okupasi, yang membantu individu dalam memberi anjuran dan menjamin bantuan untuk meningkatkan kemandirian. Kualitas merupakan kondisi dinamis yang memenuhi atau melebihi harapan. Kualitas memiliki hubungan yang sangat erat dengan kepuasan pelanggan, yaitu kualitas memberikan suatu dorongan kepada pelanggan untuk menjalani ikatan hubungan yang kuat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gambaran tingkat kepuasan pasien terapi okupasi di Instalasi Rehabilitas Medik RSUP. Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou. Penelitian ini bersifat deskriptif observasional. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan secara purposive sampling. Hasil analisis uji t menunjukkan terdapat perbedaan bermakna sebelum dan sesudah terapi dengan nilai p = 0,000. Berdasarkan hasil uji nilai tingkat kepuasan terhadap variabel harapan dan kenyataan menunjukkan perbedaan dengan nilai rata-rata 7,9. Simpulan: Nilai harapan pasien lebih besar dari kenyataan pelayanan yang mereka terima.Kata kunci: rehabilitasi medik, terapi okupasi, tingkat kepuasan pasien


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Prima Santy ◽  
Tawakkal Tawakkal ◽  
Grace T. Pontoh

The issue of the IFRSadoption as a standard that can lead to a reduction of earnings management. The research aimed to give empirical evidence concerning the impact of the IFRS adoption on earnings management, and the test of the difference level of earnings management between before and after the IFRS adoption. The research scope focused on the implementation of IFRS adoption particularly in PSAK No. 50 and PSAK No. 55 (revised 2006) concerningfinancial instruments. The research objects were the banking companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange for 4 years (2008-2011), i.e. as many as 23 banks. Samples were taken by using the purposive sampling technique. The main variables in this research are IFRS and earnings management,and includes several control variable, among others are, size, financial leverage, market to book value and institutional investors. The data were analyzed usingmultiple regression analysis and different t-test analysis. The research result indicates that the IFRS adoption has not effect the decreaseon the earnings management.Among the four control variables, the variable institutional investor is found not to have theeffect on earnings management, whereas the other three variables haveeffect.The result of the different t-test analysis also indicates that statistically there is not significant difference on the level of the earnings management between before and after IFRS adoption. Thus, based on this study concluded that the adoption of IFRS still allow for the occurrence of earnings management.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Prima Santy ◽  
Tawakkal Tawakkal ◽  
Grace T. Pontoh

The issue of the IFRSadoption as a standard that can lead to a reduction of earnings management. The research aimed to give empirical evidence concerning the impact of the IFRS adoption on earnings management, and the test of the difference level of earnings management between before and after the IFRS adoption. The research scope focused on the implementation of IFRS adoption particularly in PSAK No. 50 and PSAK No. 55 (revised 2006) concerningfinancial instruments. The research objects were the banking companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange for 4 years (2008-2011), i.e. as many as 23 banks. Samples were taken by using the purposive sampling technique. The main variables in this research are IFRS and earnings management,and includes several control variable, among others are, size, financial leverage, market to book value and institutional investors. The data were analyzed usingmultiple regression analysis and different t-test analysis. The research result indicates that the IFRS adoption has not effect the decreaseon the earnings management.Among the four control variables, the variable institutional investor is found not to have theeffect on earnings management, whereas the other three variables haveeffect.The result of the different t-test analysis also indicates that statistically there is not significant difference on the level of the earnings management between before and after IFRS adoption. Thus, based on this study concluded that the adoption of IFRS still allow for the occurrence of earnings management.


Author(s):  
Ghaniy Ridha Prima ◽  
Hermanto Siregar ◽  
Ferry Syarifuddin

The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the effects of the Loan to Value (LTV) policy on the financial performance of property and real estate companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The sample selection uses a purposive sampling method of 42 property and real estate companies that meet the criteria. The research period is divided into 2 namely before the Loan to Value policy (2013-2014) and after the Loan to Value policy (2016-2017) with the Paired Sample t Test analysis technique. The test results show if the current ratio, Return on Asset, Return on Equity and Debt to Asset have significant differences between before and after the LTV policy is applied. While the fast ratio, cash ratio, net profit margin and Debt to Equity did not show a significant difference. Keywords: Financial Performance, Loan to Value, Property and Real Estate, Profitability Ratio, Liquidity Ratio, Solvability Ratio.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S609-S609
Author(s):  
Molly Hillenbrand ◽  
Senu Apewokin

Abstract Background The incidence of Candida bloodstream infections has risen over the last several decades. Complications of candidemia include endogenous fungal endophthalmitis which can result in devastating outcomes including vision loss. In 2015, the IDSA guidelines were updated to recommend echinocandins as initial therapy for candidemia. Given the poor ocular penetration of echinocandins there has been some concern this change may portend an increased incidence of ocular complications in candidemic patients. We sought to examine whether patients who received empiric echinocandin therapy developed higher rates of ophthalmic complications of candidemia. Methods We identified patients in our healthcare system who had blood cultures positive for Candida species and a completed ophthalmology consult between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019. Chi-squared analysis was used to compare antifungal prescribing patterns before and after release of the updated IDSA guidelines. We assessed whether the switch to empiric echinocandin therapy as directed by the guidelines was associated with higher rates of abnormal eye exams. Results 47 patients treated before the guideline change were compared to 57 patients treated after the guideline change. There was no significant difference in age, gender, or comorbid diabetes and hypertension between the groups. Before the guideline change, 24/47 (51%) of patients received eye-penetrating antifungals. This decreased to 21/57 after the updated guideline (37%, p=0.21). The percentage of patients with positive eye exams was nearly equal before and after the updated guidelines, 10/47 (21%) before vs 13/57 (22%) after (p=1). After the guideline change, 7/21 (33%) of the patients treated with penetrating antifungals had positive eye exams vs 6/36 (16%) who received echinocandins (p=0.19). Conclusion Echinocandins are known to have poor ocular penetration yet our data demonstrate no change in the incidence of ophthalmic complications of candidemia after the 2016 guideline endorsed echinocandins as empiric therapy. The prevalence of positive eye exams throughout our study period was 22%, suggesting ongoing utility for these exams. Ongoing investigation is necessary to confirm and further study these findings. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Author(s):  
Carlos Mena Canata ◽  
Rebeca Noemí Ruiz Vallejos

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of adenotonsillectomy on the quality of life of postoperative patients.The study is observational, cross-sectional, and retrospective. The files of all postoperative adenotonsillectomy patients in Otorhinolaryngology Service, Hospital de Clínicas, San Lorenzo Paraguay. The Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire (OSA 18) was applied, asking patients about symptoms before and after surgery. An effective sample of 143 postoperative patients was obtained. The average age was 6.05 ± 2.08 years, 55.10% (81) were male and 44.89% (66) were female, 65.30% (96) were from urban areas and 34.69% (51) from the rural areas. The t test was performed for means of two paired samples, comparing the results of the Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire surveys before and after surgery which presented a significant difference (p <0.05) with a tendency to improve the quality of life after surgery. It has been shown that there is a significant difference, a considerable improvement in the quality of life of patients after adenotonsillectomy.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Ding ◽  
Nazimah Hamid ◽  
Daniel Shepherd ◽  
Kevin Kantono

More people working at offices are choosing to eat meals at their desks, making “desktop dining” an increasingly common phenomenon. Previous studies have reported that environmental distractors, such as television viewing, can influence meal intake and subsequent snack intake. However, the impact of stressful mental tasks on eating behavior has received relatively less attention, focusing only on subsequent meal intake or concurrent snack intake. This study sets out to determine whether eating while working influenced current meal energy intake. This research also examined the relationship between dietary restraint status and energy intake. A crossover experimental design was employed requiring participants (14 males and 29 females) to eat pizza quietly and at rest (control), and while working on a computer (work). Measurements included BMI, energy intake, state anxiety, restrained eating behavior, stress levels (pre- and post-eating), and appetite (before and after both work and control sessions). The findings showed that consuming food while working on a computer significantly increased stress but had no influence on energy intake compared to the control condition. However, post-eating hunger levels were significantly higher in the work condition compared to the control condition. As expected, satiety levels decreased significantly from pre- to post-eating for both work and control conditions. In addition, no significant relationship was observed between restrained eating behavior and energy intake in both work and control conditions. These results suggest that eating while working affected satiety of normal weight participants, as indicated by the significant difference in post-meal satiety levels between work and control conditions.


Author(s):  
Duaa Mohamed Bakhshwin ◽  
Abdulaziz Bakhshwin

Background: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the Coronavirus outbreak officially as a pandemic. This pandemic has led to new measurements to prevent viral spread. The measures included decreasing the person’s mobility outside homes with subsequent changes in the lifestyles, particularly in physical activity and eating habits. It has been noticed that consumption of some vitamins may help in preventing or reducing the symptoms of viral infection. Those vitamins include vitamin C, D and zinc. There is a common observation that the general public believes that the use of vitamins, especially vitamins C, D and zinc, reduces the chance of acquiring COVID-19. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on taking vitamins supplements by the Saudi general population in order to explore their believes regarding the protective value of these vitamins against COVID-19 infection. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administrated questionnaire that was designed, uploaded to the Google form and distributed online to the general Saudi population through the social media (Whatsapp, Twitter) as well as through email between August and December 2020. Statistical Packaged of Social Sciences program (SPSS) for Windows (version 17.0., Chicago: SPSS Inc) was used to analyze the data. A significant difference was considered when the p value is < 0.05. Student t-test and Chi-square (χ2) test were used to compare the studied variables as appropriate. Results: A total of 1043 participants were included in this study (64.9% females, 35.1% males). The mean age for them was 35.3±14.78 years. Only 9.3% (97 participants) were diagnosed to have COVID-19. About 28% of the participants were in contact with COVID-19 cases. Among participants diagnosed to have COVID-19 infection, (13% versus 29%) were taking vitamin C and (2% versus 15%) were taking zinc supplements daily during the 6 months before and after the pandemic, respectively, while (20% versus 25%) were taking vitamin D supplements weekly during the 6 months before and after the pandemic, respectively. Among participants who were in contact with COVID-19 cases, (8% versus 20%) and (3% versus 11%) were taking vitamin C and zinc supplements daily during the 6 months before and after the pandemic, respectively, while (14% versus 16%) were taking vitamin D supplements weekly during the 6 months before and after the pandemic Conclusion: The interest of taking multivitamin by Saudi population, such as vitamins C and D, zinc increased during and after the pandemic compared to that before it. There is no scientific evidence based on previous studies confirmed the role of dietary supplementation and multivitamins in preventing COVID-19 infection, therefore, effective education on the rationale use of vitamins during COVID-19 pandemic should be emphasized at local and/or national levels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Elkadi ◽  
Eleanor Dodd ◽  
Theodore Poulton ◽  
William Bolton ◽  
Joshua Burke ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Despite being the most common surgical procedure, there is wide variation that exists in the management of simple subcutaneous abscesses with no national guideline describing best practice. During the COVID-19 Pandemic national guidelines promoted the use of regional or local anaesthetic (LA) instead of general anaesthesia (GA) to avoid aerosol generating intubation associated with GA. This study aimed to assess the impact of anaesthetic choice in outcomes following incision and drainage of subcutaneous abscesses. Methods Two cohorts of patients undergoing abscess incision and drainage at St. James’ University Hospital Leeds were retrospectively identified over a 14-week period before and after the introduction of the new COVID-19 anaesthetic guidelines. Wound healing surrogate endpoints were used: i) total number of follow up appointments and ii) attendance to healthcare services after 30 days from I&D. Result 133 patients were included. Significantly more procedures were performed under LA after the intervention (84.1% vs 5.7%; p &lt; 0.0001) with a significant reduction in wound packing (68.3% vs 87.1%. p=0.00473). Follow up data found no significant difference in the average number of follow-up appointments (7.46 vs 5.11; p = 0.0731) and the number of patients who required ongoing treatment after 30 days (n = 14 vs n = 14, p = 0.921). Conclusion Drainage of simple subcutaneous abscess under 5 cm is safe under local anaesthetic with no significant difference in surrogate endpoints of wound healing observed in this patient cohort. Recurrent packing may not be required. Future work should explore patient reported measures such as pain management and the health economics of this intervention.


Author(s):  
Sara Catherine Pearson ◽  
Kristin O’Connor ◽  
Kimberly Keller ◽  
T J Hodge ◽  
Ross Nesbit

Abstract Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose Hyperkalemia more commonly affects patients with a glomerular filtration rate of less than 60 mL/min. Using intravenous (IV) insulin to shift potassium intracellularly may cause hypoglycemia, requiring additional treatment or longer hospitalization. Literature on insulin dosing in this context is limited, with one previous study indicating that 5 units of IV insulin might be as effective and result in less hypoglycemia than the standard dose of 10 units of IV insulin. The hyperkalemia treatment pathway at our institution was revised in May 2018 to include a reduced-dose option (5 units of insulin) for patients with end-stage renal disease. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of hypoglycemia between patients who received standard-dose vs reduced-dose IV insulin. Methods This single-center, retrospective, quasi-experimental study evaluated the impact of revision of the hyperkalemia treatment pathway by assessing rates of hypoglycemia during the 6 months before and after implementation of the revised pathway. The primary endpoint was prevalence of hypoglycemia, defined as a blood glucose level of less than or equal to 70 mg/dL. Results There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of hypoglycemia when comparing the pre- and postimplementation groups (36 [17.7%] patients vs 34 [18.7%] patients; P = 0.7924). The postimplementation group had a statistically significant lower reduction in potassium levels after treatment than the preimplementation group (mean [interquartile range], –0.9 [–1.3, –0.5] mEq/L vs –0.6 [–1.2, –0.2] mEq/L; P = 0.0095). Baseline potassium levels were similar between the groups. Conclusion Administration of reduced-dose IV insulin for treatment of hyperkalemia was significantly less effective in lowering serum potassium levels and did not decrease prevalence of hypoglycemia. When accounting for potential confounders, the only variable that was associated with hypoglycemia was pretreatment glucose level.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document