QUANTIFYING FACIAL EXPRESSION USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CLASS 1 MOLAR RELATIONSHIP: A NOVEL RESEARCH PROTOCOL

Precise face detection analysis is a crucial element for a social interaction review. To the viewer, producing the facial features that correspond to the thoughts and feelings which succeed in arousing the sensation or enhancing of the emotional sensitivity. The study is based on Virtual Reality (VR), to evaluate facial expression using Azure Kinect in adults with Class I molar relationship. The study will be conducted in Human Research Lab, on participants with Class I molar relationship, by using Azure Kinect. 196 participants will be selected of age above 18 as per the eligibility criteria. This research would demonstrate the different tools and applications available by testing their precision and relevance to determine the facial expressions.

Intergenerational connections to improve social well-being of older adults with ADRD: A research protocol

There is growing concern about social isolation, loneliness, and diminished emotional well-being among persons with ADRD who live in the community. Research suggests that reminiscence strategies, especially with the production of a digital story book, combined with an intergenerational approach may yield significant benefits for older adults. Reminiscence approaches are typically implemented by trained professionals. However, the use of trained volunteers is of growing interest due to the costs associated with reminiscence programs. This research protocol describes the development and testing of an intergenerational, telephone-based reminiscence program offered by trained, young adult volunteers that includes the use of digital storytelling (DST). Specifically, the study addresses three aims: 1) Quantitatively test the effectiveness in improving social and emotional well-being of older adults with ADRD; 2) Quantitatively test attitudes towards aging and knowledge and awareness of ADRD disease among the young adults; and (3) Qualitatively evaluate the usefulness of this intervention from perspectives of the dyads. A randomized control trial is used to assess the effects of the intervention using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The older and younger participants (n = 92 dyads) are randomly assigned to intervention (reminiscence) or sham (social visit) group, and then randomly matched. Data are collected at baseline, mid-intervention, post- intervention, 3 months-post intervention and through qualitative interviews (selected dyads). The proposed evaluation activities will allow us to determine the applicability of intergenerational reminiscence with DST as an effective intervention for supporting the social and emotional needs of persons with ADRD.

Research Clinical Trial- A Review

Majority of healthcare professionals are struggling with conducting and writing a protocol for a research study. Thus, the purpose of this article is to summarize significant steps and necessary guidelines for producing a standard research protocol, roles and responsibilities of various team members involved in the study, and conduction of actual clinical trial including its initiation, phases (I-III), termination or post-marketing surveillance phase. It is important to note that the quality of a clinical trial largely depends on the protocol to achieve success in the research study.

Bibliometric Review on the Use of Internet of Things Technologies to Monitor the Impacts of Wind on Trees and Forests

The presence of trees brings several health benefits to urban populations. However, wind damage is an important cause of falling trees, causing considerable damages. This study involved a bibliometric review on the use of Internet of Things technologies for monitoring trees. A research protocol was designed and implemented, involving a thorough search of the Scopus database. After applying the exclusion criteria and content filters, the abstracts and titles of the resulting 313 documents were analyzed. Two analyses were performed; (i) an analysis of the evolution of the area based on the study metadata; (ii) a cluster analysis of the words present in the abstracts and titles of the identified documents. The first analysis showed: (i) the current growth of this area of research; (ii) that the most important fields of study were agricultural, biological, environmental, and terrestrial and planetary sciences; (iii) that the most relevant journal was Ecology and Forest Management. The second analysis resulted in the identification of three clusters: (i) wind impact; (ii) variables and experiments; (iii) forest management. The main gap observed was that few studies have used IoT technologies as tools for preventive or corrective actions related to wind and storm impacts on trees and forests.

Intracranial approach for sub-second monitoring of neurotransmitters during DBS electrode implantation does not increase infection rate

Introduction: Currently, sub-second monitoring of neurotransmitter release in humans can only be performed during standard of care invasive procedures like DBS electrode implantation. The procedure requires acute insertion of a research probe and additional time in surgery, which may increase infection risk. We sought to determine the impact of our research procedure, particularly the extended time in surgery, on infection risk. Methods: We screened 607 DBS electrode implantation procedures performed at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center between January 2011 through October 2020 using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for infection. During this period, 116 cases included an IRB approved 30-minute research protocol, during the DBS electrode implantation surgery, to monitor sub-second neurotransmitter release. We used Fisher's Exact test (FET) to determine if there was a significant change in the infection rate following DBS electrode implantation procedures that included, versus those that did not include, the neurotransmitter monitoring research protocol. Results: Within 30-days following DBS electrode implantation, infection was observed in 7 (1.43%) out of 491 procedures that did not include the research procedure and 2 (1.72%) of the 116 procedures that did include the research procedure. Total infection rates (i.e., not constrained by 30-day time window) for all non-research cases was 28/491 (5.70%) and only 4/116 (3.45%) for research inclusive cases. Notably, all types of infection observed were typical of those expected for DBS electrode implantation. Conclusion: Total infection rates are not statistically different in patients who performed the research procedure (3.45% vs. 5.70%; p = 0.4872, FET) and not statistically different across research and non-research groups within 30-days following the research procedure (1.72% vs. 1.43%; p = 0.684, FET). Our results demonstrate that the research procedures used for sub-second monitoring of neurotransmitter release in humans can be performed without increasing the rate of infection.