Operating Room Usage Time Estimation with Machine Learning Models.

Effectively handling the limited number of surgery operating rooms equipped with expensive equipment is a challenging task for hospital management such as reducing the case-time duration and reducing idle time. Improving the efficiency of operating room usage via reducing the idle time with better scheduling would rely on accurate estimation of surgery duration. Our model can achieve a good prediction result on surgery duration with a dozen of features. We have found the result of our best performing department-specific XGBoost model with the values 31.6 min, 18.71 min, 0.71, 28% and 27% for the metrics of root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and proportion of estimated result within 10% variation, respectively. We have presented each department-specific result with our estimated results between 5 and 10 min deviation would be more informative to the users in the real application. Our study shows comparable performance with previous studies, and the machine learning methods use fewer features that are better suited for universal usability.

Breast cancer recurrence prediction with ensemble methods and cost-sensitive learning.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women all over the world. Due to the improvement of medical treatments, most of the breast cancer patients would be in remission. However, the patients have to face the next challenge, the recurrence of breast cancer which may cause more severe effects, and even death. The prediction of breast cancer recurrence is crucial for reducing mortality. This paper proposes a prediction model for the recurrence of breast cancer based on clinical nominal and numeric features. In this study, our data consist of 1,061 patients from Breast Cancer Registry from Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital between 2011 and 2016, in which 37 records are denoted as breast cancer recurrence. Each record has 85 features. Our approach consists of three stages. First, we perform data preprocessing and feature selection techniques to consolidate the dataset. Among all features, six features are identified for further processing in the following stages. Next, we apply resampling techniques to resolve the issue of class imbalance. Finally, we construct two classifiers, AdaBoost and cost-sensitive learning, to predict the risk of recurrence and carry out the performance evaluation in three-fold cross-validation. By applying the AdaBoost method, we achieve accuracy of 0.973 and sensitivity of 0.675. By combining the AdaBoost and cost-sensitive method of our model, we achieve a reasonable accuracy of 0.468 and substantially high sensitivity of 0.947 which guarantee almost no false dismissal. Our model can be used as a supporting tool in the setting and evaluation of the follow-up visit for early intervention and more advanced treatments to lower cancer mortality.

Can occupational therapy manpower be replaced with social robots in a singing group during COVID-19?

BACKGROUND: Prior to the COVID-19 global health emergency, reducing direct contacts between therapists and patients is an important issue, and could be achieved by using robots to perform certain caring activities. OBJECTIVE: This study compares therapeutic factors of singing group activities directed by social robots and by occupational therapists at elderly care centers during this COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: This project has a quasi-experimental research design, based on a pilot study of 14 subjects aged above 65 years. They received eight sessions of singing group therapy given by a social robot or an occupational therapist. Completed copies of a therapeutic-factor questionnaire were then collected. RESULTS: At the 4th week, the scores for 8 therapeutic factors were higher in sessions with the occupational therapist than the robot-directed sessions, reaching a statistically significant level; at the 8th week, the scores for 3 therapeutic factors, including imparting of information, were higher in sessions with the occupational therapist than in sessions with the robot. The top scoring therapeutic factor in the robot sessions was group cohesiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Social robots may be good companion tools for elderly care during this COVID-19 outbreak, but group therapy sessions supervised by real-person therapists still have higher therapeutic factor scores than those conducted by robots. The number of subjects needs to be increased to enhance the validity of future study results.

The effects of background music on the work attention performance between musicians and non-musicians.

For occupational safety and ergonomics, the relationship between work attention performance and background music is a trend for the future. Attention performance may be influenced by some personal factors, such as experience of music training. This investigation explores the difference between the attention performance of musicians and that of non-musicians based on a quasi-experimental design to gain a preliminary understanding of the possible effect of background music on the attention performance of both groups. This study found that a musician's attention performance is better than a non-musician's and that background music tends to improve the attention performance of both musicians and non-musicians, but to a greater extent for musicians.

Development of an iPad-based assessment tool for measuring attention and validation in older employees.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the elderly population has increasingly worked in various workplaces. Hence, measurements to assess the work attention of the elderly has become an important need. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this research project are to develop an iPad-based attention assessment tool, "Shih-Hsu Test of Attention" (SHTA) for work attention, that adopts touchscreen as the medium interface, and to explore criterion-related validity and test-retest reliability of this new attention assessment tool for elders. METHODS: Thirty-one participants aged between 65-85 years were recruited in this study on a voluntary basis. Each participant was assessed two times. The participants completed both the SHTA and Chu's Attention Test (CAT), and the SHTA was used to test participants after three weeks. RESULTS: The analytical results demonstrate that the SHTA has acceptable criterion-related validity (γ= 0.400, p < 0.05*) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.920, p < 0.01**). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary findings show that the iPad-based auditory attention assessment tool, SHTA, has satisfactory criterion-related validity and test-retest reliability, which supports the use of SHTA as an attention assessment tool for older employees.

The effects of background music tempo on the work attention performance of workers with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Work attention in employees with schizophrenia is a significant issue in vocational rehabilitation. Background music is very popular in workplaces, and according to some investigations, can help increase attention at work if utilized appropriately. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the influence of background music tempo on attention performance in employees with chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) study was performed to test the attention of 240 participants with chronic schizophrenia under four conditions, namely no music, fast tempo, slow tempo and white noise. RESULTS: Employees with schizophrenia achieved higher attention scores under background music than in a no-music environment. Additionally, slow-tempo music produced higher attention scores than fast-tempo music. CONCLUSIONS: Observational results indicate that slow-tempo background music is more desirable than fast-tempo background music in a work environment involving schizophrenic individuals.

Metformin activation of AMPK suppresses AGE-induced inflammatory response in hNSCs.

A growing body of evidence suggests type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the precise mechanisms remain unclear, T2DM may exacerbate neurodegenerative processes. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling is an evolutionary preserved pathway that is important during homeostatic energy biogenesis responses at both the cellular and whole-body levels. Metformin, a ubiquitously prescribed anti-diabetic drug, exerts its effects by AMPK activation. However, while the roles of AMPK as a metabolic mediator are generally well understood, its performance in neuroprotection and neurodegeneration are not yet well defined. Given hyperglycemia is accompanied by an accelerated rate of advanced glycosylation end product (AGE) formation, which is associated with the pathogenesis of diabetic neuronal impairment and, inflammatory response, clarification of the role of AMPK signaling in these processes is needed. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that metformin, an AMPK activator, protects against diabetic AGE induced neuronal impairment in human neural stem cells (hNSCs). In the present study, hNSCs exposed to AGE had significantly reduced cell viability, which correlated with elevated inflammatory cytokine expression, such as IL-1α, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α. Co-treatment with metformin significantly abrogated the AGE-mediated effects in hNSCs. In addition, metformin rescued the transcript and protein expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and inhibitory kappa B kinase (IKK) in AGE-treated hNSCs. NF-κB is a transcription factor with a key role in the expression of a variety of genes involved in inflammatory responses, and metformin did prevent the AGE-mediated increase in NF-κB mRNA and protein levels in the hNSCs exposed to AGE. Indeed, co-treatment with metformin significantly restored inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) levels in AGE-treated hNSCs. These findings extend our understanding of the central role of AMPK in AGE induced inflammatory responses, which increase the risk of neurodegeneration in diabetic patients.

Elucidating the relationship between work attention performance and emotions arising from listening to music.

BACKGROUND: In addition to demonstrating that human emotions improve work attention performance, numerous studies have also established that music alters human emotions. Given the pervasiveness of background music in the workplace, exactly how work attention, emotions and music listening are related is of priority concern in human resource management. OBJECTIVES: This preliminary study investigates the relationship between work attention performance and emotions arising from listening to music. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty one males and 34 females, ranging from 20-24 years old, participated in this study following written informed consent. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed in this study, which consisted of six steps and the use of the standard attention test and emotion questionnaire. RESULTS: Background music with lyrics adversely impacts attention performance more than that without lyrics. Analysis results also indicate that listeners self-reported feeling "loved" while music played that implied a higher score on their work-attention performance. Moreover, a greater ability of music to make listeners feel sad implied a lower score on their work-attention performance. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this preliminary study demonstrate that background music in the workplace should focus mainly on creating an environment in which listeners feel loved or taken care and avoiding music that causes individuals to feel stressed or sad. We recommend that future research increase the number of research participants to enhance the applicability and replicability of these findings.

Influence of background music on work attention in clients with chronic schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Work attention in persons with chronic schizophrenia is an important issue in vocational rehabilitation. Some of the research literature indicates that background music may influence visual attention performance. OBJECTIVES: Based on the theory of occupational therapy, environmental sounds, colors and decorations may affect individual performance, this study thus examined the influence of music on work attention in persons with schizophrenia. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were recruited from a halfway house in Taipei. Forty-nine (49) patients with chronic schizophrenia volunteered. They had been accepted into vocational rehabilitation and a work-seeking program. The sample included 20 females and 29 males. The participant ages ranged between 29 and 63 years old, and their average age was 47 years old. METHODS: Using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) study, the participants were assigned to one of three conditions: quiet environment as the control group (n= 16), classical light music as background music (n= 16), and popular music as background music (n= 17). RESULTS: For Group 1 (control group/quiet environment), there was no significant variance (sig = 0.172). For Group 2 (Classical light music), the intervention revealed significant variance (sig = 0.071*). For Group 3 (popular music), the intervention had significant variance (sig = 0.048**). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of background music tended to increase attention test scores of persons with schizophrenia. Moreover, the increase in test attention scores was statistically significant when popular music was played in the background. This result suggested that background music may improve attention performance of persons with chronic schizophrenia. Future research is required with a larger sample size to support the study results.

The influence of computer screen polarity and color on the accuracy of workers' reading of graphics.

BACKGROUND: Many professional workers such as engineers and designers must read and comprehend graphics in the workplace. Many studies have analyzed the effects of background color when reading text, but few have studied its effects when reading graphics. OBJECTIVE: This study examines how different screen polarities and background colors can influence the reading and comprehension of graphics. PARTICIPANTS: 504 participants were selected by convenience sampling and divided into 14 groups. The experiment was performed in three parts. Parts 1 had 2 groups; Parts 2 had 6 groups; Parts 3 had 6 groups. Each group had 36 participants. METHODS: In each of the three parts of this study, a combination of black and white graphics was used as a background. Three experiments were performed. Color was the independent variable; accuracy in reading/comprehending graphics was the dependent variable. RESULTS: Experiment One showed that test participants performed better in positive (black on white) graphics test than in negative (white on black) graphics test on the computer screen. Experiment Two showed that screen background colors also significantly affect the accuracy of graphics reading/comprehension on the computer screen. Experiment Three showed that performance improved when the color of the computer screen polarity was adjusted. CONCLUSIONS: Screen polarity can affect the accuracy of graphics reading/comprehension; screen background color affects the accuracy of graphics reading/comprehension; adequate background color as a contrast increases experiments the accuracy of graphics reading/comprehension.

Fifteen-minute music intervention reduces pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients.

PURPOSE: Oncology patients may respond to radiation treatment with anxiety expressed as stress, fear, depression, and frustration. This study aimed to investigate effects of music intervention on reducing pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study with purposeful sampling was conducted in the Department of Radiation Oncology, at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Subjects were assigned into a music group (n = 100) receiving 15 min of music therapy prior to radiation and a control group (n = 100) receiving 15 min rest prior to radiation. Both groups were evaluated for pre- and post-test anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Physiological indicators of anxiety were measured pre- and post-test. RESULTS: Baseline State/Trait scores and vital signs were comparable between groups (P > 0.05). Mean change in pre- and post-test State/Trait scores showed significant decreases from baseline to post-test in both groups (all P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed between music therapy and control groups in mean change of State anxiety scores (mean decreases 7.19 and 1.04, respectively; P < 0.001) and Trait anxiety scores (mean decreases 2.77 and 1.13, respectively; P = 0.036). In vital signs, both groups had significant decreases in pre- and post-test heart rate and respiration rate (P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference in mean change of systolic pressure was found between music and control groups (-5.69 ± 0.41 mmHg vs. -0.67 ± 1.29 mmHg, respectively; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy decreased State anxiety levels, Trait anxiety levels and systolic blood pressure in oncology patients who received the intervention prior to radiotherapy.

Effect of assistive reading software on high school students with learning disabilities: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This research project was designed to test the immediate effect of using assistive reading software - Kurzweil 3000 (K-3000) for high school students with learning disabilities (LD) to improve their English reading and other school performances. PARTICIPANTS: 29 Taiwanese high school students with LD were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (1) use of the K-3000 or (2) control group (using a pen and paper). METHODS: Both groups were asked to complete the standardized measurements using pen and paper a pre-test. Students in experiment group used the K-3000 to do the post-test after they were familiarized with the K-3000, while the students in the control group used pen and paper for the post-test. The differences between the pre-test and post-test of two groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The results suggested that the K-3000 had an immediate impact on students' English word recognition and pronunciation. However, the use of K-3000 did not have a significant influence on the students' general English proficiency, learning adjustment, and academic self-perception. CONCLUSIONS: The use of K-3000 had a positive effect on students' English word recognition. The reason why there was no significant change in students' other performances could be due to the length of the intervention.

Background music: effects on attention performance.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies indicate that noise may affect worker attention. However, some background music in the work environment can increase worker satisfaction and productivity. This study compared how music with, and without, lyrics affects human attention. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and two participants, aged 20-24 years, were recruited into this study. Fifty-six males and 46 females participated in this study. METHODS: Background music with, and without lyrics, was tested for effects on listener concentration in attention testing using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) study. RESULTS: The comparison results revealed that background music with lyrics had significant negative effects on concentration and attention. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that, if background music is played in the work environment, music without lyrics is preferable because songs with lyrics are likely to reduce worker attention and performance.

Effects of background music on concentration of workers.

OBJECTIVE: Background music is a common element in daily living and the workplace. Determination of whether background music affects human work concentration is a relevant concern. Studies have found background music influences human behavior, and this study attempts to understand how background music and listener fondness for types of music affects worker concentration. METHODS: This study analyzes how different types of background music--and how listeners' degree of preference for the background music--can affect listener concentration in attention testing through Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 89 workers. The participants ranged in age between 19 and 28 years old, with an average age of 24 years old. RESULTS: We conclude background music influenced listener attention. This influence has more to do with listener fondness for the music than with type of music. Compared to situations without background music, the likelihood of background music affecting test-taker attention performance is likely to increase with the degree to which the test-taker likes or dislikes the music. CONCLUSIONS: It is important not to select music that workers strongly like or dislike when making a selection of background music to avoid negatively affecting worker concentration.

Correlation between work concentration level and background music: a pilot study.

It is a common phenomenon for office workers {to listen to music} while executing daily routines at their desks. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between work concentration level and background music. This research would first follow examples in previous researches, and then explore the influence of background music on participants' scores on attention tests. We hope to gain a preliminary understanding of the possible influence of background music on people's focus and concentration when doing work. Thirty-two college students were separated into three controlled groups; all were given the attention test. Group [a] listened to background music while being tested for 10 minutes; group [b] had no background music at all; and group [c] listened to the music for 10 minutes prior to the attention test. The test was conducted in a "noise free" environment. The means and error rates for each group were then calculated. The findings showed that, in comparison with "no music at all", those who listened to music prior to testing obtained higher scores in attentiveness (most probably a supplemental effect of the music), whereas those who listened to music during attention test showed extremely high level of variation in attention test scoring. Background music does affect people's job-site behavior. In fact, all three test conditions - no background music at all, background music before the work shift, and background music during work - have affected worker performance on different levels.