Educational video intervention improves knowledge and self-efficacy in identifying malnutrition among healthcare providers in a cancer center: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the USA, and malnutrition secondary to cancer progression and treatment side effects is common. While abundant evidence indicates that nutrition support improves patient outcomes, it is estimated that up to half of malnutrition cases are misclassified or undiagnosed. The use of a multidisciplinary team to assess nutrition status has been observed previously to reduce delays in nutritional support. Hence, educating all members of the oncology healthcare team to assess nutrition status may encourage earlier diagnosis and lead to improved patient outcomes. Thus, the objective was to perform a pilot study to assess change in knowledge and self-efficacy among oncology team members after watching an educational video about malnutrition. METHODS: A pre-test post-test educational video intervention was given to 77 ambulatory oncology providers during weekly staff meetings at a community ambulatory oncology center in central Illinois. Change in knowledge and self-efficacy in malnutrition assessment and diagnosis was measured and acceptability of the brief educational video format was also observed. RESULTS: Mean test scores improved by 1.95 ± 1.48 points (p < 0.001). Individual occupational groups improved scores significantly (p ≤ 0.005) except for specialty clinical staff. Self-efficacy improved from 38 to 70%. 90.8% of participants indicated the educational video improved their confidence in assessing malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: The educational video was well accepted and improved knowledge and self-efficacy of malnutrition assessment and diagnosis among ambulatory oncology providers. Wider implementation of such an educational intervention and longitudinal testing of knowledge retention and behaviors change is warranted.

The TotaltrackTM video laryngeal mask: an evaluation in 300 patients.

The TotaltrackTM is a new video laryngeal mask, which combines a supraglottic airway with a videolaryngoscope. We evaluated the performance of this device in an observational study in 300 adult patients. The Totaltrack was inserted at the first attempt and the glottis seen in all cases. In 249 patients (83%; 95%CI 78.7-87.3%) the glottis was seen at the first attempt. Adequate ventilation and tracheal intubation were achieved in all patients. The median time to visualisation of vocal cords, to confirmation of ventilation and to successful tracheal intubation was 5 s, 13 s and 24 s, respectively. Nineteen patients (6.3%; 95%CI 3.55-9.05%) suffered minor complications, such as mucosal lesion or blood staining. The Totaltrack appears effective for airway management.

Classification of Processing Damage in Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris) Seeds by Multispectral Image Analysis.

The pericarp of monogerm sugar beet seed is rubbed off during processing in order to produce uniformly sized seeds ready for pelleting. This process can lead to mechanical damage, which may cause quality deterioration of the processed seeds. Identification of the mechanical damage and classification of the severity of the injury is important and currently time consuming, as visual inspections by trained analysts are used. This study aimed to find alternative seed quality assessment methods by evaluating a machine vision technique for the classification of five damage types in monogerm sugar beet seeds. Multispectral imaging (MSI) was employed using the VideometerLab3 instrument and instrument software. Statistical analysis of MSI-derived data produced a model, which had an average of 82% accuracy in classification of 200 seeds in the five damage classes. The first class contained seeds with the potential to produce good seedlings and the model was designed to put more limitations on seeds to be classified in this group. The classification accuracy of class one to five was 59, 100, 77, 77 and 89%, respectively. Based on the results we conclude that MSI-based classification of mechanical damage in sugar beet seeds is a potential tool for future seed quality assessment.

The Effect of Swaddling on Pain, Vital Signs, and Crying Duration during Heel Lance in Newborns.

To determine the effect of swaddling on pain, vital signs, and crying duration during heel lance in the newborn. This was a randomized controlled study of 74 (control: 37, experiment: 37) newborns born between December 2013 and February 2014 at the Ministry of Health Bagcilar Training and Research Hospital. An information form, observation form, and Neonatal Infant Pain Scale were used as data collection tools. Data from the pain scores, peak heart rates, oxygen saturation, total crying time, and duration of the procedure were collected using a video camera. Newborns in the control group underwent routine heel lance, whereas newborns in the experimental group underwent routine heel lance while being swaddled by the researcher. The newborns' pain scores, peak heart rates, oxygen saturation values, and crying durations were evaluated using video recordings made before, during, and 1, 2, and 3 minutes after the procedure. Pain was assessed by a nurse and the researcher. No statistically significant difference was found in the characteristics of the two groups (p > .05). The mean pain scores of swaddled newborns during and after the procedure were lower than the nonswaddled newborns (p < .05). In addition, crying duration of swaddled newborns was found to be shorter than the nonswaddled newborns (p < .05). The average preprocedure peak heart rates of swaddled newborns were higher (p < .05); however, the difference was not significant during and after the procedure (p > .05). Although there was no significant difference in oxygen saturation values before and during the procedure (p > .05), oxygen saturation values of swaddled newborns were higher afterward (p < .05). For this study sample, swaddling was an effective nonpharmacologic method to help reduce pain and crying in an effort to soothe newborns. Although pharmacologic pain management is the gold standard, swaddling can be recommended as a complementary therapy for newborns during painful procedures. Swaddling is a quick and simple nonpharmacologic method that can be used by nurses to help reduce heel stick pain in newborns.

Introducing Contactless Blood Pressure Assessment Using a High Speed Video Camera.

Recent studies demonstrated that blood pressure (BP) can be estimated using pulse transit time (PTT). For PTT calculation, photoplethysmogram (PPG) is usually used to detect a time lag in pulse wave propagation which is correlated with BP. Until now, PTT and PPG were registered using a set of body-worn sensors. In this study a new methodology is introduced allowing contactless registration of PTT and PPG using high speed camera resulting in corresponding image-based PTT (iPTT) and image-based PPG (iPPG) generation. The iPTT value can be potentially utilized for blood pressure estimation however extent of correlation between iPTT and BP is unknown. The goal of this preliminary feasibility study was to introduce the methodology for contactless generation of iPPG and iPTT and to make initial estimation of the extent of correlation between iPTT and BP "in vivo." A short cycling exercise was used to generate BP changes in healthy adult volunteers in three consecutive visits. BP was measured by a verified BP monitor simultaneously with iPTT registration at three exercise points: rest, exercise peak, and recovery. iPPG was simultaneously registered at two body locations during the exercise using high speed camera at 420 frames per second. iPTT was calculated as a time lag between pulse waves obtained as two iPPG's registered from simultaneous recoding of head and palm areas. The average inter-person correlation between PTT and iPTT was 0.85 ± 0.08. The range of inter-person correlations between PTT and iPTT was from 0.70 to 0.95 (p < 0.05). The average inter-person coefficient of correlation between SBP and iPTT was -0.80 ± 0.12. The range of correlations between systolic BP and iPTT was from 0.632 to 0.960 with p < 0.05 for most of the participants. Preliminary data indicated that a high speed camera can be potentially utilized for unobtrusive contactless monitoring of abrupt blood pressure changes in a variety of settings. The initial prototype system was able to successfully generate approximation of pulse transit time and showed high intra-individual correlation between iPTT and BP. Further investigation of the proposed approach is warranted.

A Dynamic Image Quality Evaluation of Videofluoroscopy Images: Considerations for Telepractice Applications.

High-quality fluoroscopy images are required for accurate interpretation of videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) by speech pathologists and radiologists. Consequently, integral to developing any system to conduct VFSS remotely via telepractice is ensuring that the quality of the VFSS images transferred via the telepractice system is optimized. This study evaluates the extent of change observed in image quality when videofluoroscopic images are transmitted from a digital fluoroscopy system to (a) current clinical equipment (KayPentax Digital Swallowing Workstation, and b) four different telepractice system configurations. The telepractice system configurations consisted of either a local C20 or C60 Cisco TelePresence System (codec unit) connected to the digital fluoroscopy system and linked to a second remote C20 or C60 Cisco TelePresence System via a network running at speeds of either 2, 4 or 6 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Image quality was tested using the NEMA XR 21 Phantom, and results demonstrated some loss in spatial resolution, low contrast detectability and temporal resolution for all transferred images when compared to the fluoroscopy source. When using higher capacity codec units and/or the highest bandwidths to support data transmission, image quality transmitted through the telepractice system was found to be comparable if not better than the current clinical system. This study confirms that telepractice systems can be designed to support fluoroscopy image transfer and highlights important considerations when developing telepractice systems for VFSS analysis to ensure high-quality radiological image reproduction.

Evaluation of pain in rats through facial expression following experimental tooth movement.

This study was carried out to evaluate pain in rats by monitoring their facial expressions following experimental tooth movement. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the following five groups based on the magnitude of orthodontic force applied and administration of analgesics: control; 20 g; 40 g; 80 g; and morphine + 40 g. Closed-coil springs were used to mimic orthodontic forces. The facial expressions of each rat were videotaped, and the resulting rat grimace scale (RGS) coding was employed for pain quantification. The RGS score increased on day 1 but showed no significant change thereafter in the control and 20-g groups. In the 40- and 80-g groups, the RGS scores increased on day 1, peaked on day 3, and started to decrease on day 5. At 14 d, the RGS scores were similar in control and 20-, 40-, and 80-g groups and did not return to baseline. The RGS scores in the morphine + 40-g group were significantly lower than those in the control group. Our results reveal that coding of facial expression is a valid method for evaluation of pain in rats following experimental tooth movement. Inactivated springs (no force) still cause discomfort and result in an increase in the RGS. The threshold force magnitude required to evoke orthodontic pain in rats is between 20 and 40 g.

Multi-channel acoustic recording and automated analysis of Drosophila courtship songs.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila melanogaster has served as a powerful model system for genetic studies of courtship songs. To accelerate research on the genetic and neural mechanisms underlying courtship song, we have developed a sensitive recording system to simultaneously capture the acoustic signals from 32 separate pairs of courting flies as well as software for automated segmentation of songs. RESULTS: Our novel hardware design enables recording of low amplitude sounds in most laboratory environments. We demonstrate the power of this system by collecting, segmenting and analyzing over 18 hours of courtship song from 75 males from five wild-type strains of Drosophila melanogaster. Our analysis reveals previously undetected modulation of courtship song features and extensive natural genetic variation for most components of courtship song. Despite having a large dataset with sufficient power to detect subtle modulations of song, we were unable to identify previously reported periodic rhythms in the inter-pulse interval of song. We provide detailed instructions for assembling the hardware and for using our open-source segmentation software. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of a large dataset of acoustic signals from Drosophila melanogaster provides novel insight into the structure and dynamics of species-specific courtship songs. Our new system for recording and analyzing fly acoustic signals should therefore greatly accelerate future studies of the genetics, neurobiology and evolution of courtship song.

Digital video technology and production 101: lights, camera, action.

Videos are powerful tools for enhancing the reach and effectiveness of health promotion programs. They can be used for program promotion and recruitment, for training program implementation staff/volunteers, and as elements of an intervention. Although certain brief videos may be produced without technical assistance, others often require collaboration and contracting with professional videographers. To get practitioners started and to facilitate interactions with professional videographers, this Tool includes a guide to the jargon of video production and suggestions for how to integrate videos into health education and promotion work. For each type of video, production principles and issues to consider when working with a professional videographer are provided. The Tool also includes links to examples in each category of video applications to health promotion.

Long-term transfer of learning from books and video during toddlerhood.

Television viewing and picture book reading are prevalent activities during toddlerhood, and research has shown that toddlers can imitate from both books and videos after short delays. This is the first study to directly compare toddlers' long-term retention rates for target actions learned from a video or book. Toddlers (N=158) at 18- and 24-months of age saw an experimenter demonstrating how to make a novel three-step toy rattle via a prerecorded video or a picture book. The toddlers' imitation of the target actions was tested after a specific delay (e.g., 2, 4 weeks), and their performance was compared with that of age-matched controls who did not see a demonstration. The 18-month-olds retained the target actions for 2 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 4 weeks, whereas the 24-month-olds retained the information for up to 4 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 8 weeks. Retention rates for books and videos did not differ at either age. These findings demonstrate very impressive retention from a brief two-dimensional media demonstration, and they contribute to our overall understanding of long-term memory processes during infancy.

Addition of a video camera system improves the ease of Airtraq(®) tracheal intubation during chest compression.

Recent resuscitation guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation emphasize that rescuers should perform tracheal intubation with minimal interruption of chest compressions. We evaluated the use of video guidance to facilitate tracheal intubation with the Airtraq (ATQ) laryngoscope during chest compression. Eighteen novice physicians in our anesthesia department performed tracheal intubation on a manikin using the ATQ with a video camera system (ATQ-V) or with no video guidance (ATQ-N) during chest compression. All participants were able to intubate the manikin using the ATQ-N without chest compression, but five failed during chest compression (P < 0.05). In contrast, all participants successfully secured the airway with the ATQ-V, with or without chest compression. Concurrent chest compression increased the time required for intubation with the ATQ-N (without chest compression 14.8 ± 4.5 s; with chest compression, 28.2 ± 10.6 s; P < 0.05), but not with the ATQ-V (without chest compression, 15.9 ± 5.8 s; with chest compression, 17.3 ± 5.3 s; P > 0.05). The ATQ video camera system improves the ease of tracheal intubation during chest compressions.

Ease of intubation with the Parker Flex-Tip or a standard Mallinckrodt endotracheal tube using a video laryngoscope (GlideScope).

Two endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are available for use in operative suites for intubation: the Parker Flex-Tip (PFT, Parker Medical) and the standard Mallinckrodt (Covidien). To the authors' knowledge, no study has compared these 2 ETTs with each other when the anesthesia provider uses the GlideScope video laryngoscope (Verathon) for intubation. The purpose of the study was to determine if there are differences related to ease of intubation reported by anesthesia providers who use the PFT tube compared with the standard tube while using the GlideScope. The study was a randomized block intervention design. The sample consisted of 58 observed intubations in an operating room setting. Data analysis was completed with a 2-factor analysis of covariance using 2 covariates. The PFT tube in suboptimal conditions demonstrated a significantly greater ease of intubation, as measured by decreased time for ETT insertion and greater ease of ETT insertion score. The number of redirections at the glottis to intubate the trachea once the glottis was visualized was not statistically different. Based on the findings from this study, anesthesia providers may want to consider the use of the PFT tube when using the GlideScope to promote ease of intubation.

FeTaC magnetic soft underlayer for L1(0) FePt based perpendicular recording media.

FeTaC magnetic soft underlayer under elevated temperature process conditions for L1(0) FePt based perpendicular recording media has been investigated. After annealing FeTaC for 40 min at 350 degrees C, saturation moment increases to 750 emu/cm3 and, coercivity and remanent moment reduce to 2.3 Oe and 166 emu/cm3 respectively. The microstructure of FeTaC annealed at 350 degrees C for 40 min composes of Fe nanocrystals with random orientations immersed in an amorphous matrix. FeTaC surface roughness due to elevated temperature process is reduced by 100 W RF plasma etching and CrRu with (200) orientation is developed. It is found that changing elemental composition due to C diffusion into the CrRu layer and RF preferential etching over Fe, Ta and C has the influence on the magnetic properties of FeTaC.

Direct versus video laryngoscopic intubation by novice prehospital intubators with and without chest compressions: A pilot manikin study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether chest compressions affect the time taken for intubation (TTI) using the Macintosh laryngoscope and two portable video laryngoscopes (VLs) (GlideScope Ranger and Airway Scope) when used by novice prehospital caregivers, and to compare the TTIs and rates of successful intubation among the three laryngoscopes with and without chest compressions in a manikin model. METHODS: This was a pilot randomized crossover study. Twenty paramedic students and paramedics who had no clinical experience with tracheal intubation and had never used any of two VLs participated in the study. After a one-hour training session for the VLs, participants performed intubations on a Laerdal Resusci Anne Simulator placed on the floor. Each paramedic used all three laryngoscopes, with the order of usage being randomly assigned. The TTIs and rates of successful intubation among the three laryngoscopes, with and without ongoing chest compressions, were compared. RESULTS: The difference between the TTIs using each laryngoscope with and without chest compressions was not significant (Macintosh: 2.99 sec, p = 0.06; GlideScope Ranger: 2.04 sec, p = 0.11; and Airway Scope: 0.91 sec, p = 0.10). The median TTI using the Airway Scope (15.46 sec) was significantly shorter than those for the Macintosh (24.14 sec) and the GlideScope Ranger (24.12 sec) during chest compressions (p = 0.028 and p = 0.004, respectively). There were no significant differences in the rates of successful intubation among the three laryngoscopes on each condition (without chest compressions, p = 0.15; with chest compressions, p = 0.27), but the cumulative success rates related to the TTI were significantly greater with the Airway Scope than with the other devices in both conditions. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, chest compressions did not significantly affect the TTI using the Macintosh laryngoscope and two portable VLs when used by novice prehospital caregivers in the manikin model on the floor. Considering the fairly short training time, two portable VLs may be potentially useful adjuncts for tracheal intubation during chest compressions for novice prehospital caregivers. Further studies are required to validate whether these findings are clinically relevant.

Validation of a new method for finding the rotational axes of the knee using both marker-based roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis and 3D video-based motion analysis for kinematic measurements.

In a previous paper, we reported the virtual axis finder, which is a new method for finding the rotational axes of the knee. The virtual axis finder was validated through simulations that were subject to limitations. Hence, the objective of the present study was to perform a mechanical validation with two measurement modalities: 3D video-based motion analysis and marker-based roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA). A two rotational axis mechanism was developed, which simulated internal-external (or longitudinal) and flexion-extension (FE) rotations. The actual axes of rotation were known with respect to motion analysis and RSA markers within ± 0.0006 deg and ± 0.036 mm and ± 0.0001 deg and ± 0.016 mm, respectively. The orientation and position root mean squared errors for identifying the longitudinal rotation (LR) and FE axes with video-based motion analysis (0.26 deg, 0.28 m, 0.36 deg, and 0.25 mm, respectively) were smaller than with RSA (1.04 deg, 0.84 mm, 0.82 deg, and 0.32 mm, respectively). The random error or precision in the orientation and position was significantly better (p=0.01 and p=0.02, respectively) in identifying the LR axis with video-based motion analysis (0.23 deg and 0.24 mm) than with RSA (0.95 deg and 0.76 mm). There was no significant difference in the bias errors between measurement modalities. In comparing the mechanical validations to virtual validations, the virtual validations produced comparable errors to those of the mechanical validation. The only significant difference between the errors of the mechanical and virtual validations was the precision in the position of the LR axis while simulating video-based motion analysis (0.24 mm and 0.78 mm, p=0.019). These results indicate that video-based motion analysis with the equipment used in this study is the superior measurement modality for use with the virtual axis finder but both measurement modalities produce satisfactory results. The lack of significant differences between validation techniques suggests that the virtual sensitivity analysis previously performed was appropriately modeled. Thus, the virtual axis finder can be applied with a thorough understanding of its errors in a variety of test conditions.

Surgical video displays and booms. We answer your questions about selection and installation.

If you're renovating your operating rooms or constructing new ones, you probably have a lot of basic questions about device requirements and the purchasing process. Do devices need to meet electrical safety standards? Is equipment described as "medical grade" better? Is it important to buy your displays from your surgical boom vendor or your integration provider? Here are answers to those and other questions we're often asked.

Miniaturized video-rate epi-third-harmonic-generation fiber-microscope.

With a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror, we successfully developed a miniaturized epi-third-harmonic-generation (epi-THG) fiber-microscope with a video frame rate (31 Hz), which was designed for in vivo optical biopsy of human skin. With a large-mode-area (LMA) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a regular microscopic objective, the nonlinear distortion of the ultrafast pulses delivery could be much reduced while still achieving a 0.4 microm lateral resolution for epi-THG signals. In vivo real time virtual biopsy of the Asian skin with a video rate (31 Hz) and a sub-micron resolution was obtained. The result indicates that this miniaturized system was compact enough for the least invasive hand-held clinical use.

The role of CCTV in today's parking access and revenue control systems.

This article provides a planning primer for facilities seeking to utilize the increased technical capability and lower costs of today's CCTV systems. The author focuses on the benefits such systems can add to a parking facility, in addition to better security.

Tracking Rats in Operant Conditioning Chambers Using a Versatile Homemade Video Camera and DeepLabCut.

Operant conditioning chambers are used to perform a wide range of behavioral tests in the field of neuroscience. The recorded data is typically based on the triggering of lever and nose-poke sensors present inside the chambers. While this provides a detailed view of when and how animals perform certain responses, it cannot be used to evaluate behaviors that do not trigger any sensors. As such, assessing how animals position themselves and move inside the chamber is rarely possible. To obtain this information, researchers generally have to record and analyze videos. Manufacturers of operant conditioning chambers can typically supply their customers with high-quality camera setups. However, these can be very costly and do not necessarily fit chambers from other manufacturers or other behavioral test setups. The current protocol describes how to build an inexpensive and versatile video camera using hobby electronics components. It further describes how to use the image analysis software package DeepLabCut to track the status of a strong light signal, as well as the position of a rat, in videos gathered from an operant conditioning chamber. The former is a great aid when selecting short segments of interest in videos that cover entire test sessions, and the latter enables analysis of parameters that cannot be obtained from the data logs produced by the operant chambers.

Use of a rigid endoscope to teach urethral catheterization of the female dog.

Urethral catheterization of the female dog is known to be a challenging procedure. The authors describe a catheterization technique in which they use a rigid endoscope to visualize the canine urogenital vestibule during the procedure. The technique is particularly helpful as a training tool for students who are not yet experienced with the canine anatomy. The endoscope is attached to a video camera and monitor, allowing others to observe and learn the procedure.