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Country-level relationship of OTC medicine consumption and frequency of GP consultation

Hirai et al. | Dec 09, 2024

Country-level relationship of OTC medicine consumption and frequency of GP consultation

The discussion surrounding self-medication with non-prescription medicines has gained significance in healthcare and public health, particularly given the global increase in consumption of non-prescription drugs. This study aimed to examine the association between the frequency of general practitioner (GP) consultations and the proportion of economic resources spent on OTC medicine.

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Creating a drought prediction model using convolutional neural networks

Bora et al. | Oct 08, 2024

Creating a drought prediction model using convolutional neural networks
Image credit: The authors

Droughts kill over 45,000 people yearly and affect the livelihoods of 55 million others worldwide, with climate change likely to worsen these effects. However, unlike other natural disasters (hurricanes, etc.), there is no early detection system that can predict droughts far enough in advance to be useful. Bora, Caulkins, and Joycutty tackle this issue by creating a drought prediction model.

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Using two-stage deep learning to assist the visually impaired with currency differentiation

Nachnani et al. | Jun 02, 2024

Using two-stage deep learning to assist the visually impaired with currency differentiation
Image credit: Omer Shahzad

Here, recognizing the difficulty that visually impaired people may have differentiating United States currency, the authors sought to use artificial intelligence (AI) models to identify US currencies. With a one-stage AI they reported a test accuracy of 89%, finding that multi-level deep learning models did not provide any significant advantage over a single-level AI.

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Investigating facilitated biofilm formation in Escherichia coli exposed to sublethal levels of ampicillin

Yang et al. | Jan 20, 2023

Investigating facilitated biofilm formation in <em>Escherichia coli</em> exposed to sublethal levels of ampicillin

Here, the authors recognized the tendency of bacteria to form biofilms, where this behavior offers protection against threats such as antibiotics. To investigate this, they observed the effects of sublethal exposure of the antibiotic ampicillin on E. coli biofilm formation with an optical density crystal violet assay. They found that exposure to ampicillin resulted in the favored formation of biofilms over time, as free-floating bacteria were eradicated.

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