Search results for: automated serial sectioning

Authors: Mariana Branco, Nahida Sobrino, Cristina Neves, Márcia Santos, Afonso Granja, João Rosa Oliveira, Joana Costa, Luísa Castro Leite

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This case reports a COVID-19 infection in an unvaccinated adult man with no history of COVID-19 and no relevant clinical history besides anabolic steroid use, undergoing weaning with tamoxifen after a bodybuilding competition. The patient presented a 4cm cervical mass 3 weeks after COVID-19 infection in his cohabitants. He was otherwise asymptomatic and tested negative to multiple RT-PCR tests. Nevertheless, the IgG COVID-19 antibody was positive, suggesting the previous infection. This report raises a potential link between anabolic steroid use and atypical COVID-19 onset. Objectives: The goals of this paper are to raise a potential link between anabolic steroid use and atypical COVID-19 onset but also to report an uncommon case of COVID-19 infection with consecutive negative gold standard tests. Methodology: The authors used CARE guidelines for case report writing. Introduction: This case reports a COVID-19 infection case in an unvaccinated adult man, with multiple serial negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results, presenting with single cervical lymphadenopathy. Although the association between COVID-19 and lymphadenopathy is well established, there are no cases with this presentation, and consistently negative RT-PCR tests have been reported. Methodologies: The authors used CARE guidelines for case report writing. Case presentation: This case reports a 28-year-old Caucasian man with no previous history of COVID-19 infection or vaccination and no relevant clinical history besides anabolic steroid use undergoing weaning with tamoxifendue to participation in a bodybuilding competition. He visits his primary care physician because of a large (4 cm) cervical lump, present for 3 days prior to the consultation. There was a positive family history for COVID-19 infection 3 weeks prior to the visit, during which the patient cohabited with the infected family members. The patient never had any previous clinical manifestation of COVID-19 infection and, despite multiple consecutive RT-PCR testing, never tested positive. The patient was treated with an NSAID and a broad-spectrum antibiotic, with little to no effect. Imagiological testing was performed via a cervical ultrasound, followed by a needle biopsy for histologic analysis. Serologic testing for COVID-19 immunity was conducted, revealing a positive Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG (Spike S1) antibody, suggesting the previous infection, given the unvaccinated status of our patient Conclusion: In patients with a positive epidemiologic context and cervical lymphadenopathy, physicians should still consider COVID-19 infection as a differential diagnosis, despite negative PCR testing. This case also raises a potential link between anabolic steroid use and atypical COVID-19 onset, never before reported in scientific literature.

Keywords: COVID-19, cervical lymphadenopathy, anabolic steroids, primary care

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Authors: A. Dinelka Panagoda, Bathiya Bandara, Chamod Wijetunga, Chathura Malinda, Lakmal Rupasinghe, Chethana Liyanapathirana

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This research takes us forward with the concepts of Federated Learning and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to introduce an efficient malware detection technique and provide a mitigation mechanism to give birth to a resilient and automated healthcare sector network system by also adding the feature of extended privacy preservation. Due to the daily transformation of new malware attacks on hospital Integrated Clinical Environment (ICEs), the healthcare industry is at an undefinable peak of never knowing its continuity direction. The state of blindness by the array of indispensable opportunities that new medical device inventions and their connected coordination offer daily, a factor that should be focused driven is not yet entirely understood by most healthcare operators and patients. This solution has the involvement of four clients in the form of hospital networks to build up the federated learning experimentation architectural structure with different geographical participation to reach the most reasonable accuracy rate with privacy preservation. While the logistic regression with cross-entropy conveys the detection, SDN comes in handy in the second half of the research to stack up the initial development phases of the system with malware mitigation based on policy implementation. The overall evaluation sums up with a system that proves the accuracy with the added privacy. It is no longer needed to continue with traditional centralized systems that offer almost everything but not privacy.

Keywords: software-defined network, federated learning, privacy, integrated clinical environment, decentralized learning, malware detection, malware mitigation

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Authors: Emmanuel Larbi Offei, Felix Agyei-Sasu, Maura Naa Densua Ashong

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Ghana has 26 universal banks and several banking and non-banking financial institutions operating in the country. The growing number of banks has heightened competition among banks to attract and retain customers more customers to ensure sustainability. Hence the need to identify and understand factors that influences customers’ choice of banks cannot be overemphasised. This study investigates the determinants of bank selection criteria by banking customers in Ghana. Four banks were purposively sampled for this study namely Barclays, Standard Chartered, Sahel Sahara and Unibank. Convenience sampling was then used to select 114 bank customers in Accra and interviewed. Questionnaires were used to collect data that were analysed in tables and charts with the use of STATA software. The findings of the study revealed that quick/prompt services and complaint handling, safety of funds, networked branches, easy access to functional Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and low/moderate service charges were the major determinants of customers’ choice of banks. The results further show that 89.5 percent of all deposits are held in either current or savings accounts. About 22.1 percent of the respondents indicated that they have plans of changing their banks in the near future because they are not satisfied with their banks. A gender analysis of the choice criteria showed differences between the choice criteria of the male as compared to the female. The study recommends that banks in Ghana should focus on products and policies that will not compromise on the safety of funds of their customers. Again, banks must address customer complaints and dissatisfactions as promptly as possible by taking pragmatic steps to address administrative bureaucracies and infrastructural challenges that prolong the duration of banking transactions.

Keywords: Ghana, banks, determinants, customers’ choice, competition

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Authors: Azin Shakibabarough, Mojtaba Valinejadshoubi, Ashutosh Bagchi

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Catastrophic bridge failure happens due to the lack of inspection, lack of design and extreme events like flooding, an earthquake. Bridge Management System (BMS) is utilized to diminish such an accident with proper design and frequent inspection. Visual inspection cannot detect any subsurface defects, so using Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques remove these barriers as far as possible. Among all NDE techniques, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been proved as a highly effective device for detecting internal defects in a reinforced concrete bridge deck. GPR is used for detecting rebar location and rebar corrosion in the reinforced concrete deck. GPR profile is composed of hyperbola series in which sound hyperbola denotes sound rebar and blur hyperbola or signal attenuation shows corroded rebar. Interpretation of GPR images is implemented by numerical analysis or visualization. Researchers recently found that interpretation through visualization is more precise than interpretation through numerical analysis, but visualization is time-consuming and a highly subjective process. Automating the interpretation of GPR image through visualization can solve these problems. After interpretation of all scans of a bridge, condition assessment is conducted based on the generated corrosion map. However, this such a condition assessment is not objective and precise. Condition assessment based on structural integrity and strength parameters can make it more objective and precise. The main purpose of this study is to present an automated interpretation method of a reinforced concrete bridge deck through a visualization technique. In the end, the combined analysis of the structural condition in a bridge is implemented.

Keywords: bridge condition assessment, ground penetrating radar, GPR, NDE techniques, visualization

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Authors: Fatma Koksal Çakirlar, Si̇nem Ozdemir, Selcan Akyol, Revazi̇ye Gulesen, Murat Gunaydin, Nevri̇ye Gonullu, Belkis Levent, Nuri̇ Kiraz

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Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 are the causative agent of epidemic or pandemic cholera. V. cholerae O1 is generally accepted as a non-invasive enterotoxigenic organism causing gastroenteritis of various severities. Non-O1 V. cholerae can cause small outbreaks of diarrhea due to consumption of contaminated food and water. Particularly, the patients with achlorydria have a risk for vibrio infections. There are numerous case reports of bacteremia caused by vibrio in patients with predisposing conditions like cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome, diabetes, hematologic malignancy, gastrectomy, and AIDS. We described in this study the first case of nontoxigenic, non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae isolated from the blood culture of a 77-year-old female patient with hipertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, gout and about 9 years ago migrated breast cancer history. The patient with complaints of shortness of breath, fever and malaise admitted to our emergency clinic were evaluated. There was no diarrhea or abdominal symptoms in the patient. No growth in her urine culture, but blood culture (BACTEC 9120 system, Becton Dickinson, USA) was positive for non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae that was identified by conventional methods and Phoenix automated system (BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD). It does not secrete the cholera toxin. The agglutination test was negative with polyvalent O1 antisera and O139 antiserum. Empirically ceftriaxone was administered to the patient and she was discharged with improvement in general condition. In this study we report bacteremia by non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae that is rare in the worldwide and first in Turkey.

Keywords: bacteremia, blood culture, immunocompromised patient, Non-O1 vibrio cholerae

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Authors: Cheng Yang Kwa, Yoke Rung Wong

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Laminated composite materials are widely employed in automotive, aerospace, and other industries. These materials provide distinct benefits due to their high specific strength, high specific modulus, and ability to be customized for a specific function. However, delamination of laminated composite materials is one of the main defects which can occur during manufacturing, regular operations, or maintenance. Delamination can bring about considerable internal damage, unobservable by visual check, that causes significant loss in strength and stability, leading to composite structure catastrophic failure. Structural health monitoring (SHM) is known to be the automated method for monitoring and evaluating the condition of a monitored object. There are several ways to conduct SHM in aerospace. One of the effective methods is to monitor the natural frequency shift of structure due to the presence of defect. This study investigated the mechanical resonance frequency shift of a multi-layer composite cantilever beam due to interlaminar delamination. ANSYS Workbench® was used to create a 4-plies laminated composite cantilever finite element model with [90/0]s fiber setting. Epoxy Carbon UD (230GPA) Prepreg was chosen, and the thickness was 2.5mm for each ply. The natural frequencies of the finite element model with various degree of delamination were simulated based on modal analysis and then validated by using literature. It was shown that the model without delamination had natural frequency of 40.412 Hz, which was 1.55% different from the calculated result (41.050 Hz). Thereafter, the various degree of delamination was mimicked by changing the frictional conditions at the middle ply-to-ply interface. The results suggested that delamination in the laminated composite cantilever induced a change in its stiffness which alters its mechanical resonance frequency.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, NDT, cantilever, laminate

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Authors: Ryan B. Simpson, Margaret A. Waskow, Aishwarya Venkat, Elena N. Naumova

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 31 known foodborne pathogens cause 9.4 million cases of these illnesses annually in US. Over 90% of these illnesses are associated with exposure to Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga-Toxin Producing E.Coli (STEC), Vibrio, and Yersinia. Contaminated products contain parasites typically causing an intestinal illness manifested by diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, weight loss, fatigue and may result in deaths in fragile populations. Since 1998, the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) has allowed for routine collection of suspected and laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning. While retrospective analyses have revealed common pathogen-specific seasonal patterns, little is known concerning the stability of those patterns over time and whether they can be used for preventative forecasting. The objective of this study is to construct a calendar of foodborne outbreaks of nine infections based on the peak timing of outbreak incidence in the US from 1996 to 2017. Reported cases were abstracted from FoodNet for Salmonella (135115), Campylobacter (121099), Shigella (48520), Cryptosporidium (21701), STEC (18022), Yersinia (3602), Vibrio (3000), Listeria (2543), and Cyclospora (758). Monthly counts were compiled for each agent, seasonal peak timing and peak intensity were estimated, and the stability of seasonal peaks and synchronization of infections was examined. Negative Binomial harmonic regression models with the delta-method were applied to derive confidence intervals for the peak timing for each year and overall study period estimates. Preliminary results indicate that five infections continue to lead as major causes of outbreaks, exhibiting steady upward trends with annual increases in cases ranging from 2.71% (95%CI: [2.38, 3.05]) in Campylobacter, 4.78% (95%CI: [4.14, 5.41]) in Salmonella, 7.09% (95%CI: [6.38, 7.82]) in E.Coli, 7.71% (95%CI: [6.94, 8.49]) in Cryptosporidium, and 8.67% (95%CI: [7.55, 9.80]) in Vibrio. Strong synchronization of summer outbreaks were observed, caused by Campylobacter, Vibrio, E.Coli and Salmonella, peaking at 7.57 ± 0.33, 7.84 ± 0.47, 7.85 ± 0.37, and 7.82 ± 0.14 calendar months, respectively, with the serial cross-correlation ranging 0.81-0.88 (p < 0.001). Over 21 years, Listeria and Cryptosporidium peaks (8.43 ± 0.77 and 8.52 ± 0.45 months, respectively) have a tendency to arrive 1-2 weeks earlier, while Vibrio peaks (7.8 ± 0.47) delay by 2-3 weeks. These findings will be incorporated in the forecast models to predict common paths of the spread, long-term trends, and the synchronization of outbreaks across etiological agents. The predictive modeling of foodborne outbreaks should consider long-term changes in seasonal timing, spatiotemporal trends, and sources of contamination.

Keywords: foodborne outbreak, national outbreak reporting system, predictive modeling, seasonality

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Authors: Recep Kesli, Merih Simsek, Cengiz Demir, Onur Turkyilmaz

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Objective: Goal of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated at Medical Microbiology Laboratory of ANS Application and Research Hospital, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey. Methods: S. aureus strains isolated between October 2012 and September 2016, from various clinical specimens were evaluated retrospectively. S. aureus strains were identified by both the conventional methods and automated identification system -VITEK 2 (bio-Mérieux, Marcy l’etoile, France), and Meticillin resistance was verified using oxacillin disk with disk-diffusion method. Antibiotic resistance testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method according to CLSI criteria, and intermediate susceptible strains were considered as resistant. Results: Seven hundred S.aureus strains which were isolated from various clinical specimens were included in this study. These strains were mostly isolated from blood culture, tissue, wounds and bronchial aspiration. All of 306 (43,7%) were oxacillin resistant. While all the S.aureus strains were found to be susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin, daptomycin and linezolid, 38 (9.6 %), 77 (19.5 %), 116 (29.4 %), 152 (38.6 %) and 28 (7.1 %) were found to be resistant aganist to clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, retrospectively. Conclusions: Comparing to the Methicillin sensitive staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) strains, increased resistance rates of, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline were observed among the MRSA strains. In this study, the most effective antibiotic on the total of strains was found to be trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, the least effective antibiotic on the total of strains was found to be tetracycline.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, MRSA, Staphylococcus aureus, VITEK 2

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Authors: Kumar Kanudkuri, A. Sandhya

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Typically, in a MRI clinical setting, there are several protocols run, each indicated for a specific anatomy and disease condition. However, these protocols or parameters within them can change over time due to changes to the recommendations by the physician groups or updates in the software or by the availability of new technologies. Most of the time, the changes are performed by the MRI technologist to account for either time, coverage, physiological, or Specific Absorbtion Rate (SAR ) reasons. However, giving properly guidelines to MRI technologist is important so that they do not change the parameters that negatively impact the image quality. Typically a standard American College of Radiology (ACR) MRI phantom is used for Quality Control (QC) in order to guarantee that the primary objectives of MRI are met. The visual evaluation of quality depends on the operator/reviewer and might change amongst operators as well as for the same operator at various times. Therefore, overcoming these constraints is essential for a more impartial evaluation of quality. This makes quantitative estimation of image quality (IQ) metrics for MRI quality control is very important. So in order to solve this problem, we proposed that there is a need for a robust, open-source, and automated MRI image control tool. The Designed and developed an automatic analysis tool for measuring MRI image quality (IQ) metrics like Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal to Noise Ratio Uniformity (SNRU), Visual Information Fidelity (VIF), Feature Similarity (FSIM), Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), slice thickness accuracy, slice position accuracy, High contrast spatial resolution) provided good accuracy assessment. A standardized quality report has generated that incorporates metrics that impact diagnostic quality.

Keywords: ACR MRI phantom, MRI image quality metrics, SNRU, VIF, FSIM, GLCM, slice thickness accuracy, slice position accuracy

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Authors: Tukur Daiyabu Abdulkadir, Wan Ishak Wan Ismail, Muhammad Saufi Mohd Kassim

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Seed singulation and accuracy in seed spacing are the major challenges associated with the adoption of mechanical seeder for system of rice intensification. In this research the metering system of a pneumatic planter was modified and automated for increase precision to meet the demand of system of rice intensification SRI. The chain and sprocket mechanism of a conventional vacuum planter were now replaced with an electro mechanical system made up of a set of servo motors, limit switch, micro controller and a wheel divided into 10 equal angles. The circumference of the planter wheel was determined based on which seed spacing was computed and mapped to the angles of the metering wheel. A program was then written and uploaded to arduino micro controller and it automatically turns the seed plates for seeding upon covering the required distance. The servo motor was calibrated with the aid of labVIEW. The machine was then calibrated using a grease belt and varying the servo rpm through voltage variation between 37 rpm to 47 rpm until an optimum value of 40 rpm was obtained with a forward speed of 5 kilometers per hour. A pressure of 1.5 kpa was found to be optimum under which no skip or double was recorded. Precision in spacing (coefficient of variation), miss index, multiple index, doubles and skips were investigated. No skip or double was recorded both at laboratory and field levels. The operational parameters under consideration were both evaluated at laboratory and field. Even though there was little variation between the laboratory and field values of precision in spacing, multiple index and miss index, the different is not significant as both laboratory and field values fall within the acceptable range.

Keywords: automation, calibration, pneumatic seed planter, system of rice intensification

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Authors: Venuste Kayinamura, V. Iyamuremye, A. Ngirabakunzi

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Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for HIV patient can cause a deficiency in glucose metabolism by promoting insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and diabetes, diabetes mellitus keep increasing among HIV-infected patients worldwide but there is limited data on levels of blood glucose and its relationship with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and HIV-infection worldwide, particularly in Rwanda. A convenient sampling strategy was used in this study and it involved 323 HIV patients (n=323). Patients who are HIV positive under ARVs were involved in this study. The patient’s blood glucose was analyzed using an automated machine or glucometer (COBAS C 311). Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS V. 20.0 and presented in percentages. The highest diabetes mellitus prevalence was 93.33 % in people aged >40 years while the lowest diabetes mellitus prevalence was 6.67% in people aged between 21-and 40 years. The P-value was (0.021). Thus, there is a significant association between age and diabetes occurrence. The highest diabetes mellitus prevalence was 28.2% in patients under ART treatment for more than 10 years, 16.7% were <5years while 20% of patients were on ART treatment between 5-10 years. The P-value here is (0.03), thus the incidence of diabetes is associated with long-term ART use in HIV-infected patients. This study assessed the prevalence of diabetes among HIV-infected patients under ARVs attending the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB), it shows that the prevalence of diabetes is high in HIV-infected patients under ARTs. This study found no significant relationship between gender and diabetes mellitus growth. Therefore, regular assessment of diabetes mellitus especially among HIV-infected patients under ARVs is highly recommended to control other health issues caused by diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: anti-retroviral, diabetes mellitus, antiretroviral therapy, human immune deficiency virus

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Authors: Thelma Palaoag, Melanie Basa, Jezreel Mark Panilo

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Checking short-answer questions and essays, whether it may be paper or electronic in form, is a tiring and tedious task for teachers. Evaluating a student’s output require wide array of domains. Scoring the work is often a critical task. Several attempts in the past few years to create an automated writing assessment software but only have received negative results from teachers and students alike due to unreliability in scoring, does not provide feedback and others. The study aims to create an application that will be able to check short-answer questions which incorporate information extraction. Information extraction is a subfield of Natural Language Processing (NLP) where a chunk of text (technically known as unstructured text) is being broken down to gather necessary bits of data and/or keywords (structured text) to be further analyzed or rather be utilized by query tools. The proposed system shall be able to extract keywords or phrases from the individual’s answers to match it into a corpora of words (as defined by the instructor), which shall be the basis of evaluation of the individual’s answer. The proposed system shall also enable the teacher to provide feedback and re-evaluate the output of the student for some writing elements in which the computer cannot fully evaluate such as creativity and logic. Teachers can formulate, design, and check short answer questions efficiently by defining keywords or phrases as parameters by assigning weights for checking answers. With the proposed system, teacher’s time in checking and evaluating students output shall be lessened, thus, making the teacher more productive and easier.

Keywords: information extraction, short-answer question, natural language processing, application

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Authors: Bryce Benson, Sooin Lee, Ashwin Belle

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Unrecognized or delayed identification of patient deterioration is a key cause of in-hospitals adverse events. Clinicians rely on vital signs monitoring to recognize patient deterioration. However, due to ever increasing nursing workloads and the manual effort required, vital signs tend to be measured and recorded intermittently, and inconsistently causing large gaps during patient monitoring. Additionally, during deterioration, the body’s autonomic nervous system activates compensatory mechanisms causing the vital signs to be lagging indicators of underlying hemodynamic decline. This study analyzes the predictive efficacy of the Analytic for Hemodynamic Instability (AHI) system, an automated tool that was designed to help clinicians in early identification of deteriorating patients. The lead time analysis in this retrospective observational study assesses how far in advance AHI predicted deterioration prior to the start of an episode of hemodynamic instability (HI) becoming evident through vital signs? Results indicate that of the 362 episodes of HI in this study, 308 episodes (85%) were correctly predicted by the AHI system with a median lead time of 57 minutes and an average of 4 hours (240.5 minutes). Of the 54 episodes not predicted, AHI detected 45 of them while the episode of HI was ongoing. Of the 9 undetected, 5 were not detected by AHI due to either missing or noisy input ECG data during the episode of HI. In total, AHI was able to either predict or detect 98.9% of all episodes of HI in this study. These results suggest that AHI could provide an additional ‘pair of eyes’ on patients, continuously filling the monitoring gaps and consequently giving the patient care team the ability to be far more proactive in patient monitoring and adverse event management.

Keywords: clinical deterioration prediction, decision support system, early warning system, hemodynamic status, physiologic monitoring

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Authors: Eashwar V. Somasundaram, Raoul R. Wadhwa, Jacob G. Scott

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The use of radiomics in measuring geometric properties of tumor images such as size, surface area, and volume has been invaluable in assessing cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. In addition to analyzing geometric properties, radiomics would benefit from measuring topological properties using persistent homology. Intuitively, features uncovered by persistent homology may correlate to tumor structural features. One example is necrotic cavities (corresponding to 2D topological features), which are markers of very aggressive tumors. We develop a data pipeline in R that clusters tumors images based on persistent homology is used to identify meaningful clinical distinctions between tumors and possibly new relationships not captured by established clinical categorizations. A preliminary analysis was performed on 16 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) breast tissue segments downloaded from the 'Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging and Molecular Analysis' (I-SPY TRIAL or ISPY1) collection in The Cancer Imaging Archive. Each segment represents a patient’s breast tumor prior to treatment. The ISPY1 dataset also provided the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status data. A persistent homology matrix up to 2-dimensional features was calculated for each of the MRI segmentation. Wasserstein distances were then calculated between all pairwise tumor image persistent homology matrices to create a distance matrix for each feature dimension. Since Wasserstein distances were calculated for 0, 1, and 2-dimensional features, three hierarchal clusters were constructed. The adjusted Rand Index was used to see how well the clusters corresponded to the ER/PR/HER2 status of the tumors. Triple-negative cancers (negative status for all three receptors) significantly clustered together in the 2-dimensional features dendrogram (Adjusted Rand Index of .35, p = .031). It is known that having a triple-negative breast tumor is associated with aggressive tumor growth and poor prognosis when compared to non-triple negative breast tumors. The aggressive tumor growth associated with triple-negative tumors may have a unique structure in an MRI segmentation, which persistent homology is able to identify. This preliminary analysis shows promising results in the use of persistent homology on tumor imaging to assess the severity of breast tumors. The next step is to apply this pipeline to other tumor segment images from The Cancer Imaging Archive at different sites such as the lung, kidney, and brain. In addition, whether other clinical parameters, such as overall survival, tumor stage, and tumor genotype data are captured well in persistent homology clusters will be assessed. If analyzing tumor MRI segments using persistent homology consistently identifies clinical relationships, this could enable clinicians to use persistent homology data as a noninvasive way to inform clinical decision making in oncology.

Keywords: cancer biology, oncology, persistent homology, radiomics, topological data analysis, tumor imaging

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Authors: Lucas Bublitz, Michael Herdrich

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By achieving the first commercialization approval in San Francisco the Autonomous Driving (AD) industry proves the technology maturity of the SAE L4 AD systems and the corresponding software and hardware stack. This milestone reflects the upcoming phase in the industry, where the focus is now about scaling and supervising larger autonomous vehicle (AV) fleets in different operation areas. This requires an operation framework, which organizes and assigns responsibilities to the relevant AV technology and operation stakeholders from the AV system provider, the Remote Intervention Operator, the MaaS provider and regulatory & approval authority. This holistic operation framework consists of technological, processual, and organizational activities to ensure safe operation for fully automated vehicles. Regarding the supervision of large autonomous vehicle fleets, a major focus is on the continuous field monitoring. The field monitoring approach must reflect the safety and security criticality of incidents in the field during driving operation. This includes an automatic containment approach, with the overall goal to avoid safety critical incidents and reduce downtime by a malfunction of the AD software stack. An End-to-end (E2E) field monitoring approach detects critical faults in the field, uses a knowledge-based approach for evaluating the safety criticality and supports the automatic containment of these E/E faults. Applying such an approach will ensure the scalability of AV fleets, which is determined by the handling of incidents in the field and the continuous regulatory compliance of the technology after enhancing the Operational Design Domain (ODD) or the function scope by Functions on Demand (FoD) over the entire digital product lifecycle.

Keywords: field monitoring, incident management, multicompliance management for AI in AD, root cause analysis, database approach

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Authors: Rishi Agarwal

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Digital twins are emerging as a strong technology used to imitate and monitor physical objects digitally in real time across sectors. It is not only dealing with the digital space, but it is also actuating responses in the physical space in response to the digital space processing like storage, modeling, learning, simulation, and prediction. This paper explores the application of digital twins for enhancing physical security in retail stores. The retail sector still relies on outdated physical security practices like manual monitoring and metal detectors, which are insufficient for modern needs. There is a lack of real-time data and system integration, leading to ineffective emergency response and preventative measures. As retail automation increases, new digital frameworks must control safety without human intervention. To address this, the paper proposes implementing an intelligent digital twin framework. This collects diverse data streams from in-store sensors, surveillance, external sources, and customer devices and then Advanced analytics and simulations enable real-time monitoring, incident prediction, automated emergency procedures, and stakeholder coordination. Overall, the digital twin improves physical security through automation, adaptability, and comprehensive data sharing. The paper also analyzes the pros and cons of implementation of this technology through an Emerging Technology Analysis Canvas that analyzes different aspects of this technology through both narrow and wide lenses to help decision makers in their decision of implementing this technology. On a broader scale, this showcases the value of digital twins in transforming legacy systems across sectors and how data sharing can create a safer world for both retail store customers and owners.

Keywords: digital twin, retail store safety, digital twin in retail, digital twin for physical safety

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Authors: C. A. Ologunde

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Escherichia coli have been a major microorganisms associated with, and isolated from feacal samples either in adult or children all over the world. Strains of these organisms are resistant to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolone (FQ) antimicrobial agents among hospitalized patients and FQs are the most frequently prescribed antimicrobial class in hospitals, and the level of resistant of E. coli to these antimicrobial agents is a risk factor that should be assessed. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors for colonization with fluoroquinolone (FQ)-resistant E. coli in hospitalized patients in Ado-Ekiti. Rectal swabs were obtained from patients in hospitals in the study area and FQ-resistant E. coli were isolated and identified by means of Nalidixic acid multi-disk and a 1-step screening procedure. Species identification and FQ resistance were confirmed by automated testing (Vitek, bioMerieux, USA). Individual colonies were subjected to pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to determine macro-restriction polymorphism after digestion of chromosomal DNA. FQ-resistant E. coli was detected in the stool sample of 37(62%) hospitalized patient. With multivariable analyses, the use of FQ before hospitalization was the only independent risk factor for FQ-resistant E. coli carriage and was consistent for FQ exposures for the 3-12 months of study. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of FQ-resistant E. coli identified conal spread of 1(one) strain among 18 patients. Loss (9 patients) or acquisition (10 residents) of FQ-resistant E. coli was documented and was associated with de novo colonization with genetically distinct strains. It was concluded that FQ-resistant E. coli carriage was associated with clonal spread. The differential effects of individual fluoroquinolone on antimicrobial drug resistance are an important area for future study, as hospitals manipulate their formularies with regard to use of individual fluoroquinolone, often for economic reasons.

Keywords: E. coli, fluoroquinolone, risk factors, feacal carriage, hospitalized patients, Ado-Ekiti

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Authors: Jacquelyn Burkell, Jane Bailey

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Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions deployed within the justice system face the critical task of providing acceptable explanations for decisions or actions. These explanations must satisfy the joint criteria of public and professional accountability, taking into account the perspectives and requirements of multiple stakeholders, including judges, lawyers, parties, witnesses, and the general public. This research project analyzes and integrates two existing literature on explanations in order to propose guidelines for explainable AI in the justice system. Specifically, we review three bodies of literature: (i) explanations of the purpose and function of 'explainable AI'; (ii) the relevant case law, judicial commentary and legal literature focused on the form and function of reasons for judicial decisions; and (iii) the literature focused on the psychological and sociological functions of these reasons for judicial decisions from the perspective of the public. Our research suggests that while judicial ‘reasons’ (arguably accurate descriptions of the decision-making process and factors) do serve similar explanatory functions as those identified in the literature on 'explainable AI', they also serve an important ‘justification’ function (post hoc constructions that justify the decision that was reached). Further, members of the public are also looking for both justification and explanation in reasons for judicial decisions, and that the absence of either feature is likely to contribute to diminished public confidence in the legal system. Therefore, artificially automated judicial decision-making systems that simply attempt to document the process of decision-making are unlikely in many cases to be useful to and accepted within the justice system. Instead, these systems should focus on the post-hoc articulation of principles and precedents that support the decision or action, especially in cases where legal subjects’ fundamental rights and liberties are at stake.

Keywords: explainable AI, judicial reasons, public accountability, explanation, justification

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Authors: Swathi Gopakumar, Sruthi Krishna, Shivasubramani Krishnamoorthy

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Contactless, painless and radiation-free thermal imaging technology is one of the preferred screening modalities for detection of breast cancer. However, poor signal to noise ratio and the inexorable need to preserve edges defining cancer cells and normal cells, make the segmentation process difficult and hence unsuitable for computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer. This paper presents key findings from a research conducted on the appraisal of two promising techniques, for the detection of breast cancer: (I) marker-controlled, Level-set segmentation of anisotropic diffusion filtered preprocessed image versus (II) Segmentation using marker-controlled level-set on a Gaussian-filtered image. Gaussian-filtering processes the image uniformly, whereas anisotropic filtering processes only in specific areas of a thermographic image. The pre-processed (Gaussian-filtered and anisotropic-filtered) images of breast samples were then applied for segmentation. The segmentation of breast starts with initial level-set function. In this study, marker refers to the position of the image to which initial level-set function is applied. The markers are generally placed on the left and right side of the breast, which may vary with the breast size. The proposed method was carried out on images from an online database with samples collected from women of varying breast characteristics. It was observed that the breast was able to be segmented out from the background by adjustment of the markers. From the results, it was observed that as a pre-processing technique, anisotropic filtering with level-set segmentation, preserved the edges more effectively than Gaussian filtering. Segmented image, by application of anisotropic filtering was found to be more suitable for feature extraction, enabling automated computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer.

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, breast, Gaussian, level-set, thermograms

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Authors: Nurhayati Br Tarigan, Rizkita Rachmi Esyanti

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Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) has a great potential to be used as a natural sweetener because it contains steviol glycoside, which is approximately 100 - 300 times sweeter than sucrose, yet low calories. Vegetative and generative propagation of S. rebaudiana is inefficient to produce stevia biomass and stevioside. One of alternative for stevia propagation is in vitro shoot culture. This research was conducted to optimize the best medium for shoot growth and to compare the bioconversion efficiency and stevioside production of S. rebaudiana shoot culture cultivated in thin layer culture (TLC), recipient for automated temporary immersion system (TIS RITA®) bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor. The result showed that 1 ppm of Kinetin produced a healthy shoot and the highest number of leaves compared to BAP. Shoots were then cultivated in TLC, TIS RITA® bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor. Growth medium efficiency was determined by yield and productivity. TLC produced the highest growth medium efficiency of S. rebaudiana, the yield was 0.471 ± 0.117 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1, and the productivity was 0.599 ± 0.122 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1. While TIS RITA® bioreactor produced the lowest yield and productivity, 0.182 ± 0.024 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1 and 0.041 ± 0.0002 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1 respectively. The yield of bubble column bioreactor was 0.354 ± 0.204 gbiomass.gsubstrate-1 and the productivity was 0,099 ± 0,009 gbiomass.Lmedium-1.day-1. The stevioside content from the highest to the lowest was obtained from stevia shoot which was cultivated on TLC, TIS RITA® bioreactor, and bubble column bioreactor; the content was 93,44 μg/g, 42,57 μg/g, and 23,03 μg/g respectively. All three systems could be used to produce stevia shoot biomass, but optimization on the number of nutrition and oxygen intake was required in each system.

Keywords: bubble column, growth medium efficiency, Stevia rebaudiana, stevioside, TIS RITA®, TLC

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Authors: Nadilla Saskia, Octoria Nur, Assegaf Zareeva

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Mass transport infrastructures are essential to enhance the connectivity between regions and regional equity in Indonesia. Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, ranked the 10th highest congestion rate in the world based on the 2019 traffic index, contributing to air pollution and energy consumption. Other than that, the World Air Quality Report in 2019 depicted Jakarta’s air pollutant concentration at 49.4 mg, the 5th highest in the world. Issues of severe traffic congestion, lack of sufficient urban infrastructure in Jakarta, and greenhouse gas emissions have to be addressed through mass transportation. Indonesia’s government is currently constructing The Greater Jakarta LRT (Light Rapid Transit) as convenient, efficient, and environmentally friendly transportation connecting Jakarta with Bekasi and Cibubur areas and plans to serve the passengers in August 2023. Greater Jakarta LRT is operated with Grade of Automation (GoA) No.3, Driverless Train Operation (DTO). Hence, the automated technology used in rail infrastructure is anticipated to address these issues with greater results. The paper will be validated and establish the extent to which the automation system would increase energy efficiency, help reduce carbon emissions, and benefit the environment. Based on the calculated CO2 emissions and fuel consumption for the existing condition (2015) during the feasibility study of the LRT Project and the predicted condition in 2030, it is obtained that Greater Jakarta LRT with GoA3 operation will reduce the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by more than 50% in 2030. In the bigger picture, Greater Jakarta LRT supports the government's goal of achieving Jakarta Net-Zero Emissions (NZE) 2050.

Keywords: LRT, Grade of Automation (GoA), energy efficiency, carbon emissions, railway infrastructure, DKI Jakarta

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Authors: Yohanna Panshak

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The impact of macroeconomic instability on economic growth and prosperity has been at forefront in many discourses among researchers and policy makers and has generated a lot of controversies over the years. This has generated series of research efforts towards understanding the remote causes of this phenomenon; its nature, determinants and how it can be targeted and mitigated. While others have opined that the root cause of macroeconomic flux in Nigeria is attributed to Oil-Price volatility, others viewed the issue as resulting from some constellation of structural constraints both within and outside the shores of the country. Research works of scholars such as [Akpan (2009), Aliyu (2009), Olomola (2006), etc] argue that oil volatility can determine economic growth or has the potential of doing so. On the contrary, [Darby (1982), Cerralo (2005) etc] share the opinion that it can slow down growth. The earlier argument rest on the understanding that for a net balance of oil exporting economies, price upbeat directly increases real national income through higher export earnings, whereas, the latter allude to the case of net-oil importing countries (which experience price rises, increased input costs, reduced non-oil demand, low investment, fall in tax revenues and ultimately an increase in budget deficit which will further reduce welfare level). Therefore, assessing the precise impact of oil price volatility on virtually any economy is a function of whether it is an oil-exporting or importing nation. Research on oil price volatility and its outcome on the growth of the Nigerian economy are evolving and in a march towards resolving Nigeria’s macroeconomic instability as long as oil revenue still remain the mainstay and driver of socio-economic engineering. Recently, a major importer of Nigeria’s oil- United States made a historic breakthrough in more efficient source of energy for her economy with the capacity of serving significant part of the world. This undoubtedly suggests a threat to the exchange earnings of the country. The need to understand fluctuation in its major export commodity is critical. This paper leans on the Renaissance growth theory with greater focus on theoretical work of Lee (1998); a leading proponent of this school who makes a clear cut of difference between oil price changes and oil price volatility. Based on the above background, the research seeks to empirically examine the impact oil-price volatility on government expenditure using quarterly time series data spanning 1986:1 to 2014:4. Vector Auto Regression (VAR) econometric approach shall be used. The structural properties of the model shall be tested using Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron. Relevant diagnostics tests of heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and normality shall also be carried out. Policy recommendation shall be offered on the empirical findings and believes it assist policy makers not only in Nigeria but the world-over.

Keywords: oil-price, volatility, prosperity, budget, expenditure

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Authors: O. Ubani, H. I. Atagana, M. S. Thantsha

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This study was conducted to measure the reduction in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content in oil sludge by co-composting the sludge with pig, cow, horse and poultry manures under laboratory conditions. Four kilograms of soil spiked with 800 g of oil sludge was co-composted differently with each manure in a ratio of 2:1 (w/w) spiked soil:manure and wood-chips in a ratio of 2:1 (w/v) spiked soil:wood-chips. Control was set up similar as the one above but without manure. Mixtures were incubated for 10 months at room temperature. Compost piles were turned weekly and moisture level was maintained at between 50% and 70%. Moisture level, pH, temperature, CO2 evolution and oxygen consumption were measured monthly and the ash content at the end of experimentation. Bacteria capable of utilizing PAHs were isolated, purified and characterized by molecular techniques using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), amplification of the 16S rDNA gene using the specific primers (16S-P1 PCR and 16S-P2 PCR) and the amplicons were sequenced. Extent of reduction of PAHs was measured using automated soxhlet extractor with dichloromethane as the extraction solvent coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Temperature did not exceed 27.5O°C in all compost heaps, pH ranged from 5.5 to 7.8 and CO2 evolution was highest in poultry manure at 18.78 µg/dwt/day. Microbial growth and activities were enhanced. Bacteria identified were Bacillus, Arthrobacter and Staphylococcus species. Results from PAH measurements showed reduction between 77 and 99%. The results from the control experiments may be because it was invaded by fungi. Co-composting of spiked soils with animal manures enhanced the reduction in PAHs. Interestingly, all bacteria isolated and identified in this study were present in all treatments, including the control.

Keywords: bioremediation, co-composting, oil refinery sludge, PAHs, bacteria spp, animal manures, molecular techniques

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Authors: Michael Anthony Doherty

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Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is a significant topic in the construction industry; while reviewing (MMC) over different fields that are significant in the modern construction world, the following areas were assessed where (MMC) is developing, supply chain management, automation, digital technology, and new construction technologies. Different methods were considered as an approach to research and exploring areas highlighted within the construction industry that are making advancements using Modern Methods of Construction Methods and Technologies (MCMTs). The research was conducted using the following methodologies, literature review of academic sources, primary and secondary data sources, questionaries, and interviews. The paper is composed of two parts, firstly a literature review and secondly a questionnaire used as the basis for interviews were utilised to achieve the following key objectives: to identify (MCMTs) being implemented in the construction industry, research and compile information with regards to these methods, determine their purpose and their application in the industry, establishing what (MCMTs) are being used in the industry while also determining the success of the methods. The research considers the evolution and development of these methods in projects and within the industry itself. Major findings were as follows; automation technologies such as robotics, offsite fabrication utilising automated production lines are increasingly part of project execution, digital technologies such as AR and VR are increasingly utilised in project co-ordination, (MMCTs) are proving to be a solution to the construction industry problems such as a lack of skilled workforce, hazardous work tasks, and situations, new construction technologies are available and finding their place in mainstream construction, (SCM) and (GSCM) are evolving to new levels using new systems and technologies such as block chain technology as well as Company Size and Project size influence the use of (MMCTs) and the adoption of (MMCTS). In summary the paper endeavours to identify and detail how areas of (MMCTs) are developing and are gaining traction within mainstream construction.

Keywords: automation, digital technology, new construction technologies, supply chain management

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Authors: Ainouna Bouziane

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The ability of Electron Tomography to recover the 3D structure of catalysts, with spatial resolution in the subnanometer scale, has been widely explored and reviewed in the last decades. A variety of experimental techniques, based either on Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) or Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) have been used to reveal different features of nanostructured catalysts in 3D, but High Angle Annular Dark Field imaging in STEM mode (HAADF-STEM) stands out as the most frequently used, given its chemical sensitivity and avoidance of imaging artifacts related to diffraction phenomena when dealing with crystalline materials. In this regard, our group has developed a methodology that combines image denoising by undecimated wavelet transforms (UWT) with automated, advanced segmentation procedures and parameter selection methods using CS-TVM (Compressed Sensing-total variation minimization) algorithms to reveal more reliable quantitative information out of the 3D characterization studies. However, evaluating the accuracy of the magnitudes estimated from the segmented volumes is also an important issue that has not been properly addressed yet, because a perfectly known reference is needed. The problem particularly complicates in the case of multicomponent material systems. To tackle this key question, we have developed a methodology that incorporates volume reconstruction/segmentation methods. In particular, we have established an approach to evaluate, in quantitative terms, the accuracy of TVM reconstructions, which considers the influence of relevant experimental parameters like the range of tilt angles, image noise level or object orientation. The approach is based on the analysis of material-realistic, 3D phantoms, which include the most relevant features of the system under analysis.

Keywords: electron tomography, supported catalysts, nanometrology, error assessment

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Authors: Tristan R. Fraser, Christopher D. Steadman, Christopher J. Boos

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Myopericarditis is an inflammation syndrome characterised by clinical diagnostic criteria for pericarditis, such as chest pain, combined with evidence of myocardial involvement, such as elevation of biomarkers of myocardial damage, e.g., troponins. It can rarely be a complication of therapeutics used for dysregulated immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for example, mesalazine. The infrequency of mesalazine-induced myopericarditis adds to the challenge in its recognition. Rapid diagnosis and the early introduction of treatment are crucial. This case report follows a 24-year-old professional footballer with a past medical history of ulcerative colitis, recently started on mesalazine for disease control. Three weeks after mesalazine was initiated, he was admitted with fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain worse whilst supine and on deep inspiration, as well as elevated venous blood cardiac troponin T level (cTnT, 288ng/L; normal: <13ng/L). Myocarditis was confirmed on initial inpatient cardiac MRI, revealing the presence of florid myocarditis with preserved left ventricular systolic function and an ejection fraction of 67%. This was a longitudinal case study following the progress of a single individual with myopericarditis over four acute hospital admissions over nine weeks, with admissions ranging from two to five days. Parameters examined included clinical signs and symptoms, serum troponin, transthoracic echocardiogram, and cardiac MRI. Serial measurements of cardiac function, including cardiac MRI and transthoracic echocardiogram, showed progressive deterioration of cardiac function whilst mesalazine was continued. Prior to cessation of mesalazine, transthoracic echocardiography revealed a small global pericardial effusion of < 1cm and worsening left ventricular systolic function with an ejection fraction of 45%. After recognition of mesalazine as a potential cause and consequent cessation of the drug, symptoms resolved, with cardiac MRI performed as an outpatient showing resolution of myocardial oedema. The patient plans to make a return to competitive sport. Patients suffering from myopericarditis are advised to refrain from competitive sport for at least six months in order to reduce the risk of cardiac remodelling and sudden cardiac death. Additional considerations must be taken in individuals for whom competitive sport is an essential component of their livelihood, such as professional athletes. Myopericarditis is an uncommon, however potentially serious medical condition with a wide variety of aetiologies, including viral, autoimmune, and drug-related causes. Management is mainly supportive and relies on prompt recognition and removal of the aetiological process. Mesalazine-induced myopericarditis is a rare condition; as such increasing awareness of mesalazine as a precipitant of myopericarditis is vital for optimising the management of these patients.

Keywords: myopericarditis, mesalazine, inflammatory bowel disease, professional athlete

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Authors: Dominic Huschke, Rudolf Keil

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New driving functionalities like highly automated driving have a major impact on the electrics/electronics architecture of future vehicles and inevitably lead to higher safety requirements. Partly due to these increased requirements, the vehicle industry is increasingly looking at semiconductor switches as an alternative to conventional melting fuses. The protective functionality of semiconductor switches can be implemented in hardware as well as in software. A current approach discussed in science and industry is the implementation of a model of the protected low voltage power cable on a microcontroller to calculate its temperature. Here, the information regarding the current is provided by the continuous current measurement of the semiconductor switch. The signal to open the semiconductor switch is provided by the microcontroller when a previously defined limit for the temperature of the low voltage power cable is exceeded. A setup for the testing of the described principle for electronic fuse protection of a low voltage power cable is built and successfullyvalidated with experiments afterwards. Here, the evaluation criterion is the deviation of the measured temperature of the low voltage power cable from the specified limit temperature when the semiconductor switch is opened. The analysis is carried out with an assumed ambient temperature as well as with a measured ambient temperature. Subsequently, the experimentally performed investigations are simulated in a virtual environment. The explicit focus is on the simulation of the behavior of the microcontroller with an implemented model of a low voltage power cable in a real-time environment. Subsequently, the generated results are compared with those of the experiments. Based on this, the completely virtual design of the described approach is assumed to be valid.

Keywords: automotive wire harness, electronic fuse protection, low voltage power cable, semiconductor-based fuses, software-based validation

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Authors: Nigina Toktasynova, Sholpan Sagyndykova, Zhanat Kenzhebayeva, Maksat Kalimoldayev, Mariya Ishimova, Irbulat Utepbergenov

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Any business needs a stable operation and continuous improvement, therefore it is necessary to constantly interact with the environment, to analyze the work of the enterprise in terms of employees, executives and consumers, as well as to correct any inconsistencies of certain types of processes and their aggregate. In the case of heat supply organizations, in addition to suppliers, local legislation must be considered which often is the main regulator of pricing of services. In this case, the process approach used to build a functional organizational structure in these types of businesses in Kazakhstan is a challenge not only in the implementation, but also in ways of analyzing the employee's salary. To solve these problems, we investigated the management system of heating enterprise, including strategic planning based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), quality management in accordance with the standards of the Quality Management System (QMS) ISO 9001 and analysis of the system based on expert judgment using fuzzy inference. To carry out our work we used the theory of fuzzy sets, the QMS in accordance with ISO 9001, BSC according to the method of Kaplan and Norton, method of construction of business processes according to the notation IDEF0, theory of modeling using Matlab software simulation tools and graphical programming LabVIEW. The results of the work are as follows: We determined possibilities of improving the management of heat-supply plant-based on QMS; after the justification and adaptation of software tool it has been used to automate a series of functions for the management and reduction of resources and for the maintenance of the system up to date; an application for the analysis of the QMS based on fuzzy inference has been created with novel organization of communication software with the application enabling the analysis of relevant data of enterprise management system.

Keywords: balanced scorecard, heat supply, quality management system, the theory of fuzzy sets

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Authors: David A. Harness

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Natural evolution of ATP cognitive systems is to meet AI peer review standards. ATP process of axiom selection from Mizar to prove a conjecture would be further refined, as in all human and machine learning, by solving the real world problem of the proposed AI peer review challenge: Determine which conjecture forms the higher confidence level constructive proof between Standard Model of Physics SU(n) lattice gauge group operation vs. present non-standard 4D GEM EOS SU(n) lattice gauge group spatially extended operation in which the photon and electron are the first two trace angular momentum invariants of a gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) energy momentum density tensor wavetrain integration spin-stress pressure-volume equation of state (EOS), initiated via 32 lines of Mathematica code. Resulting gravitoelectromagnetic spectrum ranges from compressive through rarefactive of the central cosmological constant vacuum energy density in units of pascals. Said self-adjoint group operation exclusively operates on the stress energy momentum tensor of the Einstein field equations, introducing quantization directly on the 4D spacetime level, essentially reformulating the Yang-Mills virtual superpositioned particle compounded lattice gauge groups quantization of the vacuum—into a single hyper-complex multi-valued GEM U(1) × SU(1,3) lattice gauge group Planck spacetime mesh quantization of the vacuum. Thus the Mizar corpus already contains all of the axioms required for relevant DeepMath premise selection and unambiguous formal natural language parsing in context deep learning.

Keywords: automated theorem proving, constructive quantum field theory, information theory, neural networks

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Authors: M. Bilal Ishfaq, Adnan N. Qureshi

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COVID-19 is the most infectious disease these days, it was first reported in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei in China then it spread rapidly throughout the whole world. Later on 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a pandemic. Since COVID-19 is highly contagious, it has affected approximately 219M people worldwide and caused 4.55M deaths. It has brought the importance of accurate diagnosis of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and COVID-19 to the forefront. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach for the automated detection of COVID-19 using medical imaging. We have presented the hybridization of manually extracted and convolutional features. Our approach combines Haralick texture features and convolutional features extracted from chest X-rays and CT scans. We also employ a minimum redundancy maximum relevance (MRMR) feature selection algorithm to reduce computational complexity and enhance classification performance. The proposed model is evaluated on four publicly available datasets, including Chest X-ray Pneumonia, COVID-19 Pneumonia, COVID-19 CTMaster, and VinBig data. The results demonstrate high accuracy and effectiveness, with 0.9925 on the Chest X-ray pneumonia dataset, 0.9895 on the COVID-19, Pneumonia and Normal Chest X-ray dataset, 0.9806 on the Covid CTMaster dataset, and 0.9398 on the VinBig dataset. We further evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model using ROC curves, where the AUC for the best-performing model reaches 0.96. Our proposed model provides a promising tool for the early detection and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19, which can assist healthcare professionals in making informed treatment decisions and improving patient outcomes. The results of the proposed model are quite plausible and the system can be deployed in a clinical or research setting to assist in the diagnosis of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, feature engineering, artificial neural networks, radiology images

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