Background. Cloud-based environment for machine learning plays a vital role in medical imaging analysis and predominantly for the people residing in rural areas where health facilities are ...insufficient. Diagnosis of COVID-19 based on machine learning with cloud computing act to assist radiologists and support telehealth services for remote diagnostics during this pandemic. Methods. In the proposed computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system, the balance contrast enhancement technique (BCET) is utilized to enhance the chest X-ray images. Textural and shape-based features are extracted from the preprocessed X-ray images, and the fusion of these features generates the final feature vector. The gain ratio is applied for feature selection to remove insignificant features. An extreme learning machine (ELM) is a neural network modification with a high capability for pattern recognition and classification problems for COVID-19 detection. Results. However, to further improve the accuracy of ELM, we proposed bootstrap aggregated extreme learning machine (BA-ELM). The proposed cloud-based model is evaluated on a benchmark dataset COVID-Xray-5k dataset. We choose 504 (after data augmentation) and 100 images of COVID-19 for training and testing, respectively. Conclusion. Finally, 2000 and 1000 images are selected from the non-COVID-19 category for training and testing. The model achieved an average accuracy of 95.7%.
Infection by
Toxoplasma gondii
is prevalent worldwide
.
The parasite can infect a broad spectrum of vertebrate hosts, but infection of fetuses and immunocompromised patients is of particular concern. ...Easy-to-perform, robust, and highly sensitive and specific methods to detect
Toxoplasma
infection are important for the treatment and management of patients. Rapid diagnostic methods that do not sacrifice the accuracy of the assay and give reproducible results in a short time are highly desirable. In this context, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), especially with point-of-care (POC) features, are promising diagnostic methods in clinical microbiology laboratories, especially in areas with minimal laboratory facilities. More advanced methods using microfluidics and sensor technology will be the future trend. In this review, we discuss serological and molecular-based rapid diagnostic tests for detecting
Toxoplasma
infection in humans as well as animals.
Speech emotion recognition (SER) is still a fresh in natural language processing domain since the accuracy is beyond targeted. Mainly due to real-time applications such as human–robot interaction, ...human behaviour evaluation and virtual reality rely heavily on SER. Moreover, cross-lingual SER plays a significant role in practical applications, especially when users of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds interact with the system. However, the existing conventional approaches of SER cannot be employed for real-world applications because it uses the same corpus for training and testing, which cannot be used for multi-lingual environments to detect or classify real emotions. In such a situation, the performance of SER is degraded. Therefore, the proposed work develops cross-lingual emotion recognition through Urdu, Italian, English and German. The features are extracted through the most employed audio feature known as MFCCs (Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients). Experimental results exhibited that the proposed deep learning model comes out with promising results on the URDU data set with 91.25% accuracy using random forest (RF) and XGBoost classifier.
Background: Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious respiratory tract pathogen of horses, and infection may be followed by myeloencephalopathy or abortion. Surveillance and early ...detection have focused on PCR assays using less tolerated nasal swabs. Here, we assess non-invasive non-contact sampling techniques as surveillance tools in naturally equid gammaherpesvirus 2-shedding horses as surrogates for EHV-1. Methods: Horses were individually housed for 10 h periods on 2 consecutive days. Sampling included nasal swabs, nostril wipes, environmental swabs, droplet-catching devices, and air sampling. The latter was completed via two strategies: a combined air sample collected while going from horse to horse and a collective air sample collected at a stationary central point for 6 h. Samples were screened through quantitative PCR and digital PCR. Results: Nine horses on day 1 and 11 horses on day 2 were positive for EHV-1; overall, 90.9% of the nostril wipes, 81.8% of the environmental surfaces, and 90.9% of the droplet-catching devices were found to be positive. Quantitative analysis showed that the mean DNA copies detection per cm2 of nostril wipe sampled concentration (4.3 × 105 per day) was significantly (p < 0.05) comparable to that of nasal swabs (3.6 × 105 per day) followed by environmental swabs (4.3 × 105 per day) and droplet catchers (3.5 × 103 per day), respectively. Overall, 100% of the air samples collected were positive on both qPCR and dPCR. In individual air samples, a mean concentration of 1.0 × 104 copies of DNA were detected in per m3 air sampled per day, while in the collective air samples, the mean concentration was 1.1 × 103. Conclusions: Environmental samples look promising in replacing direct contact sampling. Environmental and air sampling could become efficient surveillance tools at equestrian events; however, it needs threshold calculations for minimum detection levels.
India has one of the highest rates of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the world, with an incidence of 15 per 100,000 and more than 70,000 deaths per year. The problem is exacerbated by a lack ...of medical infrastructure and routine screening, especially in rural areas. New technologies for oral cancer detection and timely treatment at the point of care are urgently needed.
Our study aimed to use a hand-held smartphone-coupled intraoral imaging device, previously investigated for autofluorescence (auto-FL) diagnostics adapted here for treatment guidance and monitoring photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence (FL).
A total of 12 patients with 14 buccal mucosal lesions having moderately/well-differentiated micro-invasive OSCC lesions (
diameter and
depth) were systemically (in oral solution) administered three doses of
ALA (total
). Lesion site PpIX and auto-FL were imaged using the multichannel FL and polarized white-light oral cancer imaging probe before/after ALA administration and after light delivery (fractionated, total
of 635 nm red LED light).
The handheld device was conducive for access to lesion site images in the oral cavity. Segmentation of ratiometric images in which PpIX FL is mapped relative to auto-FL enabled improved demarcation of lesion boundaries relative to PpIX alone. A relative FL (
-value) threshold of 1.4 was found to segment lesion site PpIX production among the patients with mild to severe dysplasia malignancy. The segmented lesion size is well correlated with ultrasound findings. Lesions for which
-value was
at the time of treatment were associated with successful outcomes.
These results indicate the utility of a low-cost, handheld intraoral imaging probe for image-guided PDT and treatment monitoring while also laying the groundwork for an integrated approach, combining cancer screening and treatment with the same hardware.
The Nck-associated protein 1-like (NCKAP1L) gene, alternatively called hematopoietic protein 1 (HEM-1), encodes a hematopoietic lineage-specific regulator of the actin cytoskeleton. Nckap1l-deficient ...mice have anomalies in lymphocyte development, phagocytosis, and neutrophil migration. Here we report, for the first time, NCKAP1L deficiency cases in humans. In two unrelated patients of Middle Eastern origin, recessive mutations in NCKAP1L abolishing protein expression led to immunodeficiency, lymphoproliferation, and hyperinflammation with features of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Immunophenotyping showed an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio with a major shift of both CD4+ and CD8+ cells toward memory compartments, in line with combined RNA-seq/proteomics analyses revealing a T cell exhaustion signature. Consistent with the core function of NCKAP1L in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, patients' T cells displayed impaired early activation, immune synapse morphology, and leading edge formation. Moreover, knockdown of nckap1l in zebrafish led to defects in neutrophil migration. Hence, NCKAP1L mutations lead to broad immune dysregulation in humans, which could be classified within actinopathies.
Journals publishing research and reports about ‘global’ health should make room for publication of communications from alternate epistemic standpoints and de-emphasise traditional hierarchies of ...evidence Introduction The last few years have witnessed a renewed consciousness and increasing calls for ‘decolonising’ global health.1–3 The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with this increased awareness and demand for change by exposing the deep-rooted inequities, biases, elitism and racism that plague global public health.4 Building on this sentiment, there have been calls for putting rhetoric into action towards achieving meaningful decolonisation of global health.5 6 There is now an ongoing debate about the best strategies to eventualise such decolonisation. ...proponents of a partnerships-based approach8 9 propose North-South partnerships and a ‘leaning-out’ strategy to distribute power and dilute privilege. The few constraints enforced by academic publishing (and some donors) like inclusion of authors/partners from the Global South, can easily be seen as tokenism. ...partnerships are often limited to very few ‘elite’ institutions or usual partners in ‘low-income and middle-income countries’ and other disadvantaged contexts. The notion of fungibility of power and its emergence from social transactions is very well developed in the context of ‘Power Basis Theory’.16 The published literature in global health can be seen as resulting from three types of social transactions (or exchanges) between those with the power to study and/or influence and those who are considered the subjects of these social transactions: (1) research/investigative transactions; (2) project/implementation transactions and (3) health policy transactions.
With the advancement of solid-state devices for lighting, illumination is on the verge of being completely restructured. This revolution comes with numerous advantages and viable opportunities that ...can transform the world of wireless communications for the better. Solid-state LEDs are rapidly replacing the contemporary incandescent and fluorescent lamps. In addition to their high energy efficiency, LEDs are desirable for their low heat generation, long lifespan, and their capability to switch on and off at an extremely high rate. The ability of switching between different levels of luminous intensity at such a rate has enabled the inception of a new communication technology referred to as visible light communication (VLC). With this technology, the LED lamps are additionally being used for data transmission. This paper provides a tutorial and a survey of VLC in terms of the design, development, and evaluation techniques as well as current challenges and their envisioned solutions. The focus of this paper is mainly directed towards an indoor setup. An overview of VLC, theory of illumination, system receivers, system architecture, and ongoing developments are provided. We further provide some baseline simulation results to give a technical background on the performance of VLC systems. Moreover, we provide the potential of incorporating VLC techniques in the current and upcoming technologies such as fifth-generation (5G), beyond fifth-generation (B5G) wireless communication trends including sixth-generation (6G), and intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs) among others.
Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) therapeutic regimens are highly effective against chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, HCV patients with genotype 3 (GT3) respond in a suboptimal way. ...This study aims to identify which of the DAAs-based therapeutic regimens are the best option for GT3.
Multiple governments and private tertiary care hospitals were involved in this real-life study of HCV-GT3 patients treated with DAAs. The efficacy and safety of generic sofosbuvir+daclatasvir±ribavirin (SOF+DCV±RBV) and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir±ribavirin (SOF/VEL±RBV) were assessed under the National Hepatitis C Program of Pakistan.
Out of 1,388 participants, 70% of patients received SOF+DCV in government tertiary care hospitals and 30% received SOF/VEL in private tertiary care hospitals. The overall sustained virological responses (SVR) was 95.5%. The SVR rates at 12 weeks were comparable between SOF+DCV (94.4%) and SOF/VEL (94.7%) in chronic HCV patients. However, The SVR rates at 24 weeks were high in cirrhotic patients treated with SOF/VEL+RBV (88%) then SOF+DCV+RBV (83%). Non-responders were high in SOF-DCV than SOF-VEL (4.1
3.8%,
= 0.05) regimen. In multivariate models, the significant predictors of non-SVR were age >60 years (odds ratio OR 4.46; 95% CI, 2.35-8.46,
= <0.001) and cirrhosis (OR 53.91; 95% CI, 26.49-109.6,
= <0.001). Skin rash (51
44%) and oral ulcers (45
40%) were high in patients receiving SOF-DCV then SOF-VEL.
Overall, the generic SOF+DCV ±RBV and SOF/VEL ± RBV achieved equally high SVR12 rates. However, SOF/VEL+RBV achieved a high SVR rate in cirrhotic patients then SOF+DCV+RBV. Old age and cirrhosis were significant predictors of reduced odds of SVR regardless of the regimen. Furthermore, the regimens were well tolerated in chronic HCV patients.
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