492 research outputs found
Development of a fuzzy decision support system to determine the severity of obstructive pulmonary in chemical injured victims
Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the most common known complication of exposure to mustard gas. Thus, all clinical guidelines have provided some recommendation for diagnosis, clinical management and treatment of this disease. Decision support systems are used to increase the acceptance of clinical guidelines. The purpose of this research is to develop a CDSS to determine the severity of COPD in chemical injured victims. Objectives: Development of a decision support system to determine the severity of COPD. Patients and Methods: First, the variables influencing to determining the severity of the disease was classified through studying the clinical guidelines. Then, the fuzzy model was implemented. To testing the system, the data from 50 patients were used. Results: the overall accuracy in determining the severity of the injury is equal to 92, these indicators reflect the proper functioning of the system to assist the physician regarding the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and determining its severity. Conclusions: The CDSS has efficient results and satisfactory performance. Although, the medical expert systems cannot be expected to provide 100 percent correct responses, however, they can be useful in the areas of patient management, diagnosis and treatment planning. © 2015 Taha Samad-Soltani, Mostafa Ghanei, Mostafa Langarizadeh
Author Correction: Hydrogel mechanical properties in altered gravity (npj Microgravity, (2024), 10, 1, (83), 10.1038/s41526-024-00388-2)
In this article the affiliation, “Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi 127788, UAE” for the author “Yarjan Abdul Samad” was inadvertently omitted. The original article has been corrected
ANALISIS ASPEK KEMASYARAKATAN MELALUI PEMIKIRAN A. SAMAD SAID DALAM NOVEL DAERAH ZENI DAN HUJAN PAGI
Abstrak
Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menganalisis aspek kemasyarakatan melalui pemikiran oleh A. Samad Said dalam novel popular beliau yang bertajuk Daerah Zeni dan Hujan Pagi. Hal ini kerana aspek kemasyarakatan yang dibincangkan dalam novel oleh A. Samad Said dapat menggambarkan kekuatan pemikiran pengarang melalui kreativiti beliau yang dapat memberi sumber maklumat terkini kepada khalayak atau pembaca. Oleh itu, kajian ini juga dijalankan bertujuan mengenal pasti dan menganalisis aspek kemasyarakatan melalui pemikiran A. Samad Said dalam novel Daerah Zeni (1985) dan Hujan Pagi (1992). Di samping itu, reka bentuk kajian ini bersifat kualitatif melalui kaedah kepustakaan dan analisis kandungan teks. Selain itu, teori sosiologi dijadikan sebagai deduktif untuk memantapkan analisis perbincangan. Sebagai kesimpulannya, hasil dapatan kajian ini membuktikan bahawa A. Samad Said bijak mengutarakan cetusan idea dan kreativiti dalam usaha membincangkan isu semasa yang dapat diterima secara terbuka oleh masyarakat di dalam novel popular beliau.
Abstract
This study was conducted to analyze the aspects of society through the thinking by A. Samad Said in his popular novel titled Daerah Zeni and Hujan Pagi. This is because the societal aspects discussed in the novel by A. Samad Said can illustrate the strength of the author\u27s thinking through his creativity which can provide the latest sources of information to the audience or readers. Therefore, this study was also conducted by aiming at identifying and analyzing the aspects of society through the thinking by A. Samad Said in the novels Daerah Zeni (1985) and Hujan Pagi (1992). This study is qualitative in nature by using the library methods and text content analysis. In addition, sociological theory is used deductively to strengthen the analysis of the discussion. This study has proven that A. Samad Said has wisely expressed the spark of ideas and creativity in an effort to discuss current issues that can be openly accepted by the community in his popular novel.
 
Control-theoretic methods for biological networks
Feedback is both a pillar of control theory and a pervasive principle of nature. For this reason, control-theoretic methods are powerful to analyse the dynamic behaviour of biological systems and mathematically explain their properties, as well as to engineer biological systems so that they perform a specific task by design. This paper illustrates the relevance of control-theoretic methods for biological systems. The first part gives an overview of biological control and of the versatile ways in which cells use feedback. By employing control-theoretic methods, the complexity of interlaced feedback loops in the cell can be revealed and explained, and layered feedback loops can be designed in the cell to induce the desired behaviours, such as oscillations, multi-stability and activity regulation. The second part is mainly devoted to modelling uncertainty in biology and understanding the robustness of biological phenomena due to their inherent structure. Important control-theoretic tools used in systems biology are surveyed. The third part is focused on tools for model discrimination in systems biology. A deeper understanding of molecular pathways and feedback loops, as well as qualitative information on biological networks, can be achieved by studying the “dynamic response phenotypes” that appear in temporal responses. Several applications to the analysis of biological systems are showcased.Accepted Author ManuscriptTeam Tamas Keviczk
Designing an Electronic Medical Record System of Infants in Hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
Introduction: Developing an accurate and comprehensive electronic database which can capture and store adequate, accurate and timely data related to infants is an essential step. The aim of this study was to design an electronic medical record system for infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit at the Hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.
Method: This was an applied-developmental study. At first, current status of a data recording process in hospitals was studied. Then data elements were determined and the new system was modeled. The proposed architecture is based on three-tier architecture. Services such as reporting and user access control levels were implemented. Design of the user interface layer was performed by using Asp.net framework and HTML. This system is available in private network of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for authorized users since 2014.
Results: In data access layer, the minimum data elements determined at the seven categories of information. To design a data model, 65 entities were defined with their attributes and relationships. In business layer, the key processes of the system were designed as system use cases. This system provides the real time and online data storage and retrieval for users at the point of care.
Conclusion: The design and implementation of electronic medical records is an effective step in managing infant’s health data. Using the appropriate architecture and standard templates lead to enhanced efficient performance, function, and storage and retrieval of health data
Virtual reality-based interventions for patients with paranoia:A systematic review
Background and objective: Paranoia is an important psychiatric symptom with a remarkable effect on daily life. Virtual reality (VR)-based treatments are influential and safe for patients with paranoia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness, and define the clinical and technical characteristics of available VR strategies for the treatment of patients with paranoia. Materials and methods: Studies published up to 25/11/2021 reporting VR-based interventions for the treatment of patients with paranoia were reviewed in five databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Results: Out of 302 initial search results, eight were included in the present study based on the inclusion criteria. Six studies were randomized clinical trials with the interventions in the experimental group being based on VR, compared to routine interventions as controls. Two were before-after studies. The most commonly used hardware and software were head-mounted display and Unity3D, respectively. Interventions had a range of 1-16 sessions with follow-up durations of 0-6 months. All investigations showed positive results in the main target, including improved social participation, reduced level of anxiety, as well as diminished suspicious ideas and paranoid symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that VR-based interventions are effective treatments. Although the use of VR technology is limited for a variety of reasons, such as cost, it improves symptoms in patients with paranoia.</p
Correction to: Predominance of Fourth Panzootic Newcastle Disease Virus Subgenotype VII.1.1 in Iran and Its Relation to the Genotypes Circulating in the Region
The original version of this article contained a mistake in the co-author names “Mohammad Sotani and Esameel Allahyari”. The correct co-author names should be Mohammad Soltani and Esmaeel Allahyari
The shadows of time in Nicholas Sparks's / Abang Moasili Abg Abd Samad
This study was carried out to explore The Shadows of Time in Nicholas Sparks's, The Rescue. The objective of this study was to find out how the author applied the concept in his book and thus, foreshadow the events that were to come at the end of the story. Based on the hypothesis that he aims at foreshadowing the event in his novel, a combination of qualitative analysis and close reading is used for the findings and discussion
ZnSnO3 - SnO2 nanocomposite as a catalyst for efficient hydrogen production through sodium borohydride methanolysis
In this work, we describe a straightforward modified sol gel approach for producing zinc stannate-tin oxide (ZnSnO3-SnO2) nanocomposite particles by combining tin chloride and zinc acetate using EDTA ammonium salt as an electrosteric inhibition agent. The acquired samples were characterized using simultaneous thermal gravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalyst activity of ZnSnO3-SnO2 particles in hydrogen production was determined by the methanolysis reaction from NaBH4. The hydrogen generation rate TOF (Turnover Frequency) The hydrogen generation rate, activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) values of the hydrogen production reaction were calculated as 374.11 ml min−1.g−1 (832.38 h−1), 43.19 kJ mol−1, 40.65 kJ mol−1 and -178.96 J/mol.K, respectively. The prepared ZnSnO3-SnO2 composite can be recycled and used without obvious loss of activity; This makes the procedure economical and environmentally friendly.The author would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the University of Biskra. We are also grateful to Soltani Mohamed Toufik, Head of the Laboratory of “Photonic Physics and Multifunctional Nanomaterials” for providing TG analysis. Lastly, we extend our appreciation to our colleagues for their valuable feedback during manuscript preparation, their constructive comments helped improve the quality of this article.Peer reviewe
The effect of virtual reality therapy and counseling on students' public speaking anxiety
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: One of the barriers to effective communication between speaker and listeners is public speaking anxiety (PSA). Over recent years, PSA has become common among students as the most widespread social anxiety (SA). Virtual reality (VR) and counseling therapy help reduce PSA. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of VR therapy and counseling on students' PSA and SA. METHODS: This quasi‐experimental study was conducted on 30 students at three levels of undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD at Kerman University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (15 students in the intervention group and 15 in the control group). The intervention group observed four virtual classroom scenarios in a 30‐min session, and the control group attended a 90‐min group counseling session. Data were collected using by Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, and Igroup Presence Questionnaire. The data analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Descriptive analysis (frequency and percentage, mean, standard deviation, and quartiles) and analytical tests (paired t‐test and independent t‐test) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results showed that VR and counseling did not affect SA scores and statistical differences before and after the intervention were not statistically significant. However, VR and counseling reduced PSA. The mean of IPQ/IGP (physical presence) was 63.73. The participants' SA means (93.76) were higher than the mean PSA (73.4). CONCLUSIONS: VR and counseling did not affect students' SA, but they reduced PSA. If the intervention duration in future studies are longer, the effect of VR and counseling on reducing SA is likely to become more apparent
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