Big Data Analytics in Healthcare——A Systematic Literature Review and Roadmap for Practical Implementation

The advent of healthcare information management systems(HIMSs)continues to produce large volumes of healthcare data for patient care and compliance and regulatory requirements at a global scale.Analysis of this big data allows for boundless potential outcomes for discovering knowledge.Big data analytics(BDA)in healthcare can,for instance,help determine causes of diseases,generate effective diagnoses,enhance Qo S guarantees by increasing efficiency of the healthcare delivery and effectiveness and viability of treatments,generate accurate predictions of readmissions,enhance clinical care,and pinpoint opportunities for cost savings.However,BDA implementations in any domain are generally complicated and resource-intensive with a high failure rate and no roadmap or success strategies to guide the practitioners.In this paper,we present a comprehensive roadmap to derive insights from BDA in the healthcare(patient care)domain,based on the results of a systematic literature review.We initially determine big data characteristics for healthcare and then review BDA applications to healthcare in academic research focusing particularly on No SQL databases.We also identify the limitations and challenges of these applications and justify the potential of No SQL databases to address these challenges and further enhance BDA healthcare research.We then propose and describe a state-of-the-art BDA architecture called Med-BDA for healthcare domain which solves all current BDA challenges and is based on the latest zeta big data paradigm.We also present success strategies to ensure the working of Med-BDA along with outlining the major benefits of BDA applications to healthcare.Finally,we compare our work with other related literature reviews across twelve hallmark features to justify the novelty and importance of our work.The aforementioned contributions of our work are collectively unique and clearly present a roadmap for clinical administrators,practitioners and professionals to successfully implement BDA initiatives in their organizations.     

Monitoring healthcare performance by analytic hierarchy process: a developing-country perspective

The formulation and solution of multi‐criteria healthcare decision problems is of critical importance to the health and socio‐economic betterment of developing countries. The study shows how the multi‐criteria decision‐making method could facilitate implementation of healthcare performance analysis, especially for the public healthcare system of Bangladesh, which operates mainly through thana health complexes (THCs). We include outreach services and rural facilities together with ongoing THC activities, and analyze their relative performance. The methodology uses a phase of the Delphi method and of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. The outcome of Delphi is used as input for the hierarchical processing procedure in AHP and determines performance order of the healthcare activities. Results from AHP are discussed for implementation in decision‐making and the managerial policymaking process, towards improvement of overall healthcare performance.     

Observer-based leader-following consensus of one-sided Lipschitz multi-agent systems over input saturation and directed graphs

This paper investigates a local observer-based leader-following consensus control of one-sided Lipschitz (OSL) multi-agent systems (MASs) under input saturation. The proposed consensus control scheme has been formulated by using the OSL property, input saturation, directed graphs, estimated states, and quadratic inner-boundedness condition by attaining the regional stability. It is assumed that the graph always includes a (directed) spanning tree with respect to the leader root to develop matrix inequalities for investigating parameters of the proposed observer and consensus protocols. Further, a new observer-based consensus tracking method for MASs with saturation, concerning independent topologies for communicating outputs and estimates over the network, is explored to deal with a more perplexing and realistic situation. In contrast to the traditional methods, the proposed consensus approach considers output feedback and deals with the input saturation for a generalized class of nonlinear systems. The efficiency of the obtained results is illustrated via application to a group of five moving agents in the Cartesian coordinates.     

Laser micro-welding of aluminum and copper with and without tin foil alloy

In this paper continuous laser welding of two dissimilar materials, aluminum and copper, was investigated. The aluminum and the copper utilized were Al3003-H14 and Cu110-H00, respectively. Two different sets of samples were laser welded; one in which a filler material, tin foil alloy (S-bond 220), was sandwiched between the aluminum and the copper and another set in which the aluminum and copper were directly welded without any filler. The foil alloy was utilized to enhance the compatibility of the two metals; aluminum and copper, reducing the brittleness of the intermetallic compound that may form and, subsequently, enhance the mechanical properties. The welding was carried out using an IPG 500 SM fiber laser. The length of the laser joint produced was 20 mm and the width was about 200 μm. The strength of the joint was evaluated by conducting the lap shear stress test. Samples in which filler foil was used exhibited a better performance in the lap shear stress test (an average of 780 N) than the samples without tin foil (an average of 650 N). The improvement in the lap shear test could be attributed to the positive effects of the filler on enhancing the compatibility of the intermetallic compound formed via diffusion. The fracture surface of both types of joints (with and without filler) was characterized using scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX). To understand the failure initiation and propagation of the samples under tension, a finite element (FE) model was developed for the samples created with no filler material. The failure mechanism predicted from the FE model matches reasonably well with the experimental observations from EDAX analysis.     

Design, fabrication, and testing of VDP MEMS pressure sensors

In this paper, a four-terminal piezoresistive sensor commonly known as a van der Pauw (VDP) structure is presented for its application to MEMS pressure sensing. In a recent study, our team has determined the relation between the biaxial stress state and the piezoresistive response of a VDP structure by combining the VDP resistance equations with the equations governing silicon piezoresistivity and has proposed a new piezoresistive pressure sensor. It was observed that the sensitivity of the VDP sensor is over three times higher than the conventional filament type Wheatstone bridge resistor. To check our theoretical findings, we fabricated several (100) silicon diaphragms with both the VDP sensors and filament resistor sensors on the same wafer so both the sensor elements have same doping concentration. Several diaphragms had VDP sensors of different sizes and orientations to find out their geometric effects on pressure sensitivity. The diaphragms were subjected to known pressures, and the pressure sensitivities of both types of sensors were measured using an in-house built calibration setup. It was found that the VDP devices had a linear response to pressure as expected, and were more sensitive than the resistor sensors. Also, the VDP sensors provided a number of additional advantages, such as its size independent sensitivity and simple fabrication steps due to its simple geometry.     

Recent Advances in Ferroelectric-Enhanced Low-Dimensional Optoelectronic Devices

Ferroelectric (FE) materials, including BiFeO₃, P(VDF-TrFE), and CuInP₂S₆, are a type of dielectric material with a unique, spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field. The combination of FE and low-dimensional materials produces synergies, sparking significant research interest in solar cells, photodetectors (PDs), nonvolatile memory, and so on. The fundamental aspects of FE materials, including the origin of FE polarization, extrinsic FE materials, and FE polarization quantification are first discussed. Next, the state-of-the-art of FE-based optoelectronic devices is focused. How FE materials affect the energy band of channel materials and how device structures influence PD performance are also summarized. Finally, the future directions of this rapidly growing field are discussed.     

Failure analysis of superheater tube supports of the primary reformer in a fertilizer factory

A failure analysis of superheater tube supports of the primary reformer in a local fertilizer factory is presented. A number of tube supports failed at approximately half of their designed service life. Following the failure, the factory was visited, and relevant information and samples were collected. The samples were investigated in the laboratory by chemical analysis, macro- and microhardness measurements, macro-and micrometallographic examinations, and X-ray diffractometry. The analysis showed the supports were fabricated from HH-type heat-resisting alloy and that the failure mode was high-temperature creep. The microstructure of the alloy showed the presence of massive intergranular as well as intragranular σ-phase and intragranular needle-shaped M₂₃C₆ carbides. It was also concluded from the formation of massive σ-phase in the tube that the failure was hastened because the supports were operating at approximately 800 °C. The alloy composition led to the formation of σ-phase under the operating conditions of the reformer, and the use of an alloy with a higher concentration of austenite-stabilizing element(s) could have avoided the failure.     

A dynamic model for generation expansion planning

Selection of optimal size and optimal timing of addition of (new) generators are the two basic problems in generation expansion planning. In this paper we have developed a simple mathematical model for generation expansion planning which consists of an economic indicator (cost functional) and a dynamic model relating future expansion with the existing capacity and the retirement characteristics of generating units available on the market. For illustration, the proposed model has been applied to a hypothetical example of a utility and gives encouraging results.     

High risk of Kaposi''s sarcoma and central nervous system lymphoma in the same individuals: a finding related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Kaposi's sarcoma and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma are the 2 most common malignancies related to HIV infection. To investigate the association between Kaposi's sarcoma and CNS lymphoma, a population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted. Using U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program data, the gender-specific age- and calendar year-adjusted standardized incidence ratios were calculated for the pre-AIDS (1973-80) and AIDS (1981-1990) eras, as an estimate of the relative risk (RR) of developing one condition following another. For the AIDS era in men, the RR of CNS lymphoma following Kaposi's sarcoma was 979.7 and that of Kaposi's sarcoma following CNS lymphoma was 231.1. There were no instances of the co-occurrence of these malignancies in women in either era or in men for the pre-AIDS era. The extremely high RRs for the co-occurrence of Kaposi's sarcoma and CNA lymphoma in men during the AIDS era suggests that the association of these malignancies occurs within the same HIV-infected individuals.