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 QoS 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 NoSQL databases. We also identify the limitations and challenges of these applications and justify the potential of NoSQL 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.      

Non-Gaussian Model for Ringing Phenomena in Offshore Structures

Significant interest has been shown in identifying the nonlinear mechanisms that induce a ringing type response in offshore structural systems. This high frequency transient type response has been observed in offshore systems, particularly in tension leg platforms (TLPs). Given the implications of this behavior on the fatigue life of TLP tendons, it is essential that ringing be considered in the overall response evaluation. This study presents two non-Gaussian probabilistic models of nonlinear viscous hydrodynamic wave forces that induce ringing. The response of a single-degree-of-freedom system exposed to these non-Gaussian wave force models is then evaluated using analytical and numerical studies based on the It? differentiation rule and the Monte Carlo simulation procedure, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed models induce ringing type response in a simplified structure. This study provides a probabilistic framework for modeling ringing type phenomenon which will serve as a building block for more refined hydrodynamic load models.     

Deep convolutional neural networks for uncertainty propagation in random fields

The development of a reliable and robust surrogate model is often constrained by the dimensionality of the problem. For a system with high‐dimensional inputs/outputs (I/O), conventional approaches usually use a low‐dimensional manifold to describe the high‐dimensional system, where the I/O data are first reduced to more manageable dimensions and then the condensed representation is used for surrogate modeling. In this study, a new solution scheme for this type of problem based on a deep learning approach is presented. The proposed surrogate is based on a particular network architecture, that is, convolutional neural networks. The surrogate architecture is designed in a hierarchical style containing three different levels of model structures, advancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the model in the aspect of training. To assess the model performance, uncertainty quantification is carried out in a continuum mechanics benchmark problem. Numerical results suggest the proposed model is capable of directly inferring a wide variety of I/O mapping relationships. Uncertainty analysis results obtained via the proposed surrogate have successfully characterized the statistical properties of the output fields compared to the Monte Carlo estimates.     

Design and implementation of a planar helix for traveling wave tubes based on package compatible ball grid array technology

In this article, a novel planar helix traveling wave tube structure is proposed for S/X-band amplification. The planar helix structure is developed between two printed circuit boards such that they utilize solder balls to connect each other. This technique which comes originally from microelecronic packaging technology called ball grid array. To evaluate the performance of the proposed structure, one period of its geometry is modeled and the cold test parameters are calculated in CST microwave studio^TM. The fundamental space harmonic mode overlaps well with the beam-line in the dispersion diagram for both bands. The in- and out-coupler ports are also designed in the form of coplanar waveguides having good matching. For 150 periods of the planar helix, the 15 dB gain is obtained in particle-in-cell simulations for both bands. Finally, the fabrication process is implemented and the cold test is done.

     

Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting using zinc selenide/graphitic carbon nitride type-II heterojunction interface

The objective of this research is to construct a type-II heterojunction interface for effective photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for hydrogen generation. A series of ZnSe/g-C₃N₄ heterojunctions is prepared by ultrasonication procedure and tested for PEC water splitting for the first time. The successful formation of ZnSe/g-C₃N₄ is confirmed by phase, morphological and optical analysis. Linear sweep voltammetry of 0.05 ZG (0.05% ZnSe/g-C₃N₄) showed a six-fold higher photocurrent density of 500 μA than g-C₃N₄. These results are supported by the Tafel slopes and PL (photoluminescence spectroscopy) studies by showing the smallest slope and lesser electron-hole recombination for 0.05 ZG. Increased lifetime of 107 ms and a higher donor density of 3.6 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3 for 0.05 ZG is observed. The smallest semicircle for 0.05 ZG in EIS implies the least charge transfer resistance among the prepared heterojunctions. All the results comply with each other showing the successful formation of type-II heterojunction for enhanced PEC water splitting.     

Feature Extraction in Fractional Fourier Domain for Classification of Passive Sonar Signals

Journal of Signal Processing Systems - The acoustic signals radiated from the marine vessels contain information about their machinery characteristics that can be useful for the detection and...     

Development of optimized triaxially electrospun titania nanofiber-in-nanotube core-shell structure

One dimensional (1D) nanostructures and its derivatives can be manipulated to serve special functions like hollow structure, and higher surface area. 1D TiO₂ nanotube-in-nanofibers (NF@NT) are developed through triaxial electrospinning followed by a calcination process. A blended solution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone and tetra-butyl titanate is used in outer and inner layers of nanofibers, respectively, while paraffin oil is used in the middle layer. The optimized triaxial nanofibers of 669.4 ± 52.43 nm are developed at 7.5 w/w% concentration, 28 kV applied voltage, and 24 cm spinning distance. TiO₂ NF@NT structure is obtained through calcination of optimized triaxial nanofibers at 550°C. Subsequently, the morphology of TiO₂ NF@NT and its uniform diameter distribution is confirmed through scanning electron microscopy. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy results indicates the formation of TiO₂ NF@NT. X-Rays diffraction pattern peaks also reveals the presence of both anatase and rutile crystalline phases. The presence of only titanium (Ti) and oxygen (O) elements in the TiO₂ NF@NT is confirmed through energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis indicates that TiO₂ NF@NT has a higher specific surface area of ~141.68 m²/g compared with the solid TiO₂ nanofiber (~75.31 m²/g). This study can be adopted to develop TiO₂ NF@NT for wide range of application.     

Evaluation of production costs of two interconnected electric power systems by the segmentation method

This paper develops the methodology, based on the segmentation method, to evaluate the production costs of two interconnected systems. The demand plane is divided into a grid structure, or segments, of equal size. Each segment contains the joint probability of the occurrence of load in the range of the selected segment as well as the first moments, or expected values, of load, or equivalent load, and residual tie line capacity for each system. The methodology proposed is accurate and computationally efficient. The method is applied to the evaluation of expected energy generation, unserved energy as well as production costs of two interconnected systems. The impact of tie line capacity variations, forced outage rate changes as well as joint ownership of generation is investigated.     

46 XX male: a case of sex reversal syndrome

Methamphetamine is an amphetamine derivative and a category II controlled substance. It is uncommonly prescribed by physicians, but is more often used illegally as a stimulant. In this case study, 3 dogs were believed maliciously poisoned. Methamphetamine was detected in the stomach contents of 1 dog. One died and 2 recovered after gastrointestinal decontamination and supportive care. The recommended treatment protocol of methamphetamine toxicosis should also include urine acidification and alpha-adrenergic blocking agents.     

Efficacy of oral ganciclovir in prevention of cytomegalovirus infection in post-kidney transplant patients

We devised a diagnosis and management algorithm for acute onset of central diabetes insipidus (CDI), and conducted a retrospective evaluation of its efficacy. Fourteen patients admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) over a three year period were diagnosed with acute CDI secondary to various brain injuries. All patients were treated as per the algorithm guidelines. The initial dose of aqueous vasopressin ranged from 0.25 to 1.0 mU/kg/h. Low sodium content solution (0-0.5 normal saline) was used to replace urine output in excess of 3 ml/kg/h and for maintenance fluid therapy. The therapeutic goals included: urine output 2-3 ml/kg/h, urine specific gravity 1.010-1.020 and serum sodium 140-145 mEq/l. The pitressin dose was adjusted as deemed necessary to achieve the aforementioned goals. Our results indicate that urine specific gravity is the most sensitive parameter to respond to treatment. It was the best determinant of the adequacy of pitressin dose as it had the best linear correlation with it (r = 0.96; p = 0.009). Urine output was second best (r = 0.93; p = 0.02), whereas no linear correlation was established between pitressin dose and serum sodium concentration, nor with serum osmolality. We conclude that the algorithm developed and used by us for the management of CDI is generally efficacious. Changes in urine specific gravity follow changes in pitressin dose very closely and thus should be used as the primary parameter for determination of intravenous pitressin dose adjustment.