Telecommunications Networks

This book guides readers through the basics of rapidly emerging networks to more advanced concepts and future expectations of Telecommunications Networks. It identifies and examines the most pressing research issues in Telecommunications and it contains chapters written by leading researchers, academics and industry professionals. Telecommunications Networks - Current Status and Future Trends covers surveys of recent publications that investigate key areas of interest such as: IMS, eTOM, 3G/4G, optimization problems, modeling, simulation, quality of service, etc. This book, that is suitable for both PhD and master students, is organized into six sections: New Generation Networks, Quality of Services, Sensor Networks, Telecommunications, Traffic Engineering and Routing

Selected Papers from the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, held on 15–30 November 2018, on sciforum.net, an online platform for hosting scholarly e-conferences and discussion groups. In this 5th edition of the electronic conference, contributors were invited to provide papers and presentations from the field of sensors and applications at large, resulting in a wide variety of excellent submissions and topic areas. Papers which attracted the most interest on the web or that provided a particularly innovative contribution were selected for publication in this collection. These peer-reviewed papers are published with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications. We hope this conference series will grow rapidly in the future and become recognized as a new way and venue by which to (electronically) present new developments related to the field of sensors and their applications

Use of Software Tools to Implement Quality Control of Ultrasound Images in a Large Clinical Trial

Research Question This thesis aims to answer the question as to whether software tools might be developed for automating the analysis of images used to measure ovaries in transvaginal sonography (TVS) exams. Such tools would allow the routine collection of independent and objective metrics at low cost and might be used to drive a programme of continuous Quality Improvement (QI) in TVS scanning. The tools will be assessed by processing images from thousands of TVS exams performed by the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS). Background This research is important because TVS is core to any ovarian cancer (OC) screening strategy yet independent and objective quality control (QC) metrics for this procedure are not routinely obtained due to the high cost of manual image inspection. Improving the quality of TVS in the National Health Service (NHS) would assist in the early diagnosis of the disease and result in improved outcome for some women. Therefore, the research has clear translational potential for the >1.2 million scans performed annually by the NHS. Research Findings A study performed to process images from 1,000 TVS exams has shown the tool produces accurate and reliable QC metrics. A further study revealed that over half of these exams should have been classified as unsatisfactory as an expert review of the images showed that that the sonographer had mistakenly measured a structure that was not an ovary. It also reported a correlation between such ovary visualisation and a novel metric (DCR) measured by the tools from the examination images. Conclusion The research results suggest both a need to improve the quality of TVS scanning and the viability of achieving this objective by introducing a QI programme driven by metrics gathered by software tools able to analyze the images used to measure ovaries

Modern Approaches To Quality Control

Rapid advance have been made in the last decade in the quality control procedures and techniques, most of the existing books try to cover specific techniques with all of their details. The aim of this book is to demonstrate quality control processes in a variety of areas, ranging from pharmaceutical and medical fields to construction engineering and data quality. A wide range of techniques and procedures have been covered

Measuring Behavior 2018 Conference Proceedings

These proceedings contain the papers presented at Measuring Behavior 2018, the 11th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research. The conference was organised by Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Noldus Information Technology. The conference was held during June 5th – 8th, 2018 in Manchester, UK. Building on the format that has emerged from previous meetings, we hosted a fascinating program about a wide variety of methodological aspects of the behavioral sciences. We had scientific presentations scheduled into seven general oral sessions and fifteen symposia, which covered a topical spread from rodent to human behavior. We had fourteen demonstrations, in which academics and companies demonstrated their latest prototypes. The scientific program also contained three workshops, one tutorial and a number of scientific discussion sessions. We also had scientific tours of our facilities at Manchester Metropolitan Univeristy, and the nearby British Cycling Velodrome. We hope this proceedings caters for many of your interests and we look forward to seeing and hearing more of your contributions

A longitudinal study of the experiences and psychological well-being of Indian surrogates

Study question: What is the psychological well-being of Indian surrogates during and after the surrogacy pregnancy? Summary answer: Surrogates were similar to a matched group of expectant mothers on anxiety and stress. However, they scored higher on depression during and after pregnancy. What is known already: The recent ban on trans-national commercial surrogacy in India has led to urgent policy discussions regarding surrogacy. Whilst previous studies have reported the motivations and experiences of Indian surrogates no studies have systematically examined the psychological well-being of Indian surrogates, especially from a longitudinal perspective. Previous research has shown that Indian surrogates are motivated by financial payment and may face criticism from their family and community due to negative social stigma attached to surrogacy. Indian surrogates often recruited by agencies and mainly live together in a “surrogacy house.” Study design, size, duration: A longitudinal study was conducted comparing surrogates to a matched group of expectant mothers over two time points: (a) during pregnancy (Phase1: 50 surrogates, 70 expectant mothers) and (b) 4–6 months after delivery (Phase 2: 45 surrogates, 49 expectant mothers). The Surrogates were recruited from a fertility clinic in Mumbai and the matched comparison group was recruited from four public hospitals in Mumbai and Delhi. Data collection was completed over 2 years. Participants/materials, setting, methods: Surrogates and expectant mothers were aged between 23 and 36 years. All participants were from a low socio-economic background and had left school before 12–13 years of age. In-depth faceto-face semi-structured interviews and a psychological questionnaire assessing anxiety, stress and depression were administered in Hindi to both groups. Interviews took place in a private setting. Audio recordings of surrogate interviews were later translated and transcribed into English. Main results and the role of chance: Stress and anxiety levels did not significantly differ between the two groups for both phases of the study. For depression, surrogates were found to be significantly more depressed than expectant mothers at phase 1 (p = 0.012) and phase 2 (p = 0.017). Within the surrogacy group, stress and depression did not change during and after pregnancy. However, a non-significant trend was found showing that anxiety decreased after delivery (p = 0.086). No participants reported being coerced into surrogacy, however nearly all kept it a secret from their wider family and community and hence did not face criticism. Surrogates lived at the surrogate house for different durations. During pregnancy, 66% (N = 33/50) reported their experiences of the surrogate house as positive, 24% (N = 12/50) as negative and 10% (N = 5/50) as neutral. After delivery, most surrogates (66%, N = 30/45) reported their experiences of surrogacy to be positive, with the remainder viewing it as neutral (28%) or negative (4%). In addition, most (66%, N = 30/45) reported that they had felt “socially supported and loved” during the surrogacy arrangement by friends in the surrogate hostel, clinic staff or family. Most surrogates did not meet the intending parents (49%, N = 22/45) or the resultant child (75%, N = 34/45). Limitations, reasons for caution: Since the surrogates were recruited from only one clinic, the findings may not be representative of all Indian surrogates. Some were lost to follow-up which may have produced sampling bias. Wider implications of the findings: This is the first study to examine the psychological well-being of surrogates in India. This research is of relevance to current policy discussions in India regarding legislation on surrogacy. Moreover, the findings are of relevance to clinicians, counselors and other professionals involved in surrogacy. Trial registration number: N/A