Sequential Condition Evolved Interaction Knowledge Graph for Traditional Chinese Medicine Recommendation

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a rich history of utilizing natural herbs to treat a diversity of illnesses. In practice, TCM diagnosis and treatment are highly personalized and organically holistic, requiring comprehensive consideration of the patient's state and symptoms over time. However, existing TCM recommendation approaches overlook the changes in patient status and only explore potential patterns between symptoms and prescriptions. In this paper, we propose a novel Sequential Condition Evolved Interaction Knowledge Graph (SCEIKG), a framework that treats the model as a sequential prescription-making problem by considering the dynamics of the patient's condition across multiple visits. In addition, we incorporate an interaction knowledge graph to enhance the accuracy of recommendations by considering the interactions between different herbs and the patient's condition. Experimental results on a real-world dataset demonstrate that our approach outperforms existing TCM recommendation methods, achieving state-of-the-art performance

Deep Learning for Medication Recommendation: A Systematic Survey

ABSTRACTMaking medication prescriptions in response to the patient's diagnosis is a challenging task. The number of pharmaceutical companies, their inventory of medicines, and the recommended dosage confront a doctor with the well-known problem of information and cognitive overload. To assist a medical practitioner in making informed decisions regarding a medical prescription to a patient, researchers have exploited electronic health records (EHRs) in automatically recommending medication. In recent years, medication recommendation using EHRs has been a salient research direction, which has attracted researchers to apply various deep learning (DL) models to the EHRs of patients in recommending prescriptions. Yet, in the absence of a holistic survey article, it needs a lot of effort and time to study these publications in order to understand the current state of research and identify the best-performing models along with the trends and challenges. To fill this research gap, this survey reports on state-of-the-art DL-based medication recommendation methods. It reviews the classification of DL-based medication recommendation (MR) models, compares their performance, and the unavoidable issues they face. It reports on the most common datasets and metrics used in evaluating MR models. The findings of this study have implications for researchers interested in MR models

Emergent quality issues in the supply of Chinese medicinal plants: A mixed methods investigation of their contemporary occurrence and historical persistence

Quality issues that emerged centuries ago in Chinese medicinal plants (CMP) were investigated to explore why they still persist in an era of advanced analytical testing and extensive legislation so that a solution to improve CMP quality could be proposed. This is important for 85% of the world’s population who rely on medicinal plants (MP) for primary healthcare considering the adverse events, including fatalities that arise from such quality issues. CMP are the most prevalent medicinal plants globally. This investigation used mixed-methods, including 15 interviews with CMP expert key informants (KI), together with thematic analysis that identified the main CMP quality issues, why they persisted, and informed solutions. An unexplained case example, Eleutherococcus nodiflorus (EN), was analysed by collection of 106 samples of EN, its known toxic adulterant Periploca sepium (PS), and a related substitute, Eleutherococcus senticosus (ES), across mainland China, Taiwan and the UK. Authenticity of the samples was determined using High-performance thinlayer chromatography. Misidentification, adulteration, substitution and toxicity were the main CMP quality issues identified. Adulteration was found widespread globally with 57.4% EN found authentic, and 24.6% adulterated with cardiotoxic PS, mostly at markets and traditional pharmacies. The EN study further highlighted that the reason CMP quality issues persisted was due to the laboratory-bound nature of analytical methods and testing currently used that leave gaps in detection throughout much of the supply chain. CMP quality could be more effectively tested with patented analytical technology (PAT) and simpler field-based testing including indicator strip tests. Education highlighting the long-term economic value and communal benefit of delivering better quality CMP to consumers was recommended in favour of the financial motivation for actions that lead to the persistence of well-known and recurrent CMP quality issues

Intelligent Circuits and Systems

ICICS-2020 is the third conference initiated by the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Lovely Professional University that explored recent innovations of researchers working for the development of smart and green technologies in the fields of Energy, Electronics, Communications, Computers, and Control. ICICS provides innovators to identify new opportunities for the social and economic benefits of society.　 This conference bridges the gap between academics and R&D institutions, social visionaries, and experts from all strata of society to present their ongoing research activities and foster research relations between them. It provides opportunities for the exchange of new ideas, applications, and experiences in the field of smart technologies and finding global partners for future collaboration. The ICICS-2020 was conducted in two broad categories, Intelligent Circuits & Intelligent Systems and Emerging Technologies in Electrical Engineering

Front-Line Physicians' Satisfaction with Information Systems in Hospitals

Day-to-day operations management in hospital units is difficult due to continuously varying situations, several actors involved and a vast number of information systems in use. The aim of this study was to describe front-line physicians' satisfaction with existing information systems needed to support the day-to-day operations management in hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was used and data chosen with stratified random sampling were collected in nine hospitals. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The response rate was 65 % (n = 111). The physicians reported that information systems support their decision making to some extent, but they do not improve access to information nor are they tailored for physicians. The respondents also reported that they need to use several information systems to support decision making and that they would prefer one information system to access important information. Improved information access would better support physicians' decision making and has the potential to improve the quality of decisions and speed up the decision making process.Peer reviewe

Investigation of mobile devices usage and mobile augmented reality applications among older people

Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones have allow users to communicate, entertainment, access information and perform productivity. However, older people are having issues to utilise mobile devices that may affect their quality of life and wellbeing. There are some potentials of mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications to increase older users mobile usage by enhancing their experience and learning. The study aims to investigate mobile devices potential barriers and influence factors in using mobile devices. It also seeks to understand older people issues in using AR applications

Recent Clinical Research on Glaucoma

In the past few years, knowledge about glaucoma diagnosis and follow up has evolved dramatically through advances in intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, corneal biomechanics, structural and functional assessment of the ocular surface, anterior chamber, retina, optic nerve and intracranial visual pathways, as well as the advent of artificial intelligence. In addition, the development of new modalities of IOP-lowering and non-IOP-lowering drugs, alternative deliveries, refined laser technologies, and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) techniques with different implants have widened the therapeutic possibilities for treating this disease. Finally, current insights into risk factors and quality of life in relation to glaucomatous impairment are emerging. The purpose of this Special Issue is to present the latest exciting clinical developments that are taking place in the field of glaucoma

Integrated Urban River Corridors:

This thesis focuses on Urban River Corridors (URCs) as spaces of social-ecological integration par excellence—that is, spaces where the interaction between the urban systems (carrying the ‘social-’) and the river system (carrying the ‘-ecological’) is (potentially) the most intense. The general hypothesis is that with an integrated spatial understanding, planning and design of rivers and the urban fabric surrounding them, cities could become more resilient, not just to flood-related disturbances, but to general chronic stresses as well. Hence, the thesis addresses a number of spatial problems arising from the loss of synergy between the natural dynamics of rivers and the spatial configuration and composition of urban areas that they cross, namely: the relationship between fluvial geomorphology and urban morphology weakened by river-taming operations; the physical barrier caused by riverside vehicular traffic; the latent flood risk built up through resistance-based flood-protection measures; the diminished capacity of urban rivers to provide ecosystem services; and the reduced scalar, (and implicitly) social and ecological complexity of urban rivers after rationalisation. Drawing on theories of social-ecological resilience and urban form resilience, on conceptual and analytical tools from the fields of spatial morphology and landscape ecology, and on explorations through urban river design projects, the thesis departs from the research question “How can social-ecological integration be spatially defined, assessed and designed in Urban River Corridors?” Accordingly, it constructs a theory of social-ecologically integrated Urban River Corridors, in which it proposes a spatial-morphological definition, an assessment framework, and a set of design principles and design instruments. These three components of the theory represent the descriptive, analytical, and normative claims advanced in the research, respectively. The thesis employs a mixed methods research strategy that combines methods of both quantitative and qualitative nature as part of a transdisciplinary design study approach. As the object of the design study, the case of Bucharest crossed by URC Dâmbovița and URC Colentina is used to contextualise the spatial-morphological definition, and to demonstrate, develop and test the proposed assessment framework and design principles, with a distinct set of methods in each of the three parts of the thesis. The first part places URCs in a wider theoretical and empirical context. A transdisciplinary literature review is carried out to distil environmental-ecological, social-economic, planning-governance and spatial-morphological knowledge into four key properties of URCs—connectivity, open space amenity, integration and multiscalarity—and to adopt a method of URC delineation. A historical overview of Bucharest’s URCs and a qualitative data analysis of 22 expert interviews is conducted to describe the past dynamics and the current state of URC Dâmbovița and URC Colentina. The history of the two rivers shows a process of radical transformation from a flooding and dynamic river valley to a canalised stream and cramped urban space (River Dâmbovița) and from a pestilential wetland to a succession of lakes and parks designated as a metropolitan recreational area (River Colentina). In the expert interviews addressing the current state of the two URCs, Dâmbovița was described as inaccessible, disruptive, unattractive and artificial from both social and ecological point of view, but also, in terms of potentials, as a major axis of urban development and potentially the largest public space of the city. URC Colentina, as revealed in the analysis of the expert interviews, is currently inaccessible and fragmented by lakeside privatisation and it lacks cohesion due to contrasting social and spatial peripheral conditions. Yet, most experts considered that it is potentially the largest recreational space and green corridor in the metropolitan area of Bucharest. Based on the spatial-morphological definition of URCs and on existing approaches to assessing urban rivers, the second part of the thesis develops an assessment framework, that is, a structured indicator system and a method for the assessment of social-ecological integration. The indicator system is structured in a hierarchy of social and ecological categories under connectivity (longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity) and spatial capacity (spatial diversity, quality and composition). The method of assessment confronts values given by indicators from corresponding categories (e.g. social lateral connectivity with ecological lateral connectivity) in a mirrored social-ecological assessment chart and highlights areas of potential for improved social-ecological integration on the scales of the corridor and the corridor segment. Informed by the key problems and potentials derived from the analysis of the expert interviews, a complete assessment is carried out on URC Dâmbovița and a demonstration of wider application is given on URC Colentina. Corridor-segment assessment shows that URC Dâmbovița currently has a high-to-medium longitudinal connectivity, medium-to-low lateral connectivity and low vertical connectivity, as well as a medium spatial diversity and quality, and a medium-to-high spatial composition. The social-ecological profile of URC Dâmbovița highlights potential improvements on the ecological dimension for centrally located corridor segments and a potential increase in spatial diversity and composition on the social dimension in peripheral segments. The application of the assessment framework to different site conditions is briefly demonstrated on URC Colentina with an indicator of street network accessibility (also used in the assessment of URC Dâmbovița) and green space coverage (specific to URC Colentina). Building on principles of urban and landscape design and informed by design explorations through four urban river projects carried out by the author, the last part of the thesis develops four design principles, namely Interconnectedness, Absorptive Capacity, Social-Ecological Integration, and Interscalarity, derived from the key properties specified in the spatial-morphological definition of URCs. Interconnectedness and Absorptive Capacity are principles that guide the design of elements found in the networks and open spaces of the URC, while Social-Ecological Integration and Interscalarity reveal systemic and scalar relations among those elements. Finally, the design principles are translated into four corresponding design instruments—the Connector, the Sponge, the Integrator and the Scaler—, meant to aid designers in building social-ecologically integrated URCs. A design workshop organised in Bucharest is employed to demonstrate and test the use of the design instruments in the design process and their impact on the design projects. The workshop participants evaluated the design instruments as overall useful and easy to use, but also gave valuable suggestions for improvements in their application in the design process. The thesis concludes with a reflection on theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the research. By drawing parallels between the spatial-morphological definition, assessment and design of URCs, on the one hand, and the spatial properties and models of social-ecological resilience, on the other hand, it argues that social-ecologically integrated URCs have a potentially positive impact on general urban resilience. This last part discusses challenges and opportunities of the transdisciplinary design study approach and the mixed methodology, gives possible usage scenarios for the assessment framework and design instruments, and reflects on the wider applicability of the research for urban and landscape design beyond the case of Bucharest