An improved method for test case prioritization by incorporating historical test case data

AbstractTest case prioritization reorders test cases from a previous version of a software system for the current release to optimize regression testing. We have previously introduced a technique for test case prioritization using historical test case performance data. The technique was based on a test case prioritization equation, which directly computes the priority of each test case using the historical information of the test case using an equation with constant coefficients. This technique was compared just with random ordering approach. In this paper, we present an enhancement of the aforementioned technique in two ways. First, we propose a new prioritization equation with variable coefficients gained according to the available historical performance data, which acts as a feedback from the previous test sessions. Second, a family of comprehensive empirical studies has been conducted to evaluate the performance of the technique. We have compared the proposed technique with our previous technique and the technique proposed by Kim and Porter. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique in accelerating the rate of fault detection in history-based test case prioritization

Ability of Ultrasonography in Detection of Different Extremity Bone Fractures; a Case Series Study

Introduction: Despite radiography being the gold standard in evaluation of orthopedic injuries, using bedsideultrasonography has several potential supremacies such as avoiding exposure to ionizing radiation, availabilityin pre-hospital settings, being extensively accessible, and ability to be used on the bedside. The aim of thepresent study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in detection of extremity bone fractures.Methods: This study is a case series study, which was prospectively conducted on multiple blunt trauma patients,who were 18 years old or older, had stable hemodynamic, Glasgow coma scale 15, and signs or symptomsof a possible extremity bone fracture. After initial assessment, ultrasonography of suspected bones was performedby a trained emergency medicine resident and prevalence of true positive and false negative findingswere calculated compared to plain radiology. Results: 108 patients with the mean age of 44.6 § 20.4 years werestudied (67.6% male). Analysis was done on 158 sites of fracture, which were confirmed with plain radiography.91 (57.6%) cases were suspected to have upper extremity fracture(s) and 67 (42.4%) to have lower ones.The most frequent site of injuries were forearm (36.7%) in upper limbs and leg (27.8%) in lower limbs. Prevalenceof true positive and false negative cases for fractures detected by ultrasonography were 59 (64.8%) and 32(35.52%) for upper and 49 (73.1%) and 18 (26.9%) for lower extremities, respectively. In addition, prevalence oftrue positive and false negative detected cases for intra-articular fractures were 24 (48%) and 26 (52%), respectively.Conclusion: The present study shows the moderate sensitivity (68.3%) of ultrasonography in detectionof different extremity bone fractures. Ultrasonography showed the best sensitivity in detection of femur (100%)and humerus (76.2%) fractures, respectively. It had low sensitivity in detection of in intra-articular fractures

Homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction via flotation assistance for determination of trace amounts of manganese prior to inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

86-92In the present study, homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction via flotation assistance method is described for preconcentration of trace amounts of Mn(II). 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) is used as a ligand. The enriched analyte in the floated organic phase has been determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In this work, low density organic solvent is used and there is no need of centrifugation. Several factors influencing the microextraction efficiency, such as pH, the amount of chelating agent, nature and volume of extraction and homogeneous solvents have been investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the linear dynamic range is 1.0-500.0 ng L-1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998 and the detection limit of 0.1 ng L-1. The proposed method has been successfully applied for separation and determination of manganese in different water samples

Enhancement of immune responses by vaccine potential of three antigens, including ROP18, MIC4, and SAG1 against acute toxoplasmosis in mice

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) causes considerable financial losses in the livestock industry and can present serious threats to pregnant women, as well as immunocompromised patients. Therefore, it is required to design and produce an efficient vaccine for controlling toxoplasmosis. The present study aimed to evaluate the protective immunity induced by RMS protein (ROP18, MIC4, and SAG1) with Freund adjuvant, calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaPNs), and chitosan nanoparticles (CNs) in BALB/c mice. The RMS protein was expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and purified using a HisTrap HP column. Thereafter, cellular and humoral immunity was assessed by injecting RMS protein on days 0, 21, and 35 into four groups [RMS, RMS-chitosan nanoparticles (RMS-CNs), RMS-calcium phosphate nanoparticles (RMS-CaPNs), and RMS-Freund]. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS), CNs, CaPNs, and Freund served as the four control groups. The results displayed that vaccination with RMS protein and adjuvants significantly elicited the levels of specific IgG antibodies and cytokines against toxoplasmosis. There were high levels of total IgG, IgG2a, and IFN-γ in vaccinated mice, compared to those in the control groups, especially in the RMS-Freund, indicating a Th-1 type response. The vaccinated and control mice were challenged intraperitoneally with 1 × 103 tachyzoites of the T. gondii RH strain four weeks after the last injection, and in RMS-Freund and RMS-CaPNs groups, the highest increase in survival time was observed (15 days). The RMS can significantly increase Th1 and Th2 responses; moreover, multi-epitope vaccines with adjuvants can be a promising strategy for the production of a vaccine against toxoplasmosis

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Determining the Effective Factors on Gastric Cancer Using Frailty Model in South-East and North of Iran

Background and Purpose: Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of mortality in Iran after cardiovascular diseases and accidents. The aim of the present study was to assess survival and it’s affecting factors in gastric cancer patients through using Cox and parametric models along with frailty. Materials and Methods: In this study, the medical records of gastric cancer patients treated from 2008 to late 2010 were collected in Afzalipour and Bahonar Hospitals in Kerman and Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari. 383 patients entered the study and were followed up for at least five years. The survival of patients was assessed by using Cox proportional hazard, log-normal and log-logistic models under gamma and inverse-Gaussian distributions, as two special models for frailty. Models efficiency comparison criteria were Akaike information criterion and Cox-Snell residuals. Results: Out of 196 patients in Kerman, 132(67.3%) were males and 64(32.7%) were females. The average age of the patient was 61yr and 59 yr for the males and females, respectively. Also, the survival rates after 1, 3, and 5 years of the diagnosis were 62%, 50%, and 45%, respectively. In the city of Sari, 69% (129 people) of the patients were male and 31% were female. The mean ages of male and female were 66 and 62 yr, respectively. At the same time, 1, 3, and 5 year survival rates of patients were 58%, 36%, and 30%, respectively. Based on Akaike information criterion, Cox-Snell residuals, and non-monotonic failure rate, log-logistic model along with gamma frailty was more fitted in comparison with other models. Using this model, radiotherapy, heartburn, and tumor grade were found as significant predictors. Conclusion: Radiotherapy, heartburn, and tumor grade could be considered as more affected factors. According to rejection of the proportional hazard assumption, assessments of residual figures, and according to non-significant frailty effect by log-normal model, log-logistic model along with gamma frailty was found to be the best fitted model

Differentiation cervical epithelial cells by image processing techniques

Background and purpose: Different patterns of the three main categories of squamous cells in cervical Pap smears specimens partially represent the hormonal status of the patient. So far using the optical microscope for counting and differentiation of the cells due to a lot of wasted time and possible errors have been prevented easy to use it in labs. Thus our objective was to design and implement an accurate and fast assessment device based on image processing techniques to identify and differentiate these cells from each other. Materials and methods: In this study 20 images of Pap smear slides have been used, that were provided by Liquid based cytology (LBC) method belonging to patients or clients who have been referred to Shahriyar pathology laboratory in Sari. 150 cells from each slide were divided into 50 superficial cells, 50 intermediate cells and 50 parabasal cells under the supervision of pathologist; and using MATLAB software and image processing techniques these cells approved and differentiated. Finally, another pathologist blindly confirmed the result of processing of cells for identification accuracy using an optical microscope. Results: The proposed method is able to identify three cell categories based on the size of the cell nucleus; cytoplasm size and their ratio to each other which is called N/C is five times faster than using the conventional light microscope. Kappa coefficient was calculated and was equal to k = 0.981 (P < 0.001) that represents a 98% overlap between the results of the second experienced pathologist observations and our proposed method. Conclusion: After ensuring the acceptable performance of this approach for detecting and counting the three categories of cervical cells and for the design of a prospective study involving simultaneous measurement of the estrogen and progesterone hormones of patient, we hoped to evaluate the effectiveness of this method as a cheap and quick alternative method to verify the accuracy hormonal status of patients

Fast, Highly-Sensitive, and Wide-Dynamic-Range Interdigitated Capacitor Glucose Biosensor Using Solvatochromic Dye-Containing Sensing Membrane

In this paper, we proposed an interdigitated capacitor (IDC)-based glucose biosensor to measure different concentrations of glucose from 1 μM to 1 M. We studied four different types of solvatochromic dyes: Auramine O, Nile red, Rhodamine B, and Reichardt’s dye (R-dye). These dyes were individually incorporated into a polymer [polyvinyl chloride (PVC)] and N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC) solution to make the respective dielectric/sensing materials. To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time an IDC glucose biosensing system utilizing a solvatochromic-dye-containing sensing membrane. These four dielectric or sensing materials were individually placed into the interdigitated electrode (IDE) by spin coating to make four IDC glucose biosensing elements. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor has a high sensing ability over a wide dynamic range and its sensitivity was about 23.32 mV/decade. It also has fast response and recovery times of approximately 7 s and 5 s, respectively, excellent reproducibility with a standard deviation of approximately 0.023, highly stable sensing performance, and real-time monitoring capabilities. The proposed IDC glucose biosensor was compared with an IDC, potentiometric, FET, and fiber-optic glucose sensor with respect to response time, dynamic range width, sensitivity, and linearity. We observed that the designed IDC glucose biosensor offered excellent performance

A High Sensitivity IDC-Electronic Tongue Using Dielectric/Sensing Membranes with Solvatochromic Dyes

In this paper, an electronic tongue/taste sensor array containing different interdigitated capacitor (IDC) sensing elements to detect different types of tastes, such as sweetness (glucose), saltiness (NaCl), sourness (HCl), bitterness (quinine-HCl), and umami (monosodium glutamate) is proposed. We present for the first time an IDC electronic tongue using sensing membranes containing solvatochromic dyes. The proposed highly sensitive (30.64 mV/decade sensitivity) IDC electronic tongue has fast response and recovery times of about 6 s and 5 s, respectively, with extremely stable responses, and is capable of linear sensing performance (R2 ≈ 0.985 correlation coefficient) over the wide dynamic range of 1 µM to 1 M. The designed IDC electronic tongue offers excellent reproducibility, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of about 0.029. The proposed device was found to have better sensing performance than potentiometric-, cascoded compatible lateral bipolar transistor (C-CLBT)-, Electronic Tongue (SA402)-, and fiber-optic-based taste sensing systems in what concerns dynamic range width, response time, sensitivity, and linearity. Finally, we applied principal component analysis (PCA) to distinguish between various kinds of taste in mixed taste compounds