Analysis of spatio-temporal field productivity of a wheat field in southern prairie region

Non-Peer ReviewedThe site-specific management of agriculture inputs have spawned a revolution in how farmers are managing their fields with the improvement in technology involving variable rate chemical applications and geographic positioning system. No longer do fertilizer and pesticides need to be applied uniformly across a field, but now may be varied to match the soil potential as the soil type varies across the field. Success of this method of precision farming depends on being able to set application rates matching field productivity. Unfortunately, little information is available on how variable yields are across fields, what patterns of yield can be expected, and how consistent these patterns are from year to year. In this study we found that wheat yield varies across a field, but that the yield pattern is not the same each year. Overall spring soil moisture level does affect the strength of the spatial pattern.This information is important to those trying to use yield patterns for making chemical applications for precision farming. Our study indicates that several years are needed before a clear pattern of yield potential can be determined

Agriculture field characterization using GIS software and scanned color infrared aerial photographs

Non-Peer ReviewedThis paper addresses the potential of a color infrared aerial photograph to provide spatially distributed information for site specific management. In this process digitized color infrared aerial photographs were used to extract vegetation index information. In addition, important crop and soil information were also collected using a grid sampling technique. Crop and soil information contributing most to explain variability were determined and used in further analysis. Grain yield data obtained using combine sampling were noted along with the coordinate information of the sample points. Locational information were collected using GPS. Kriged surface were generated using soil and crop point sample information. Point information were extracted from each kriged surface using centroid of uniformly spaced grid (15 m cell). Fuzzy k-means with extragrades algorithms were used to delineate potential within-field management units based on soil and crop information and vegetation index separately. Then “goodness” of potential management zones generated using within zone variability of grain yield. Ideal number of zones were determined using the decrease in total within-zone variance. Finally, management zones determined using crop and soil information and vegetation index information were compared for similarity. The methodology is fast, can be easily automated in commercially available GIS software and has considerable advantages when comparing to other methods for delineating within-field management zones

Analyzing color infrared aerial photographs for the delineation of management units in site-specific agricultural management

Non-Peer ReviewedThis poster addresses the potential of a color infrared aerial photograph to provide spatially distributed information for site specific management. In this process digitized color infrared aerial photographs were used to extract vegetation index information. Crop and soil information were obtained through field sampling. Most important factors for affecting crop productivity were determined using principal component analysis. Point information were interpolated using kriging to create grid surface of the study area. Centroid of each grid cell was used to collect crop and soil information, and vegetation index at a regular interval throughout the study area. Fuzzy k-means with extra-grades algorithms were used to delineate potential within-field management units based on soil and crop information and vegetation index separately. Within-zone grain yield variation were calculated and used to evaluate management zones. The methodology is fast, can be easily automated in commercially available GIS software and has considerable advantages when comparing to other methods for delineating within-field management zones

Weighing benefits and risks in aspects of security, privacy and adoption of technology in a value-based healthcare system

Technology can potentially enable the implementation of a value-based healthcare system, where the impact of quality of care is offered at optimised cost for maximised patient benefit. Technology can deliver value by aiding in data collection to evaluate outcomes and measure costs on a patient and population level. Healthcare organisations, however, face several challenges and risks that result almost exclusively from the use of these technologies

Health information technology uses for primary prevention in preventive medicine: A scoping review protocol

Introduction The use of health information technologies (HITs) has been associated with positive benefits such as improved health outcomes and improved health services. Results from empirical studies reported potential benefits of HITs in preventive medicine measures such as primary prevention. This review will examine the broad range of HITs and their uses and effectiveness in primary prevention. Methods and analysis We will conduct searches in relevant databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Methodology Register, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, SCOPUS and Web of Science) using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology. The scoping review will include all study designs to identify the literature on HIT uses. Two reviewers will independently screen the literature following our screening criteria and using a data abstraction form. Findings will be summarised quantitatively (using numerical counts of HITs) and qualitatively (using narrative synthesis). Ethics and dissemination The study will synthesise data from published literature and will not require an ethical approval. The results of the review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal

Resonance Effects in the Nonadiabatic Nonlinear Quantum Dimer

The quantum nonlinear dimer consisting of an electron shuttling between the two sites and in weak interaction with vibrations, is studied numerically under the application of a DC electric field. A field-induced resonance phenomenon between the vibrations and the electronic oscillations is found to influence the electronic transport greatly. For initially delocalization of the electron, the resonance has the effect of a dramatic increase in the transport. Nonlinear frequency mixing is identified as the main mechanism that influences transport. A characterization of the frequency spectrum is also presented.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Safety and acceptability of a natural-language AI assistant to deliver clinical follow-up to cataract surgery patients: Proposal for a pragmatic evaluation

Background: Due to an ageing population, the demand for many services is exceeding the capacity of the clinical workforce. As a result, staff are facing a crisis of burnout from being pressured to deliver high-volume workloads, driving increasing costs for providers. Artificial intelligence, in the form of conversational agents, presents a possible opportunity to enable efficiencies in the delivery of care. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness, usability, and acceptability of Dora - an AI-enabled autonomous telemedicine call - for detection of post-operative cataract surgery patients who require further assessment. The study’s objectives are to: 1) establish Dora’s efficacy in comparison to an expert clinician, 2) determine baseline sensitivity and specificity for detection of true complications, 3) evaluate patient acceptability, 4) collect evidence for cost-effectiveness, and 5) capture data to support further development and evaluation. Methods: Based on implementation science, the interdisciplinary study will be a mixed-methods phase one pilot establishing inter-observer reliability of the system, usability, and acceptability. This will be done using using the following scales and frameworks: the system usability scale; assessment of Health Information Technology Interventions in Evidence-Based Medicine Evaluation Framework; the telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ); the Non-Adoption, Abandonment and Challenges to the Scale-up, Spread and Suitability (NASSS) framework. Results: The results will be included in the final evaluation paper, which we aim to publish in 2022. The study will last eighteen months: seven months of evaluation and intervention refinement, nine months of implementation and follow-up, and two months of post-evaluation analysis and write-up. Conclusions: The project’s key contributions will be evidence on artificial intelligence voice conversational agent effectiveness, and associated usability and acceptability

The effectiveness of artificial intelligence conversational agents in healthcare: a systematic review

Background: High demand on healthcare services and the growing capability of artificial intelligence has led to the development of conversational agents designed to support a variety of health-related activities - including behaviour change, treatment support, health monitoring, training, triage, and screening support. Automation of these tasks could free clinicians to focus on more complex work and increase accessibility to healthcare services for the general public. An overarching assessment of the acceptability, usability, and effectiveness of these agents in healthcare is needed to collate the evidence so that future development can target areas for improvement and potential for sustainable adoption. Objective: This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and usability of conversational agents in healthcare and identify the elements that users like and dislike, to inform future research and development of these agents. Methods: PubMed, Medline (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library were systematically searched for articles published since 2008 that evaluated unconstrained natural language processing conversational agents used in healthcare. Endnote (version X9; Clarivate Analytics) reference management software was used for initial screening, then full-text screening was conducted by one reviewer. Data was extracted and risk of bias was assessed by one reviewer and validated by another. Results: A total of 31 studies were selected and included a variety of conversational agents - 14 chatbots (two of which were voice chatbots), 6 embodied conversational agents, 3 each of interactive voice response calls, virtual patients, and speech recognition screening systems, as well as one contextual question answering agent and one voice recognition triage system. Overall, the evidence reported was mostly positive or mixed. Usability and satisfaction performed well (27/30 and 26/31) and positive or mixed effectiveness was found in three quarters of the studies (23/30), but there were several limitations of the agents highlighted in specific qualitative feedback. Conclusions: The studies generally reported positive or mixed evidence for the effectiveness, usability, and satisfactoriness of the conversational agents investigated, but qualitative user perceptions were more mixed. The quality of many of the studies was limited, and improved study design and reporting is necessary to more accurately evaluate the usefulness of the agents in healthcare and identify key areas for improvement. Further research should also analyse the cost-effectiveness, privacy, and security of the agents

C-myc mRNA expression in epithelial ovarian carcinomas in relation to estrogen receptor status, metastatic spread, survival time, FIGO stage, and histologic grade and type

Recently, it has been suggested that c-myc expression might correlate with estrogen receptor (ER) status and metastatic spread in ovarian cancer. In this study, expression of c-myc mRNA in 90 epithelial ovarian carcinomas was determined using the S1 nuclease protection assay. Expression of c-myc mRNA was detectable in 27 of 90 tumors. There was no significant association between c-myc mRNA expression and metastatic spread, survival time, FIGO stage, or histologic grade and type. C-myc mRNA was expressed in 45% of ER-positive tumors but only 24% of ER-negative tumors (p = 0.094; Fisher's exact test). Similarly, 44% of progesterone receptor (PR)-positive and 23% of PR-negative tumors expressed c-myc mRNA (p = 0.098). However, the association between c-myc mRNA expression and ER and PR status was not statistically significant. The ratio of mean expression of c-myc mRNA in patients with FIGO stages III/IV compared with patients with FIGO stages I/II was 2.1:1, an insignificant difference (p = 0.57, Wilcoxon rank sum test). In conclusion, c-myc was not significantly associated with the clinical parameters investigated in this study