Softwarization of Internet of Things Infrastructure for Secure and Smart Healthcare

We propose an agile softwarized infrastructure for flexible, cost effective, secure and privacy preserving deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) for smart healthcare applications and services. It integrates state-of-the-art networking and virtualization techniques across IoT, fog and cloud domains, employing Blockchain, Tor and message brokers to provide security and privacy for patients and healthcare providers. We propose a novel platform using Machine-to-Machine (M2M) messaging and rule-based beacons for seamless data management and discuss the role of data and decision fusion in the cloud and the fog, respectively, for smart healthcare applications and services.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Improving electrical energy efficiency through hydroelectric power and turbine optimization at the El Oued water demineralization plant in Algeria

This paper presents an investigation into the energy potential of the Albian aquifer in the Algerian Sahara at the El Oued water demineralization plant, focusing on its capacity to generate electrical power due to its high-pressure and high-temperature water reserves. We designed and implemented a turbine-generator system to convert hydraulic energy into electricity, achieving an average annual energy output of 1,804,560 kWh, which translates to a financial gain of approximately 345,888,600 DZD per year from energy savings. The selection of a Francis turbine was justified based on its efficiency, which ranges from 90% to 95%, and the system design was simulated using MATLAB-Simulink, demonstrating its robustness and effectiveness in managing the electrical network parameters. Our economic analysis indicates a high return on investment, confirming the feasibility of utilizing the Albian aquifer as a strategic asset for clean and reliable energy production in the region

SPACE FOR COPD© delivered as a maintenance programme on Pulmonary Rehabilitation discharge::protocol of a randomised controlled trial evaluating the long-term effects on exercise tolerance and mental well-being

Introduction The benefits achieved during pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) are known to be sustained for 6–12 months after the initial programme. Several maintenance trials have been conducted but were heterogeneous in terms of duration, frequency and labour cost. There is no consensus on one best strategy. SPACE FOR COPD (Self-management Programme of Activity, Coping and Education for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a home-based self-management programme, which has been shown previously to be effective in primary and secondary care settings and is to be tested here as a maintenance programme. The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of the SPACE FOR COPD programme (manual and group sessions), on exercise tolerance and mental well-being, compared with usual care following PR in patients with COPD. Methods and analysis A prospective, multicentre, single-blinded randomised controlled trial requiring 116 participants with a clinical diagnosis of COPD who have finished PR within 4 weeks will be randomised 1:1 to either a usual care group or a SPACE FOR COPD programme group. The intervention comprises a home-based manual and 4, 2-hour group sessions adopting motivational interviewing techniques over 12 months. The primary outcome is endurance capacity measured by the Endurance Shuttle Walking Test at 12 months. Secondary outcomes are: maximal exercise capacity, health-related quality of life, mood, patient activation, physical activity, lung function and healthcare costs. The measures will be taken at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Patient interviews and staff focus groups will be conducted to explore barriers, facilitators and views about the intervention at the end of the study. A framework analysis will be used for the interpretation of qualitative data. Ethics and dissemination The trial was granted ethical approval from Health Research Authority and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW19/EM/0267 on 10 October 2019). Results will be made available to all stakeholders through a dissemination event, conferences and peer-reviewed publications. Trial registration number ISRCTN30110012

Imaging Features of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-related Nephritis With Clinical Correlation: a Retrospective Series of Biopsy-proven Cases

OBJECTIVES: Imaging appearances of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related nephritis have not yet been described. The primary objective of this study is to describe the appearances of immunotherapy-related nephritis on computerized tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET). The secondary objectives are to investigate the association of radiologic features with clinical outcomes. METHODS: CT and PET-CT scans before the initiation of immunotherapy (baseline), at nephritis, and after resolution of pathology-proven nephritis cases were reviewed. Total kidney volume, renal parenchymal SUVmax, renal pelvis SUVmax, and blood pool SUVmean were obtained. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were included. The total kidney volume was significantly higher at nephritis compared to baseline (464.7 ± 96.8 mL vs. 371.7 ± 187.7 mL; p \u3c 0.001). Fifteen patients (44.1%) had \u3e 30% increase in total kidney volume, which was associated with significantly higher renal toxicity grade (p = 0.007), higher peak creatinine level (p = 0.004), and more aggressive medical treatment (p = 0.011). New/increasing perinephric fat stranding was noted in 10 patients (29.4%) at nephritis. Among 8 patients with contrast-enhanced CT at nephritis, one (12.5%) developed bilateral wedge-shaped hypoenhancing cortical. On PET-CT, the renal parenchymal SUVmax-to-blood pool ratio was significantly higher at nephritis compared to baseline (2.13 vs. 1.68; p = 0.035). The renal pelvis SUVmax-to-blood pool SUVmean ratio was significantly lower at nephritis compared to baseline (3.47 vs. 8.22; p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral increase in kidney size, new/increasing perinephric stranding, and bilateral wedge-shaped hypoenhancing cortical foci can occur in immunotherapy-related nephritis. On PET-CT, a diffuse increase in radiotracer uptake throughout the renal cortex and a decrease in radiotracer activity in the renal pelvis can be seen. KEY POINTS: • CT features of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related nephritis include an increase in kidney volume, new/increasing perinephric stranding, and bilateral ill-defined wedge-shaped hypoenhancing cortical foci. • FDG-PET features of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related nephritis include an increase in FDG uptake throughout the renal cortex and a decrease in FDG activity/excretion in the collecting system. • \u3e 30% increase in total kidney volume is associated with worse toxicity grade and more aggressive medical management

Mie scattering with 3D angular spectrum method

Mie theory is a powerful method to model electromagnetic scattering from a multilayered sphere. Usually, the incident beam is expanded to its vector spherical harmonic representation defined by beam shape coefficients, and the multilayer sphere scattering is obtained by the T-matrix method. However, obtaining the beam shape coefficients for arbitrarily shaped incident beams has limitations on source locations and requires different methods when the incident beam is defined inside or outside the computational domain or at the scatterer surface. We propose a 3D angular spectrum method for defining beam shape coefficients from arbitrary source field distributions. This method enables the placement of the sources freely within the computational domain without singularities, allowing flexibility in beam design. We demonstrate incident field synthesis and spherical scattering by comparing morphology-dependent resonances to known values, achieving excellent matching and high accuracy. The proposed method has significant benefits for optical systems and inverse beam design. It allows for the analysis of electromagnetic forward/backward propagation between optical elements and spherical targets using a single method. It is also valuable for optical force beam design and analysis.Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-107885GB282 C31/AEI/10.13039, PRE2018-084326); Assessment of the Graft 281 Rejection Using Millimeter Waves; Academy of Finland (327640).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Simulation of scattering from layered spheres with known surface electric field distributions using Mie theory and modified angular spectrum method: Applications to corneal sensing

Mie theory is a powerful method to evaluate the scattered fields from the multilayered sphere, where the incident field is expanded to the vector spherical harmonic (VSH) presentation. Then scattered fields are obtained by the T-matrix method. However, obtaining the VSH coefficients for arbitrarily shaped incident fields is difficult and time-consuming. This paper proposes a novel 3D angular spectrum method (3D ASM) for evaluating the VSH coefficients for the incident field, which is defined from the required electric field distribution positioned on the spherical surface. This allows the VSH expansion and evaluation of the scattered fields from a multilayered sphere illuminated with an arbitrary incident wavefront in the Mie Scattering range. This has been computationally challenging with previous methods. First, the advantage of the beam created with the proposed method compared to the nominal Gaussian beam illumination is addressed with the spherical bandstop filter simulation. Then the incident field computed by the proposed method is compared to the physical-optics simulations showing precise agreement. As an example of the proposed methodology, the cornea is modeled as a multilayered spherical structure, and the scattered fields are computed from the cornea illuminated by the incident field with spherical top-hat and tapered top-hat wavefronts. Also, the coupling coefficients of the incident and scattered fields from the cornea model are computed in the 200 - 400 GHz frequency range. The results are compared with coupling coefficients obtained with Gaussian beam illumination and referenced to the reflectivity obtained from plane wave illumination on an analog planar structure. The top-hat beams show increased agreement with the planar stratified medium theory compared to the plane wave and Gaussian beam illumination

Significance of Peri-Operative Urinary Catheterization in Neck of Femur Fractures: A Literature Review

Background: Neck of femur (NOF) fractures are one of the most commonly encountered fractures in orthopedics with established high morbidity and mortality. The surgical management of NOF fractures requires a thorough perioperative assessment to improve overall outcomes

Wavefront-modified vector beams for THz cornea spectroscopy

Terahertz spectroscopy is a promising method to diagnose ocular diseases, where the cornea is typically imaged by Gaussian beams. However, the beam’s mismatch with the cornea’s spherical surface produces a 5-10 % error in analysis. We investigate cornea spectroscopy with wavefront-modified vector beams, reducing the original analysis error to less than 0.5 %. Vector beams are synthesized by our developed 3D Angular Spectrum Method expanded to vector spherical harmonic presentation, allowing wavefront modification and scattering analysis from 100-layer cornea models. We show that wavefront-modified spherical vector beams possess increased accuracy and non-sensitive focusing on cornea spectroscopy compared to the Gaussian beams. Additionally, we investigate wavefront-modified cylindrical vector beams, which show frequency-dependent scattering power arising from s- and p-polarizations. As a result, these beams are unsuitable for cornea spectroscopy, although they have potential for optical force applications. Wavefront-modified vector beams can be applied to spherical target spectroscopy and optical force applications, such as medicine, medical imaging, and optical tweezers.Assessment of the Graft 332 Rejection Using Millimeter Waves; Academy of Finland (327640)Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version