Connectivity Analysis in Vehicular Ad-hoc Network based on VDTN

In the last decade, user demand has been increasing exponentially based on modern communication systems. One of these new technologies is known as mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET). One part of MANET is called a vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET). It has different types such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicular delay-tolerant networks, and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I). To provide sufficient quality of communication service in the Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Network (VDTN), it is important to present a comprehensive survey that shows the challenges and limitations of VANET. In this paper, we focus on one type of VANET, which is known as VDTNs. To investigate realistic communication systems based on VANET, we considered intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and the possibility of replacing the roadside unit with VDTN. Many factors can affect the message propagation delay. When road-side units (RSUs) are present, which leads to an increase in the message delivery efficiency since RSUs can collaborate with vehicles on the road to increase the throughput of the network, we propose new methods based on environment and vehicle traffic and present a comprehensive evaluation of the newly suggested VDTN routing method. Furthermore, challenges and prospects are presented to stimulate interest in the scientific community

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Analysis of the Message Propagation Speed in VANET with Disconnected RSUs

Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs), which are networks of communicating vehicles, provide the essential infrastructure for intelligent transportation systems. Thanks to the significant research efforts to develop the technological background of VANETs, intelligent transportation systems are nowadays becoming a reality. The emergence of VANETs has triggered a lot of research aimed at developing mathematical models in order to gain insight into the dynamics of the communication and to support network planning. In this paper we consider the message propagation speed on the highway, where messages can be exchanged not only between the vehicles, but also between the road-side infrastructure and the vehicles as well. In our scenario, alert messages are generated by a static message source constantly. Relying on an appropriately defined Markov renewal process, we characterize the message passing process between the road-side units, derive the speed of the message propagation, and provide the transient distribution of the distance where the message is available. Our results make it possible to determine the optimal distance between road-side units (RSUs) and to calculate the effect of speed restrictions on message propagation

Appendicitis risk prediction models in children presenting with right iliac fossa pain (RIFT study): a prospective, multicentre validation study.

Background Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in children. Differentiation of acute appendicitis from conditions that do not require operative management can be challenging in children. This study aimed to identify the optimum risk prediction model to stratify acute appendicitis risk in children. Methods We did a rapid review to identify acute appendicitis risk prediction models. A prospective, multicentre cohort study was then done to evaluate performance of these models. Children (aged 5\u201315 years) presenting with acute right iliac fossa pain in the UK and Ireland were included. For each model, score cutoff thresholds were systematically varied to identify the best achievable specificity while maintaining a failure rate (ie, proportion of patients identified as low risk who had acute appendicitis) less than 5%. The normal appendicectomy rate was the proportion of resected appendixes found to be normal on histopathological examination. Findings 15 risk prediction models were identified that could be assessed. The cohort study enrolled 1827 children from 139 centres, of whom 630 (34\ub75%) underwent appendicectomy. The normal appendicectomy rate was 15\ub79% (100 of 630 patients). The Shera score was the best performing model, with an area under the curve of 0\ub784 (95% CI 0\ub782\u20130\ub786). Applying score cutoffs of 3 points or lower for children aged 5\u201310 years and girls aged 11\u201315 years, and 2 points or lower for boys aged 11\u201315 years, the failure rate was 3\ub73% (95% CI 2\ub70\u20135\ub72; 18 of 539 patients), specificity was 44\ub73% (95% CI 41\ub74\u201347\ub72; 521 of 1176), and positive predictive value was 41\ub74% (38\ub75\u201344\ub74; 463 of 1118). Positive predictive value for the Shera score with a cutoff of 6 points or lower (72\ub76%, 67\ub74\u201377\ub74) was similar to that of ultrasound scan (75\ub70%, 65\ub73\u201383\ub71). Interpretation The Shera score has the potential to identify a large group of children at low risk of acute appendicitis who could be considered for early discharge. Risk scoring does not identify children who should proceed directly to surgery. Medium-risk and high-risk children should undergo routine preoperative ultrasound imaging by operators trained to assess for acute appendicitis, and MRI or low-dose CT if uncertainty remains. Funding None