Inter-observer agreement of the Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS^{TM}) in patients with stable chest pain

Purpose: To assess inter-observer variability of the Coronary Artery Disease - Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) for classifying the degree of coronary artery stenosis in patients with stable chest pain. Material and methods: A prospective study was conducted upon 96 patients with coronary artery disease, who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA). The images were classified using the CAD-RAD system according to the degree of stenosis, the presence of a modifier: graft (G), stent (S), vulnerable plaque (V), or non-diagnostic (n) and the associated coronary anomalies, and non-coronary cardiac and extra-cardiac findings. Image analysis was performed by two reviewers. Inter-observer agreement was assessed. Results: There was excellent inter-observer agreement for CAD-RADS (k = 0.862), at 88.5%. There was excellent agreement for CAD-RADS 0 (k = 1.0), CAD-RADS 1 (k = 0.92), CAD-RADS 3 (k = 0.808), CAD-RADS 4 (k = 0.826), and CAD-RADS 5 (k = 0.833) and good agreement for CAD-RADS 2 (k = 0.76). There was excellent agreement for modifier G (k = 1.0) and modifier S (k = 1.0), good agreement for modifier N (k = 0.79), and moderate agreement for modifier V (k = 0.59). There was excellent agreement for associated coronary artery anomalies (k = 0.845), non-coronary cardiac findings (k = 0.857), and extra-cardiac findings (k = 0.81). Conclusions: There is inter-observer agreement of CAD-RADS in categorising the degree of coronary arteries stenosis, and the modifier of the system and associated cardiac and extra-cardiac findings

Enhanced UML Methodology with New Hybrid Diagrams: An ATM Application

Object oriented proved to be the most important software engineering tools. The main reason behind the importance is that, Object Oriented covers the most powerful programming languages such as Java and C++. UML is a modeling language which is a part of object oriented and it was created to provide the software development industry with analysis and design techniques based on some diagrams. The most common UML diagrams in use are Class and Activity diagram. To implement any system using object oriented UML, the programmer needs at least two or three diagrams beside the Use Case diagram in order to understand a full picture of the system. There is no diagram which can show the full picture of the system. In this research, new methodology called “Touch and Go†has been generated by the researchers to implement the system. In this methodology, analysis and design are merged in one stage called Touch. Implementation and testing stage are merged in one stage called Go. The Class and Activity diagram are merged to introduce new integrated diagram called Enhanced Class Activity (ECA) diagram and the normal Activity diagram will be modified and improved as Activity Remarked Class (ARC) diagram. Analytical analysis of the new methodology is implemented in ATM machine system which can be later implemented using Java language or any other Object Oriented language. A powerful system like ATM is chosen to apply the new technique and it has been shown clearly how the methodology is working perfectly with such system. This study helps to reduce the number of diagrams that are being used to implement the system, reducing total time of implementation and making the coding stage easier by using only few numbers of diagrams

Calculation of asymptotic charges at the critical sets of null infinity

The asymptotic structure of null and spatial infinities of asymptotically flat spacetimes plays an essential role in discussing gravitational radiation, gravitational memory effect, and conserved quantities in General Relativity. Bondi, Metzner and Sachs established that the asymptotic symmetry group for asymptotically simple spacetimes is the infinite-dimensional BMS group. Given that null infinity is divided into two sets: past null infinity $\mathscr{I}^{-}$ and future null infinity $\mathscr{I}^{+}$, one can identify two independent symmetry groups: $\text{BMS}^{-}$ at $\mathscr{I}^{-}$ and $\text{BMS}^{+}$ at $\mathscr{I}^{+}$. Associated with these symmetries are the so-called BMS charges. A recent conjecture by Strominger suggests that the generators of $\text{BMS}^{-}$ and $\text{BMS}^{+}$ and their associated charges are related via an antipodal reflection map near spatial infinity. To verify this matching, an analysis of the gravitational field near spatial infinity is required. This task is complicated due to the singular nature of spatial infinity for spacetimes with non-vanishing ADM mass. Different frameworks have been introduced in the literature to address this singularity, e.g., Friedrich's cylinder, Ashtekar-Hansen's hyperboloid and Ashtekar-Romano's asymptote at spatial infinity. This paper reviews the role of Friedrich's formulation of spatial infinity in the investigation of the matching of the spin-2 charges on Minkowski spacetime and in the full GR setting.Comment: 16 pages, 2 Figures (A major change in the structure and content compared to earlier version. The changes are made to agree with the peer reviewed version.

Overcoming the conflict of jurisdiction in cybercrime

This study explores the different approaches to managing the conflict of criminal jurisdiction over cybercrime with the aim of comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It argues that the most effective solution to this dilemma is to determine certain factors to be considered and evaluated by a body established for such a purpose or by the concerned states themselves in order to decide which country will take the exclusive competence over the cybercrime in accordance with the facts of each individual case and taking into account the characteristics of cybercrime. Establishment of these factors should reflect the interests of the different stakeholders related to cybercrime that include like other crimes the interest of victim(s), criminal(s), and concerned states. As long as it is accepted internationally that the jurisdiction over cybercrime can be established based on territory, active and passive personality, as well as the protective principles, the suggested factors should also include the interests of the state where the crime is committed, the state of the offender\u27s nationality, the state of the victim\u27s nationality, and the state whose vital interests have been affected by the crime. In addition, these factors should contain the interest of criminal proceedings as it is a must to achieve the interests of all the stakeholders. In my opinion, these factors should not be given equal weight as many factors are more relevant than others in light of the cybercrime particularities and the decision in this regard should be reached on the basis of an aggregate balance of all these factors

Variability in Resilient Modulus of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement as Base Layer and its Impact on Flexible Pavement Performance

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a base layer is gaining popularity, but there are gaps in the literature about its material performance. One problem not well investigated is the variability in the resilient modulus (MR) of RAP as a base layer, as compared with typical granular material, and the impact of this variability on pavement performance. Selection of one MR value has its own variability, beyond the expected variability in the base layer R that results from the use of aggregates with different qualities. This paper investigates the effect of three sources of variability to determine the base layer resilient modulus in the laboratory for RAP as compared with granular material. The three sources considered were (a) the variability in the material and sample preparation for the MR testing, (b) the constitutive model used to predict the resilient modulus, and (c) the state of stress used to predict the base layer modulus. The study compared the variability of the MR of RAP with the MR of unbound granular materials on the basis of actual test results. The impact of MR variability on the flexible pavement distresses for RAP as compared with granular material was investigated using the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide

Disclosure Quality, Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Firm Value

One of the main aims of the underlying research is to respond to continuous calls for introducing and measuring a sound economic definition for best practice disclosure quality (e.g. Beyer et al., 2010) that is derived from a reliable guidance framework (Botosan, 2004) using an innovative natural language processing technique (Berger, 2011). It also aims to examine the impact of corporate governance on best practice disclosure quality. Finally, it aims to examine the joint effect of both best practice disclosure quality and corporate governance on firm value. The thesis contributes to disclosure studies in three principal ways. First, it introduces a new measure for best practice disclosure quality. Further tests show that the proposed measure is reliable and valid. A novel feature of this measure is that it captures all qualitative dimensions of information issued by the Accounting Standards Board, 2006 (ASB) Operating and Financial Review (OFR) Reporting Statement. Second, it uses machine-readable OFR statements for financial years ending in 2006-2009, and develops a language processing technique through constructing five keyword lists. Third, it examines the extent to which disclosure quantity provides a proper proxy for disclosure quality. The analysis shows that disclosure quantity is not a good proxy for disclosure quality. Accordingly, results derived, using quantity as a proxy for quality, are questionable. Results of the association between disclosure quality and corporate governance mechanisms suggest that the most effective governance mechanisms in improving disclosure quality are leadership structure, audit committee meeting frequency, and audit firm size. Using a wide set of corporate governance mechanisms, the study also contributes to three research strands and explains the inconclusive results in relation to the association between disclosure quality, corporate governance mechanisms and firm value. It provides empirical evidence as to which governance mechanisms promote the quality of voluntarily disclosed information in large UK firms. Additionally, it provides empirical evidence as to the joint effect of best practice disclosure quality, corporate governance mechanisms on firm value in the UK. Results also show that best practice disclosure quality enjoys a substitutive relationship with two corporate governance mechanisms (audit committee independence and audit committee size) and a complementary association with board independence in relation to firm value. The study has various research and policy implications. It suggests new research avenues for re-examining disclosure relationships, especially research areas that do not have persuasive conclusions such as the economic consequences of disclosure quality. Such research may inform both regulators and managers as to the costs and benefits of disclosure quality to both firms and stakeholders. It also provides feedback on the current disclosure practices by firms so that policy-makers can modify reporting frameworks/guidance accordingly

Modeling the Effect of Moisture on Resilient Modulus of Untreated Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a base layer is increasing as quality aggregate becomes scarcer and more expensive. Moisture content is known to have a great impact on the resilient modulus (MR) of granular materials, and several researchers have devoted effort to develop and verify analytical models to describe that impact. Limited work has been done to quantify the effect of moisture content on RAP as a base layer. It has not been determined whether the existence of aged binder will allow designers to use the same analytical models developed for granular materials. This study investigated the effect of moisture content on the MR of a base layer that contained RAP, compared the effect of moisture content on RAP with the effect on typical base material, and reviewed the literature to select a model that would analytically predict changes in the MR of untreated RAP as a result of changes in moisture content