The Beneficial Techniques in Preprocessing Step of Skin Cancer Detection System Comparing

AbstractAutomatic diagnostics of skin cancer is one of the most challenging problems in medical image processing. It helps physicians to decide whether a skin melanoma is benign or malignant. So, determining the more efficient methods of detection to reduce the rate of errors is a vital issue among researchers. Preprocessing is the first stage of detection to improve the quality of images, removing the irrelevant noises and unwanted parts in the background of the skin images. The purpose of this paper is to gather the preprocessing approaches can be used in skin cancer images. This paper provides good starting for researchers in their automatic skin cancer detections

Inter-organizational integration framework to reduce inter-organizational conflict in building refurbishment projects / Adel-Noori

Refurbishment sector is becoming one of the most important sectors in the construction industry. In many developed countries, refurbishment sector contributes nearly half of the construction industry output. In Malaysia, 22 percent of construction output was related to refurbishment works in 2015. However, refurbishment projects are more uncertain than new-build projects. Thus, inter-organizational conflicts are likely to happen, due to the uncertainty and the involvement of many organizations in building refurbishment projects. This suggests that refurbishment projects require inter-organizational integration to reduce the inter-organizational conflict. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop an inter-organizational integration framework to reduce inter-organizational conflict in building refurbishment projects in Malaysia. This aim is achieved through the following four objectives: (1) to measure the level of uncertainty in building refurbishment projects; (2) to measure the level of inter-organizational conflict in building refurbishment projects; (3) to measure the degree of inter-organizational integration in building refurbishment projects; and (4) to investigate the relationship between uncertainty and inter-organizational conflict and inter-organizational integration as a mediator in building refurbishment projects. The respondents of this study are boundary role persons who represent construction or architectural firms in dealing with other organizations in building refurbishment projects (e.g., project managers, architects, contract managers) from construction and architectural firms in Malaysia

Inter-Organizational Conflict (IOC) in Building Refurbishment Projects; an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) approach

Over the past years, there has been an expanding intrigued in building refurbishment projects because of the alter in financial conditions and the accentuation on sustainable development. Increasing demand for building refurbishment projects will lead to an increase in organizational interactions in the construction works as building refurbishment works involve interactions among many different organizations and it can cause Inter-Organizational conflict (IOC) among organizations involved in projects. This paper adopted an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) approach to analyses IOC in building refurbishment projects. For this study, a five-point Likert Scale was adopted to ensure the instruments of the study are reliable. The researcher ultimately sent questionnaires as a web-link and email invitation to 1050 construction firms and 733 architectural firms.  The questionnaire sent to managers and professionals from construction and architectural firms in Malaysia. Finally, one-hundred-seventy-nine (179) refurbishment projects formed a database for this paper. The finding of this paper shows the IOC factors that contribute to the improve the performance of building refurbishment project can be conflict during the construction stage, conflict between the client and the consultant, task expectations, basic responsibilities, final duration, project’s goals, conflict between the client and the contractor, final cost, final quality, standards of behaviors, conflict between the contractor and the consultant, interference and conflict during the design stage

Application of Wavelet Packet and S Transforms for Differential Protection of Power Transformer

The differential protection of power transformers appears to be more difficult than any type of protection for any other part or element in a power system. Such difficulties arise from the existence of the magnetizing inrush phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize between inrush current and the current arise from internal faults. In this paper, two approaches based on wavelet packet transform (WPT) and S-transform (ST) are applied to recognize different types of currents following in the transformer. In WPT approach, the selection of optimal mother wavelet and the optimal number of resolution is carried out using minimum description length (MDL) criteria before taking the decision for the extraction features from the WPT tree. In ST approach, the spectral energy index and the standard deviation (STD) are calculated from the S-matrix obtained by discrete S-transform. The two approaches are tested for generating a trip signal and disconnecting the transformer supply experimentally using 1KVA, 220/110V, 50Hz, ∆ / Y threephase transformer. The experimental results show that the trip signal is initiated faster in WPT approach while the transformer is disconnected from the supply after a delay of 10-15msec in the two approaches due to computer interface and the relay circuit used

The unfinished agenda of communicable diseases among children and adolescents before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Communicable disease control has long been a focus of global health policy. There have been substantial reductions in the burden and mortality of communicable diseases among children younger than 5 years, but we know less about this burden in older children and adolescents, and it is unclear whether current programmes and policies remain aligned with targets for intervention. This knowledge is especially important for policy and programmes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to use the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 to systematically characterise the burden of communicable diseases across childhood and adolescence. METHODS: In this systematic analysis of the GBD study from 1990 to 2019, all communicable diseases and their manifestations as modelled within GBD 2019 were included, categorised as 16 subgroups of common diseases or presentations. Data were reported for absolute count, prevalence, and incidence across measures of cause-specific mortality (deaths and years of life lost), disability (years lived with disability [YLDs]), and disease burden (disability-adjusted life-years [DALYs]) for children and adolescents aged 0-24 years. Data were reported across the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and across time (1990-2019), and for 204 countries and territories. For HIV, we reported the mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) as a measure of health system performance. FINDINGS: In 2019, there were 3·0 million deaths and 30·0 million years of healthy life lost to disability (as measured by YLDs), corresponding to 288·4 million DALYs from communicable diseases among children and adolescents globally (57·3% of total communicable disease burden across all ages). Over time, there has been a shift in communicable disease burden from young children to older children and adolescents (largely driven by the considerable reductions in children younger than 5 years and slower progress elsewhere), although children younger than 5 years still accounted for most of the communicable disease burden in 2019. Disease burden and mortality were predominantly in low-SDI settings, with high and high-middle SDI settings also having an appreciable burden of communicable disease morbidity (4·0 million YLDs in 2019 alone). Three cause groups (enteric infections, lower-respiratory-tract infections, and malaria) accounted for 59·8% of the global communicable disease burden in children and adolescents, with tuberculosis and HIV both emerging as important causes during adolescence. HIV was the only cause for which disease burden increased over time, particularly in children and adolescents older than 5 years, and especially in females. Excess MIRs for HIV were observed for males aged 15-19 years in low-SDI settings. INTERPRETATION: Our analysis supports continued policy focus on enteric infections and lower-respiratory-tract infections, with orientation to children younger than 5 years in settings of low socioeconomic development. However, efforts should also be targeted to other conditions, particularly HIV, given its increased burden in older children and adolescents. Older children and adolescents also experience a large burden of communicable disease, further highlighting the need for efforts to extend beyond the first 5 years of life. Our analysis also identified substantial morbidity caused by communicable diseases affecting child and adolescent health across the world. FUNDING: The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence for Driving Investment in Global Adolescent Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Comparing four different methods for the management of ectopic pregnancy: A cross-sectional study

Background: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is one of the major causes of maternal mortality during the first trimester of pregnancy. Objective: Four treatment methods for EP including single-dose methotrexate (SD-MTX), double-dose methotrexate, expectant and surgical management were considered. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the clinical characteristics of 365 women aged 15-44 yr who had been diagnosed with EP were reviewed from March 2017 to March 2019 in hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Receiver operating characteristics curves were plotted to determine the cut-off points for size of ectopic mass and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β- hCG) that suitably discriminated between double-dose methotrexate and surgery management. Results: The most common site of EP was adnexa. According to the receiver operating characteristics analysis, surgery was the best plan for the women with an ectopic mass > 34.50 mm in diameter or with an initial β-hCG level > 6419 mIU/ml. The β-hCG levels in the women successfully treated with SD-MTX were significantly lower than in those with failed treatment (p = 0.02). The SD-MTX group had a higher success rate and significantly shorter duration of hospitalization, and so this was a more effective medical treatment in comparison with the double-dose protocol. Conclusion: Surgery is proposed as the best option for the cases with large ectopic mass or high β-hCG level. SD-MTX had a higher success rate and shorter hospital stay than the double-dose protocol, and so was found to be an efficient and safe alternative. Further randomized clinical trials with larger sample sizes are recommended to validate the current results. Key words: Ectopic pregnancy, Methotrexate