Applying Data Mining Techniques to Medical Databases

The data mining techniques such as Neural Network, Naïve Bayes, and Association rules are at present not well explored on medical databases. In this paper, we present and analyze our experimental results on thrombosis medical database by employing data mining tool of XLMiner and using different data mining techniques such as Naive Bayes and Neural Network for classification, Association rules, and Neural Network and K-Nearest Neighbors for prediction. As seen from experiments, some results are common across various mining techniques while others are unique

Hepatitis B Infection among high risk population: a seroepidemiological survey in Southwest of Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global health problem. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk behaviors for HBV infection among high risk groups in Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad province, in Southwest of Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Blood samples were collected from 2009 subjects, between 2009 and 2010 in Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad province, in southwest of Iran. Recruited subjects were the high risk groups for HBV infection, including inmates, injecting drug users, health care workers, patients on maintenance haemodialysis, hemophilic patients and patients with a history of blood transfusion. Their serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (HBc IgM, IgG) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seropositive specimens were tested for HBsAg. Demographic features of participants were recorded during sample collecting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HBsAg was detected in 24 of the 2009 subjects, giving an overall prevalence of 1.2%. All HBsAg positive cases were males. The prevalence of HBsAg among injection drug users was 3.2%. Significant correlation was found between HBV infection and drug abuse, level of education and place of residence (p<0.05), while no significant correlation was found between HBV infection and previous history of blood transfusion, unprotected sexual behavior, and thalassemia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Based on the findings of this study, incarceration and drug abuse are the most important risk factors for acquiring HBV infection in this region. Modifying behavior, improving the individual education and expanding the HBV vaccination coverage may reduce the rate of infection in the region.</p

Breast cancer prognosis for young patients

Background/Aims: Breast cancer (BCa) prognostication is a vital element for providing effective treatment for patients with BCa. Studies suggest that ethnicity plays a greater role in the incidence and poor prognosis of BCa in younger women than in their older counterparts. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the association between age and ethnicity on the overall final prognosis. Materials and Methods: Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) was used to analyze BCa prognosis using Howard University Cancer Center Tumor Registry and the National Cancer Institute\u27s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results BCa datasets. Patients were grouped according to their predicted prognosis based on NPI scheme. Results: There was no correlation between the younger patients compared to their older counterparts for any of the prognostic clusters. The significance of ethnicity in poorer prognosis for younger age is not conclusive either. Conclusion: An extended prognostic tool/system needs to be evaluated for its usefulness in a clinical practice environment

Kinetic Study of the Thermo-Oxidative Degradation of Squalane (C30H62) Modeling the Base Oil of Engine Lubricants

International audienceOn the basis of ongoing research conducted on the clarification of processes responsible for lubricant degradation in the environment of piston grooves in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) diesel engines, an experimental investigation was aimed to develop a kinetic model, which can be used for the prediction of lubricant oxidative degradation correlated with endurance test conducted on engines. Knowing that base oils are a complex blend of paraffins and naphthenes with a wide range of sizes and structures, their chemistry analysis during the oxidation process can be highly convoluted. In the present work, investigations were carried out with the squalane (C30H62) chosen for its physical and chemical similarities with the lubricant base oils used during the investigations. Thermo-oxidative degradation of this hydrocarbon was conducted at atmospheric pressure in a tubular furnace, while varying temperature and duration of the tests in order to establish an oxidation reaction rate law. The same experimental procedures were applied to squalane doped with two different phenolic antioxidants usually present in engine oil composition: 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol and octadecyl-3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate. Thus, the effect of both antioxidants on the oxidation rate law was investigated. Data analysis of the oxidized samples (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) allowed rationalization of the thermo-oxidative degradation of squalane. The resulting kinetic modeling provides a practical analytical tool to follow the thermal degradation processes, which can be used for prediction of base oil hydrocarbon aging. If experiments confirmed the role of phenolic additives as an effective agent to lower oxidation rates, the main results lie in the observation of a threshold temperature where a reversed activity of these additives was observed