Determination of Important Topographic Factors for Landslide Mapping Analysis Using MLP Network

Landslide is one of the natural disasters that occur in Malaysia. Topographic factors such as elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, general curvature, plan curvature, and profile curvature are considered as the main causes of landslides. In order to determine the dominant topographic factors in landslide mapping analysis, a study was conducted and presented in this paper. There are three main stages involved in this study. The first stage is the extraction of extra topographic factors. Previous landslide studies had identified mainly six topographic factors. Seven new additional factors have been proposed in this study.They are longitude curvature, tangential curvature, cross section curvature, surface area, diagonal line length, surface roughness, and rugosity. The second stage is the specification of the weight of each factor using two methods. The methods are multilayer perceptron (MLP) network classification accuracy and Zhou’s algorithm. At the third stage, the factors with higher weights were used to improve the MLP performance. Out of the thirteen factors, eight factors were considered as important factors, which are surface area, longitude curvature, diagonal length, slope angle, elevation, slope aspect, rugosity, and profile curvature.Theclassification accuracy of multilayer perceptron neural network has increased by 3% after the elimination of five less important factors

Retinal microvascular abnormalities and risk of renal failure in Asian populations

10.1371/journal.pone.0118076PLoS ONE102e011807

Critical Risk Factors in Construction Projects: A Dematel-Based Model

Construction projects are defenceless to more risks compared to the other industries due to their nature and complexities. These risks can lead to performance reductions, increased costs, scheduling delays, and even project failure. It is noted that the success of the project depends on identifying the most common risk factors and mitigate them effectively. Numerous studies have discussed the significance of investigating the critical risks in the construction projects but the complex causal relationships among the risk factors and their relative significance with respect to each other remain unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical risk factors and investigate the interrelationship among the risk factors in the construction projects. Detailed literature review has been conducted and ten risk factors were identified. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is employed in the study to prioritize the risks and then analyse the causal relationship among the factors. Based on the interview data from thirteen experts, the results show design risks are the critical risk factors. The findings in this study can provide structural visualization of complex causal relationships among risk factors and also allow construction experts to prioritize the resource allocation to achieve project objectives. Keywords: Construction Industry; Critical Risks; Decision Making Trial & Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)

Effectiveness and Limitations of Hand Hygiene Promotion on Decreasing Healthcare–Associated Infections

BACKGROUND: Limited data describe the sustained impact of hand hygiene programs (HHPs) implemented in teaching hospitals, where the burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is high. We use a quasi-experimental, before and after, study design with prospective hospital-wide surveillance of HAIs to assess the cost effectiveness of HHPs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A 4-year hospital-wide HHP, with particular emphasis on using an alcohol-based hand rub, was implemented in April 2004 at a 2,200-bed teaching hospital in Taiwan. Compliance was measured by direct observation and the use of hand rub products. Poisson regression analyses were employed to evaluate the densities and trends of HAIs during the preintervention (January 1999 to March 2004) and intervention (April 2004 to December 2007) periods. The economic impact was estimated based on a case-control study in Taiwan. We observed 8,420 opportunities for hand hygiene during the study period. Compliance improved from 43.3% in April 2004 to 95.6% in 2007 (p<.001), and was closely correlated with increased consumption of the alcohol-based hand rub (r = 0.9399). The disease severity score (Charlson comorbidity index) increased (p = .002) during the intervention period. Nevertheless, we observed an 8.9% decrease in HAIs and a decline in the occurrence of bloodstream, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and intensive care unit infections. The intervention had no discernable impact on HAI rates in the hematology/oncology wards. The net benefit of the HHP was US$5,289,364, and the benefit-cost ratio was 23.7 with a 3% discount rate. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a HHP reduces preventable HAIs and is cost effective

A New Magnetic Topological Quantum Material Candidate by Design

Magnetism, when combined with an unconventional electronic band structure, can give rise to forefront electronic properties such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect, axion electrodynamics, and Majorana fermions. Here we report the characterization of high-quality crystals of EuSn$_2$P$_2$, a new quantum material specifically designed to engender unconventional electronic states plus magnetism. EuSn$_2$P$_2$ has a layered, Bi$_2$Te$_3$-type structure. Ferromagnetic interactions dominate the Curie-Weiss susceptibility, but a transition to antiferromagnetic ordering occurs near 30 K. Neutron diffraction reveals that this is due to two-dimensional ferromagnetic spin alignment within individual Eu layers and antiferromagnetic alignment between layers - this magnetic state surrounds the Sn-P layers at low temperatures. The bulk electrical resistivity is sensitive to the magnetism. Electronic structure calculations reveal that EuSn$_2$P$_2$ might be a strong topological insulator, which can be a new magnetic topological quantum material (MTQM) candidate. The calculations show that surface states should be present, and they are indeed observed by ARPES measurements.Comment: 30 page, 12 figure

Transition Matrix Monte Carlo Reweighting and Dynamics

We study an induced dynamics in the space of energy of single-spin-flip Monte Carlo algorithm. The method gives an efficient reweighting technique. This dynamics is shown to have relaxation times proportional to the specific heat. Thus, it is plausible for a logarithmic factor in the correlation time of the standard 2D Ising local dynamics.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure

Gene expression profiling of breast cancer survivability by pooled cDNA microarray analysis using logistic regression, artificial neural networks and decision trees

BACKGROUND: Microarray technology can acquire information about thousands of genes simultaneously. We analyzed published breast cancer microarray databases to predict five-year recurrence and compared the performance of three data mining algorithms of artificial neural networks (ANN), decision trees (DT) and logistic regression (LR) and two composite models of DT-ANN and DT-LR. The collection of microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus, four breast cancer datasets were pooled for predicting five-year breast cancer relapse. After data compilation, 757 subjects, 5 clinical variables and 13,452 genetic variables were aggregated. The bootstrap method, Mann–Whitney U test and 20-fold cross-validation were performed to investigate candidate genes with 100 most-significant p-values. The predictive powers of DT, LR and ANN models were assessed using accuracy and the area under ROC curve. The associated genes were evaluated using Cox regression. RESULTS: The DT models exhibited the lowest predictive power and the poorest extrapolation when applied to the test samples. The ANN models displayed the best predictive power and showed the best extrapolation. The 21 most-associated genes, as determined by integration of each model, were analyzed using Cox regression with a 3.53-fold (95% CI: 2.24-5.58) increased risk of breast cancer five-year recurrence… CONCLUSIONS: The 21 selected genes can predict breast cancer recurrence. Among these genes, CCNB1, PLK1 and TOP2A are in the cell cycle G2/M DNA damage checkpoint pathway. Oncologists can offer the genetic information for patients when understanding the gene expression profiles on breast cancer recurrence

Comparison of selected exercise training modalities in the management of PCOS: a systematic review and meta-analysis to inform evidence-based guidelines

Summary: Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition in women of reproductive age that often presents with reproductive, metabolic, and psychological symptoms. While exercise is part of the management of PCOS, it is unclear which form of exercise may be most effective and for which outcomes. Aim: In order to inform the updated 2023 International evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome, this systematic review aimed to determine the exercise modality that provides the greatest improvement in anthropometric, metabolic, hormonal/reproductive, and psychological outcomes in adult women with PCOS. Methods: Five databases were searched from inception to July 2022. Studies eligible for inclusion consisted of those in a PCOS population, that compared two exercise modalities, and reported at least one anthropometric, metabolic, hormonal/reproductive, and/or psychological outcome. Screening, data extraction, and methodological quality assessments were conducted by two independent reviewers. Methodological quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) guidelines were used to determine the certainty of evidence. Meta-analysis was performed utilising Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, Version 3. Results: Of the 4739 records identified, five unique studies were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis, comprising a total of 216 individuals. Meta-analyses comparing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on anthropometric, metabolic, and hormonal/reproductive parameters found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between groups, and the certainty of evidence was graded as low or very low. Results from single studies showed that HIIT was more effective than MICT for menstrual regularity (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] ​= ​7.875 [1.105, 56.125], p ​= ​0.039, very low certainty). HIIT vs resistance training, and diet ​+ ​MICT vs diet ​+ ​MICT ​+ ​resistance training were examined by a single study each, and no statistically significant differences were found for any outcome, with the certainty of evidence ranked as very low. Conclusion: To date, there are insufficient RCTs comparing exercise modalities in individuals with PCOS to establish with certainty whether one form of exercise is superior to another for the management of PCOS