Upper Limb Movement Execution Classification using Electroencephalography for Brain Computer Interface

An accurate classification of upper limb movements using electroencephalography (EEG) signals is gaining significant importance in recent years due to the prevalence of brain-computer interfaces. The upper limbs in the human body are crucial since different skeletal segments combine to make a range of motion that helps us in our trivial daily tasks. Decoding EEG-based upper limb movements can be of great help to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) or other neuro-muscular diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), primary lateral sclerosis, and periodic paralysis. This can manifest in a loss of sensory and motor function, which could make a person reliant on others to provide care in day-to-day activities. We can detect and classify upper limb movement activities, whether they be executed or imagined using an EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI). Toward this goal, we focus our attention on decoding movement execution (ME) of the upper limb in this study. For this purpose, we utilize a publicly available EEG dataset that contains EEG signal recordings from fifteen subjects acquired using a 61-channel EEG device. We propose a method to classify four ME classes for different subjects using spectrograms of the EEG data through pre-trained deep learning (DL) models. Our proposed method of using EEG spectrograms for the classification of ME has shown significant results, where the highest average classification accuracy (for four ME classes) obtained is 87.36%, with one subject achieving the best classification accuracy of 97.03%

Personality Trait Recognition using ECG Spectrograms and Deep Learning

This paper presents an innovative approach to recognizing personality traits using deep learning (DL) methods applied to electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Within the framework of detecting the big five personality traits model encompassing extra-version, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, the research explores the potential of ECG-derived spectrograms as informative features. Optimal window sizes for spectrogram generation are determined, and a convolutional neural network (CNN), specifically Resnet-18, and visual transformer (ViT) are employed for feature extraction and personality trait classification. The study utilizes the publicly available ASCERTAIN dataset, which comprises various physiological signals, including ECG recordings, collected from 58 participants during the presentation of video stimuli categorized by valence and arousal levels. The outcomes of this study demonstrate noteworthy performance in personality trait classification, consistently achieving F1-scores exceeding 0.9 across different window sizes and personality traits. These results emphasize the viability of ECG signal spectrograms as a valuable modality for personality trait recognition, with Resnet-18 exhibiting effectiveness in discerning distinct personality traits

Exploring the Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Job Performance with Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence and Moderating Role of Grit and Compassion

This study delves into examining the impact of servant leadership on job performance within the realm of higher education institutions. The concept of servant leadership has garnered substantial attention from both practitioners and researchers due to its constructive influence on employee job performance. Within this investigation, we delve into unraveling the potential mediating impact of emotional intelligence and the potential moderating roles of grit and compassion in the intricate interplay between servant leadership and job performance. The data for this research was amassed from a sample size of 250 pairs of leaders and followers, utilizing a questionnaire adapted from prior scholarly works. The findings of our study illuminate a noteworthy and affirmative association between servant leadership and job performance, with emotional intelligence serving as an intermediary factor. Furthermore, our inquiry reveals that both grit and compassion exhibit a modulating function within the connection between servant leadership and job performance. These research outcomes hold significance for the advancement of leadership practices, augmenting job performance levels, and cultivating a deeper comprehension of the pivotal roles of emotional intelligence, grit, and compassion

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017) includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. Methods: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting. Findings: Globally, for females, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias in both 1990 and 2017. For males, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and tuberculosis including latent tuberculosis infection in both 1990 and 2017. In terms of YLDs, low back pain, headache disorders, and dietary iron deficiency were the leading Level 3 causes of YLD counts in 1990, whereas low back pain, headache disorders, and depressive disorders were the leading causes in 2017 for both sexes combined. All-cause age-standardised YLD rates decreased by 3·9% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·1-4·6) from 1990 to 2017; however, the all-age YLD rate increased by 7·2% (6·0-8·4) while the total sum of global YLDs increased from 562 million (421-723) to 853 million (642-1100). The increases for males and females were similar, with increases in all-age YLD rates of 7·9% (6·6-9·2) for males and 6·5% (5·4-7·7) for females. We found significant differences between males and females in terms of age-standardised prevalence estimates for multiple causes. The causes with the greatest relative differences between sexes in 2017 included substance use disorders (3018 cases [95% UI 2782-3252] per 100 000 in males vs 1400 [1279-1524] per 100 000 in females), transport injuries (3322 [3082-3583] vs 2336 [2154-2535]), and self-harm and interpersonal violence (3265 [2943-3630] vs 5643 [5057-6302]). Interpretation: Global all-cause age-standardised YLD rates have improved only slightly over a period spanning nearly three decades. However, the magnitude of the non-fatal disease burden has expanded globally, with increasing numbers of people who have a wide spectrum of conditions. A subset of conditions has remained globally pervasive since 1990, whereas other conditions have displayed more dynamic trends, with different ages, sexes, and geographies across the globe experiencing varying burdens and trends of health loss. This study emphasises how global improvements in premature mortality for select conditions have led to older populations with complex and potentially expensive diseases, yet also highlights global achievements in certain domains of disease and injury

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. METHODS: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. FINDINGS: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. INTERPRETATION: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. Methods: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. Findings: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. Interpretation: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing

Training needs assessment of Bangladesh Agricultural Institute teachers

The main purpose of this study was to assess the training needs of Bangladesh Agricultural Institute (BAI) teachers. All the teachers of BAI were the target population. Data were collected from 42 randomly selected teachers of BAl. Teachers expressed substantial training needs to improve their professional expertise in teaching, research, administration and extension. Results also indicated that significant differences existed In assessing training needs of the teachers based on their age, service experience, and duration of training received by them

Recurrent Neural Network and Multi-Factor Feature Filtering for Ransomware Detection in Android Apps

The market is flooded with Android Software (apps), and at the same time that number is growing quickly, and so are the many security exploits that take advantage of such apps. The effectiveness of traditional defensive systems is at risk due to the growing diversity of Android malware. This situation has sparked significant interest in improving malware detection accuracy and scalability for smart devices. By examining the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) method, we have developed an effective deep learning-based malware detection model for enhanced Android ransomware detection. For feature selection, eight different methods were applied. By comparing the outcomes of all feature selection procedures, we used a simple majority vote process to choose the 19 crucial characteristics. The Android Malware dataset (CI-CAndMal2017) and common performance metrics were used to assess the proposed technique. With a detection accuracy of 97.08%, our model surpasses existing approaches. We advocate our proposed method as effective in malware and forensic analysis based on its remarkable performance

Recurrent Neural Network and Multi-Factor Feature Filtering for Ransomware Detection in Android Apps

The market is flooded with Android Software (apps), and at the same time that number is growing quickly, and so are the many security exploits that take advantage of such apps. The effectiveness of traditional defensive systems is at risk due to the growing diversity of Android malware. This situation has sparked significant interest in improving malware detection accuracy and scalability for smart devices. By examining the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) method, we have developed an effective deep learning-based malware detection model for enhanced Android ransomware detection. For feature selection, eight different methods were applied. By comparing the outcomes of all feature selection procedures, we used a simple majority vote process to choose the 19 crucial characteristics. The Android Malware dataset (CI-CAndMal2017) and common performance metrics were used to assess the proposed technique. With a detection accuracy of 97.08%, our model surpasses existing approaches. We advocate our proposed method as effective in malware and forensic analysis based on its remarkable performance