Long-term traffic forecasting in optical networks using Machine Learning

Knowledge about future traffic in backbone optical networks may greatly improve a range of tasks that Communications Service Providers (CSPs) have to face. This work proposes a procedure for long-term traffic forecasting in optical networks. We formulate a long-term traffic forecasting problem as an ordinal classification task. Due to the optical networks’ (and other network technologies’) characteristics, traffic forecasting has been realized by predicting future traffic levels rather than the exact traffic volume. We examine different machine learning (ML) algorithms and compare them with time series algorithms methods. To evaluate the developed ML models, we use a quality metric, which considers the network resource usage. Datasets used during research are based on real traffic patterns presented by Internet Exchange Point in Seattle. Our study shows that ML algorithms employed for long-term traffic forecasting problem obtain high values of quality metrics. Additionally, the final choice of the ML algorithm for the forecasting task should depend on CSPs expectations

Esophageal cancer — the utility of PET/CT in staging prior to chemoradiation

Background and purpose: Thorough staging plays a significant role in determining therapy modality in esophageal cancer patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether positron emission tomograpgy/computed tomography (PET/CT) may be safely omitted in selected groups of patients. Materials and methods: This retrospective analysis included 37 esophageal cancer patients recruited to chemoradiation by the Multidisciplinary Tumor Board (MTB) at the Greater Poland Cancer Center in 2021. Prior to radiotherapy planning every patient was referred to PET/CT to have the extent of their disease assessed. Results: Among 37 patients PET/CT changed the staging status to metastatic (M1) in six cases (3 planoepithelial and 3 adenocarcinomas). In all those cases but one (1 patient with supraclavicular node metastasis finally received chemoradiation) confirmation of distant metastases excluded patients from radical treatment. Interestingly, in the PET/CT distant positive group 3 patients were initially staged as locally advanced (without nodal involvement). The other 3 were initially identified as at least N2 in tomography. Conclusion: Results of this report allowed the conclusion that PET/CT plays a key role in esophageal cancer patients considered for radical chemoradiation; therefore, it remains a necessary tool to exclude metastatic disease in both main pathology types. Since the delayed time for PET/CT scan in esophageal cancer patients planned to chemoradiation may negatively influence treatment results, the data should be alarming for national health provider

SHORT-TERM KETAMINE ADMINISTRATION IN TREATMENT-RESISTANT DEPRESSION: FOCUS ON CARDIOVASCULAR SAFETY

Ketamine is an anaesthetic and analgesic agent that demonstrates the antidepressive effect in major depression. Several administrations routes, dosing schemas and esketamine are investigated in basic and clinical research with particular focus on treatment-resistant depression (TRD) where drug demonstrates its efficacy where very limited alternatives are available. The majority of ketamine studies in TRD treatment reported no serious adverse events regardless the administration route or regimen. However, the most commonly observed adverse events following ketamine administration in antidepressive doses include general, psychotomimetic, dissociative and hemodynamic ones. The side effects are mild or moderate, well-tolerated and transient. This paper discusses the risks regarding cardiovascular safety in MDD patients in short-term ketamine administration with particular focus on the effect on blood pressure and adverse drug reactions mitigation measures. The increase in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure is dose-dependent and begins shortly after administration peaking at around 30 to 50 minutes with SBP and DBP rise from 10% to 50% above predose values and resolving at approximately 2 to 4 hours after the dose administration. These changes generally are primarily asymptomatic. The elevations in SBP and DBP are observed on each dosing day with multiple administration schema. The treatment with ketamine and esketamine is contradicted in subjects at risk of an increase in blood pressure or intracranial pressure. The current evidence indicates the blood pressure should be assessed prior to dosing with ketamine and hypertensive individuals shall receive effective lifestyle/pharmacologic management prior to treatment. Blood pressure should be monitored after dose administration until blood pressure returns to acceptable levels. If blood pressure remains elevated acute blood pressure management shall be delivered. In patients experiencing symptoms of hypertensive crisis immediate emergency care must be provided. The unmet need for improved pharmacotherapies for TRD means the use of ketamine and esketamine is warranted therapeutic option in patients who fail to achieve a sustained remission of depressive symptoms with drugs with monoamine-based mechanisms of action. Adequate safety measures must be applied when using ketamine/esketamine in TRD subjects with particular focus on somatic comorbidities as the transient drug effect on cardiovascular system is demonstrated and of clinical significance

UML – a survey on technical university students in Lublin

Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a commonly known OMG (Object Management Group) standard for designing software systems. However, practice shows that the usage of UML varies depending on the specificity of a software system and company. The authors decided to explore the perspective of students with experience in using UML by conducting a survey with them. Analysis of the data gathered revealed that they use UML diagrams as an additional help when developing software. The main risk turned out to be different diagram interpretations

FetalNet: Multi-task Deep Learning Framework for Fetal Ultrasound Biometric Measurements

In this paper, we propose an end-to-end multi-task neural network called FetalNet with an attention mechanism and stacked module for spatio-temporal fetal ultrasound scan video analysis. Fetal biometric measurement is a standard examination during pregnancy used for the fetus growth monitoring and estimation of gestational age and fetal weight. The main goal in fetal ultrasound scan video analysis is to find proper standard planes to measure the fetal head, abdomen and femur. Due to natural high speckle noise and shadows in ultrasound data, medical expertise and sonographic experience are required to find the appropriate acquisition plane and perform accurate measurements of the fetus. In addition, existing computer-aided methods for fetal US biometric measurement address only one single image frame without considering temporal features. To address these shortcomings, we propose an end-to-end multi-task neural network for spatio-temporal ultrasound scan video analysis to simultaneously localize, classify and measure the fetal body parts. We propose a new encoder-decoder segmentation architecture that incorporates a classification branch. Additionally, we employ an attention mechanism with a stacked module to learn salient maps to suppress irrelevant US regions and efficient scan plane localization. We trained on the fetal ultrasound video comes from routine examinations of 700 different patients. Our method called FetalNet outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in both classification and segmentation in fetal ultrasound video recordings.Comment: Accepted to 28th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP) 2021, Bali, Indonesia, 8-12 December, 202

SHORT-TERM KETAMINE ADMINISTRATION IN TREATMENT-RESISTANT DEPRESSION PATIENTS: FOCUS ON ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurrent, incapacitating psychiatric illness which will be the second most disabling disease worldwide by the year 2020. There is a rising promise in a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, ketamine, which may be used in the treatment of resistant depression. Many of the studies are in favor of the drug, even in single dose application, with effects appearing in minutes to hours from administration. However, there is a need to evaluate the benefits and risks regarding psychomimetic, psychiatric, neurologic, and cognitive adverse effects of ketamine administration. The most distressing symptoms which appear most frequently during ketamine administration are dissociative symptoms, which can be quantified as a CNS adverse drug reaction. Results generally show that a single infusion of ketamine is efficacious and welltolerated, while dissociative symptoms tend to abate within 2 hours after ketamine administration. As studies show single doses of ketamine should be definitely considered as an option in TRD patients with/without suicidal thoughts, even though it could not provide remission, or the effect could be temporary, but improving patients’ quality of life by reducing depressive symptomatology should be a major asset while considering this particular procedure, particularly in inpatients

Anhedonia and depression severity measures during ketamine administration in treatment-resistant depression

BackgroundAnhedonia is a core symptom of depression characterized by a diminished ability to experience pleasure. Currently available treatments for depression often fall short in adequately addressing anhedonia that often presents as a chronic and debilitating symptom. Ketamine is known to possess antianhedonic properties.MethodsThis post-hoc analysis of a naturalistic observational study of treatment-resistant depression inpatients (n=28) analyzed antianhedonic response patterns measured by Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale and changes in Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology in responders (n=6) and non-responders (n=22) stratified per Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale during short-term ketamine treatment.ResultsResults show that responders significantly improve in anhedonia over time (p=0.0084) and at the 7th infusion and follow-up (both p<0.05). Non-responders reported significant reduction in anhedonia over time (p=0.0011) and at the 5th, 7th infusion and at the follow-up (all p’s<0.05). Non-responders were also observed to improve significantly in self-reported depression at the 7th infusion (p=0.0219) but not at the follow-up.DiscussionThere is no complete overlap between change in depressive symptoms and anhedonia. Therefore, it might be assumed ketamine alleviates anhedonia as an individual symptom domain regardless of formal treatment outcome

THE BRIEF ASSESSMENT OF COGNITION IN AFFECTIVE DISORDERS - NOVEL TOOL IS THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN MOOD DISORDERS - POLISH TRANSLATION

Mood disorders are chronic disorders accompanied by cognitive impairment. They impair the adaptability and daily functioning of patients, also during remission and justify implementing pharmacological treatment and psychotherapeutic interactions in these patients to improve their quality of life. The recommended method for assessing the charcter of cognitive deficits in affective disorders is the BAC-A (Brief Assessment of Cognition In Affective Disorders) test battery. This scale is a short, simple instrument of the "paper-and-pencil test" type, based on the BAC (Brief Assessment of Cognition) inventory and the Short Scale for Assessment of Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia (BAC-S). The BAC-A consists of eight subtests measuring: verbal memory and learning, affective control, working memory, motor functions, verbal fluency, executive functions. This paper presents the Polish version of the BAC-A along with instructions about its use and interpretation. The BAC-A scale is a method designed to monitor the cognitive functioning of people with mood disorders, enabling early detection of existing deficits to improve the effectiveness of the diagnostic and treatment process

MAGNESIUM AND KETAMINE IN THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION

Depression affects over 121 million people annually worldwide. Relatively low remission rates among depressive patients enforce the search for new therapeutic solutions and an urgent need to develop faster-acting antidepressants with a different mechanism of action occurs. The pathomechanism of depression postulated by the monoamine hypothesis is limited. The results of abnormalities in glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) systems in the brains of people with mood disorders allowed to develop new theories regarding pathophysiology of these disorders. Glutamatergic transmission is influenced by magnesium and ketamine through glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonistic effects. Magnesium and ketamine have a common mechanism of action in the treatment of depression: an increase in GluN2B (NMDAR subunit) expression is related to the administration of both of the agents, as well as inhibition of phosphorylation of eEF2 (eukaryotic elongation factor 2) in cell culture and increase of the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus. Combination of ketamine and magnesium in a normal magnesium level presents a superadditive effect in depression treatment. Analysed substances affect the GABAergic system and have anti-inflammatory effects, which is correlated with their antidepressant effect. The synergistic interaction between the pharmacodynamic activity of magnesium and ketamine may be of particular importance for patients with mood disorders. Further research is needed to determine the relationship between magnesium levels and ketamine treatment response mainly in the attempt to establish if the magnesium supplementation can change ketamine treatment response time or present superadditive effect

MAGNESIUM AND KETAMINE IN THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION

Depression affects over 121 million people annually worldwide. Relatively low remission rates among depressive patients enforce the search for new therapeutic solutions and an urgent need to develop faster-acting antidepressants with a different mechanism of action occurs. The pathomechanism of depression postulated by the monoamine hypothesis is limited. The results of abnormalities in glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) systems in the brains of people with mood disorders allowed to develop new theories regarding pathophysiology of these disorders. Glutamatergic transmission is influenced by magnesium and ketamine through glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonistic effects. Magnesium and ketamine have a common mechanism of action in the treatment of depression: an increase in GluN2B (NMDAR subunit) expression is related to the administration of both of the agents, as well as inhibition of phosphorylation of eEF2 (eukaryotic elongation factor 2) in cell culture and increase of the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus. Combination of ketamine and magnesium in a normal magnesium level presents a superadditive effect in depression treatment. Analysed substances affect the GABAergic system and have anti-inflammatory effects, which is correlated with their antidepressant effect. The synergistic interaction between the pharmacodynamic activity of magnesium and ketamine may be of particular importance for patients with mood disorders. Further research is needed to determine the relationship between magnesium levels and ketamine treatment response mainly in the attempt to establish if the magnesium supplementation can change ketamine treatment response time or present superadditive effect