AI-Driven Resource Allocation in Optical Wireless Communication Systems

Visible light communication (VLC) is a promising solution to satisfy the extreme demands of emerging applications. VLC offers bandwidth that is orders of magnitude higher than what is offered by the radio spectrum, hence making best use of the resources is not a trivial matter. There is a growing interest to make next generation communication networks intelligent using AI based tools to automate the resource management and adapt to variations in the network automatically as opposed to conventional handcrafted schemes based on mathematical models assuming prior knowledge of the network. In this article, a reinforcement learning (RL) scheme is developed to intelligently allocate resources of an optical wireless communication (OWC) system in a HetNet environment. The main goal is to maximise the total reward of the system which is the sum rate of all users. The results of the RL scheme are compared with that of an optimization scheme that is based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model.Comment: 6 pages, 2 Figures, Conferenc

Routine health management information system data in Ethiopia: consistency, trends, and challenges.

Background: Ethiopia is investing in the routine Health Management Information System. Improved routine data are needed for decision-making in the health sector. Objective: To analyse the quality of the routine Health Management Information System data and triangulate with other sources, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys. Methods: We analysed national Health Management Information System data on 19 indicators of maternal health, neonatal survival, immunization, child nutrition, malaria, and tuberculosis over the 2012-2018 time period. The analyses were conducted by 38 analysts from the Ministry of Health, Ethiopia, and two government agencies who participated in the Operational Research and Coaching for Analysts (ORCA) project between June 2018 and June 2020. Using a World Health Organization Data Quality Review toolkit, we assessed indicator definitions, completeness, internal consistency over time and between related indicators, and external consistency compared with other data sources. Results: Several services reported coverage of above 100%. For many indicators, denominators were based on poor-quality population data estimates. Data on individual vaccinations had relatively good internal consistency. In contrast, there was low external consistency for data on fully vaccinated children, with the routine Health Management Information System showing 89% coverage but the Demographic and Health Survey estimate at 39%. Maternal health indicators displayed increasing coverage over time. Indicators on child nutrition, malaria, and tuberculosis were less consistent. Data on neonatal mortality were incomplete and operationalised as mortality on day 0-6. Our comparisons with survey and population projections indicated that one in eight early neonatal deaths were reported in the routine Health Management Information System. Data quality varied between regions. Conclusions: The quality of routine data gathered in the health system needs further attention. We suggest regular triangulation with data from other sources. We recommend addressing the denominator issues, reducing the complexity of indicators, and aligning indicators to international definitions

Common Breast Cancer Susceptibility Alleles and the Risk of Breast Cancer for BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers: Implications for Risk Prediction

The known breast cancer (BC) susceptibility polymorphisms in FGFR2, TNRC9/TOX3, MAP3K1,LSP1 and 2q35 confer increased risks of BC for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. We evaluated the associations of three additional SNPs, rs4973768 in SLC4A7/NEK10, rs6504950 in STXBP4/COX11 and rs10941679 at 5p12 and reanalyzed the previous associations using additional carriers in a sample of 12,525 BRCA1 and 7,409 BRCA2 carriers. Additionally, we investigated potential interactions between SNPs and assessed the implications for risk prediction. The minor alleles of rs4973768 and rs10941679 were associated with increased BC risk for BRCA2 carriers (per-allele Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.10, 95%CI:1.03-1.18, p=0.006 and HR=1.09, 95%CI:1.01-1.19, p=0.03, respectively). Neither SNP was associated with BC risk for BRCA1 carriers and rs6504950 was not associated with BC for either BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers. Of the nine polymorphisms investigated, seven were associated with BC for BRCA2 carriers (FGFR2, TOX3, MAP3K1, LSP1, 2q35, SLC4A7, 5p12, p-values:7×10−11-0.03), but only TOX3 and 2q35 were associated with the risk for BRCA1 carriers (p=0.0049, 0.03 respectively). All risk associated polymorphisms appear to interact multiplicatively on BC risk for mutation carriers. Based on the joint genotype distribution of the seven risk associated SNPs in BRCA2 mutation carriers, the 5% of BRCA2 carriers at highest risk (i.e. between 95th and 100th percentiles) were predicted to have a probability between 80% and 96% of developing BC by age 80, compared with 42-50% for the 5% of carriers at lowest risk. Our findings indicated that these risk differences may be sufficient to influence the clinical management of mutation carriers

The rise of online learning during the pandemic: a study of its challenges and opportunities

This article critically examines the change of mode of education to online during the global distress of the pandemic. Even though India has achieved milestones in innovation and advancement of technology for the purpose of education and has been on the path of growth, there is still a sector of disadvantaged people who are left behind in this whole race. This article then focuses on the digital divide caused to the disadvantaged sector of people and to find out the causes of their disadvantaged state to find workable solutions for improvement of it. It examines the pros and cons of the Online education by reviewing relevant literature as well as through the insights and results given by 82 participants who took part in the online based survey. According to the collected data, the loopholes due to which the online education is deemed less effective are examined. It is a well-known fact that the online mode of education made it less costly and available to a lot of people regardless of their age .&nbsp

Impacto de dois programas de educação nutricional sobre o risco cardiovascular em pacientes hipertensos e com excesso de peso Impact of two nutritional education programs on cardiovascular risk in overweight hypertensive patients

OBJETIVO:Comparar os efeitos de dois protocolos de um programa de intervenção nutricional sob o risco cardiovascular em pacientes hipertensos e com excesso de peso em uso de medicamentos usual. Os pacientes foram acompanhados no Ambulatório de Hipertensão e Metabologia Cardiovascular, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. MÉTODOS:A população do estudo foi constituída por 63 pacientes hipertensos e com excesso de peso &#91;índice de massa corporal >27 e <39kg/m²&#93;, com a média de idade de M=55,7, DP=6,1 anos; 12 homens e 51 mulheres, divididos em dois grupos de acordo com a freqüência das visitas, a cada cinco semanas (G35 n=25) ou a cada duas semanas (G14 n=38), durante 20 semanas. Os dois grupos foram submetidos a um programa de intervenção nutricional que englobou atendimentos em grupos, nos quais foram abordados conceitos de alimentação saudável. No início e no término do período do estudo, todos os pacientes foram submetidos a medidas de pressão arterial, avaliação antropométrica e avaliação laboratorial para cálculo do Risco Coronariano de Framingham. RESULTADOS:Ao término do estudo, foi observada redução no índice de massa corporal, na circunferência da cintura (M=102,9, DP=9,7cm vs M=101,8, DP=7,6cm NS), na pressão arterial sistólica (M=139,7, DP=12,4mmHg vs M=134,8, DP=8,2mmHg NS), no colesterol total sérico (M=192,9, DP=35,7mg/dL vs M=195,2, DP=37,8mg/dL NS), no consumo energético referido (M=1759,5, DP=385,8Kcal vs M=1858,7, DP=452,8kcak NS) e no RCF (M=11,1, DP=6,1 vs M=9,4, DP=3,5 NS). CONCLUSÃO:A intervenção nutricional educativa de curto prazo, se mostrou eficaz para redução do risco cardiovascular em pacientes hipertensos e com excesso de peso. Em relação a freqüência das visitas, pôde-se verificar que a visita mensal já produz resultados positivos no sentido de modificar os hábitos alimentares e reduzir o risco cardiovascular.<br>OBJECTIVE:To evaluate and compare the effects of two study protocols with a program of educational nutrition intervention on CARDIOVACULAR risk in overweight hypertensive patients maintained on their usual medication. Patients were followed at Hypertension and Metabology Division of Federal University of São Paulo. METHODS: Sixty tree overweight &#91;body mass index >27 e <39kg/m²&#93; hypertensive patients, age M=55,7 (Standard deviation - SD=6,1) years old, 12 men and 51 women, were divided into two groups according to visit intervals, either every five weeks (G35 n=25) or every two weeks (G14 n=38), during twenty weeks. The two groups were submitted to an educational program aiming to improve the quality of their diet and to promote changes in their alimentary habits. Before and at the end of the study period, all patients were submitted to blood pressure determinations, to anthopometric measurements and to laboratorial evaluation for the calculation of Framingham coronary risk. RESULTS:At the end of the study significant and similar changes in body mass index, waist circumference (102,9, SD=9,7 vs 101,8, SD=7,6 NS), systolic blood pressure (139,7, SD=12,4 vs 134,8, SD=8,2 NS), total cholesterol (192,9, SD=35,7 vs 195,2, SD=37,8 NS), energy intake (1759,5, SD=385,8 vs 1858,7, SD=452,8 NS) and Framingham coronary risk (11,1, SD=6,1 vs 9,4, SD=3,5 NS) we observed in G14 and G35 groups respectively. CONCLUSION: A short program of nutritional intervention was shown to be useful to reduce coronary risk in overweight hypertensive patients despite a very small change in body weight. A higher frequency of visits did not achieve better results, with a monthly visit being enough for positive changes although with a higher rate of drop outs