Bivariate modified hotelling’s T2 charts using bootstrap data

The conventional Hotelling’s  charts are evidently inefficient as it has resulted in disorganized data with outliers, and therefore, this study proposed the application of a novel alternative robust Hotelling’s  charts approach. For the robust scale estimator , this approach encompasses the use of the Hodges-Lehmann vector and the covariance matrix in place of the arithmetic mean vector and the covariance matrix, respectively.  The proposed chart was examined performance wise. For the purpose, simulated bivariate bootstrap datasets were used in two conditions, namely independent variables and dependent variables. Then, assessment was made to the modified chart in terms of its robustness. For the purpose, the likelihood of outliers’ detection and false alarms were computed. From the outcomes from the computations made, the proposed charts demonstrated superiority over the conventional ones for all the cases tested

Susceptible exposed infectious recovered-machine learning for COVID-19 prediction in Saudi Arabia

Susceptible exposed infectious recovered (SEIR) is among the epidemiological models used in forecasting the spread of disease in large populations. SEIR is a fitting model for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread prediction. Somehow, in its original form, SEIR could not measure the impact of lockdowns. So, in the SEIR equations system utilized in this study, a variable was included to evaluate the impact of varying levels of social distance on the transmission of COVID-19. Additionally, we applied artificial intelligence utilizing the deep neural network machine learning (ML) technique. On the initial spread data for Saudi Arabia that were available up to June 25th, 2021, this improved SEIR model was used. The study shows possible infection to around 3.1 million persons without lockdown in Saudi Arabia at the peak of spread, which lasts for about 3 months beginning from the lockdown date (March 21st). On the other hand, the Kingdom's current partial lockdown policy was estimated to cut the estimated number of infections to 0.5 million over nine months. The data shows that stricter lockdowns may successfully flatten the COVID-19 graph curve in Saudi Arabia. We successfully predicted the COVID-19 epidemic's peaks and sizes using our modified deep neural network (DNN) and SEIR model

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Fish classification using extraction of appropriate feature set

The field of wild fish classification faces many challenges such as the amount of training data, pose variation and uncontrolled environmental settings. This research work introduces a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) that integrates the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm with a back-propagation algorithm (GSB classifier) to make the classification process. The algorithm is based on determining the suitable set of extracted features using color signature and color texture features as well as shape features. Four main classes of fish images have been classified, namely, food, garden, poison, and predatory. The proposed GSB classifier has been tested using 24 fish families with different species in each. Compared to the back-propagation (BP) algorithm, the proposed classifier has achieved a rate of 87.7% while the elder rate is 82.9%

Robust features extraction for general fish classification

Image recognition process could be plagued by many problems including noise, overlap, distortion, errors in the outcomes of segmentation, and impediment of objects within the image. Based on feature selection and combination theory between major extracted features, this study attempts to establish a system that could recognize fish object within the image utilizing texture, anchor points, and statistical measurements. Then, a generic fish classification is executed with the application of an innovative classification evaluation through a meta-heuristic algorithm known as Memetic Algorithm (Genetic Algorithm with Simulated Annealing) with back-propagation algorithm (MA-B Classifier). Here, images of dangerous and non-dangerous fish are recognized. Images of dangerous fish are further recognized as Predatory or Poison fish family, whereas families of non-dangerous fish are classified into garden and food family.  A total of 24 fish families were used in testing the proposed prototype, whereby each family encompasses different number of species. The process of classification was successfully undertaken by the proposed prototype, whereby 400 distinct fish images were used in the experimental tests. Of these fish images, 250 were used for training phase while 150 were used for testing phase. The back-propagation algorithm and the proposed MA-B Classifier produced a general accuracy recognition rate of 82.25 and 90% respectively

Investigating Performance Outcomes under Institutional Pressures and Environmental Orientation Motivated Green Supply Chain Management Practices

Purpose: The study investigates the role of institutional pressures and environmental orientation in implementing green supply chain practices (GSCPs) in firms. The aim is to construct a comprehensive model based on institutional theory (InT) and resource-based view (RBV) that will help study the effect of GSCPs on performance-based outcomes of industrial firms. Study Design: The study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were collected from 351 supply chain management professionals from different manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, a questionnaire was structured to collect data, and the hypothesis of the study was tested using the PLS-SEM modeling. Findings: The study findings showed a significant effect of institutional pressure on GSCPs. Also, another significant impact of environmental orientation on GSCPs was noted. Lastly, GSCPs of manufacturing companies have a significantly positive effect on economic and ecological performances. Originality: This paper is one of the first to include institutional theory, the resource-based view, institutional pressures, environmental orientation, GSCPs, and company performances outcomes. Also, the paper provides details about performance outcomes by scattering Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and gives direction to managers for the successful implementation of these practices

Investigating Performance Outcomes under Institutional Pressures and Environmental Orientation Motivated Green Supply Chain Management Practices

Purpose: The study investigates the role of institutional pressures and environmental orientation in implementing green supply chain practices (GSCPs) in firms. The aim is to construct a comprehensive model based on institutional theory (InT) and resource-based view (RBV) that will help study the effect of GSCPs on performance-based outcomes of industrial firms. Study Design: The study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were collected from 351 supply chain management professionals from different manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, a questionnaire was structured to collect data, and the hypothesis of the study was tested using the PLS-SEM modeling. Findings: The study findings showed a significant effect of institutional pressure on GSCPs. Also, another significant impact of environmental orientation on GSCPs was noted. Lastly, GSCPs of manufacturing companies have a significantly positive effect on economic and ecological performances. Originality: This paper is one of the first to include institutional theory, the resource-based view, institutional pressures, environmental orientation, GSCPs, and company performances outcomes. Also, the paper provides details about performance outcomes by scattering Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and gives direction to managers for the successful implementation of these practices

Comparison of specific segmentation methods used for copy move detection

In this digital age, the widespread use of digital images and the availability of image editors have made the credibility of images controversial. To confirm the credibility of digital images many image forgery detection types are arises, copy-move forgery is consisting of transforming any image by duplicating a part of the image, to add or hide existing objects. Several methods have been proposed in the literature to detect copy-move forgery, these methods use the key point-based and block-based to find the duplicated areas. However, the key point-based and block-based have a drawback of the ability to handle the smooth region. In addition, image segmentation plays a vital role in changing the representation of the image in a meaningful form for analysis. Hence, we execute a comparison study for segmentation based on two clustering algorithms (i.e., k-means and super pixel segmentation with density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN)), the paper compares methods in term of the accuracy of detecting the forgery regions of digital images. K-means shows better performance compared with DBSCAN and with other techniques in the literature