Effect of fuzzy partitioning in Crohn's disease classification: a neuro-fuzzy-based approach

Crohn's disease (CD) diagnosis is a tremendouslyserious health problem due to its ultimately effecton the gastrointestinal tract that leads to the need of complexmedical assistance. In this study, the backpropagationneural network fuzzy classifier and a neuro-fuzzy modelare combined for diagnosing the CD. Factor analysis isused for data dimension reduction. The effect on the systemperformance has been investigated when using fuzzypartitioning and dimension reduction. Additionally, furthercomparison is done between the different levels of thefuzzy partition to reach the optimal performance accuracylevel. The performance evaluation of the proposed systemis estimated using the classification accuracy and othermetrics. The experimental results revealed that the classificationwith level-8 partitioning provides a classificationaccuracy of 97.67 %, with a sensitivity and specificity of96.07 and 100 %, respectively

Meta-KANSEI modeling with Valence-Arousal fMRI dataset of brain

Background: Traditional KANSEI methodology is an important tool in the field of psychology to comprehend the concepts and meanings; it mainly focusses on semantic differential methods. Valence-Arousal is regarded as a reflection of the KANSEI adjectives, which is the core concept in the theory of effective dimensions for brain recognition. From previous studies, it has been found that brain fMRI datasets can contain significant information related to Valence and Arousal. Methods: In this current work, a Valence-Arousal based meta-KANSEI modeling method is proposed to improve the traditional KANSEI presentation. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used to acquire the response dataset of Valence-Arousal of the brain in the amygdala and orbital frontal cortex respectively. In order to validate the feasibility of the proposed modeling method, the dataset was processed under dimension reduction by using Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) based segmentation and Mean Shift (MS) clustering. Furthermore, Affective Norm English Words (ANEW) by IAPS (International Affective Picture System) were used for comparison and analysis. The data sets from fMRI and ANEW under four KANSEI adjectives of angry, happy, sad and pleasant were processed by the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm. Finally, a defined distance based on similarity computing was adopted for these two data sets. Results: The results illustrate that the proposed model is feasible and has better stability per the normal distribution plotting of the distance. The effectiveness of the experimental methods proposed in the current work was higher than in the literature. Conclusions: mean shift can be used to cluster and central points based meta-KANSEI model combining with the advantages of a variety of existing intelligent processing methods are expected to shift the KANSEI Engineering (KE) research into the medical imaging field

Spatio-temporal epidemiological study of lung cancer in Crete from 2000 to 2013: association with demographic and environmental risk factors

Aim of this PhD study was to explore the lung cancer burden in Crete for two decades, through the use of population-level data on incidence, mortality and survival. In addition, secondary objectives were to: a) map the incidence and mortality rates per municipality in Crete and assess them spatio-temporally; b) explore the spatial-temporal trends and identify spatial clusters of the disease; c) assess the main risk factors, including demographics, social, economic and behavioral characteristics, the clinical profile of patients and selected outdoor air pollution. Special focus was placed on the role of tobacco smoking and the under study outdoor air pollutants (PM2,5, PM10, PM2,5-10, PM2,5 absorbance, NO2, NOx), as well as on the role of the financial crisis in lung cancer mortality. Data were obtained from the Cancer Regional Population Center of Crete (www.crc.uoc.gr) for the period 1992-2013, while several methods of biostatistics and spatial statistics were applied.Η παρούσα διατριβή είχε ως στόχο τη διερεύνηση του φορτίου του καρκίνου του πνεύμονα στην Κρήτη για δύο δεκαετίες, μέσω της χρήσης πληθυσμιακών δεδομένων για την επίπτωση, τη θνησιμότητα και την επιβίωση. Επιπρόσθετα, επιμέρους στόχοι ήσαν: α) η χαρτογράφηση των δεικτών επίπτωσης και θνησιμότητας ανά Δήμο στην Κρήτη και η χωρο-χρονική τους μελέτη, β) η διερεύνηση των χωρο-χρονικών τάσεων και η ανάδειξη των γεωγραφικών συστάδων (spatial clusters) τα νόσου, γ) η αναζήτηση των κύριων παραγόντων κινδύνου, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των δημογραφικών στοιχείων, των κοινωνικών, οικονομικών και συμπεριφοριστικών χαρακτηριστικών, του κλινικού προφίλ των ασθενών και επιλεγμένων περιβαλλοντικών εκθέσεων (outdoor air pollution). Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δόθηκε στο ρόλο του καπνίσματος και στους υπό μελέτη ρύπους (PM2,5, PM10, PM2,5-10, PM2,5 absorbance, NO2, NOx), καθώς και στο ρόλο της οικονομικής κρίσης στη θνησιμότητα από καρκίνο του πνεύμονα. Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν δεδομένα από το 1992 έως το 2013, τα οποία συλλέχθηκαν από το περιφερειακό πληθυσμιακό Κέντρο Καταγραφής Καρκίνου της Κρήτης (www.crc.uoc.gr) και εφαρμόστηκαν μέθοδοι βιοστατιστικής και χωρικής στατιστικής

Impact Of Advance Fabrics On Human Biomechanics: Example Of Anti-Fatigue Mats

Health and individual’s wellbeing is influenced by a range of factors such as social, cultural, economic, psychological and environmental. For instance, people spend approximately 8 h per day at work, where they are exposed to multiple stressors that have a negative impact on their health. This increases the risk of disease, especially for those who present low levels of physical activity per day. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of new generation of advanced ‘smart’ material on body balance at work. Studying the body upright position and balancing by utilization of technological mats helps professionals in their daily life through decreasing muscular problems, especially fatigue. This is due to the increased frequency and repetition of movements that are performed by professionals over extended periods of time. Another objective of this study is to validate model prototypes that improve ergonomics at work, as well as optimize users’ comfort; a new anti-fatigue mats by Notrax®. A total of 25 professionals from different age groups participated in the study which took place for a period of six months. A dysfunction in balance was observed in professionals who didn’t use mats. Dysfunction in balance can cause pathologies, strain and fatigue therefore disorders due repetitiveness. Additionally, a significant increase of balance was observed for those who used the mats in comparison of those without mats (p \u3c 0.05). Significant variations were also observed between the different mats and their specifications (p \u3c 0.05). Utilization of mats helps professionals on their daily life by decreasing joint stresses and optimizing body balance

Application of data mining techniques and data analysis methods to measure cancer morbidity and mortality data in a regional cancer registry: The case of the island of Crete, Greece

Background and Objective: Micro or macro-level mapping of cancer statistics is a challenging task that requires long-term planning, prospective studies and continuous monitoring of all cancer cases. The objective of the current study is to present how cancer registry data could be processed using data mining techniques in order to improve the statistical analysis outcomes. Methods: Data were collected from the Cancer Registry of Crete in Greece (counties of Rethymno and Lasithi) for the period 1998-2004. Data collection was performed on paper forms and manually transcribed to a single data file, thus introducing errors and noise (e.g. missing and erroneous values, duplicate entries etc.). Data were pre-processed and prepared for analysis using data mining tools and algorithms. Feature selection was applied to evaluate the contribution of each collected feature in predicting patients' survival. Several classifiers were trained and evaluated for their ability to predict survival of patients. Finally, statistical analysis of cancer morbidity and mortality rates in the two regions was performed in order to validate the initial findings. Results: Several critical points in the process of data collection, preprocessing and analysis of cancer data were derived from the results, while a road-map for future population data studies was developed. In addition, increased morbidity rates were observed in the counties of Crete (Age Standardized Morbidity/Incidence Rates ASIR = 396.45 +/- 2.89 and 274.77 +/- 2.48 for men and women, respectively) compared to European and world averages (ASIR = 281.6 and 207.3 for men and women in Europe and 203.8 and 165.1 in world level). Significant variation in cancer types between sexes and age groups (the ratio between deaths and reported cases for young patients, less than 34 years old, is at 0.055 when the respective ratio for patients over 75 years old is 0.366) was also observed. Conclusions: This study introduced a methodology for preprocessing and analyzing cancer data, using a combination of data mining techniques that could be a useful tool for other researchers and further enhancement of the cancer registries. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Computerized static posturography and laterality in children. Influence of age.

International audienceThe present study aims to explore relationships between footedness and posturographic assessment in children aged from 4 to 10. A real-time computerised device was used on a force plate for movement analysis. It requires a static posturography to assess postural control of children with the same handedness and footedness

Paradoxes of breast cancer incidence and mortality in two corners of Europe

Background Breast cancer incidence is rising globally, while mortality rates show a geographical heterogenous pattern. Early detection and treatment have been proven to have a profound impact on breast cancer prognosis. The aim of his study was to compare breast cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates in two contrasting corners of Europe, Sweden and Crete, to better understand cancer determinants with focus on disease burden and sociocultural factors. Methods Breast cancer data from Sweden and Crete was derived from registries. Incidence and mortality were expressed as Age-Standardized Incidence Rates (ASIR), Age-Standardized Mortality Rates (ASMR). Findings Breast cancer incidence has for decades risen in Sweden and on Crete. In 2019, ASIR was 217.5 in Sweden and 58.9 on Crete, (p &amp;lt; 0.001). Mortality rates showed opposite trends. ASMR in Sweden was reduced from 25.5 to 16.8 (2005-2019) while on Crete, ASMR increased from 22.1 to 25.3. A successive rise in survival rate in Sweden with a 5-year survival rate of 92% since 2015, but a converse development on Crete with 85% 5-year survival rate the same year. Interpretation The incidence of breast cancer is slowly rising in both studied regions, but mortality increases on Crete in contrast to Sweden with sinking mortality rates. The interpretation of these findings is that differences in health care systems and health policies including differences in early detection like screening programs and early treatment, as well as sociocultural factors in the two countries might play an important role on the differences found in breast cancer burden.Funding Agencies|Region of Crete; Directors of each hospital department and death registry per municipality in Crete</p

Importance of Leadership Style towards Quality of Care Measures in Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review

Effective leadership of healthcare professionals is critical for strengthening quality and integration of care. This study aimed to assess whether there exist an association between different leadership styles and healthcare quality measures. The search was performed in the Medline (National Library of Medicine, PubMed interface) and EMBASE databases for the time period 2004–2015. The research question that guided this review was posed as: “Is there any relationship between leadership style in healthcare settings and quality of care?” Eighteen articles were found relevant to our research question. Leadership styles were found to be strongly correlated with quality care and associated measures. Leadership was considered a core element for a well-coordinated and integrated provision of care, both from the patients and healthcare professionals

Lung Cancer Screening in Greece: A Modelling Study to Estimate the Impact on Lung Cancer Life Years

(1) Background: Lung cancer causes a substantial epidemiological burden in Greece. Yet, no formal national lung cancer screening program has been introduced to date. This study modeled the impact on lung cancer life years (LCLY) of a hypothetical scenario of comprehensive screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) of the high-risk population in Greece, as defined by the US Preventive Services Taskforce, would be screened and linked to care (SLTC) for lung cancer versus the current scenario of background (opportunistic) screening only; (2) Methods: A stochastic model was built to monitor a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 high-risk men and women as they transitioned between health states (without cancer, with cancer, alive, dead) over 5 years. Transition probabilities were based on clinical expert opinion. Cancer cases, cancer-related deaths, and LCLYs lost were modeled in current and hypothetical scenarios. The difference in outcomes between the two scenarios was calculated. 150 iterations of simulation scenarios were conducted for 100,000 persons; (3) Results: Increasing SLTC to a hypothetical 100% of eligible high-risk people in Greece leads to a statistically significant reduction in deaths and in total years lost due to lung cancer, when compared with the current SLTC paradigm. Over 5 years, the model predicted a difference of 339 deaths and 944 lost years between the hypothetical and current scenario. More specifically, the hypothetical scenario led to fewer deaths (&minus;24.56%, p &lt; 0.001) and fewer life years lost (&minus;31.01%, p &lt; 0.001). It also led to a shift to lower-stage cancers at the time of diagnosis; (4) Conclusions: Our study suggests that applying a 100% screening strategy amongst high-risk adults aged 50&ndash;80, would result in additional averted deaths and LCLYs gained over 5 years in Greece