Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnosing Based on EEG Analysis: a Survey

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairments in reciprocal social interactions, communication skills, and stereotyped behavior. Since EEG recording and analysis is one of the fundamental tools in diagnosis and identifying disorders in neurophysiology, researchers strive to use the EEG signals for diagnosing of individuals with ASD. We found that studies on the ASD diagnosis using EEG techniques could be divided into two groups, where analysis was based on either comparison techniques or pattern recognition techniques. In this paper, we try to explain these two sets of algorithms along with their applied methods and results. Ultimately, evaluation measures of diagnosis algorithms are discussedРозлади аутистичного спектра (autism spectrum disorders – ASD) – це глибокі відхилення розвитку нервової сфери, що характеризуються порушенням соціальних взаємодій, комунікативних навичок та стереотипної поведінки. Оскільки реєстрація та аналіз ЕЕГ є одними із фундаментальних засобів діагностики та ідентифікації нейрофізіологічних розладів, дослідники намагаються використовувати ЕЕГ-сигнали для діагностики ASD у тих або інших осіб. Як ми встановили, дослідження, спрямовані на діагностику ASD із застосуванням ЕЕГ-методик, можуть бути поділені на дві групи, коли аналіз базується або на техніці порівнянь, або на техніці розпізнавання образів. У цьому огляді ми намагались описати застосування двох відповідних комплексів алгоритмів, а також методики їх використання та отримані результати. Нарешті, обговорюється порівняльна ефективність вказаних алгоритмів діагностування

New instrumentation technologies for testing the bonding of sensors to solid materials

This report presents the results of a comprehensive research and development project that was conducted over a three-year period to develop new technologies for testing the attachment of sensors to solid materials for the following NASA applications: (1) testing the performance of composites that are used for the lining of solid rocket motor nozzles, (2) testing the bonding of surface-mounted platinum resistance thermometers that are used on fuel and oxidizer lines of the space shuttle to detect valve leaks by monitoring temperature, (3) testing the attachment of strain gages that are used in testing the performance of space shuttle main engines, and (4) testing the thermocouples that are used for determining the performance of blast tube liner material in solid rocket boosters

Solving boundary value problems via the Nyström method using spline Gauss rules

We propose to use spline Gauss quadrature rules for solving boundary value problems (BVPs) using the Nyström method. When solving BVPs, one converts the corresponding partial differential equation inside a domain into the Fredholm integral equation of the second kind on the boundary in the sense of boundary integral equation (BIE). The Fredholm integral equation is then solved using the Nyström method, which involves the use of a particular quadrature rule, thus, converting the BIE problem to a linear system. We demonstrate this concept on the 2D Laplace problem over domains with smooth boundary as well as domains containing corners. We validate our approach on benchmark examples and the results indicate that, for a fixed number of quadrature points (i.e., the same computational effort), the spline Gauss quadratures return an approximation that is by one to two orders of magnitude more accurate compared to the solution obtained by traditional polynomial Gauss counterparts

Solving Boundary Value Problems Via the Nyström Method Using Spline Gauss Rules

We propose to use spline Gauss quadrature rules for solving boundary value problems (BVPs) using the Nyström method. When solving BVPs, one converts the corresponding partial differential equation inside a domain into the Fredholm integral equation of the second kind on the boundary in the sense of boundary integral equation (BIE). The Fredholm integral equation is then solved using the Nyström method, which involves a use of a particular quadrature rule, thus, converting the BIE problem to a linear system. We demonstrate this concept on the 2D Laplace problem over domains with smooth boundary as well as domains containing corners. We validate our approach on benchmark examples and the results indicate that, for a fixed number of quadrature points (i.e., the same computational effort), the spline Gauss quadratures return an approximation that is by one to two orders of magnitude more accurate compared to the solution obtained by traditional polynomial Gauss counterparts

Estimating the completeness of lung cancer registry in Ardabil, Iran with a three-source capture-recapture method

Cancer registration is an important component of a comprehensive cancer control program, providing timely data and information for research and administrative use. Capture-recapture methods have been used as tools to investigate completeness of cancer registry data. This study aimed to estimate the completeness of lung cancer cases registered in Ardabil Population Based Cancer Registry (APBCR) with a three-source capture-recapture method. Data for all new cases of lung cancer reported by three sources (pathology reports, death certificates, and medical records) to APBCR for 2006 and 2008 were obtained. Duplicate cases shared among the three sources were identified based on similarity of first name, last name and father's names. A log-linear model was used to estimate number of missed cases and to control for dependency among sources. A total of 218 new cases of lung cancer was reported by three sources after removing duplicates. The estimated completeness calculated by log-linear method was 26.4 for 2006 and 27.1 for 2008. The completeness differed according to gender. In men, the completeness was 26.0 for 2006 and 28.1 for 2008. In women, the completeness was 36.5 for 2006 and 46.9 for 2008. In conclusion, none of the three sources can be considered as a reliable source for accurate cancer incidence estimation. © 2016, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

Customized clinical practice guidelines for management of adult cataract in Iran

Purpose: To customize clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for cataract management in the Iranian population. Methods: First, four CPGs (American Academy of Ophthalmology 2006 and 2011, Royal College of Ophthalmologists 2010, and Canadian Ophthalmological Society 2008) were selected from a number of available CPGs in the literature for cataract management. All recommendations of these guidelines, together with their references, were studied. Each recommendation was summarized in 4 tables. The first table showed the recommendation itself in clinical question components format along with its level of evidence. The second table contained structured abstracts of supporting articles related to the clinical question with their levels of evidence. The third table included the customized recommendation of the internal group respecting its clinical advantage, cost, and complications. In the fourth table, the internal group their recommendations from 1 to 9 based on the customizing capability of the recommendation (applicability, acceptability, external validity). Finally, customized recommendations were sent one month prior to a consensus session to faculty members of all universities across the country asking for their comments on recommendations. Results: The agreed recommendations were accepted as conclusive while those with no agreement were discussed at the consensus session. Finally, all customized recommendations were codified as 80 recommendations along with their sources and levels of evidence for the Iranian population. Conclusion: Customization of CPGs for management of adult cataract for the Iranian population seems to be useful for standardization of referral, diagnosis and treatment of patients. © 2015 Journal of Ophthalmic and Vision Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow

Hydrology and hydrobiology data analysis collected during 1998-2007

Annually, many data of hydrology and hydrobiology of the southern Caspian Sea at Iran's coasts were collected by Caspian Sea Research Institute of Ecology. The data which had been collected by researchers submitted annually in several reports but has not been processed all at once. Fluctuations of various parameters were surveyed and the relationships between them were analyzed. The main goal of this research is to analysis the data were obtained from 1994 to 2006 and show changes the concentration of various parameters in the Caspian Sea. Physicochemical data indicated that the average trend of transparency and salinity was decreased from 1994 to 2006 annually, where the salinity value was decreased from 12.37 ppt (part per thousand) to 11.5 ppt. The average of dissolved oxygen was increased from 6.4 to 8.6mg/l. pH has slightly fluctuated from 8.15 to 8.31. However, with increasing depth from surface to bottom, the average of dissolved oxygen was sharply decreased (DO concentration in surface and 800 m was 7.18 and 1.45 mg/l, respectively). The trend of salinity and pH fluctuation was very slow with depth but the salinity has an increasing with incrementing of depth but pH has a decreased trend. The average of organic and inorganic phosphorus and TP was nearly increased. The average of Nitrate and Silica sharply increased comparing to depth but the average of Nitrite and organic Nitrogen decreased. The results showed that the temperature fluctuation in different water layers was low in winter but the dramatic decreasing of temperature was occurred at 10-20 m (in spring), 20-50 m (in winter) and 50-100 m (in autumn). With increasing of depth (Slope of the Sea), transparency and salinity values have an increasing while DO and pH showed decreased. As a whole, 335 species of phytoplankton were identified, there are 70 species in advance as these species were not seen in this period but 96 of novel's species have been recorded. The lowest and the most of phytoplankton biomass was recorded in 2006 and 2001 while the biomass was 59 and 1034 mg/m^3, respectively. Albet, the lowest biomass was recorded at the depth of 100 m (24.1 mg/m^3) but the maximum was observed in surface layer (1344.1 mg/m^3). The average of phytoplankton biomass was increased after arrival of the ctenophore. There was a significant difference between the average of biomass in different seasons before and after of the ctenophore invasion (P0.137, P>0.782). Before the presence of ctenophore, the worms had been constituted a dominate group with an approximately %45 of total abundance and also %20 of their biomass. After this period, their frequency was sharply increased (more than %85) but the maximum value pertains to Cardidae (more than %90). The species diversity, evenness and richness were varied between .69-2.51, 0.23-0.63 and .011-3.79, respectively. AMBI software, Shanon-Viner parameter was moderate in all seasons from 1994 to 1996 but this parameter was reduced in a bad limit (boundary) in the most seasons from 2002 to 2005. The main parameter of M-AMBI consists of several parameters and also approximately showed similar changes such as Shanon -viner parameter. On basis of this parameter, the ecological quality condition of Caspian Sea was superior limit in all seasons from 1994 to 1996 but after the following years were decreased from good to moderate limits (After the presence of ctenophore). Relationship between abiotic variants and phytoplankton indicated that there was a direct relationship between transparency and salinity while there was a powerful and reversal significant relationship between transparency water temperature, transparency in organic Nitrate, phytoplankton number and transparency phytoplankton biomass. The comparison between different variants average in two periods (before and after the ctenophore invasion) indicated that the average of Kilka catch was decreased, the relative frequency of clupeonella engrauliformis and clupenoella grimmi was sharply reduced but the relative frequency of Clupeonella cultriventris was sharply increased, the species diversity, evenness and richness and the number of zooplankton species were sharply decreased, the average of biomass and transparency was sharply reduced, the average of dissolved oxygen and liza saliens or liza auratus catch were increased. These difference were often significant (P<0.05). Therefore, with the ctenophore invasion into the Caspian Sea, the primary production was increased, the biomass value of zooplankton and specially Kilka which fed on zooplankton were sharply decreased while the fish such as Rutilus frisii kutum and mullet (Liza salins or Liza aurratus) which fed on benthic were increased

Estimating the completeness of lung cancer registry in Ardabil, Iran with a three-source capture-recapture method

Cancer registration is an important component of a comprehensive cancer control program, providing timely data and information for research and administrative use. Capture-recapture methods have been used as tools to investigate completeness of cancer registry data. This study aimed to estimate the completeness of lung cancer cases registered in Ardabil Population Based Cancer Registry (APBCR) with a three-source capture-recapture method. Data for all new cases of lung cancer reported by three sources (pathology reports, death certificates, and medical records) to APBCR for 2006 and 2008 were obtained. Duplicate cases shared among the three sources were identified based on similarity of first name, last name and father's names. A log-linear model was used to estimate number of missed cases and to control for dependency among sources. A total of 218 new cases of lung cancer was reported by three sources after removing duplicates. The estimated completeness calculated by log-linear method was 26.4 for 2006 and 27.1 for 2008. The completeness differed according to gender. In men, the completeness was 26.0 for 2006 and 28.1 for 2008. In women, the completeness was 36.5 for 2006 and 46.9 for 2008. In conclusion, none of the three sources can be considered as a reliable source for accurate cancer incidence estimation. © 2016, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention