18 research outputs found
Supervised Learning with Hybrid Global Optimisation Methods. Case Study: Automated Recognition and Classification of Cork Tiles
A Critical Assessment of EU-Russia Relations: Conflict, Competition, or Consensus?
The purpose of this thesis is to examine EU-Russian relations from an analytical point of view. Due to the changing climate in the European Union and Russia, caused by such factors as the EU's expansion to twenty-seven member states and Russia's establishment of itself as the main European petrol and gas provider, the relationship between the two is by necessity now vigorous and essential. This ultimately translates into numerous clashes, and competitive situations, but also an effort from the two powers to find new effective ways to make the relationship work. This paper aims to discover which term - conflict, competition, or consensus - best describes the target relationship and sets the tone for the future. Different countries from the EU have established different approaches to deal with the Russian superpower. As a result the EU- Russian relationship appears to be a combination of all of the above
AI-driven decision support systems and epistemic reliance: a qualitative study on obstetricians' and midwives' perspectives on integrating AI-driven CTG into clinical decision making
Background: Given that AI-driven decision support systems (AI-DSS) are intended to assist in medical decision making, it is essential that clinicians are willing to incorporate AI-DSS into their practice. This study takes as a case study the use of AI-driven cardiotography (CTG), a type of AI-DSS, in the context of intrapartum care. Focusing on the perspectives of obstetricians and midwives regarding the ethical and trust-related issues of incorporating AI-driven tools in their practice, this paper explores the conditions that AI-driven CTG must fulfill for clinicians to feel justified in incorporating this assistive technology into their decision-making processes regarding interventions in labor.
Methods: This study is based on semi-structured interviews conducted online with eight obstetricians and five midwives based in England. Participants were asked about their current decision-making processes about when to intervene in labor, how AI-driven CTG might enhance or disrupt this process, and what it would take for them to trust this kind of technology. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with thematic analysis. NVivo software was used to organize thematic codes that recurred in interviews to identify the issues that mattered most to participants. Topics and themes that were repeated across interviews were identified to form the basis of the analysis and conclusions of this paper.
Results: There were four major themes that emerged from our interviews with obstetricians and midwives regarding the conditions that AI-driven CTG must fulfill: (1) the importance of accurate and efficient risk assessments; (2) the capacity for personalization and individualized medicine; (3) the lack of significance regarding the type of institution that develops technology; and (4) the need for transparency in the development process.
Conclusions: Accuracy, efficiency, personalization abilities, transparency, and clear evidence that it can improve outcomes are conditions that clinicians deem necessary for AI-DSS to meet in order to be considered reliable and therefore worthy of being incorporated into the decision-making process. Importantly, healthcare professionals considered themselves as the epistemic authorities in the clinical context and the bearers of responsibility for delivering appropriate care. Therefore, what mattered to them was being able to evaluate the reliability of AI-DSS on their own terms, and have confidence in implementing them in their practice
Nutrition – trigger and protector in autoimmune diseases
Nutrition, mucosal immune system, intestinal microbiome, and immune-mediated diseases are intertwined and interact with each other. This review examines the connections between obesity, salt consumption, gluten, low-calorie diets, polyunsaturated fatty acids, olive oil, polyphenols, antioxidants, vitamin D, probiotics, and the immune system, and their role as a trigger or protective factor in the inflammatory cascade. Some practical aspects of the diet for autoimmune diseases are also presented as part of the personalised approach
Prediction of fetal blood pressure during labour with deep learning techniques
Our objective is to develop a model for the prediction of minimum fetal blood pressure (FBP) during fetal heart rate (FHR) decelerations. Experimental data from umbilical occlusions in near-term fetal sheep (2698 occlusions from 57 near-term lambs) were used to train a convolutional neural network. This model was then used to estimate FBP for decelerations extracted from the final 90 min of 53,445 human FHR signals collected using cardiotocography. Minimum sheep FBP was predicted with a mean absolute error of 6.7 mmHg (25th, 50th, 75th percentiles of 2.3, 5.2, 9.7 mmHg), mean absolute percentage errors of 17.3% (5.5%, 12.5%, 23.9%) and a coefficient of determination 2=0.36. While the model was unable to clearly predict severe compromise at birth in humans, there is positive evidence that such a model could predict human FBP with further development. The neural network is capable of predicting FBP for many of the sheep decelerations accurately but performed far from satisfactory at identifying FHR segments that correspond to the highest or lowest minimum FBP. These results indicate that with further work and a larger, more variable training dataset, the model could achieve higher accuracy
Intensifying the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia—the experience of a single center in Eastern Bulgaria
Introduction: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an established risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which determines early morbidity and mortality. Intensive reduction of the high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) reduces the incidence of CVD.Aim: The aim of this article is to analyze changes in lipid levels after intensification of the treatment of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.Participants and Methods: Lipid levels of 59 patients with familial hypercholestrolemia from Eastern Bulgaria were studied with the aim of optimizing the management at an FH treatment center at St. Marina University Hospital, Varna. The period covered was from October 2017 to July 2020. The diagnosis of FH was determined as probable or certain according to the Dutch Lipid Clinics Network (DLCN) with a score of ≥ 6 points. After evaluation of the inclusion criteria for initiating treatment with evolocumab, all patients were monitored every 6 months for their lipid status. Baseline demographic characteristics and changes in the levels of laboratory tests for total cholesterol, LDL-c, and HDL cholesterol (HDL-c) were analyzed. A t-test for grouped pairs was used to estimate the difference from the baseline.Results: Of all 59 who passed through the center, the majority were men (58%). The mean age was 57.66 ± 9.57 years, from 37 to 76 years. A total of 54% had ischemic heart disease, 30.5% had survived a myocardial infarction, and 12% had a previous stroke. The mean baseline of total cholesterol was 8.23 ± 3.65 mmol/L, that of LDL cholesterol was 5.31 ± 1.95 mmol/L, and that of HDL-c was 1.25 ± 0.4 mmol/L. After 6 months, LDL-c levels dropped down to an average of 2.46 ± 1.59 mmol/L (p <0.0001) and persisted for 2.5 years after onset. The same trend was observed for total cholesterol. Achieving different target levels of LDL-c was reached as early as the 6th month in 76% and 56% of the treated, respectively.Conclusion: The use of evolocumab in addition to statin therapy leads to a significant and lasting reduction in total and LDL cholesterol in patients with FH. A significant number of them achieve targeted levels of LDL-c, which reduces the risk of new cardiovascular events
Stochastic methods and genetic algorithms for neural network learning
EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Stochastic methods and genetic algorithms for neural network learning
EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Trustworthy artificial intelligence and ethical design: public perceptions of trustworthiness of an AI-based decision-support tool in the context of intrapartum care
Abstract Background Despite the recognition that developing artificial intelligence (AI) that is trustworthy is necessary for public acceptability and the successful implementation of AI in healthcare contexts, perspectives from key stakeholders are often absent from discourse on the ethical design, development, and deployment of AI. This study explores the perspectives of birth parents and mothers on the introduction of AI-based cardiotocography (CTG) in the context of intrapartum care, focusing on issues pertaining to trust and trustworthiness. Methods Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with birth parents and mothers based on a speculative case study. Interviewees were based in England and were pregnant and/or had given birth in the last two years. Thematic analysis was used to analyze transcribed interviews with the use of NVivo. Major recurring themes acted as the basis for identifying the values most important to this population group for evaluating the trustworthiness of AI. Results Three themes pertaining to the perceived trustworthiness of AI emerged from interviews: (1) trustworthy AI-developing institutions, (2) trustworthy data from which AI is built, and (3) trustworthy decisions made with the assistance of AI. We found that birth parents and mothers trusted public institutions over private companies to develop AI, that they evaluated the trustworthiness of data by how representative it is of all population groups, and that they perceived trustworthy decisions as being mediated by humans even when supported by AI. Conclusions The ethical values that underscore birth parents and mothers’ perceptions of trustworthy AI include fairness and reliability, as well as practices like patient-centered care, the promotion of publicly funded healthcare, holistic care, and personalized medicine. Ultimately, these are also the ethical values that people want to protect in the healthcare system. Therefore, trustworthy AI is best understood not as a list of design features but in relation to how it undermines or promotes the ethical values that matter most to its end users. An ethical commitment to these values when creating AI in healthcare contexts opens up new challenges and possibilities for the design and deployment of AI
Business Dynamics and Innovation in the Home Video Game Industry
The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic literature. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis. The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic litera-ture. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis.The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires