Ranking Cloud Computing Criteria in Developing Electronic Communications Services Using MCDM

The main purpose of this study was ranking cloud computing criteria in developing electronic communications services using multiple-criteria decision analysis methodology (MCDM). This correlational research was applied in terms of purpose. Statistical population of the study included ICT experts of the steel industry in Yazd province (industrial experts), among which, 312 individuals were selected using purposeful nonprobability (judgmental) sampling method. Considering the conducted investigations and critically reviewing the related books and articles, the variables, criteria, and scales were identified using cloud computing technology. To analyze the data, MCDM and fuzzy logic calculations were utilized in Expert Choice software. According to the results and considering fuzzy calculations related to the capabilities of cloud computing in developing electronic communications services, the most important criteria in the "IT management in steel industries" cluster having (A) network code was "communicating with steel industries` costumers" having (AB) network code and fuzzy network weight equal to 0.096; the most important criteria in "cloud computing capabilities" cluster having (B) network code were "reducing steel industries` costs" having (BA) network code and fuzzy network weight equal to 0.191; and "providing rapid services to steel industries` costumers" having (BB) network code and fuzzy network weight equal to 0.120. on the other hand, the most important criteria in "developing electronic communications services" cluster having (C) network code was "storing the data in electronic communications services" having (CD) network code and fuzzy network weight equal to 0.123, since based on fuzzy logic calculation, they had the highest fuzzy rank in Matlab programming environment regarding cloud computing capabilities in developing electronic communications services

Expert opinions on informational and supportive needs and sources of obtaining information in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a Delphi consensus study

BackgroundThe present study introduces informational and supportive needs and sources of obtaining information in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through a three-round Expert Delphi Consensus Opinions method.MethodsAccording to our previous scoping review, important items in the area of informational and supportive needs and sources of obtaining information were elucidated. After omitting duplicates, 56 items in informational needs, 36 items in supportive needs, and 36 items in sources of obtaining information were retrieved. Both open- and close-ended questions were designed for each category in the form of three questionnaires. The questionnaires were sent to selected experts from different specialties. Experts responded to the questions in the first round. Based on the feedback, questions were modified and sent back to the experts in the second round. This procedure was repeated up to the third round.ResultsIn the first round, five items from informational needs, one item from supportive needs, and seven items from sources of obtaining information were identified as unimportant and omitted. Moreover, two extra items were proposed by the experts, which were added to the informational needs category. In the second round, seven, three, and seven items from informational needs, supportive needs, and sources of obtaining information were omitted due to the items being unimportant. In the third round, all the included items gained scores equal to or greater than the average and were identified as important. Kendall coordination coefficient W was calculated to be 0.344 for information needs, 0.330 for supportive needs, and 0.325 for sources of obtaining information, indicating a fair level of agreement between experts.ConclusionsOut of 128 items in the first round, the omission of 30 items and the addition of two items generated a 100-item questionnaire for three sections of informational needs, supportive needs, and sources of obtaining information with a high level of convergence between experts' viewpoints

Investigation of diagnostic value of artificial intelligence systems in the diagnosis of breast cancer based on histopathological images using Meta-MUMS DTA tool

ORIGINAL ARTICLES Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health - 2020, Volume 17, Number 2Investigation of diagnostic value of artificial intelligence systems in the diagnosis of breast cancer based on histopathological images using Meta-MUMS DTA toolInvestigation of diagnostic value of artificialintelligence systems in the diagnosis of breastcancer based on histopathological imagesusing Meta-MUMS DTA toolABSTRACTBackground: Various artificial intelligence systems are available for diagnosing breast cancer based onhistopathological images. Assessing the performance of existing methodologies for breast cancer diagnosis is vital.Methods: The SCOPUS database has been searched for studies up to December 15, 2018. We extracted the data,including "true positive," "true negative," "false positive," and "false negative". The pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity,positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, area under the curve of summary receiveroperating characteristic curve were useful in assessing the diagnostic accuracy. Egger's test, Deeks' funnel plot, SVE(Smoothed Variance regression model based on Egger’s test), SVT (Smoothed Variance regression model based onThompson’s method), and trim and fill methodologies were essential tests for publication bias identification.Results: Three studies with eight approaches from thirty-seven articles were found eligible for further analysis. Asensitivity of 0.95, a specificity of 0.78, a PLR of 7525, an NLR of 0.06, a DOR of 88.15, and an AUC of 0.953showed high significant heterogeneity; however, the reason was not the threshold effect. The publication bias wasdetected by SVE, SVT, and trim and fill analysis.Conclusion: The artificial intelligent (AI) systems play a pivotal role in the diagnosis of breast cancer usinghistopathological cell images and are important decision-makers for pathologists. The analyses revealed that theoverall accuracy of AI systems is promising for breast cancer; however, the pooled specificity is lower than pooledsensitivity. Moreover, the approval of the results awaits conducting randomized clinical trials with sufficient dat

A simple generic construction to build oblivious transfer protocols from homomorphic encryption schemes

Oblivious transfer (OT) is a fundamental problem in cryptography where it is required that a sender transfers one of potentially many pieces of information to a receiver and at the same time remains oblivious as to which piece has been transferred. After its introduction back in 1981 by Rabin, some more useful variations of OT appeared in the literature such as $OT^1_2$, $OT^1_n$, and $OT^k_n$. In 2015, a very simple and efficient OT protocol was proposed by Chou and Orlandi. Later, Hauck and Loss proposed an improved protocol and proved it to be fully UC-secure under the CDH assumption. Our goal in this paper is to extend the results of Hauck and Loss and propose a simple generic construction to build $OT^1_2$ and in general $OT^1_n$. The machinery we employ is homomorphic encryption. We instantiate our construction with some well known homomorphic encryption schemes such as RSA, Paillier, and NTRU to obtain concrete OT protocols. We further provide the details of the proof of the UC-security of our generic construction

The effectiveness of assertiveness training on the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression of high school students

Background: Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to early adulthood. Because of the immense pressure imposed on adolescents due to the complications and ambiguities of this transition, their level of excitement increases and sometimes it appears in the form of sensitivity and intense excitement. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of assertiveness training on the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression of high school students. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on high school students of Isfahan in academic year 2012 -13. A total of 126 second grade high school students were collected according to simple random sampling method and divided into two groups: experimental with 63 participants and control with the same number. Data gathering instruments included a demographic questionnaire, Gambill-Richey assertiveness scale, and depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21). Assertiveness training was carried out on the experimental group in 8 sessions; after 8 weeks, posttest was carried out on both groups. Statistical tests such as independent t test, repeated measures ANOVA, Chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney test were used to interpret and analyze the data. Results: The Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests did not show significant statistical differences between the two groups in terms of demographic variables (P = 0.05). Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant difference between the mean scores for assertiveness before (100.23 ± 7.37), immediately after (101.57 ± 16.06), and 2 months after (100.77 ± 12.50) the intervention in the control group. However, the same test found a significant difference between the mean score for assertiveness in the experimental group before (101.6 ± 9.1), immediately after (96.47 ± 10.84), and 2 months after (95.41 ± 8.37) implementing the training program (P = 0.002). The independent t test showed no significant difference in the mean score for anxiety and stress between two groups before the assertiveness training program; however, 2 months after the intervention, the mean score for anxiety in the experimental group was found significantly lower than the control group. As for the mean score for depression, the independent t test showed no significant difference between two groups before training; however, despite the decrease in the mean scores for depression in the experimental group following the intervention, the difference was not significant (P = 0.09). Conclusions: The results of the current study show that conducting assertive training in high school students decreases their anxiety, stress, and depression. Given that high school years are among the most sensitive stages of one’s life plus the fact that conducting such training programs besides their safe and low cost nature are effective and practical, it is highly recommended that such programs be carried out among high school adolescents. © 2016, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Tight glycemic control and computerized decision-support systems: a systematic review

Objective: To identify and summarize characteristics of computerized decision-support systems (CDSS) for tight glycemic control (TGC) and to review their effects on the quality of the TGC process in critically ill patients. Methods: We searched Medline (1950-2008) and included studies on critically ill adult patients that reported original data from a clinical trial or observational study with a main objective of evaluating a given TGC protocol with a CDSS. Results: Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria. Eleven out of seventeen studies evaluated the effect of a new TGC protocol that was introduced simultaneously with a CDSS implementation. Most of the reported CDSSs were stand-alone, were not integrated in any other clinical information systems and used the "passive'' mode requiring the clinician to ask for advice. Different implementation sites, target users, and time of advice were used, depending on local circumstances. All controlled studies reported on at least one quality indicator of the blood glucose regulatory process that was improved by introducing the CDSS. Nine out of ten controlled studies either did not report on the number of hypoglycemia events (one study), or reported on no change (six studies) or even a reduction in this number (two studies). Conclusions: While most studies evaluating the effect of CDSS on the quality of the TGC process found improvement when evaluated on the basis of the quality indicators used, it is impossible to define the exact success factors, because of simultaneous implementation of the CDSS with a new or modified TGC protocol and the hybrid solutions used to integrate the CDSS into the clinical workflo

The impact of a computerized decision aid on empowering pregnant women for choosing vaginal versus cesarean section delivery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Cesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR) is one of the main reasons for cesarean delivery in Iran, and women often need help in making a decision about the delivery options available to them. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a computerized decision aid (CDA) system on empowering pregnant women in choosing an appropriate mode of delivery. This CDA contrasts the advantages and disadvantages of vaginal versus cesarean section delivery in terms of their value to the individual woman. The protocol concerns a randomized trial study that will be performed among Iranian women. Four hundred pregnant women will be recruited from two private and two public prenatal centers in Mashhad, Iran. They will be randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group. The designed CDA will be provided to the intervention group, whereas the control group will only receive routine care. The CDA provides educational contents as well as some recommendations. The CDA's knowledge base is obtained from the results of studies on predictors of cesarean delivery. The CDA's software will be installed on women's computers for use at home. The two primary outcomes for the study are O'Connor's Decisional Conflict Scale and knowledge as measured by true/false questions. Actual mode of delivery (vaginal versus cesarean) will be compared in the two groups. We investigate the effect of a CDA on empowering pregnant women in terms of reducing their decisional conflict as well as on improving their clinical knowledge pertaining to mode of delivery. This trial is registered with the Iran Trial Registrar under registration number IRCT2015093010777N4 and registration date 26 October 201

The Trend of Prescribing Ceftriaxone Injection in the Medical Prescriptions of the Social Security Organization-insured Persons in Kerman during 2006- 2012

Background: Rational drug usage is a main priority in health research, and controlling prescribing Ceftriaxone injection due to its fatal adverse effects is a crucial challenge in Iran. The aim of this study was to assess the trend of prescribing Ceftriaxone injections in the medical prescriptions of the Social Security Organization-insured persons in Kerman during 2006- 2012. Methods: In this Cross-sectional study, using descriptive data mining all data about prescribing the three types of Ceftriaxone injection that were prescribed by the physicians and dentists and dispensed in Kerman pharmacies during 78 months (December 22, 2005 to June 20, 2012), obtained from The Comprehensive Medical Documentation System, in the Medical Documents Audit Office of Social Security Organization in Kerman was extracted by census sampling. Then, the prescribing rate of Ceftriaxone injection (defined daily dose) was analyzed and compared in different groups. Results: About 17 million prescriptions from 3621 physicians and dentists (aged 28-91 years) with male/female ratio as 1.7 were analyzed. About 300 thousands of prescriptions (1.75%) contained Ceftriaxone. The average number of monthly prescriptions; count of monthly prescriptions with the drug; and the ratio of prescribing Ceftriaxone in all prescriptions were significantly different between general practitioners and specialists/sub-specialists (P<0.001). The trend of Ceftriaxone prescribing has slightly decreased during 6.5 years. Conclusion: The studies on drug prescribing in Iran show the inappropriate patterns of drug prescribing and use, and also low adherence to the prescribed medications; therefore, serious interventions should be performed by the responsible organizations to control this challeng