Balance Assessment Research Articles

The legality and appropriateness of keeping Korean Medical Licensing Examination items confidential: a comparative analysis and review of court rulings.

This study examines the legality and appropriateness of keeping the multiple-choice question items of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) confidential. Through an analysis of cases from the United States, Canada, and Australia, where medical licensing exams are conducted using item banks and computer-based testing, we found that exam items are kept confidential to ensure fairness and prevent cheating. In Korea, the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI) has been disclosing KMLE questions despite concerns over exam integrity. Korean courts have consistently ruled that multiple-choice question items prepared by public institutions are non-public information under Article 9(1)(v) of the Korea Official Information Disclosure Act (KOIDA), which exempts disclosure if it significantly hinders the fairness of exams or research and development. The Constitutional Court of Korea has upheld this provision. Given the time and cost involved in developing high-quality items and the need to accurately assess examinees' abilities, there are compelling reasons to keep KMLE items confidential. As a public institution responsible for selecting qualified medical practitioners, KHPLEI should establish its disclosure policy based on a balanced assessment of public interest, without influence from specific groups. We conclude that KMLE questions qualify as non-public information under KOIDA, and KHPLEI may choose to maintain their confidentiality to ensure exam fairness and efficiency.

Validation and Analysis of the ICESat-2 ATL11 Product: A Case Study of Lake Vostok

Elevation changes are crucial input data for mass balance assessment based on satellite altimetry. However, due to the accuracy limitations of altimetry data and mass conversion models, a significant uncertainty remains in estimating the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet, especially in East Antarctica. The ICESat-2 photon altimetry satellite enhances the precision of ice sheet surface elevation measurements to an accuracy of 2–4 cm. This improvement is particularly beneficial for detecting subtle elevation changes in East Antarctica. The ATL11 product from ICESat-2 offers a time series of ice surface elevations across Antarctica, enabling direct calculation of elevation change rates. To evaluate the capability of the ATL11 product in accurately depicting detailed elevation changes within the local terrain, we selected the Vostok Subglacial Lake as the validation region. Our research involves comparing fitted surface elevation change rates with in-situ data, while also considering surface mass balance, wind, and surface elevation to analyze the factors contributing to small differences in elevation changes within the local lake area. This analysis aims to identify the factors contributing to the minor variations in elevation changes within the local lake area. According to our analysis, the Vostok Lake surface elevation change rate is 2.00 ± 0.77 cm yr−1 from April 2019 to June 2023, with an average period of 356 ± 81 days. The results demonstrate that the ATL11 elevation product sequence has the potential to accurately characterize subtle elevation changes and seasonal variations in the Antarctic ice sheet.

Atlas of AI Risks: Enhancing Public Understanding of AI Risks

The prevailing methodologies for visualizing AI risks have focused on technical issues such as data biases and model inaccuracies, often overlooking broader societal risks like job loss and surveillance. Moreover, these visualizations are typically designed for tech-savvy individuals, neglecting those with limited technical skills. To address these challenges, we propose the Atlas of AI Risks—a narrative-style tool designed to map the broad risks associated with various AI technologies in a way that is understandable to non-technical individuals as well. To both develop and evaluate this tool, we conducted two crowdsourcing studies. The first, involving 40 participants, identified the design requirements for visualizing AI risks for decision-making and guided the development of the Atlas. The second study, with 140 participants reflecting the US population in terms of age, sex, and ethnicity, assessed the usability and aesthetics of the Atlas to ensure it met those requirements. Using facial recognition technology as a case study, we found that the Atlas is more user-friendly than a baseline visualization, with a more classic and expressive aesthetic, and is more effective in presenting a balanced assessment of the risks and benefits of facial recognition. Finally, we discuss how our design choices make the Atlas adaptable for broader use, allowing it to generalize across the diverse range of technology applications represented in a database that reports various AI incidents.

Balance Assessment on a Modified Posturomed Platform in Healthy Dogs.

Reliable, standardized balance tests for dogs are not available yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of static and dynamic posturography in healthy dogs. Healthy dogs (n = 20) were positioned with four paws longitudinally and with the forepaws only transversely on a modified pressure-sensitive balance platform (Posturomed-FDM-JS, Zebris, Isny, Germany). Three static and dynamic posturographic trials were recorded (recording duration: 20 s) and repeated after 7-14 days. Center of pressure (COP) parameters COP-path-length (PL; mm), 95% COP-confidence-ellipse-area (CEA; mm2), and COP-average-velocity (AV; mm/s) were calculated for the first steady-state 5 s intervals of each trial. The reliability of COP parameters was assessed with robust linear mixed effects models with nested random effects of patient and trial. The training effect was analyzed using Cohen's d. For static posturography, PL, CEA, and AV did not differ significantly between time points; CEA had the highest reliability (p = 0.92). For dynamic posturography, AV and PL differed significantly between time points (AV: p ≤ 0.043; PL: p ≤ 0.045). Slight training effects were observed for transverse positioning (Cohen's d: PL 0.65; AV 0.267) and moderate training effects for longitudinal positioning (Cohen's d: PL: 0.772; AV: 0.783). This study showed that static posturography on a modified Posturomed-balance platform was reliable in healthy dogs but indicated training effects during dynamic posturography.

The effects of balance training in patients with total hip arthroplasty : Arandomized controlled pilot study.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) causes damage to hip joint mechanoceptors, which in turn leads to decrease in proprioception and increase in balance disorders. Few research has focused on balance training in patients with arthroplasty and none investigated the long-term effect of balance training using objective balance assessment methods in THA patients. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of balance training in patients with THA until 26 weeks postoperatively. For this study 24 patients with hip osteoarthritis, who were candidates for THA were recruited. Of the patients with THA 16completed the study protocol and the patients were randomized to 2groups: conventional rehabilitation (CR, n = 8) or conventional rehabilitation plus balance training (CR + BT, n = 8). The CR group completed typical surgery-specific exercise programs, while the CR + BT group completed the CR plus balance exercises. The patients were evaluated by ahand-held dynamometer, single leg stance test (SLST), Tetrax balance system, Harris hip score, lower extremity function scale, 5times sit to stand test and 50-foot timed walk test preoperatively and 8, 14 and 26 weeks postoperatively. While the CR + BT group showed significant improvement for the right extremity eyes closed SLST score (p < 0.05), there was no significant difference for other assessment parameters between the CR and CR + BT groups (p > 0.05). There were significant improvements in both groups until 26 weeks following THA (p < 0.05). The results of our study indicate that there were similar improvements in the balance and functional parameters in the CR and CR + BT groups. There was no additional benefit after 26 weeks of controlled balance exercises following THA.

Elucidating synergistic effects and environmental value enhancement in infrared-Assisted Co-Pyrolysis of coal and polyvinyl chloride

Co-pyrolysis of high-alkali coal and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) through infrared heating is a promising approach for managing escalating PVC waste and converting low-grade coal resources efficiently. The synergistic effects during co-pyrolysis and thermal degradation of PVC were studied through thermogravimetric analysis (TG-FTIR) and spectral analysis. Furthermore, chlorine migration and chemical transformation integral to the process, along with catalytic interactions, were explored through chlorine mass balance assessment, employing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ion chromatography to establish a groundbreaking understanding of these phenomena. The results of products exhibited a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing with increasing temperatures and mixing ratios. The maximum oil yield was 14.62 %, achieving at 600 °C and 20 %. Meanwhile, the content of aromatic hydrocarbons remained high level through the synergistic interaction of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites, nearly exceeding 60 %. The results showed that the Artificial Neural Network model had a high prediction accuracy with an R2 value of 0.99, while the decarboxylation effect dissociated the metal, resulting in an increase in the fixation of inorganic chlorine from 1 % to 66 % and a decrease in the chlorine content in the liquid phase. Innovatively, the study employs an ANN model for predicting the behavior of co-pyrolysis, exemplifying high accuracy in understanding complex thermal conversions of PVC and coal. Notably, the work challenges existing constraints by applying sophisticated analytical methods to elucidate the thermodynamics and kinetics of the co-pyrolysis processes, thereby enhancing the energetic and environmental value of the products.

Transferred Bias Uncovers the Balance Between the Development of Physical and Socioeconomic Environments of Cities

Evaluating the balance between a city’s physical and socioeconomic environmental development is crucial for creating sustainable and livable urban spaces. Although they might appear contradictory, they jointly support the comprehensive sustainable urban development strategy. Traditional methods usually focus on assessing this balance from a specific perspective, such as how neighborhood greenery shapes real estate value. Yet, they fail to deliver a holistic balance assessment in developing the physical and socioeconomic dimensions. To fill this gap, this study introduces a research framework that measures this balance through house prices based on transferred bias. Using house price as an indicator shaped by both physical and socioeconomic environments, the framework first constructs a series of deep learning models to estimate house prices through street view images for each city. These models capture the relationship between neighborhood appearance and house price. Second, by leveraging transfer inference, we introduce neighborhood appearance from one city into the model trained from another city. This process identifies the transferred bias, which is the disparity between inaccurate inference resulting from a mismatched neighborhood appearance and the trained model. Through transferred bias, we can quantify the differences in physical and socioeconomic environments across cities and evaluate the urban balances of these two environments. The results show that the transferred bias effectively quantifies the disparities among cities in physical and socioeconomic environments, thereby facilitating further investigation into the urban balance between these two environments.

Effect of mediolateral leg perturbations on walking balance in people with chronic stroke: A randomized controlled trial.

Many people with chronic stroke (PwCS) exhibit deficits in step width modulation, an important strategy for walking balance. A single exposure to swing leg perturbations can temporarily strengthen this modulation. The objective of this parallel, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial was to investigate whether repeated perturbations cause sustained increases in step modulation (NCT02964039; funded by the VA). 54 PwCS at the Medical University of South Carolina were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: Control (n = 18), with minimal forces; Assistive (n = 18), pushing the swing leg toward a mechanically appropriate location; Perturbing (n = 18), pushing the swing leg away from a mechanically appropriate location. All intervention groups included 24 training sessions over 12-weeks with up to 30-minutes of treadmill walking while interfaced with a novel force-field and a 12-week follow-up period, with five interspersed assessment sessions. Our primary outcome measure was paretic step width modulation, the partial correlation between step width and pelvis displacement (ρSW). Secondarily, we quantified swing and stance leg contributions to step modulation, clinical assessments of walking balance and confidence, and real-world falls. Outcomes were analyzed for participants who completed all assessment sessions (n = 44). Only the Perturbing group exhibited significant increases in paretic ρSW, which were present after 4-weeks of training and sustained through follow-up (t = 2.42-3.17). These changes were due to improved control of paretic swing leg positioning. However, perturbation-induced changes in step modulation were not always significantly greater than those in the Control group, and clinical assessments were similar across intervention groups. Participants in the Perturbing group experienced a lower fall rate than those in the Control group (incidence rate ratio = 0.53), although our small sample size warrants caution. The present results indicate that perturbations can cause sustained modifications of targeted biomechanical characteristics of post-stroke gait, although such changes alone may be insufficient to change more complex clinical assessments.

The pro-oxidant-antioxidant ratio in the cells of plant seedlings from various ecological and geographical growth locations

The balance of pro-antioxidants within the cells of common fir (Abies alba) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) seedlings cultivated across eight distinct climatogeographical regions of Russia and Kharkov (Ukraine) was investigated. The intensity of lipid peroxidation processes was recorded as a pro-oxidant response, and the antioxidant response was measured by assessing the total content of low-molecular-weight antioxidants and the activity of superoxide dismutase. An assessment of the pro-antioxidant balance within the cellular structures of seedlings, originating from seeds of plants grown in diverse climatogeographical environments, was performed. This evaluation included the analysis of seedling survival rates, the degree of lipid peroxidation, and the activity of the antioxidant system, utilizing the coefficient method for measurement. The results suggest that the regions from which plant seeds were collected can be classified into three distinct zones according to the values of the extremity coefficient. A significant positive correlation was identified between the activity of superoxide dismutase in the cells of the examined seedlings and the levels of solar insolation in the regions where the seeds were collected. Adaptation changes in wild plants to temperature, humidity, and light conditions lead to the activation of antioxidant systems. The seedlings of plants whose seeds were formed in environments characterized by high insolation and low precipitation (such as Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude, and Srednekolymsk) exhibited a low total antioxidant content, accompanied by a compensatory increase in superoxide dismutase activity. Our research indicates that the survival rates of seedlings of common fir and mugwort are contingent upon the pro-antioxidant balance that has developed in response to the climatic conditions experienced by the plants. This relationship is characterized by species specificity, nonlinear dynamics, and is predominantly affected by the volume of precipitation received during the active growing season of the maternal plants.

Psychometric properties of the Functional Literacy Questionnaire among Portuguese adolescents.

Robust tools to assess self-reported adolescent functional health literacy are lacking. In Portugal, the only available tool is the Newest Vital Sign for Portuguese adolescents (NVS-PTeen), though presenting modest validity and reliability properties. A new instrument-the Functional Literacy Questionnaire (FLiQ)-was developed, inspired by the NVS-PTeen, but following the European Regulation for food labeling and targeting a balanced assessment of numeracy and verbal comprehension skills. This study aimed to evaluate several psychometric properties of the FLiQ when administered to Portuguese adolescents. We conducted a longitudinal observational study with three phases: (1) Delphi panel with health literacy experts; (2) self-administration of FLiQ and NVS-PTeen to adolescents in 7th to 9th grades; and (3) re-administration of FLiQ four weeks after baseline, to the same group of participants. FLiQ's content validity was excellent, with an Average-Content Validity Index of .95. Overall, 372 adolescents (50.3% girls) aged between 12-17 years (median age: 13) participated in the study. Of these, 150 completed the test-retest assessment. Internal consistency was good (Kuder-Richardson Fornula-20 = .70), as well as test-retest reliability (Intraclass Coefficient Correlation = .82). FLiQ total score was weakly correlated with the school year (rho = .174), and moderately with Portuguese (rho = .348) and Mathematics grades (rho = .333). Factor analysis indicated a two-dimension structure, reflecting numeracy and verbal comprehension skills. Item response theory analysis revealed differences in difficulty and discrimination capacity among items, all with adequate fit values. FLiQ is a valid and reliable tool. It can be used to monitor functional health literacy levels in Portuguese adolescents.

Use of an inertial sensor and a force platform to assess static balance in participants affected by multibacillary leprosy.

Leprosy is a chronic, slowly developing infectious disease that affects the peripheral nerves, specifically Schwann cells. Individuals with the multibacillary type exhibit a propensity for developing chronic pain and a decrease in sensitivity in the plantar region, which directly interferes with balance maintenance. The evaluation of static balance in this population is made through the measurement of the center of pressure (COP) oscillations. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the association between postural control and COP oscillations using a force platform and finding accelerations of the center of mass (COM) from inertial sensors for reliable and portable balance assessment in leprosy patients. To validate the application of inertial sensors for patients with leprosy by establishing a correlation with the outcomes obtained from a force platform. This is an observational study with a case-control design, in which 30 participants with leprosy and 30 healthy participants were recruited to evaluate static balance using an inertial sensor and a force platform. Participants underwent balance assessment under two conditions (Eyes Open: OE and Eyes Closed: CE), and data from the platform and sensor were processed using Matlab computational routines. The data were quantified using four parameters: Total Displacement (TD), Area, Antero-Posterior Displacement (APdisp), and Medio-Lateral Displacement (MLdisp). The evaluated parameters showed significantly different values between the groups, where the Leprosy group exhibited significantly higher values compared to the control group, both in the OE and CE conditions for all four parameters. The sensor corroborated the differences demonstrated by the platform and followed the same trend for medio-lateral displacements and accelerations. It can be observed that the evaluated parameters exhibited a varied correlation ranging from moderate to large between the platform and the sensor. Among the four variables, MLdisp had the lowest correlation. The results partially confirmed the first hypothesis of concurrent validation, showing a moderate to large correlation between the force platform and the inertial sensor. The second hypothesis of clinical validation was also partially confirmed, as not all group differences observed in the COP measurements from the force platform were reflected in the COM measurements from the inertial sensor. Specifically, the force platform indicated greater oscillations in participants with multibacillary leprosy compared to controls, a finding statistically confirmed by the sensor for all measures except MLdisp. This research confirmed the concurrent validity of the inertial sensor with the force platform and its clinical validation, demonstrating that this instrument can be applied in clinical settings due to its low cost and ease of use. The findings may contribute to public health by identifying postural control tools for patients with multibacillary leprosy.

Assessing Water Balance Influenced by Conservation Measures for Sustainable High-value Vegetable Cultivation: A Case Study of Battuvagu Watershed in Telangana, India

Rainfed areas are crucial for India’s agriculture, covering 50% of the total farmland and contributing 40% of the country’s food production. In recent years, the adverse effects of climate change have been found to be exacerbating the complex problems in vulnerable rainfed areas. While climate change affects many aspects of the environment, its impact on water resources is often swift and apparent, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, human well-being, and sustainable development. In this context, water budgeting at watershed level and its management are crucial towards promotion of climate resilient agriculture in the rainfed ecosystems. Comprehensive assessment of water balance was attempted, estimating the demand from agriculture, domestic and livestock needs and availability of water in terms of groundwater recharge from different sources and effective surface water stored in an agricultural watershed falling in Siddipet district of Telangana state of India. It involved collection of data on population, land use, and estimating irrigation water needs for crops, humans and livestock, followed by inventorying surface storage structures. Further, water inflow, runoff, and groundwater recharge were calculated using standard methods. The water balance was then determined by subtracting total demand from total availability. The study revealed that the water balance improved significantly, shifting from a deficit (-1.18 ha-m) of pre-project phase to a surplus (+67.91 ha-m) during post-watershed development. Thus, this study revealed the effectiveness of soil and water conservation measures taken up as a part of watershed development project in enhancing groundwater recharge and effective surface water storage capacity leading to positive water balance. The study also evaluated the use of groundwater in terms of stage of development in the pre and post project scenarios. The study concluded that there is a need for controlling the over extraction of groundwater through crop diversification especially towards market driven, less water consuming high value vegetable cultivation based on water availability with active people participation along with awareness building, propagation of efficient water application (micro-irrigation) methods, group mode of irrigation, and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, etc. for long-term water security in the watershed.

Enhancing Stroke Recognition: A Comparative Analysis of Balance and Eyes-Face, Arms, Speech, Time (BE-FAST) and Face, Arms, Speech, Time (FAST) in Identifying Posterior Circulation Strokes.

Background/Objectives: Posterior circulation stroke (PCS) poses a diagnostic challenge due to the diverse and subtle clinical manifestations. While the FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) mnemonic has proven effective in identifying anterior circulation stroke, its sensitivity to posterior events is less clear. Recently, the addition of Balance and Eyes to the mnemonic has been proposed as a more comprehensive tool for stroke recognition. Despite this, evidence directly comparing the effectiveness of BE-FAST and FAST in identifying PCS remains limited. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on stroke calls at a comprehensive stroke centre, Sydney, Australia. BE-FAST symptoms first assessed at an emergency department triage were recorded, along with automated acute computerised tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging findings. Haemorrhagic strokes were excluded from analysis. An ischaemic stroke diagnosis was confirmed 48-72 h later with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain. The performance of 1. BE-FAST and FAST and 2. BE-FAST and CTP in the hyperacute detection of posterior circulation ischaemic stroke was compared. Results: Out of 164 identified ischaemic infarcts confirmed on MRIs, 46 were PCS. Of these, 27 were FAST-positive, while 45 were BE-FAST-positive. Overall, BE-FAST demonstrated a higher sensitivity compared to FAST in identifying PCS (97.8 vs. 58.7) but suffered from a lower specificity (10.0 vs. 39.8). Notably, 39.1% (n = 18) of patients with PCS would have been missed if only FAST were used. Furthermore, of the 26 PCS negative on CTP, 25 were BE-FAST-positive, and 14 were FAST-positive. Conclusions: The incorporation of Balance and Eye assessments into the FAST protocol improves PCS detection, although may yield more false positives.

Mass balance analysis for therapeutic peptides: Case studies, applications, and perspectives

The concept of mass balance is discussed as it pertains to the pharmaceutical development of therapeutic peptides. Case studies are presented demonstrating how to perform a mass balance assessment on solid drug substance and solution drug product, and the role of mass balance in the context of the overall product control strategy is discussed. Utilizing mass balance as a specification test where the result is calculated from other critical quality attribute tests, each with their own specification, offers little value as a formalized quality acceptance criterion and may create more deviations, non-value added investigations, and potential batch failures. While useful in characterizing the performance of analytical methods and as part of a rigorous understanding of the manufacturing process and control strategy development, mass balance should not be required as a specification control and should instead be demonstrated during method development and through well-designed forced degradation experiments. Analytical method variability is discussed in relation to the analytical target profile, and the overall impact of sources of variability on the mass balance calculation is described in support of this position.

To the issue of vagosympathetic balance assessment in patients with facial phlegmon

Objective. To assess the influence of the autonomic nervous system tone on the activity of the inflammatory process in facial phlegmon. Materials and methods. A group of patients with facial phlegmon (n = 74) was divided into two parts according to the predominant type of ANS. To identify the dominant type of ANS the method of A.M. Vayne was used. The content of leukocytes and their types was assessed in peripheral blood samples. The concentration of glucose, total protein, C-reactive protein was determined in the patients` blood serum. Statistical data processing was carried out using Student's t-test. Results. Significant differences in laboratory parameters of patients with facial phlegmons with different types of the autonomic nervous system are demonstrated. In patients with prevailing sympathetic division, leukocytosis with a shift of the formula to the left was more pronounced. When the parasympathetic division dominated, a higher concentration of C-reactive protein was observed. Conclusion. Assessment of the autonomic nervous system tone in case of facial phlegmons indicates its significant impact on the activity of the inflammatory process, which affects the duration of inpatient treatment.

Vision Is Not Required to Elicit Balance Improvements From Beam Walking Practice.

Beam walking is a highly studied assessment of walking balance. Recent research has demonstrated that brief intermittent visual rotations and occlusions can increase the efficacy of beam walking practice on subsequent beam walking without visual perturbations. We sought to examine the influence of full vision removal during practice walking on a treadmill-mounted balance beam. Although visual disruptions improved performance of this task, we hypothesized that removing visual feedback completely would lead to less balance improvements than with normal vision due to the specificity of practice. Twenty healthy young adults trained to walk at a fixed speed on a treadmill-mounted balance beam for 30min, either with, or without, normal vision. We compared their balance pre-, during, and posttraining by calculating their step-offs per minute and the percentage change in step-offs per minute. Balance improved in both groups after training, with no significant difference in percentage change in step-offs between the normal vision and the no vision participants. On average, the no vision participants had twice as many step-offs per minute as the normal vision group during training. Although previous experiments show that intermittent visual perturbations led to large enhancements of the effectiveness of beam walking training, completely removing visual feedback did not alter training effectiveness compared with normal vision training. It is likely a result of sensory reweighting in the absence of vision, where a greater weight was placed on proprioceptive, cutaneous, and vestibular inputs.

The assessment of groundwater reserves, quality, and balance in Quang Nam region, Vietnam: using MIKE BASIN and MODFLOW models

Abstract This comprehensive study examines the groundwater reserves and quality within the Quang Nam region, Vietnam, utilising the integrated MIKE BASIN and MODFLOW models. The research systematically analyses the coastal and key economic zones, covering 259,039 hectares, including urban and rural districts. The study delineates the region's hydrogeology, revealing a significant volume of groundwater reserves with a static water level, suggesting robust aquifer systems, particularly in the Dien Ban and Thang Binh districts. Furthermore, hydrogeochemical analysis assessed groundwater quality, indicating suitability for agriculture, which accounts for 81% of the region's water demand and other uses. The study's novelty lies in its dual approach of quantifying groundwater reserves and evaluating their quality, addressing a critical regional water resource management gap. The findings present an optimistic scenario for the current and future sustainability of water resources, with the calculated groundwater reserves demonstrating ample capacity to support the varied needs of the region. This research establishes a foundational understanding of Quang Nam's hydrological system. It provides strategic insights for sustainable water management in response to socio-economic development and climate change projections up to 2030. Climate projections for Quảng Nam province under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios indicate significant increases in rainfall, temperature, sea level rise, and saltwater intrusion, highlighting the critical need for adaptive strategies to protect local ecosystems and communities from these escalating climate threats.

IMU-Based balance assessment as an alternative to gold standard COP-based posturography: are we there yet?

IMU-Based balance assessment as an alternative to gold standard COP-based posturography: are we there yet?

Instrumental static balance assessment of patients with Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism for clinical applications: a systematic review

Instrumental static balance assessment of patients with Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism for clinical applications: a systematic review

Neutral Benchmarking of Survival Models in Health Sciences: Comparative Study of Classical and Machine Learning Techniques

Survival analysis plays a central role in diverse research fields, especially in health sciences. As an analytical tool, it can be used to help improve patients’ survival time, or at least, reduce the prospects of recurrence in cancer studies. However, approaches to the predictive performance of the current survival models mainly center on clinical data along with the classical survival methods. For censored “omics” data, the performance of survival models has not been thoroughly studied, either often due to their high dimensionality issues or reliance on binarizing the survival time for classification analysis. We aim to present a neural benchmark approach that analyzes and compares a broad range of classical and state-of-the-art machine learning survival models for “omics” and clinical datasets. All the methods considered in our study are evaluated using predictability as a performance measure. The study is systematically designed to make 36 comparisons (9 methods over 4 datasets, i.e., 2 clinical and 2 omics), and shows that, in practice, predictability of survival models does vary across real-world datasets, model choice, as well as the evaluation metric. From our results, we emphasize that performance criteria can play a key role in a balanced assessment of diverse survival models. Moreover, the Multitask Logistic Regression (MTLR) showed remarkable predictability for almost all the datasets. We believe this outstanding performance presents a unique opportunity for a wider use of MTLR for survival risk factors. For translational clinicians and scientists, we hope our findings provide practical guidance for benchmark studies of survival models, as well as highlight potential areas of research interest.