Sensitive Measure Research Articles

Late time dynamics in SUSY saddle-dominated scrambling through higher-point OTOC

In this article, we propose higher-point out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) as a tool to differentiate chaotic from saddle-dominated dynamics in late times. As a model, we study the scrambling dynamics in supersymmetric quantum mechanical systems. Using the eigenstate representation, we define the 2N-point OTOC using two formalisms, namely the ’Tensor Product formalism’ and the ’Partner Hamiltonian formalism’. We analytically find that the 2N-point OTOC for the supersymmetric 1D harmonic oscillator is in exact agreement with that of the 1D bosonic harmonic oscillator system. We show that the higher-point OTOC is a more sensitive measure of scrambling than the usual 4-point OTOC. To demonstrate this, we analyze a supersymmetric sextic 1D oscillator, for which the bosonic partner system has an unstable saddle in the phase space, while the saddle is absent in the fermionic counterpart. For such a system, we show that the saddle-dominated scrambling, higher anharmonic potential effects, and the supersymmetric OTOC exhibit similar dynamics due to supersymmetry constraints. Finally, we illustrate that the late-time dynamics of the higher-point OTOC become oscillatory after the peak for saddle-dominated scrambling and anharmonic oscillator systems. We propose the higher-point OTOC as a probe of late-time dynamics in non-chaotic systems that exhibit fast early-time scrambling.

Genetic fuzzy rules and hybrid QDCNN-F-DSAE for detecting attacker behavior with tuning of firewall

ABSTRACT The application of computer technology is increasing quickly as the field of information technology develops over time. Because of the growth of computer networks, there is a rise in network attacks. Moreover, the majority of transactions are conducted via the Internet, and then the web application security is becoming increasingly important. A network firewall shields the web servers from unauthorised and dangerous traffic. In this work, the hybrid Quantum Dilated Convolutional Neural Network fused Deep-Stacked Auto Encoder (QDCNN-F-DSAE) model with Genetic Fuzzy System (GFS) is developed for network protection. With the utilisation of genetic fuzzy system (GFS) and firewall tuning, the QDCNN-F-DSAE identified the attack, ransomware activity, and prompt decision-making. The data offered by the simulated environment is used to make decisions, and the decisions should be made quickly within a few seconds using the proposed QDCNN-F-DSAE with GFS. Furthermore, it identifies the attacks and alerts the users to store the data from the supplied source. The malicious function and protected private Local Area Network (LAN) are discovered and removed by the firewall after the formation of genetic fuzzy rules. Moreover, this model is estimated using the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity measures that offered the finest values of 0.915, 0.908, and 0.920.

An effective textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT) for repeated measure of whisker sensitivity of rodents

Rodents use their whisker system to discriminate surface texture. Whisker-based texture discrimination tasks are often used to investigate the mechanisms encoding tactile sensation. One such task is the textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT). It takes advantage of a tendency of rodents to explore novel objects more than familiar ones and assesses the sensitivity of whiskers in discriminating different textures of objects. It requires little training of the animals and the equipment involved is a simple arena with typically two objects placed inside. The success of the test relies on rodents spending sufficient time exploring these objects. Animals may lose interests in such tasks when performed repetitively within a limited time frame. However, such repeated tests may be crucial when establishing a sensitivity threshold of the whisker system. Here we present an adapted rodent tNORT protocol designed to maintain sustained interest in the objects even with repeated testing. We constructed complex objects from three simple-shaped objects. Different textures were provided by sandpapers of varying grit sizes. To minimise olfactory clues, we used the sandy and the laminar side of the same sandpaper as the familiar and novel textures assigned at random. We subsequently conducted repeated tNORTs on eight rats in order to identify a critical threshold of the sandpaper grit size below which rats would be unable to discriminate the sandy from the laminar side. With an inter-test-interval of seven days and after five tNORTs, the protocol enabled us to successfully identify the threshold. We suggest that the proposed tNORT is a useful tool for investigating the sensitivity threshold of the whisker system of rodent, and for testing the effectiveness of an intervention by comparing sensitivity threshold pre- and post-intervention.

BOLD fMRI responses to amplitude-modulated sounds across age in adult listeners

Abstract Age-related alterations in the auditory system have been suggested to affect the processing of temporal envelope amplitude modulations (AM) at different levels of the auditory hierarchy, yet few studies have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study this noninvasively in humans with high spatial resolution. In this study, we utilized sparse-sampling fMRI at 3 Tesla (3T) to investigate regional blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to AM noise stimuli in 65 individuals ranging in age from 19 to 77 years. We contrasted BOLD responses to AM noise stimuli modulated at 4 Hz or 80 Hz with responses to unmodulated stimuli. This allowed us to derive functional measures of regional neural sensitivity to the imposed AM. Compared with unmodulated noise, slowly varying 4 Hz AM noise stimuli elicited significantly greater BOLD responses in the left and right auditory cortex along the Heschl’s gyrus (HG). BOLD responses to the 80 Hz AM stimuli were significantly greater than responses to unmodulated stimuli in putatively primary auditory cortical regions in the lateral HG. BOLD responses to 4 Hz AM stimuli were significantly greater in magnitude than responses to 80 Hz AM stimuli in auditory cortical regions. We find no discernible effects of age on the functional recruitment of the auditory cortex by AM stimuli. While the results affirm the involvement of the auditory cortex in processing temporal envelope rate information, they provide no support for age-related effects on these measures. We discuss potential caveats in assessing age-related changes in responses to AM stimuli in the auditory pathway.

The temporal mismatch across listening sides affects cortical auditory evoked responses in normal hearing listeners and cochlear implant users with contralateral acoustic hearing

Combining a cochlear implant with contralateral acoustic hearing typically enhances speech understanding, although this improvement varies among CI users and can lead to an interference effect. This variability may be associated with the effectiveness of the integration between electric and acoustic stimulation, which might be affected by the temporal mismatch between the two listening sides. Finding methods to compensate for the temporal mismatch might contribute to the optimal adjustment of bimodal devices and to improve hearing in CI users with contralateral acoustic hearing.The current study investigates cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) in normal hearing listeners (NH) and CI users with contralateral acoustic hearing. In NH, the amplitude of the N1 peak and the maximum phase locking value (PLV) were analyzed under monaural, binaural, and binaural temporally mismatched conditions. In CI users, CAEPs were measured when listening with CI only (CIS_only), acoustically only (AS_only) and with both sides together (CIS+AS). When listening with CIS+AS, various interaural delays were introduced between the electric and acoustic stimuli.In NH listeners, interaural temporal mismatch resulted in decreased N1 amplitude and PLV. Moreover, PLV is suggested as a more sensitive measure to investigate the integration of information between the two listening sides.CI users showed varied N1 latencies between the AS_only and CIS_only listening conditions, with increased N1 amplitude when the temporal mismatch was compensated. A tendency towards increased PLV was also observed, however, to a lesser extent than in NH listeners, suggesting a limited integration between electric and acoustic stimulation.This work highlights the potential of CAEPs measurement to investigate cortical processing of the information between two listening sides in NH and bimodal CI users.

Reliability, clinical performance and trending ability of a pulse oximeter and pulse co-oximeter, in monitoring blood oxygenation, at two measurement sites, in immobilised white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

BackgroundMonitoring blood oxygenation is essential in immobilised rhinoceros, which are susceptible to opioid-induced hypoxaemia. This study assessed the reliability, clinical performance and trending ability of the Nonin PalmSAT 2500 A pulse oximeter’s and the Masimo Radical-7 pulse co-oximeter’s dual-wavelength technology, with their probes placed at two measurement sites, the inner surface of the third-eyelid and the scarified ear pinna of immobilised white rhinoceroses. Eight white rhinoceros were immobilised with etorphine-based drug combinations and given butorphanol after 12 min, and oxygen after 40 min, of recumbency. The Nonin and Masimo devices, with dual-wavelength probes attached to the third-eyelid and ear recorded arterial peripheral oxygen-haemoglobin saturation (SpO2) at pre-determined time points, concurrently with measurements of arterial oxygen-haemoglobin saturation (SaO2), from drawn blood samples, by a benchtop AVOXimeter 4000 co-oximeter (reference method). Reliability of the Nonin and Masimo devices was evaluated using the Bland-Altman and the area root mean squares (ARMS) methods. Clinical performance of the devices was evaluated for their ability to accurately detect clinical hypoxemia using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and measures of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Trending ability of the devices was assessed by calculating concordance rates from four-quadrant plots.ResultsOnly the Nonin device with transflectance probe attached to the third-eyelid provided reliable SpO2 measurements across the 70 to 100% saturation range (bias − 1%, precision 4%, ARMS 4%). Nonin and Masimo devices with transflectance probes attached to the third-eyelid both had high clinical performance at detecting clinical hypoxaemia [area under the ROC curves (AUC): 0.93 and 0.90, respectively]. However, the Nonin and Masimo devices with transmission probes attached to the ear were unreliable and provided only moderate clinical performance. Both Nonin and Masimo devices, at both measurement sites, had concordance rates lower than the recommended threshold of ≥ 90%, indicating poor trending ability.ConclusionsThe overall assessment of reliability, clinical performance and trending ability indicate that the Nonin device with transflectance probe attached to the third-eyelid is best suited for monitoring of blood oxygenation in immobilised rhinoceros. The immobilisation procedure may have affected cardiovascular function to an extent that it limited the devices’ performance.

Flow inefficiencies in non-obstructive HCM revealed by kinetic energy and hemodynamic forces on 4D-flow CMR.

Patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) exhibit myocardial changes which may cause flow inefficiencies not detectable on echocardiogram. We investigated whether left ventricular (LV) kinetic energy (KE) and hemodynamic forces (HDF) on 4D-flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can provide more sensitive measures of flow in non-obstructive HCM. Ninety participants (70 with non-obstructive HCM and 20 healthy controls) underwent 4D-flow CMR. Patients were categorized as phenotype positive (P+) based on maximum wall thickness (MWT) ≥ 15 mm or ≥13 mm for familial HCM, or pre-hypertrophic sarcomeric variant carriers (P-). LV KE and HDF were computed from 4D-flow CMR. Stroke work was computed using a previously validated non-invasive method. P+ and P- patients and controls had comparable diastolic velocities and LV outflow gradients on echocardiography, LV ejection fraction, and stroke volume on CMR. P+ patients had greater stroke work than P- patients, higher systolic KE compared with controls (5.8 vs. 4.1 mJ, P = 0.0009), and higher late diastolic KE relative to P- patients and controls (2.6 vs. 1.4 vs. 1.9 mJ, P < 0.0001, respectively). MWT was associated with systolic KE (r = 0.5, P < 0.0001) and diastolic KE (r = 0.4, P = 0.005), which also correlated with stroke work. Systolic HDF ratio was increased in P+ patients compared with controls (1.0 vs. 0.8, P = 0.03) and correlated with MWT (r = 0.3, P = 0.004). Diastolic HDF was similar between groups. Sarcomeric variant status was not associated with KE or HDF. Despite normal flow velocities on echocardiography, patients with non-obstructive HCM exhibited greater stroke work, systolic KE and HDF ratio, and late diastolic KE relative to controls. 4D-flow CMR provides more sensitive measures of haemodynamic inefficiencies in HCM, holding promise for clinical trials of novel therapies and clinical surveillance of non-obstructive HCM.

Diagnosis and management of sarcopenia

Background: Sarcopenia refers to the progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function and is associated with falls, fractures, hospitalization, and even mortality. Owing to rapid population aging, the prevalence of sarcopenia is expected to increase, and this condition is increasingly gaining attention as an important topic in research and clinical settings. This review focuses on the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management of sarcopenia.Current Concepts: Diagnosis of sarcopenia can be confirmed based on low muscle mass accompanied by low muscle strength, or low physical performance. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People and the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia guidelines are commonly used in clinical practice. Intrinsic factors associated with skeletal muscles, such as inflammation, anabolic resistance, mitochondria, and neuromuscular junctions, combined with extrinsic factors associated with the systemic environment, including decreased endocrine function, malnutrition, and immobilization all play a role in impaired muscle anabolism, muscle atrophy, and weakness. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved any specific medications for treatment of sarcopenia. Therefore, non-pharmacological interventions such as aerobic, resistance, and combined exercise and appropriate nutrition (protein and essential amino acids) are important for prevention and treatment of sarcopenia.Discussion and Conclusion: Sarcopenia is a manageable target for improvement of overall health outcomes. Exercise and nutrition are essential components of nonpharmacological management of sarcopenia. Future studies are needed to identify early diagnostic biomarkers and pharmacologic targets and to develop consistent pre-emptive management strategies and sensitive measures to predict effectiveness of sarcopenia management and treatment response.

Assessing convergence in global sensitivity analysis: a review of methods for assessing and monitoring convergence

In global sensitivity analysis (GSA) of a model, a proper convergence analysis of metrics is essential for ensuring a level of confidence or trustworthiness in sensitivity results obtained, yet is somewhat deficient in practice. The level of confidence in sensitivity measures, particularly in relation to their influence and support for decisions from scientific, social and policy perspectives, is heavily reliant on the convergence of GSA. We review the literature and summarize the available methods for monitoring and assessing convergence of sensitivity measures based on application purposes. The aim is to expose the various choices for convergence assessment and encourage further testing of available methods to clarify their level of robustness. Furthermore, the review identifies a pressing need for comparative studies on convergence assessment methods to establish a clear hierarchy of effectiveness and encourages the adoption of systematic approaches for enhanced robustness in sensitivity analysis.

Children and adolescents with primary headaches exhibit altered sensory profiles – a multi-modal investigation

BackgroundPediatric headache is an increasing medical problem that has adverse effects on children’s quality of life, academic performance, and social functioning. Children with primary headaches exhibit enhanced sensory sensitivity compared to their healthy peers. However, comprehensive investigations including multimodal sensory sensitivity assessment are lacking. This study aimed to compare sensory sensitivity of children with primary headaches with their healthy peers across multiple sensory domains.MethodsThe study included 172 participants aged 6 to 17 years (M = 13.09, SD = 3.02 years; 120 girls). Of these 80 participants were patients with migraine, 23 were patients with tension-type headache, and 69 were healthy controls. The following sensory measures were obtained: Mechanical Detection Threshold (MDT), Mechanical Pain Threshold (MPT), Mechanical Pain Sensitivity (MPS), detection and pain threshold for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), olfactory and intranasal trigeminal detection threshold, and odor identification ability. Sensory sensitivity was compared between groups with a series of Kruskal-Wallis tests. Binomial regression models were used to compare the relative utility of sensory sensitivity measures in classifying participants into patients and healthy controls, as well as into patients with migraine and tension-type headache.ResultsPatients with migraine had lower MPT measured at the forearm than patients with tension-type headaches and healthy controls. MPS was higher in patients with migraine than in healthy controls. All patients with headaches had lower detection threshold of TENS and higher olfactory sensitivity. Healthy controls showed increased intranasal trigeminal sensitivity. Scores in MPS, TENS, and olfactory and trigeminal thresholds were significantly predicting presence of primary headaches. Additionally, scores in MPT, olfactory and trigeminal threshold were positive predictors of type of headache.ConclusionsChildren with primary headaches exhibit different sensory profiles than healthy controls. The obtained results suggest presence of increased overall, multimodal sensitivity in children with primary headaches, what may negatively impact daily functioning and contribute to further pain chronification.Trial registrationThe study was registered in the German Registry of Clinical Trials (DRKS) DRKS00021062.

Disrupted Brain Network Measures in Parkinson's Disease Patients with Severe Hyposmia and Cognitively Normal Ability.

Neuroscience has revolved around brain structural changes, functional activity, and connectivity alteration in Parkinson's Disease (PD); however, how the network topology organization becomes altered is still unclear, specifically in Parkinson's patients with severe hyposmia. In this study, we have examined the functional network topological alteration in patients affected by Parkinson's Disease with normal cognitive ability (ODN), Parkinson's Disease with severe hyposmia (ODP), and healthy controls (HCs) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data. We have analyzed brain topological organization using popular graph measures such as network segregation (clustering coefficient, modularity), network integration (participation coefficient, path length), small-worldness, efficiency, centrality, and assortativity. Then, we used a feature ranking approach based on the diagonal adaptation of neighborhood component analysis, aiming to determine a graph measure that is sensitive enough to distinguish between these three different groups. We noted significantly lower segregation and local efficiency and small-worldness in ODP compared to ODN and HCs. On the contrary, we did not find differences in network integration in ODP compared to ODN and HCs, which indicates that the brain network becomes fragmented in ODP. At the brain network level, a progressive increase in the DMN (Default Mode Network) was observed from healthy controls to ODN to ODP, and a continuous decrease in the cingulo-opercular network was observed from healthy controls to ODN to ODP. Further, the feature ranking approach has shown that the whole-brain clustering coefficient and small-worldness are sensitive measures to classify ODP vs. ODN, as well as HCs. Looking at the brain regional network segregation, we have found that the cerebellum and limbic, fronto-parietal, and occipital lobes have higher ODP reductions than ODN and HCs. Our results suggest network topological measures, specifically whole-brain segregation and small-worldness decreases. At the network level, an increase in DMN and a decrease in the cingulo-opercular network could be used as biomarkers to characterize ODN and ODP.

Chronic sleep deficiency and its impact on pain perception in healthy females.

Acute sleep deprivation in experimental studies has been shown to induce pain hypersensitivity in females. However, the impact of natural sleep deficiency and fluctuations across the week on pain perception remains unclear. A sleep-monitoring headband and self-reports were utilized to assess objective and subjective sleep in longer (> 6 hr) and short sleepers (< 6 hr). Pain sensitivity measures including heat, cold, pressure pain thresholds, pain inhibition (conditioned pain modulation) and facilitation (tonic pain summation) were assessed on Mondays and Fridays. Forty-one healthy young (23.9 ± 0.74 years) women participated. Short sleepers slept on average 2 hr less than longer sleepers (297.9 ± 8.2 min versus 418.5 ± 10.9 min) and experienced impaired pain inhibitory response (mean = -21.14 ± 7.9°C versus mean = 15.39 ± 9.5°C; p = 0.005). However, no effect was observed in pain thresholds and pain summation (p > 0.05). Furthermore, pain modulatory responses differed between Mondays and Fridays. Chronic sleep deficiency (< 6 hr) compromises pain responses, notably on Mondays. Maintaining a consistent sleep pattern with sufficient sleep (> 6 hr) throughout the week may protect against pain sensitization and the development of chronic pain in females. Further research is needed, especially in patients with chronic pain.

Data-driven cluster analysis method: a novel outliers detection method in multivariate data

Detection of multivariate outliers is crucial in statistical studies. On the other hand, the statistical applications without identifying possible outliers may present incorrect results. This study proposes a new technique for detecting multivariate outliers based on cluster analysis. The method considers information inherent in the data itself. We compare the methodology with three detection methods that are already widespread. The comparative investigation considers detection techniques based on the Mahalanobis distance. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy measures are used to assess the quality of the methods, as well as an analysis of the CPU time required to carry out the procedures. The new technique revealed a notorious superiority over others.

Validation of the IOTA ADNEX Model Among Japanese Women Performed by Gynecology Trainees and Ultrasound Specialists: A Retrospective Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

This study aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adneXa (ADNEX) model in Japanese women, population with a distinct adnexal mass distribution compared with European women, and to evaluate the model's utility by gynecology trainees and ultrasound specialists. This single-center, retrospective study analyzed ultrasound data from January 2017 to March 2020 of 206 women with adnexal masses. Patients who underwent ultrasonography and serum CA-125 measurement and received postsurgery histological diagnosis were included. The ADNEX model's diagnostic performance was evaluated by two trainees and two specialists using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and measures of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for overall performance and each examiner. Of the 206 included Japanese women, the prevalence of malignancy was 30.1%, including borderline cases. The overall AUC for distinguishing malignancy was 0.848 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.817-0.880). The AUC for each examiner ranged from 0.791 to 0.898, with Specialist 2 showing the highest accuracy and sensitivity varying between 0.677 and 0.839. A moderate degree of agreement was noted among the four examiners (Fleiss' kappa was 0.586). The performance of trainees and specialists differed significantly in evaluating the solid tissue and the papillary projections in both malignant and benign groups (P < .001). The IOTA ADNEX model effectively differentiates benign and malignant adnexal masses in Japanese women. Although the accuracy matched up moderately among the four examiners, better accuracy is expected with training in evaluating solid tissue and papillary projections.

The convex relationship between plant cover and biomass: Implications for assessing species and community properties

AbstractQuestionsCover and biomass serve as common measures of species abundance in plant ecology. However, the underlying relationship between these two measures and its implications remain poorly understood. This makes results based on cover and biomass difficult to compare.LocationsWet meadow, southeast of České Budějovice, Czech Republic (48°57′ N, 14°36′ E).MethodWe developed theoretical expectations for systematic differences in characterizing vegetation using cover and biomass for species and community characteristics, including species diversity, temporal dynamics, and responses to experimental manipulations. We then tested these expectations using cover and biomass data from an experimental study of fertilization and dominant removal spanning 14 years (2001–2014).ResultsConsistent with our expectations, on average, species biomass corresponded to the power of species cover, with a power coefficient slightly below 3/2. Community diversity indices calculated using cover and biomass were tightly correlated but were higher for cover. Temporal variabilities based on cover and biomass for individual species were also correlated, but higher for biomass than cover. Though strongly correlated, cover data show much stronger asynchrony, suggesting higher importance of compensatory dynamics. However, using the sum of individual species' cover values as a measure of total community abundance or productivity is problematic. Such a measure is nearly independent of total biomass and leads to contradictory results when used to characterize temporal variability. Species‐ and community‐level responses to treatments were congruent between the measures.ConclusionsOur study provides theoretical background for a convex relationship between plant cover and biomass. The data analysis confirms the relationship and its consequences for describing species‐ and community‐level properties. Most characteristics are well correlated between cover and biomass, but with one metric systematically shifted higher in many cases. Total abundance is the most sensitive measure and is well characterized by sum of biomass, but not by sum of cover. Understanding these systematic differences allows meaningful comparison of studies based on biomass and cover.

Pharmacological Enhancement of Dopamine Neurotransmission Does Not Affect Illusory Pattern Perception.

Psychotic symptoms and delusional beliefs have been linked to dopamine transmission in both healthy and clinical samples and are assumed to result at least in part from perceiving illusory patterns in noise. However, the existing literature on the role of dopamine in detecting patterns in noise is inconclusive. To address this issue, we assessed the effect of manipulating dopaminergic neurotransmission on illusory pattern perception in healthy individuals (n = 48, n = 19 female) in a double-blind placebo-controlled within-subjects design (see preregistration at https://osf.io/a4k9j/). We predicted individuals on versus off ʟ-DOPA to be more likely to perceive illusory patterns, specifically objects in images containing only noise. Using a signal detection model, however, we found no credible evidence that ʟ-DOPA compared with placebo increased false alarm rates. Further, ʟ-DOPA did not reliably modulate measures of accuracy, discrimination sensitivity, and response bias. In all cases, Bayesian statistics revealed strong evidence in favor of the null hypothesis. The task design followed previous work on illusory pattern perception and comprised a limited number of items per condition. The results therefore need to be interpreted with caution, as power was limited. Future studies should address illusory pattern perception using more items and take into account potential dose-dependent effects and differential effects in healthy versus clinical samples.

Development and Validation of a Diagnosis System for Lung Infection Using Hybrid Deep-Learning Techniques

A fast and accurate test is necessary to detect COVID-19. A computed tomography (CT) scan has shown diagnostic accuracy. CT scan processing using a deep learning architecture may improve illness diagnosis and treatment. We proposed a deep learning system for COVID-19 detection using CT images, including using and comparing transfer-learning, fine-tuning, and the embedding process. This paper presents the development of a COVID-19 case identification model using deep learning techniques. The suggested model utilized a modified visual geometry group (VGG16) architecture as the deep learning framework. The model was trained and validated using a chest CT image dataset. The SARS-COV-2 dataset contains 2482 CT scans of 210 patients from publicly available sources. The modified model demonstrated encouraging outcomes by greatly enhancing the sensitivity measure (95.82±1.75)%, which is an essential criterion for accurately detecting instances of COVID-19 infection. In addition, the model achieved higher values for the accuracy metric (91.67±1.68)%, the specificity meter (88.08±3.72)%, the precision metric (87.51±3.27)%, the F1 score (91.43±1.55)%, and the area under the curve (91.98±1.55)%. Deep learning effectively detects COVID-19 in chest CT scan images. Clinical practitioners may employ the suggested approach to study, identify, and effectively mitigate a greater number of pandemics.

A Causal Analysis of Financial Development and Economic Growth

In terms of cause and effect, financial development and economic growth relationship has been a major empirical issue for researchers and policy makers. This study explores the causal linkages between financial development and economic growth catering for country specificity and structural shocks pertaining to different cross sections in SAARC and ASEAN countries by calling in the bootstrapping technique proposed by Konya (2006). We considered the panel estimation to allow for contemporaneous correlations and performed the Wald test for Granger Causality with country specific bootstrap critical values catering for structural breaks. Empirical investigation reveals the existence of both the demand and supply leading phenomena for the selected period of 1980-2019. The direction of causality is sensitive measures and proxies used for financial development.

A hormonal side effect of anabolic steroids among a sample of Baghdad male bodybuilders

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are used widely, but in illegal ways mostly by young men as performance-enhancing and image-enhancing drugs (IPED). long-term usage of AAS, usually in conjunction with other illegal substances, can have extremely detrimental impacts on the reproductive system. The primary goal of this study was to examine any possible detrimental effects of AAS on sex hormone levels, a liver and kidney function in individuals who frequent fitness centers in Iraq-Baghdad. In this research, there are 60 participants (20–37 years old); 30 athletes who visited the different gyms in Baghdad/ Iraq and used AAS such as testosterone, Boldenone, Cybontae, Deca Durabellin; and 30 athletes who did not take any synthetics hormones and serve as control. All participants answered the questionnaire form which included their age, the type of used AAS, when they started to take it, and the total usage number per week. The blood (5 ml) was drawn from every participant to separate the serum. The serum was used to measure some hormones (Testosterone, FSH, LH, prolactin and Estrodiol) and liver and kidney function parameters. The results showed a significantly lower level of testosterone and FSH in the AAS-users’ bodybuilding group compared to the control group. In comparison with the control group, there was a notable rise in the PRL level in the serum of AA users. However, when comparing the serum levels of LH and Estrodiol in the AAS-user group to those in the control group, no discernible variations were seen. AAS users had a significantly higher level of ALT and lower ALP than controls, although there is no difference in AST levels between the two groups. The creatine level was significantly higher in the AAS-user compared to the control group, but not urea. In conclusion, the effects of AAS and other supplements on sex hormones and kidney, liver function, and vary depending on how long they are used, with the effects of AAS being more pronounced. Therefore, there is a need for culturally sensitive measures to prevent steroid abuse among youth.

Validity, reliability, and the contributing physical characteristics of a modified 15m prone Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level-1 test in elite female rugby league players.

This study aims to establish the validity and reliability of the prone Yo-YoIRL1 in elite female rugby league players (part one) and determine the anthropometric and physical characteristics contributing to 15m prone Yo-YoIRL1 performance (part two). Part one, 21 subjects completed one Yo-YoIRL1, one 20m and two 15m prone Yo-YoIRL1 tests over four sessions, with 7-14 days in-between. Part two, ten subjects completed a testing battery, including body mass, height, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, isometric mid-thigh pull, isometric bench-press, 10m and 20m sprints and an incremental treadmill test ([Formula: see text]). The 15m prone YoYoIRL1 demonstrated poor reliability with a typical error of 68m (21%) and a smallest worthwhile change of 54m (9%). Validity analysis found the prone versions of the YoYoIRL1 were not sensitive measures of intermittent running performance. Both prone YoYoIRL1 test distances demonstrated large mean bias (76% and -37% respectively) and typical error of the estimate (19% and 21%, respectively) in comparison to the YoYoIRL1. Body mass (r = -0.89), lean mass (r = -0.64), body fat % (r = -0.68), [Formula: see text] (l∙min-1) (r = -0.64), IMTP (r = -0.69), IBP (r = -0.15), 10m (r = -0.77) and 20m (r = -0.72) momentum displayed large negative relationships with 15m prone Yo-YoIRL1 performance. Due to the poor validity of the 20m prone YoYoIRL1, the poor validity and reliability of the 15m prone YoYoIRL1, and the anthropometric and physical characteristics which negatively impact performance, practitioners should reconsider the use of the prone YoYoIRL1 test to monitor high intensity intermittent running performance.