Strict Test Research Articles

Recommencement of football competition with spectators during the active phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in a Middle Eastern country

BackgroundWith the global spread of COVID-19 infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 virus (SARS-CoV-2), all the national and international sports events were ceased early in 2020. The sport activities have been reinstated since then, albeit without spectators. However, several governments have established a variety of risk-mitigation measures to gradually reintroduce the spectators to stadiums.ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the implementation of a strict health protocol to ensure the resumption of professional football with spectators and to access its effectiveness in limiting the spread of COVID-19 infections within the community.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational study involving football players, match officials, local organizing committee members, working in close coordination, and over 16,000 spectators in the state of Qatar. We examined data from the Amir Cup final (December 18th, 2020), which was played under a strict protocol that included extensive reverse transcription-Polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for players and match officials, as well as the utility of COVID-19 rapid antigen and antibody testings as screening tools for spectators to ensure their safe return to the stadiums. In addition, we reviewed the guidelines and protocols that were put in place to organize Qatar's Amir Cup Football Final, which drew over 16,000 spectators in the stadium.ResultsA total of 16,171 spectators undertook rapid antigen and antibody tests for the Amir cup final (from December16-December18, 2020). Fifteen Spectators (n = 15) returned with a positive result for COVID-19 infection during the final event (positivity rate = 0.12%). All players underwent RT-PCR testing 48 h before the match. None of the players tested positive for COVID-19 infections. 1311 individuals reported having symptoms related to COVID-19 post final of Amir Cup. These spectators were tested for COVID-19 RT-PCR with an overall positivity rate (positive/reactive) to be 0.42% (69/16171).ConclusionThis report shows a meagre incidence rate of COVID-19 infections during and post-Amir Cup football final. Based on the low infectivity rate reported during and post the Amir Cup, we propose that supervised and controlled resumption of football matches with spectators can be carried out safely following a strict testing and tracing protocol. Similar infection control policies can be replicated with a higher number of spectators.

Abstract 2283: SLC25A46 shows potential as a novel genetic regulator in breast cancer development

Abstract SLC25A46 is a part of the mitochondrial solute carrier family (SLC25) and acts as a transporter transferring lipids between the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum space. SLC25A46 is expressed in the mitochondrial outer membrane, where it plays a significant role in regulating mitochondrial dynamics, cristae maintenance, and mitochondrial respiratory function. SLC25A46 prevents the formation of hyperfilamentous mitochondria and interacts with novel mitochondrial fusion proteins such as MFN-2 and OPA1 and the cristae organizing complex, MICOS. Notably, research has shown that a first-in-class, small molecule-specific OPA1 inhibitor can be used pharmacologically to curtail tumor growth; however, the OPA1 inhibitor did not explore how the interacting partner, SLC25A46, was affected by such inhibition. Indeed, novel targets are needed for advanced breast cancers as a means of therapeutic interventions. Considering the critical role of SLC25A46, we sought to investigate novel mitochondrial proteins that are understudied in breast cancer. We applied a statistical framework to calculate predicted gene expression for SLC25A46 in 70,349 patients of European descent in BioVU, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) biorepository linked to de-identified electronic health records (EHRs). A genetically predicted gene expression model for SLC25A46 was trained on directly measured RNA-seq data across 17 tissues from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project. We then fitted a multivariable logistic regression model to test SLC25A46 predicted expression against 1,704 phenotypes for each tissue. We observed that patients with high predicted expression of SLC25A46 were more likely to receive diagnosis of ‘abnormal findings in mammograms’ (P=2.76E-06, OR=2.26) in adipose subcutaneous tissues. Likewise, we found yet another significant association with ‘lump or mass in breast’ (P=8.9E-06, OR=2.61) in adipose subcutaneous tissues. These results pass their individual Bonferroni correction that was applied separately for each tissue, but fell short of passing a strict multiple testing threshold that accounted for all tissues. Given the association between SLC25A46 and abnormal phenotypes that are commonly coded for patients in relation to breast cancer, we conducted a linear regression model with SLC25A46 and ionized calcium and found a modest association (P=0.03, OR=1.02). Elevated serum levels of calcium are frequently observed in advanced breast cancer. Additionally, proteins that interact with SLC25A46 such as OPA1, are overexpressed in breast cancer. We further constructed a polygene score to determine the effects of these genes in all breast cancer phenotypes. Together, these data suggest that SLC25A46 has implications in breast cancer as a novel target in cancer development. Citation Format: Heather K. Beasley, Ky'Era V. Actkins, Tyne Miller-Flemming, Bret C. Mobley, Lea Davis, Antentor O. Hinton, Nancy J. Cox. SLC25A46 shows potential as a novel genetic regulator in breast cancer development [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2283.

Lorentz Symmetry Violation of Cosmic Photons

As a basic symmetry of space-time, Lorentz symmetry has played important roles in various fields of physics, and it is a glamorous question whether Lorentz symmetry breaks. Since Einstein proposed special relativity, Lorentz symmetry has withstood very strict tests, but there are still motivations for Lorentz symmetry violation (LV) research from both theoretical consideration and experimental feasibility, that attract physicists to work on LV theories, phenomena and experimental tests with enthusiasm. There are many theoretical models including LV effects, and different theoretical models predict different LV phenomena, from which we can verify or constrain LV effects. Here, we introduce three types of LV theories: quantum gravity theory, space-time structure theory and effective field theory with extra-terms. Limited by the energy of particles, the experimental tests of LV are very difficult; however, due to the high energy and long propagation distance, high-energy particles from astronomical sources can be used for LV phenomenological researches. Especially with cosmic photons, various astronomical observations provide rich data from which one can obtain various constraints for LV researches. Here, we review four common astronomical phenomena which are ideal for LV studies, together with current constraints on LV effects of photons.

Irony and environmental education: on the ultimate question of environmental education, the universe and everything

This paper seeks to reclaim irony as more than a way of humorously pointing out that the times we live in are out of joint or coming to an end, instead emphasizing its potential as a productive force and method in both educational thinking and teaching practice. By interrogating the educative potential of irony as method and humorous experience in the Bildung-oriented Didaktik tradition, we argue that irony can reveal the tensions and dilemmas of didactic posturing in order to facilitate a productive decentring and self-alienating critique of our anthropocentric predicament in education. It can be difficult to tease out the inherent distance between educational content and its substance in times where educators are caught between crowded curricula and strict testing regimes, but this irony is rarely lost on either pupils or teachers. Irony, we argue, is more than a constant fissure in the efforts to streamline ideas about what constitutes the most efficient didactic approaches. Instead, it could be used as a method to make educative processes attentive to what didactic posturing might be missing and how self-alienation might be a premise of education as formation of the self.

New concerns join old at petrochemical event

After a 2-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHS Markit World Petrochemical Conference came back in person in Houston late last month. Just as in meetings before the pandemic, sustainability was high on the agenda. The heads of several of the world’s largest chemical companies outlined their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made the conference largely about a new crisis, one that is roiling vital oil and gas markets. Despite strict vaccine and COVID-19 testing requirements, more than 1,450 delegates made the trip to Houston, comparable to the 1,500 who attended when the event was held in 2019. The war in Ukraine loomed large over the proceedings. Russia, a major exporter of oil and natural gas, is the subject of possibly the toughest economic sanctions against a country in history. “This is a global commodity shock, the likes we haven’t seen since

Nondestructive characterization of aluminum grain size using a ring-shaped laser ultrasonic method

In this study, a nondestructive ring-shaped laser ultrasonic method with a thermoelastic excitation regime was used to determine the grain size of metal materials. This method was proposed in order to evaluate the quality of metal in a fast online nondestructive manner. Normally, laser ultrasonic is used to detect grain size in the ablation excitation regime. The laser excites high energy longitudinal waves but causes damage to the surface of metal materials. To achieve strict online nondestructive testing, the thermoelastic regime was used in this work. The ring-shaped laser was converted from a circular collimated laser by an axicon and irradiated on the surface of the aluminum sample to induce ultrasonic waves and enhance the signal amplitude. The directivity pattern was analyzed to find a suitable detection parameter by the finite element method before performing laser ultrasound experiments. Quantitative analysis of the converging waves with different deviations from the center via laser ultrasound experiments demonstrated the enhancement effect of signal energy using a ring-shaped laser. The issues of low signal energy and the generation of a directivity pattern were solved by this ring-shaped laser ultrasonic method aimed at nondestructive grain size inspection. Aluminum samples with different mean grain sizes were detected by ring-shaped laser ultrasonic technology. A grain size characterization model was built with mean grain sizes and ultrasonic signals. Laser-generated ultrasound technology in the thermoelastic regime is a promising online detection method and can be used to detect material properties nondestructively with a ring-shaped laser.

Quantitative safety analysis of train control system based on statatistical model checking

With the rapid development of communication technology, the Train-centric Communication-based Train Control (TcCBTC) system adopting the train-train communication mode to reduce the transmission link of control information, will become the direction of urban rail transit field development. At present, TcCBTC system is in the stage of key technology research and prototype development. Uncertain behavior in the process of system operation may lead to operation accidents. Therefore, before the system is put into use, it must undergo strict testing and security verification to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the system. In the paper, the formal modeling and quantitative analysis of train tracking operation under moving block are carried out. Firstly, the structure of TcCBTC system and the train tracking interval control strategy under moving block conditions are analyzed. The subsystem involved in train tracking and the uncertain factors in system operation are determined. Then, based on the Stochastic Hybrid Automata (SHA), a network of SHA model of train dynamics model, communication components and on-board controller in the process of train tracking is established, which can formally describe the uncertain environment in the process of system operation. UPPAAL-SMC is used to simulate the change curve of train position and speed during tracking, it is verified that the model meets the safety requirements in static environment. Finally, taking Statistical Model Checking (SMC) as the basis of safety analysis, the probability of train collision in uncertain environment is calculated. The results show that after accurately modeling the train tracking operation control mechanism through network of SHA, the SMC method can accurately calculate the probability of train rear end collision, which proves that the method has strong feasibility and effectiveness. Formal modeling and analysis of safety-critical system is very important, which enables designers to grasp the hidden dangers of the system in the design stage and safety evaluation stage of train control system, and further provides theoretical reference for the subsequent TcCBTC system design and development, practical application and related specification improvement.

Poor reproducibility of percentage of normally shaped sperm using the World Health Organization Fifth Edition strict grading criteria

ObjectiveTo determine the reproducibility of the World Health Organization Fifth Edition (WHO5) strict grading methodology by comparing the percentage of morphologically normal sperm (PNS) recorded by the core laboratory with results obtained at the fertility centers participating in a multisite clinical trial.DesignSecondary cohort analysis of data from the Males, Antioxidants, and Infertility trial.SettingFertility centers.Patient(s)Semen values of 171 men participating in a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the effect of antioxidants on male fertility.Intervention(s)Not applicable.Main Outcome Measure(s)Strict morphology expressed as PNS as determined at each fertility center and the core central laboratory for the same semen sample.Result(s)No correlation was found in the PNS values for the same semen sample between the core laboratory and fertility center laboratories either as a group or by individual site. Interobserver agreement was similarly low (κ = 0.05 and 0.15) between the core and fertility laboratories as a group for strict morphology, categorized by the WHO5 lower reference limits of 4% and 0, respectively. Moderate agreement was found between the core and 2 individual fertility laboratories for the cutoff value of 0 (κ = 0.42 and 0.57). The remainder of the comparisons demonstrated poor to fair agreement.Conclusion(s)Strict morphology grading using the WHO5 methodology demonstrated overall poor reproducibility among a cohort of experienced fertility laboratories. This lack of correlation and agreement in the PNS values calls into question the reproducibility, and thereby the potential applicability, of sperm strict morphology testing.

Beyond AOPs: A Mechanistic Evaluation of NAMs in DART Testing.

New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) promise to offer a unique opportunity to enable human-relevant safety decisions to be made without the need for animal testing in the context of exposure-driven Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA). Protecting human health against the potential effects a chemical may have on embryo-foetal development and/or aspects of reproductive biology using NGRA is particularly challenging. These are not single endpoint or health effects and risk assessments have traditionally relied on data from Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity (DART) tests in animals. There are numerous Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) that can lead to DART, which means defining and developing strict testing strategies for every AOP, to predict apical outcomes, is neither a tenable goal nor a necessity to ensure NAM-based safety assessments are fit-for-purpose. Instead, a pragmatic approach is needed that uses the available knowledge and data to ensure NAM-based exposure-led safety assessments are sufficiently protective. To this end, the mechanistic and biological coverage of existing NAMs for DART were assessed and gaps to be addressed were identified, allowing the development of an approach that relies on generating data relevant to the overall mechanisms involved in human reproduction and embryo-foetal development. Using the knowledge of cellular processes and signalling pathways underlying the key stages in reproduction and development, we have developed a broad outline of endpoints informative of DART. When the existing NAMs were compared against this outline to determine whether they provide comprehensive coverage when integrated in a framework, we found them to generally cover the reproductive and developmental processes underlying the traditionally evaluated apical endpoint studies. The application of this safety assessment framework is illustrated using an exposure-led case study.

The Influencer Republic: Monetizing Political Speech on Social Media

AbstractThis paper addresses the specific challenges arising from the monetization of political speech on social media, and propose a normative argument to extend consumer disclosures to political speech. Political speech enjoys the highest degree of protection by national constitutions as well as supranational and international charters. Unlike commercial speech which usuallyenjoy less constitutional protection, political speech is the foundation of constitutional democracies. The blurring line between political and commercial speech introduces a new layer of complexity in tackling hidden political advertising. Indeed, political speech is likely to attract commercial speech inside a broader scope of protection with the result that potential limitations of this kind of speech would be required to pass a very strict test through the balance with other constitutional safeguards or legitimate interests according to the criteria of necessity, legitimacy and proportionality. This could also question the scope of other regulation designed to govern commercial speech like advertising. To this end, the paper compares regulatory and judicial interpretations adopted in Europe and the United States, and is structured as follows. In the first part, we explore the content monetization business models (including influencer marketing) used on social media, and we identify three types of influencer ‘personas’ who are prone to engage in political speech. The second part looks into the constitutional differences between commercial and political speech across the Atlantic. The third part provides the normative argument at the intersection between consumer law and freedom of expression, and the fourth part concludes.

Health Care Expenditure in the European Union Countries: New Insights about the Convergence Process.

This paper assesses the convergence process in the health care expenditure for selected European Union (EU) countries over the past 50 years. As a novel contribution, we use bound unit root tests and, for robustness purposes, a series of tests for strict stationarity to provide new insights about the convergence process. We make a comparison between public and private health expenditure per capita and as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), with a focus on six EU countries with different health care systems in place. When we consider the health expenditure per capita, we report mixed findings. We show that the spread from the group average is stationary in the cases of Finland and Portugal when the overall and public expenditure is considered. In terms of private expenditure, the convergence process is noticed only for Austria. For all other countries included in our sample, we document a non-stationary process, indicating a lack of convergence. This result is robust to the different tests we use. However, when we assess the convergence in terms of the health-expenditure-to-GDP ratio, the convergence process is recorded for Austria only. The robustness check we performed using strict stationarity tests partially confirmed the mixed results we obtained. Therefore, our findings highlight the heterogeneity of the EU health care systems and the need for identification of common solutions to the EU health care systems’ problems in order to enhance their convergence processes.

Episode of Dual Neural Genetic Firefly (DNGF) Transmission Key Generation in New Normal Mode of COVID-19 Second Wave Telepsychiatry

The volume of E-commerce transactions had accelerated on huge scale due to COVID-19. Telemedicine comes under the segment of E-commerce, where the patients can get their treatments from isolates. Patients’ information security is a basic challenge in this COVID-19 telemedicine segment. The majority of the non-obtrusive and non-emergency patients are encouraged and treated distantly from their secludes without the inclusion of COVID-19 transmission. Anxiety, depressive disorders, stress, dementia, mood disorder, OCD, aggression, etc. are the critical mental challenges that have abruptly occurred during this COVID period. The present work focused on “New Normal Mode” of COVID-19 telepsychiatry so that the patients’ mental illness can be treated remotely in a secure way. An episode of dual neural-genetic firefly (DNGF) has been proposed on COVID-19 "New Normal Mode" 2nd wave telepsychiatry. The pool of transmission keys was generated with the help of firefly algorithm, neural perceptron, and genetic operations. Besides these, the proposed DNGF keys are effective to be used for different online psychiatric transactions. The objectivity of this paper is to generate a robust pool of transmission keys in order to nullify different types of intruding. It has effectively cleared Avalanche test and Strict Avalanche test. The outcome of parameterized functional security test has been recorded with adequacy. These were: 0.327933, 0.350467, 0.332533, 0.317867, and 0.350267 on the generated pool of DNGF. The correlation coefficient between the key generation time and parameterized functional security has been found to be r_{GT,FS} = - 0.53404. Distinctive mathematical arranged examinations were directed on the proposed key pool. It has shown better reasonability on the part of the COVID-19 2nd wave telepsychiatry, which is a component of E-commerce.

Simulating emergency patient flow during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The work presented in this paper is based on two projects that were conducted at St. Olavs Hospital (Norway) when preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic. Three discrete event simulation models are provided to evaluate the resource requirements during the peak of the pandemic. First, we estimate the number of beds needed in the emergency department (ED). In the second model, we estimate the number of ambulances required to maintain prepandemic response times for emergency patients. The third model is a coupling of the two former models, and it is used to study the effects of ED boarding time for COVID-19 patients. The resource needs are analysed under different COVID-19 testing policies. A strict testing policy increases the bed requirements in the ED, while it has the opposite effect for ambulances. Two distinct mechanisms causing boarding time are found. The effects from boarding time are most prominent during night and weekends.

Home quarantine or centralized quarantine? A mathematical modelling study on the COVID-19 epidemic in Guangzhou in 2021.

Several outbreaks of COVID-19 caused by imported cases have occurred in China following the successful control of the outbreak in early 2020. In order to avoid recurrences of such local outbreaks, it is important to devise an efficient control and prevention strategy. In this paper, we developed a stochastic discrete model of the COVID-19 epidemic in Guangzhou in 2021 to compare the effectiveness of centralized quarantine and compulsory home quarantine measures. The model was calibrated by using the daily reported cases and newly centralized quarantined cases. The estimated results showed that the home quarantine measure increased the accuracy of contact tracing. The estimated basic reproduction number was lower than that in 2020, even with a much more transmissible variant, demonstrating the effectiveness of the vaccines and normalized control interventions. Sensitivity analysis indicated that a sufficiently implemented contact tracing and centralized quarantine strategy in the initial stage would contain the epidemic faster with less infections even with a weakly implemented compulsory home quarantine measure. However, if the accuracy of the contact tracing was insufficient, then early implementation of the compulsory home quarantine with strict contact tracing, screening and testing interventions on the key individuals would shorten the epidemic duration and reduce the total number of infected cases. Particularly, 94 infections would have been avoided if the home quarantine measure had been implemented 3 days earlier and an extra 190 infections would have arisen if the home quarantine measure was implemented 3 days later. The study suggested that more attention should be paid to the precise control strategy during the initial stage of the epidemic, otherwise the key group-based control measure should be implemented strictly.

O impacto do investimento em capital intelectual na rentabilidade das empresas

Abstract Purpose: This study investigates the effect of investment in intellectual capital and its components on the performance of Brazilian companies listed on the Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (B3) exchange. More specifically, we examine whether a positive relationship exists between the proxies for intellectual, structural, human, and invested capital and firms’ return on assets and equity. Originality/value: This study differs from those of Richieri (2007), Turra et al. (2015), and Brizolla and Turra (2015) by using panel data and static and dynamic econometric regression models to analyze firms’ performance. It also differs from Nadeem et al. (2018) by using return on equity and return on assets to measure performance. Design/methodology/approach: We estimated two equations employing static estimators (static OLS and fixed effect) and dynamic estimators (dynamic OLS and GMM), as proposed by Nadeem et al. (2018). We performed strict exogeneity tests to ascertain the need to use dynamic models. Thus, the first equation analyzed the effect of intellectual capital on future performance (measured by ROA and ROE). In contrast, the second equation investigated the impact of structural, invested, and human capital on these same performance indicators. Findings: The results indicate a positive effect of investment in intellectual capital on the performance of Brazilian companies. In addition, all components of intellectual capital are significant in increasing returns on assets and equity.

Lessons From New South Wales, Queensland, and British Columbia to Assist South Africa in Adequately Regulating the Keeping of Assistance Animals by Disabled Persons in Sectional Title Schemes

South African legislation contains only one subrule in the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Regulations about the keeping of assistance animals in sectional title schemes. This subrule provides that an owner or occupier suffering from a disability who reasonably requires a guide, hearing, or assistance dog must be considered to have the trustees’ consent to keep that animal in a section and to accompany it on the common property. I submit that this subrule falls hopelessly short of regulating this matter adequately and that lessons in this regard can be learned from the comparable Australian jurisdictions of New South Wales and Queensland, and the Canadian jurisdiction of British Columbia. First, this subrule makes no reference to anti-discrimination legislation or legislation dealing with the keeping of dogs which is found in the comparable provisions in the selected jurisdictions. Second, no clear distinction is drawn between service dogs and assistance dogs. It appears that assistance dogs are equated with service dogs which are trained to cater for a specific disability in a disabled person while those suffering from illnesses like depression could also benefit from the mere presence of a dog without any specific training. Third, the rule applies only to assistance dogs while the United States, for example, also provides for miniature horses and Capuchin monkeys to assist persons with disabilities. Fourth, save for guide and hearing dogs, inadequate provision is made for the training of other types of assistance animals. In some cases, disabled persons are allowed to train their own assistance animals without the animal and the disabled person having to comply with strict competency tests, for example, the “public access test” required in Queensland. Finally, there is no agreement regarding what type of disability would qualify for assistance by an assistance animal or what evidence a disabled owner or occupier must provide as proof that he or she reasonably requires an assistance animal.

Rodzaje testów judicial review a zasada proporcjonalności

Judicial review in the jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court can take the form of one of three formulas for examining an act or action of an authority (strict scrutiny test, intermediate scrutiny test, or rational basis test). In the context of the constitutional review each of these tests requires an analysis, of three essential aspects: what kind of individual interest is limited, what form of public interest legitimation is required, and how the means and the purpose so indicated are related. A detailed analysis of these standards of proportion, jurisprudentially developed and evolutionarily tightened, in confrontation with the principle of proportionality used in European constitutions (and documents on international protection of human rights) allows to formulate theses about which standard is stronger, which one creates a barrier providing better protection of individual autonomy, and which is more resistant to ‘steps backwards’ in this respect.

Detection of Spoofing Attacks in Aeronautical Ad-Hoc Networks Using Deep Autoencoders

We consider an aeronautical ad-hoc network relying on aeroplanes operating in the presence of a spoofer. The aggregated signal received by the terrestrial base station is considered as &#x201C;clean&#x201D; or &#x201C;normal&#x201D;, if the legitimate aeroplanes transmit their signals and there is no spoofing attack. By contrast, the received signal is considered as &#x201C;spurious&#x201D; or &#x201C;abnormal&#x201D; in the face of a spoofing signal. An autoencoder (AE) is trained to learn the characteristics/features from a training dataset, which contains only normal samples associated with no spoofing attacks. The AE takes original samples as its input samples and reconstructs them at its output. Based on the trained AE, we define the detection thresholds of our spoofing discovery algorithm. To be more specific, contrasting the output of the AE against its input will provide us with a measure of geometric waveform similarity/dissimilarity in terms of the peaks of curves. To quantify the similarity between <i>unknown</i> testing samples and the <i>given</i> training samples (including normal samples), we first propose a so-called <i>deviation-based algorithm</i>. Furthermore, we estimate the angle of arrival (AoA) from each legitimate aeroplane and propose a so-called <i>AoA-based algorithm</i>. Then based on a sophisticated amalgamation of these two algorithms, we form our final detection algorithm for distinguishing the spurious abnormal samples from normal samples under a strict testing condition. In conclusion, our numerical results show that the AE improves the trade-off between the correct spoofing detection rate and the false alarm rate as long as the detection thresholds are carefully selected.

HPV test kao primarni test skrininga u prevenciji cervikalnog karcinoma u Republici Hrvatskoj

The knowledge that persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer has led to changes in strategies for the prevention and early detection of this cancer, with aim to eradicate it. Primary prevention through the use of vaccines that prevent HPV infection has been implemented since 2006, while secondary prevention of cervical cancer has been significantly improved by the introduction of the HPV test, either as the only method of primary screening or in combination with the Pap test. Screening based on the Pap smear has been unquestionably successful in reducing incidence and mortality in the last century. More recently, there have been gradual changes in the use of the HPV test, from its use as a reflex test after the detection of mild cytological abnormalities, through co-testing, to the use of the HPV test as the only test in primary screening thanks to the evidence gathered from the use of large, randomized research and meta-analysis. The advantages of using the HPV test over the Pap test include a higher sensitivity in detecting premalignant lesions, a higher negative predictive value of the test, and a safe extension of the time interval between screenings. However, the introduction of the HPV test as a primary screening test is not so simple and requires strict testing quality control and elaborate guidelines to ensure an optimal strategy and prevent additional burden on the healthcare system. This review presents the national cervical cancer screening program in the Republic of Croatia, the problems that prevented the start of a pilot project in one Croatian county selected for the introduction of the HPV test as a primary screening test in the prevention of cervical carcinoma, and the tasks ahead in the next period which would ensure the smooth implementation of the pilot project and implement the HPV test as the primary screening test in Croatia. Based on the results of the pilot project, it is necessary to precisely define: the age at which primary HPV testing should start and stop in the cervical cancer screening program, the examination interval after a negative primary HPV test, further procedures with women with a positive primary HPV test, the procedures for conducting reflex cytological testing and further treatment of the patient in accordance with the findings, the possibilities and justification of introducing self-sampling as part of the cervical cancer screening program based on the HPV test as the primary screening test, and finally the type of HPV test that is most suitable for the primary screening in Croatia.

Surface Integrity Characterization by Barkhausen Noise Measurement after Milling Processes with End Mills

In aerospace industry, safety-relevant parts are subject to strict testing guidelines to guarantee part functionality. Depending on the manufacturing process, the surface integrity of the part can be modified undesirably. In addition to common rim zone analyses, such as nital etching or X-ray diffractometry, Barkhausen noise measurement offers new potentials for a non-destructive surface integrity inspection. In this work, the influence of a 5-axis gear end milling process on the rim zone was investigated. A stable correlation between Barkhausen noise and material hardness and residual stress was determined.