Study Of Estimation Research Articles

Evaluating Economic Efficiency through Digital Technologies

Abstract The rapid advancement of digital technologies has generated increased interest among researchers to investigate and evaluate the impact of these technologies on economic efficiency. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the influence of digital technologies on economic efficiency in the countries of Europe and the European Union (EU) over seven years (2016-2022), for which the necessary data was found. The fundamental question of the study is: which countries in the European Union and across the entire European continent exhibit a trend of increasing revenues from the ERP system market, and among these, where is an influence on GDP observed? A group of 42 countries was analyzed, consisting of 27 countries from the European Union and 15 non-member countries, and the period studied ranges from 2016 to 2022. The study reveals that, generally, in countries where revenues from the ERP market are on the rise, there is a positive trend in economic efficiency. The study's estimates suggest that the level of internet usage in a country and the workforce with an advanced level of education significantly influence GDP per capita at the level of the countries in the European Union and the entire European continent. The conclusions of our study are based on theoretical predictions and the relevant results of other studies. The research indicates that ERP systems, as part of digital technologies and other macroeconomic factors, play an important role in stimulating economic efficiency in the European Union member states and those outside the union.

Optimizing Plate Heat Exchanger Design for Steam Condensate Recovery Systems

Condensate water is typically generated as a by-product during the use of steam as a medium for heat transfer. In order to optimize the transfer area, the chemical industry often employs heat exchangers, such as the plate heat exchanger (PHE), which provides flexibility in adjusting the space area for heat transfer. This case study examines the optimization of plate geometry dimensions to enhance the heat transfer process of PHE equipment design. The optimization process involves mathematical equations and a literature review of the design of this type of heat exchanger. Improving the dimensional aspect of the plate geometry results in an increase in the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) and a reduction in the number of design requirements used. The study's estimation results suggest that the PHE design has a limitation on plate dimensions, which should be less than 0.3×0.6 m. Additionally, it is important to consider the pressure drop value, which should not exceed 29.07 kPa. A review of the chemical industry field provided estimated options for plate size and quantity, both of which support the optimization of heat transfer rate and design constraint thresholds. The implementation of the design has been found to enhance the performance of the planning process for recovering steam condensate water.

Hydrogen in aviation: A simulation of demand, price dynamics, and CO2 emission reduction potentials

Aviation contributes to anthropogenic climate change by emitting both carbon dioxide (CO2) and non-CO2 emissions through the combustion of fossil fuels. One approach to reduce the climate impact of aviation is the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Two distinct technological options are presently under consideration for the implementation of hydrogen in aviation: hydrogen fuel cell architectures and the direct combustion of hydrogen. In this study, a hydrogen demand model is developed that considers anticipated advancements in liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies, forecasted aviation demand, and aircraft startup and retirement cycles. The analysis indicates that global demand for liquid hydrogen in aviation could potentially reach 17 million tons by 2050, leading to a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions from global aviation. Thus, the total potential of hydrogen in aviation extends beyond this, considering that the total market share of hydrogen aircraft on suitable routes in the model is projected to be only 27% in 2050 due to aircraft retirement cycles. Additionally, it is shown, that achieving the potential demand for hydrogen in aviation depends on specific market prices. With anticipated declines in current production costs, hydrogen fuel costs would need to reach about 70 EUR/MWh by 2050 to fulfill full demand in aviation, assuming biofuels provide the cheapest option for decarbonization alongside hydrogen. If e-fuels are the sole option for decarbonization alongside hydrogen, which is the more probable scenario, the entire hydrogen demand potential in aviation would be satisfied according to this study's estimates at significantly higher hydrogen prices, approximately 180 EUR/MWh.

Achieving social sustainability through lean manufacturing practices: Insights from structural equation model and system dynamics

The relationship between Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices and their impact on Social Sustainability (SOS) remains an area that warrants further investigation, especially in developing countries and industrial sectors with a high level of manual work in which there are many occupational diseases, where well-being is required by labor laws, such as Mexican maquiladora (MM) companies. Recognizing this research gap, this study explores and assesses the influence of LM practices on MM's SOS. The study proposed and evaluated a structural equation model (SEM) with eight hypotheses tested statistically using information obtained from 411 responses to a questionnaire distributed across the MM. WarpPLS software (version 8.0) was employed to validate the SEM and STELLA ARCHITECT V3.0.1, to evaluate a system dynamics model to simulate the longitudinal behavior of LM practices on SOS. The findings underscore the critical role of the 5 S methodology in facilitating the adoption of practices, such as Total Productive Maintenance, Quick changeover, and One-piece Flow, exhibiting positive repercussions on SOS. Notably, the study's estimates suggest a timeline of approximately 6.5 years to attain 100% implementation of these tools, while achieving complete SOS may extend to approximately 11.75 years. It is imperative to approach these projections cautiously, because of the dynamic nature of business environments, wherein unforeseen alterations may significantly influence these timelines. These estimates offer valuable insights into the potential temporal dynamics of LM practices and SOS implementations in industrial contexts.

New Estimates of Smoking-Attributable Mortality in the U.S. From 2020 Through 2035

Introduction: The often-cited CDC estimate of 480,000 annual US smoking-attributable deaths (SADs), including 439,000 first-hand smoke deaths, derives from 2005-2009 data. Since then, adult smoking prevalence has decreased by 40%, while the population has grown and the smoking population aged. An updated estimate is presented to determine whether the CDC figure remains accurate or has changed substantially. In addition, the likely annual smoking-related mortality toll is projected through 2035. Methods: A well-established model of smoking prevalence and health effects is employed to estimate annual SADs among individuals exposed to first-hand smoke in the US for two distinct periods: 2005-2009 and 2020-2035. The estimate for 2005-2009 serves as a benchmark to evaluate the reliability of the model's estimate in comparison to CDC's. The projections for 2020-2035 provide up-to-date figures for SADs, predicting how annual SADs are likely to change in the coming years. Data were collected between 2005 and 2020. The analysis was conducted in 2023. Results: This study's estimate of 420,000 first-hand smoke deaths over 2005-2009 is 95.7% of CDC's estimate during the same period. The model projections indicate that SADs among individuals who currently smoke or formerly smoked have increased modestly since 2005-2009. Beginning in 2020, annual SADs will remain relatively stable at approximately 450,000 before starting to decline around 2030. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the CDC estimate of the annual mortality burden of smoking remains valid. Despite US population growth and the ageing of the smoking population, substantial reductions in smoking will finally produce a steady, if gradual, decline in SADs beginning around 2030.

Asymmetrical connectedness between infectious diseases-related equity market volatility and prices of precious metals

Several infectious diseases have impacted global economies and equity markets. The volatility induced by equity markets is a triggering phenomenon for various markets, such as precious metals. Therefore, this novel study is an attempt to provide evidence regarding the effect of volatility in equity markets impacted by infectious diseases on the price variations of precious metals. Accordingly, this research utilized a “Non-Parametric Causality in Quantiles Technique” to analyze daily data from January 1997 to February 2022. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are selected as precious metals. The study's estimations signify the influence of EMV-ID on the prices of precious metals suggesting that EMV-ID is an impressive predictor of the metals' prices. The study's result indicates that gold is the most influenced metal; as EMV-ID significantly changes the prices of gold. The pronouncements of the current research paper will assist portfolio managers, financial experts, policymakers, and investors. Therefore, they should consider EMV-ID as a key factor in the volatility of precious metals.

A comment on Dincecco et al. (2022): Pre‐colonial warfare and long‐run development in India

AbstractWe test the reproducibility and replicability of M. Dincecco, J. Fenske, A. Menon and S. Mukherjee (2022), which reports a positive relationship between pre‐colonial interstate warfare and long‐run development patterns across India. Overall, we confirm that all of the study's estimates are computationally reproducible using the provided replication package in Stata, but note that the ease of replication could be improved by the provision of code and intermediate data sets for the conflict exposure measure. We test for and find no evidence of data manipulation in the final data sets. Concerning direct replicability, we consider different ways of measuring distance to conflicts and also alternative proxies for both the dependent variable and variables that capture channels by which the main effects operate. We find that some estimates are sensitive to the type of conflict considered. Other estimates are sensitive to the time period considered, most likely due to time heterogeneity in the number of conflicts recorded. Nevertheless, most estimates are substantially in line with the original study.

Breathing in danger: Unveiling the link between human exposure to outdoor PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and lung cancer risk in an urban residential area of China

Numerous studies have extensively examined the risk of lung cancer associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with particular emphasis on the 16 priority PAHs. However, this may underestimate the actual risk. This study seeks to enhance the current risk assessment framework by integrating four additional parent PAHs such as Dibenzo[a,h]pyrene, Dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene, 7H-benzo[c]fluorene with potentially high risk of causing cancer. By considering their physicochemical properties, metabolism, and bioavailability, the study also examines the relationship between low molecular weight (LMW) - and high molecular weight (HMW)-PAH doses and the risk of developing cancer in the human lungs. The study was conducted in Ningbo, China and identified five PAH sources: natural gas combustion (NGC), vehicular exhaust (VE), coal combustion (CC), biomass burning (BB), and volatilization of unburnt fuel (VUF). This study emphasizes the elevated risk associated with highly carcinogenic PAHs, as they consistently exceed acceptable limits for lung cancer risk throughout the year. Based on the study's estimation, approximately 324 out of every one million individuals exposed to PAHs face an increased cancer risk over their lifetime. This research emphasizes the importance of identifying source specific lung cancer risk in residential areas to protect the exposed population. Moreover, while there is a moderate connection between LMW-PAH doses and lung cancer risk, a strong relationship is observed with HMW-PAHs.

The role of health system penetration rate in estimating the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents using electronic health records.

Having sufficient population coverage from the electronic health records (EHRs)-connected health system is essential for building a comprehensive EHR-based diabetes surveillance system. This study aimed to establish an EHR-based type 1 diabetes (T1D) surveillance system for children and adolescents across racial and ethnic groups by identifying the minimum population coverage from EHR-connected health systems to accurately estimate T1D prevalence. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis involving children and adolescents <20years old identified from the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network (2018-2020). T1D cases were identified using a previously validated computable phenotyping algorithm. The T1D prevalence for each ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA, 5 digits), defined as the number of T1D cases divided by the total number of residents in the corresponding ZCTA, was calculated. Population coverage for each ZCTA was measured using observed health system penetration rates (HSPR), which was calculated as the ratio of residents in the corresponding ZTCA and captured by OneFlorida+ to the overall population in the same ZCTA reported by the Census. We used a recursive partitioning algorithm to identify the minimum required observed HSPR to estimate T1D prevalence and compare our estimate with the reported T1D prevalence from the SEARCH study. Observed HSPRs of 55%, 55%, and 60% were identified as the minimum thresholds for the non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic populations. The estimated T1D prevalence for non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black were 2.87 and 2.29 per 1000 youth, which are comparable to the reference study's estimation. The estimated prevalence of T1D for Hispanics (2.76 per 1000 youth) was higher than the reference study's estimation (1.48-1.64 per 1000 youth). The standardized T1D prevalence in the overall Florida population was 2.81 per 1000 youth in 2019. Our study provides a method to estimate T1D prevalence in children and adolescents using EHRs and reports the estimated HSPRs and prevalence of T1D for different race and ethnicity groups to facilitate EHR-based diabetes surveillance.

Enterprise-wide lean management systems: a test of the abnormal profitability hypothesis

PurposeThe paper tests if and to what extent lean management system adoption generates abnormal profitability, and how it accrues over time. Configurational approaches to lean management systems and “S-curve” effects in lean implementation are used to ground the paper's hypotheses and interpret its findings.Design/methodology/approachUsing the emerging view of lean as enterprise-wide management systems, this quasi-experimental study uses a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the abnormal profitability (ROIC) attributable to lean management system adoption. The paper leverages a unique data set of lean adopters nested in a panel data set (19 years) of 2,088 industrial firms matched by industry and firm size. It applies a variety of regression methods (two-way fixed effect panel estimator, propensity score matching, instrumental variable two-stage-least squares) to estimate the size of the abnormal profitability attributable to lean management systems, addressing endogeneity issues related to non-random sampling, omitted variable bias and reverse causation. It also analyzes the cross-firm variability of such abnormal profitability and how it accrues over time.FindingsFor the average non-adopter in the sample (44.3 million euro revenues), lean adoption generates abnormal ROIC ranging from 1.4% to 3.9%. These results come into effect approximately three years after starting lean adoption and peak after eight years. While the average abnormal profitability attributable to lean adoption is sizable, it varies significantly across firms and over time. This significant variation is compatible with firms' diverse ability to understand the complex inner workings of lean systems, and to design and implement them so that they improve profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptualization of lean as enterprise-wide management system can be further refined to more effectively categorize the components of lean systems and investigate the nature of their relationships. Lean system adoption measurement can be fine-tuned to better capture cross-firm and longitudinal heterogeneity. Future work can explore other dependent variables of interest to different stakeholders including shareholders' value, employment and environmental and social sustainability.Practical implicationsThe financial benefits of adopting lean can be reaped to the extent to which managers embrace lean as a philosophy and implement it pervasively in the organization. A firm can use the study's estimates as a basis for making calculations about the returns of investment in lean adoption. The paper also shows that “getting the lean system right” makes a significant difference in terms of abnormal profitability, which is twice as large for the best lean adopters..Social implicationsCompared with the promises of many lean proponents and supporters, the paper provides a more realistic view of what to expect from lean adoption in terms of profitability. Adopting lean as a comprehensive, enterprise-wide management system is not a universal panacea, but a complex endeavor, characterized by multiple complex decisions that require considerable capabilities, coordinated efforts and consistency of action.Originality/valueDifferently from extant research, this study does not study the correlation between the adoption of lean operation practices and financial performance but focuses on the abnormal profitability generated by the adoption of lean as a pervasive, enterprise-wide management system. Its research design allows to identify the differential profitability attributable to lean adoption and documents that it accrues non-linearly.

Global demand analysis for carbon dioxide as raw material from key industrial sources and direct air capture to produce renewable electricity-based fuels and chemicals

Defossilisation of the current fossil fuels dominated global energy system is one of the key goals in the upcoming decades to mitigate climate change. Sharp reduction in the costs of solar photovoltaics, wind power, and battery technologies enables a rapid transition of the power and some segments of the transport sectors to sustainable energy resources. However, renewable electricity-based fuels and chemicals are required for the defossilisation of hard-to-abate segments of transport and industry. The global demand for carbon dioxide as raw material for the production of e-fuels and e-chemicals during a global energy transition to 100% renewable energy is analysed in this research. Carbon dioxide capture and utilisation potentials from key industrial point sources, including cement mills, pulp and paper mills, and waste incinerators, are evaluated. According to this study's estimates, the demand for carbon dioxide increases from 0.6 in 2030 to 6.1 gigatonnes in 2050. Key industrial point sources can potentially supply 2.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and thus meet the majority of the demand in the 2030s. By 2050, however, direct air capture is expected to supply the majority of the demand, contributing 3.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Sustainable and unavoidable industrial point sources and direct air capture are vital technologies which may help the world to achieve ambitious climate goals.

Iron supplementation for non-anaemic pregnant women and the incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy

Objective: To investigate effect of iron supplementation on the risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in non-anaemic pregnant women. Methods: A literature search was conducted using three categories of terms with its synonyms or related words: “iron”, “supplement”, “hypertensive disorders in pregnancy” through MEDLINE (OVID), CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, ICTRP, and ClinicalTrials.gov, and manual search of references was used in seven potential resources. The inclusion criteria were randomized control trials (RCTs), published in English, full-text available, having healthy pregnant women without anaemia for study participants, and having hypertensive disorders in pregnancy at the end of pregnancy as the outcome. The risk of bias assessment tool was used for quality appraisal. Meta-analysis was conducted by calculating the fixed and random effects of the odds ratio (OR) for iron supplementation among non-anaemic pregnant women compared with the incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. The range of the study's estimation accuracy was reflected by a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Four RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that iron supplementation possibly had no effect on the incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.81-1.07; P=0.30), gestational hypertension (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.69-2.73; P=0.36) as well as on the development of preeclampsia (OR 1.45, 95% CI 0.71-2.97; P=0.31). Conclusions: Iron supplementation has no effect on the incidence of hypertension in non-anaemic pregnant women. In general, there is a lack of evidence for the association between iron supplementation and the incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy among non-anaemic pregnant women, and further studies are needed.

Mortality Associated With Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the US, 1999-2018

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) mortality estimates have not been updated since 2009, and no study has assessed changes in influenza mortality after the 2009 pandemic. Updated burden estimates are needed to characterize long-term changes in the epidemiology of these viruses. To evaluate excess mortality from RSV and influenza in the US from 1999 to 2018. This cross-sectional study used data from 50.3 million US death certificates from 1999 to 2018 to create age-specific linear regression models and assess weekly mortality fluctuations above a seasonal baseline associated with RSV and influenza. Statistical analysis was performed for 1043 weeks from January 3, 1999, to December 29, 2018. Excess mortality associated with RSV and influenza estimated from the difference between observed and expected underlying respiratory mortality each season. There were 50.3 million death certificates (50.1% women and 49.9% men; mean [SD] age at death, 72.7 [18.6] years) included in this analysis, 1.0% for children younger than 1 year and 73.4% for adults aged 65 years or older. A mean of 6549 (95% CI, 6140-6958) underlying respiratory deaths were associated with RSV annually, including 96 (95% CI, 92-99) deaths among children younger than 1 year. For influenza, there were 10 171 (95% CI, 9652-10 691) underlying respiratory deaths per year, with 23 deaths (95% CI, 19-27) among children younger than 1 year. The highest mean mortality rate per 100 000 population for both viruses was among adults aged 65 years or older at 14.7 (95% CI, 13.8-15.5) for RSV and 20.5 (95% CI, 19.4-21.5) for influenza. A lower proportion of influenza deaths occurred among those aged 65 years or older compared with earlier estimates (75.1% [95% CI, 67.4%-82.8%]). Influenza mortality was highest among those aged 65 years or older in seasons when A/H3N2 predominated (18 739 [95% CI, 16 616-21 336] deaths in 2017-2018) and among those aged 5 to 49 years when A/H1N1pdm2009 predominated (1683 [95% CI, 1583-1787] deaths in 2013-2014). Results were sensitive to the choice of mortality outcome and method, with the broadest outcome associated with annual means of 23 352 (95% CI, 21 814-24 891) excess deaths for RSV and 27 171 (95% CI, 25 142-29 199) for influenza. This study suggests that RSV poses a greater risk than influenza to infants, while both are associated with substantial mortality among elderly individuals. Influenza has large interannual variability, affecting different age groups depending on the circulating virus. The emergence of the influenza A/H1N1pdm2009 pandemic virus in 2009 shifted mortality toward middle-aged adults, a trend still observed to date. This study's estimates provide a benchmark to evaluate the mortality benefits associated with interventions against respiratory viruses, including new or improved immunization strategies.

Personalising cancer medicine with prognostic markers.

Personalising cancer medicine with prognostic markers.

Generating age-specific mortality statistics from incomplete death registration data: two applications of the empirical completeness method

BackgroundThe study aims to assess two approaches that apply the empirical completeness method to generate age-specific mortality statistics from incomplete death registration systems.MethodsWe use the empirical completeness method to calculate all-age death registration completeness, which is used with a model life table to generate mortality statistics and age-specific completeness using (1) the conventional method and (2) the equivalent deaths method. The results are compared with a capture-recapture (C-RC) study and three alternative mortality estimates for Brazilian states, and C-RC studies in Thailand, Oman and Vietnam, which independently estimate the level and age pattern of mortality or completeness.ResultsThe empirical completeness method produces similar estimates of all-age completeness of registration to the C-RC studies. Compared with C-RC studies, at 15-59 years, the conventional method’s estimates of mortality and completeness are more concordant, while at 60-84 years the equivalent death method’s estimates are closer. Estimates of life expectancy from the two approaches each have similar concordance with the C-RC studies. For male adult mortality in Brazilian states, there is relatively strong average correlation of this study's estimates with three alternative estimates. ConclusionsThe two approaches produce mortality statistics from incomplete data that are mostly concordant with C-RC studies, and can be most usefully applied to subnational populations.

The value of new drugs for advanced prostate cancer.

The US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a number of new cancer drugs. The clinical trials that serve as the basis for new cancer drug approvals may not reflect how the drugs will perform in routine practice and do not measure the impact of the drugs on spending. The authors sought to evaluate the real-world effectiveness and value of drugs recently approved for advanced prostate cancer. Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare data, the authors identified fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who began treatment with a drug approved for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in 2007-2009, when only 1 drug was approved for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, and in 2014-2016, when 5 additional drugs were approved. They calculated life expectancy and lifetime medical costs (ie, Medicare reimbursements) for each group. Between 2007-2009 and 2014-2016, life expectancy increased by 12.6 months. Lifetime medical costs increased by $87,000. The incremental cost per life-year gained was $83,000. The release of 5 new drugs coincided with increases in survival rates and spending. This study's estimates indicate that the new drugs collectively were cost-effective.

Improving Human Health in China Through Alternative Energy.

In this study, we estimate the health benefits of more stringent alternative energy goals and the costs of reducing coal-fired power plant pollution in China projected in 2030. One of our two overarching alternative energy goals was to estimate the health benefits of complete elimination of coal energy, supplemented by natural gas and renewables. The second was a policy scenario similar to the U.S. 2013 Climate Action Plan (CAP), which played a pivotal role leading up to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. We used the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model created by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis for our model simulations. We found that 17,137–24,220 premature deaths can be avoided if coal energy is completely replaced by alternative energy, and 8,693–9,281 premature deaths can be avoided if coal energy is replaced by alternatives in a CAP-like scenario. A CAP-like scenario using emission-controls in coal plants costs $11–18 per person. Reducing coal energy in China under a CAP-like scenario would free up $9.4 billion in the annual energy budget to spend on alternatives, whereas eliminating the cost of coal energy frees up $32 billion. This study's estimates show that more stringent alternative energy targets in China are worth the investment in terms of health.

Does gender equality in education matter for environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa?

The present study provides a macro-level framework for gender issues and their link to energy policies and environmental quality, in line with the sustainable development goals (SDG). It examines the relationship between environmental sustainability, gender equality in education, energy consumption, and sub-Saharan Africa's income by using cointegration analysis and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method. The study's estimation results are consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and policy actions suggested by eco-feminist theories in both the short-run and long-run and show that gender equality in education has positively related to environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa.

Thematic Textual Hadith Classification: An Experiment in Rapidminer using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Naïve Bayes Algorithm

There are many existing problems in Hadith studies trending in the study field. The issues are changeable from the digitalization of the Hadith data to an exact case study of estimation of narrators’ chain for a particular Hadith. However, in this paper, we are not concentrating on the such learning of estimating, confirming or authenticating a Hadith. It focuses more on the data mining use to the Hadith dataset. We put on the Hadith dataset onto one of machine learning tools which is text classification. The Hadith dataset is put into experiment for Hadith textual classification. It concentrates on the thematic classification based on the themes and words occurrences from the Hadith text (matn). The Hadith textual classification does not trace on the hukm and position or class of Hadith. This research does not categorize the Hadith into hukm Sahih, Hasan, Dhaif, or Mawdhoo’. However, the Hadith thematic dataset of this study use only Hadith from Sahih Bukhari, where all Hadith in the Book is categorized as sahih by Imam Al-Bukhari. The classification for this thematic Hadith dataset is implemented using Rapidminer, a machine learning tool using Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machine (SVM) methods. From the results, the different value of accuracy for both SVM and Naive Bayes Algorithm was 2.4%. The Naive Bayes Algorithm displayed better result comparing to SVM. We believe that the result could be better by improving the data, algorithms, algorithm tuning or ensemble methods for the future experiments

An individualised self-management exercise and education program did not prevent recurrence of low back pain but may reduce care seeking: a randomised trial.

What is the effect of a McKenzie-based self-management exercise and education program on the risk of recurrence of low back pain (LBP) and on the impact of LBP? Randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, blinded assessors and intention-to-treat analysis. 262 adults recently recovered from an episode of LBP. The experimental group received a McKenzie-based self-management exercise and education program delivered over two individual sessions of 30 to 45 minutes with a physiotherapist, approximately 2 weeks apart. The control group received a single advice session over the phone. The primary outcome was time to first recurrence of an episode of activity-limiting LBP. Secondary outcomes included time to recurrence of any LBP, time to a recurrence causing care seeking and a composite measure of pain and function ('impact of LBP'). Participants were followed-up monthly for ≥ 12 months. The estimated effect of the experimental intervention on the risk of recurrence of an episode of: activity-limiting LBP was HR 1.11 (95% CI 0.80 to 1.54), any LBP was HR 0.95 (95% CI 0.72 to 1.26), and LBP for which care was sought was HR 0.69 (95% CI 0.46 to 1.04). The quarterly estimates of the experimental intervention's effect on impact of LBP and their 95% CIs were all within 4 points above or below 0 (no effect) on this scale from 8 to50. This study's best estimate is that a McKenzie-based self-management exercise and education program does not produce a worthwhile reduction in the risk of an activity-limiting episode of LBP; however, modestly reduced or moderately increased risk cannot be ruled out. It may markedly reduce the risk of an episode of LBP resulting in care seeking, but does not have any worthwhile effect on the impact of LBP over 12 months. ACTRN12616000926437.