Average Time Research Articles

Overall time spent by clients from entry to exit and associated factors in out-patient departments in public hospitals of Jimma Zone southwest, Ethiopia.

The overall time refers to the amount of time a patient spends in a health care facility, from the time he or she enters to the time he or she leaves. As a result of the imbalance between supply and demand, waiting times occur. Ethiopian hospitals are being reformed to improve the quality of care they provide. The time a patient spends in the hospital is one of the most important indicators of quality of care, as it provides insight into customer satisfaction and provider success. However, the overall time patients spend in hospitals was not studied. The study aimed to assess the overall time spent by clients from entry to exit and associated factors in the outpatient departments of Jimma zone hospitals. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients from outpatient units at Jimma zone public hospitals participated in the study from March 15 to May 17, 2018. Data were collected using a time and motion tool coupled with an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire on 249 samples. Participants in the study were selected using the consecutive sampling method. Overall time, in terms of waiting and service times at each section unit, and the relationship of socio-demographic and clinical factors with overall time was the main outcome variables. Data were analyzed using descriptive and linear regression analysis. Simple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the dependent and explanatory variables. Variables were considered significantly associated with the overall time if they had a p-value of less than 0.05 at the 95% confidence interval (CI). The overall response rate was 94.8%. Overall, patients spent a median time of 342.5 minutes. Patients spent 12.7% of the total time as service time and 86% of the time waiting for care. The longest overall times were spent in the laboratory (170 minutes), imaging (95 minutes), other diagnostic units (84 minutes) and examination (83 minutes). The average overall time was increased by 52.03 minutes (95%CI 21.65, 82.412), 4.65 minutes (95%CI 3.983, 5.324), and 96.43 minutes (95%CI 52.076, 140.787) when the patient was referred, the number of patients at the queue was increased by one unit, and patients who had other diagnostic tests performed respectively with P <0.005 &adjusted R2 = 0.522. The majority of patients stayed for a longer period. Most time was spent waiting for services, particularly in the examination, laboratory, and imaging units. This is strongly related to high patient load, an absence of some services, being referred patients, and patients who had other diagnostic tests. To reduce the number of patients in the queues, hospitals should work hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to enforce policies that are understood and adopted by all workers in the lower healthcare facilities. And hospital administrators are working to strengthen the triaging system to screen patients with minor illnesses. This is because most patients with minor illnesses queue with those with more complicated illnesses. Finally, we recommend that researchers conduct further research on service quality.

Dynamic planning of office building elevator scheduling

Every morning rush hour is the most crowded time for elevators in office buildings, and many office workers will be late because they can't wait for the elevator. How to reasonably call the existing elevator resources has become a problem we need to pay attention to. In this paper, we will discuss the modeling of elevator scheduling optimization problem for office buildings. In this paper, the background and significance of the research is firstly explained, and then the elevator group linkage control system is briefly understood and analyzed, and the evaluation indexes are determined according to its multi-objective and diversified characteristics, and then the group control method focusing on making the elevator run time the shortest is adopted, and the principle of the ratio of elevator running period/total running time equal to the number of passengers transported/total passengers transported by the elevator in one cycle is followed to compare several common elevator running methods, and the results are summarized in the following table. Common elevator operation methods are compared, the most effective way to arrive at, and finally use dynamic programming to solve the partition point, to establish the optimal scheme of elevator scheduling for the office building division. Since it is not possible to expand the elevator in the office building, reducing the number of stops of each elevator to shorten the time required for the elevator to carry passengers becomes the most feasible method. After comparing the common elevator operation methods, it can be found that zoning can shorten the final average arrival time of passengers more than no zoning. That is, the elevators in an office building are divided into different zones, and each zone has a designated elevator serving a designated floor segment. In order to solve the floor segment allocation problem, the shortest path algorithm is used in this paper. The paper concludes with a summary and future outlook of the resulting optimization model.

Clinical Evaluation of a 2-Minute Ultrafast Brain MR Protocol for Evaluation of Acute Pathology in the Emergency and Inpatient Settings.

The use of MR imaging in emergency settings has been limited by availability, long scan times, and sensitivity to motion. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of an ultrafast brain MR imaging protocol for evaluation of acute intracranial pathology in the emergency department and inpatient settings. Sixty-six adult patients who underwent brain MR imaging in the emergency department and inpatient settings were included in the study. All patients underwent both the reference and the ultrafast brain MR protocols. Both brain MR imaging protocols consisted of T1-weighted, T2/T2*-weighted, FLAIR, and DWI sequences. The ultrafast MR images were reconstructed by using a machine-learning assisted framework. All images were reviewed by 2 blinded neuroradiologists. The average acquisition time was 2.1 minutes for the ultrafast brain MR protocol and 10 minutes for the reference brain MR protocol. There was 98.5% agreement on the main clinical diagnosis between the 2 protocols. In head-to-head comparison, the reference protocol was preferred in terms of image noise and geometric distortion (P < .05 for both). The ultrafast ms-EPI protocol was preferred over the reference protocol in terms of reduced motion artifacts (P < .01). Overall diagnostic quality was not significantly different between the 2 protocols (P > .05). The ultrafast brain MR imaging protocol provides high accuracy for evaluating acute pathology while only requiring a fraction of the scan time. Although there was greater image noise and geometric distortion on the ultrafast brain MR protocol images, there was significant reduction in motion artifacts with similar overall diagnostic quality between the 2 protocols.

Safety and effectiveness of the three-dimensional-printed guide plate-assisted rotation axis positioning of a hinged external fixator for the elbow.

We aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of three-dimensional (3D)-printed guide plates for assisting in the positioning of the rotation axis of an elbow-hinged external fixator. Terrible triad (TT) patients, who were screened using the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, underwent installation of a hinged external fixator on the basis of internal fixation; 3D-printed guide plates, generated from the patient's imaging data, assisted in positioning the rotation axis. All patients received the same peri-operative management and were followed up at six, 12, 24, and 48 weeks postoperatively. The duration of positioning pin placement, the number of fluoroscopies, pin placement success rate, types and incidence of post-operative complications, and the Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS) of the diseased elbow and range of motion (ROM) of both elbows were assessed. In 25 patients who completed the follow-up, the average time required for positioning pin placement was 329.32 ± 42.38 s (263-443 s), the average number of fluoroscopies was 2.32 ± 0.48 times (2-3 times), and the pin placement success rate was 100%. At the last follow-up, the mean MEPS of the diseased elbow was 97.50 ± 6.92 (75-100), with an excellent and good rate of 100%, and all patients demonstrated stable concentric reduction. The average range of flexion and extension was 135.08° ± 17.10° (77-146°), while the average range of rotation was 169.21° ± 18.14° (108-180°). No significant difference was observed in the average ROM between the both elbows (P > 0.05). Eight (32%) patients developed post-operative complications, including elbow stiffness due to heterotopic ossification in three (12%) patients, all of whom did not require secondary intervention. Utilizing 3D-printed guide plates for positioning the rotation axis of an elbow-hinged external fixator significantly reduced intra-operative positioning pin placement time and the number of fluoroscopies with excellent positioning results. Satisfactory results were also obtained in terms of post-operative complications, elbow ROM, and functional scores.

Evaluation of neonatal outcomes according to the specific absorption rate values of phones used during pregnancy.

The aim was to compare neonatal outcomes according to cell phone specific absorption rate (SAR) levels and daily time spent on cell phones by pregnant women. Women who gave birth at Konya City Hospital between September 2020 and February 2021 were included in this retrospective study. Gestational ages, birth weight, birth length, head circumference, sex, 5-minute APGAR scores, neonate postpartum resuscitation requirement, delivery type, the model of phone used by the pregnant women, and the average time spent on the phone during a day were recorded. To determine the relation between the SAR values of the phones used and delivering a small for gestational age (SGA) baby, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed. In total 1495 pregnant women were included. The rate of delivering a SGA fetus was significantly higher in women who used phones with higher SAR values (p=0.001). The cut-off value for the SAR level was 1.23 W/kg with 69.3% sensitivity and 73.0% specificity (area under the curve: 0.685; 95% confidence interval: 0.643-0.726). No correlation was found between time spent on the phone and SGA birth rate. Although both phone SAR values and time spent on the phone were higher in the symmetrical SGA group compared to the asymmetrical SGA group, the difference was not significant (p>0.05). Although the women who had preterm delivery had higher phone SAR values and had spent more time on the phone compared to those who had term deliveries, the difference was again not significant (p>0.05). As the SAR values of cell phones used during pregnancy increased, there was a trend towards delivering a SGA baby.

Trustworthy interaction model: continuous authentication using time–frequency joint analysis of mouse biometrics

ABSTRACT The rapid development of information technology attracts more attention to information security. Static authentication (SA) technology is widely used in account protection. However, once this shield is broken, it will lead to a serious information security crisis. Therefore, we propose a trustworthy interaction model that continuously authenticates users’ human–computer interaction behaviour, which is a supplement to SA. Specifically, the Hilbert–Huang transform is used to extract time-frequency domain features of user mouse behaviour. Then, the users’ unique mouse behaviour patterns are modelled by LSBT to quantify the deviation between current mouse behaviour and true patterns. Finally, the dynamic trust model is deployed to continuously monitor the current user’s identity credibility score in human-computer interaction. Notably, a 30+ month dataset of the mouse behaviours of 32 participants is collected from a real website to prove the effectiveness of TIM. Two real-world scenarios, comprising 1,344 attacks, were simulated to evaluate the trustworthy interaction model performance. All 1,344 attacks were successfully detected, with an average time of 1.63 min to lock imposters out. The TIM is easy to deploy to continuously authenticate users and can accurately and quickly detect imposters.

Workflow efficiencies for flexible cystoscopy: comparing single-use vs reusable cystoscopes

BackgroundFlexible cystoscopy is a common procedure to diagnose and treat lower urinary tract conditions. Single-use cystoscopes have been introduced to eliminate time-consuming reprocessing and costly repairs. We compared the hands-on labor time differences between flexible reusable cystoscopes versus Ambu’s aScope™ 4 Cysto (aS4C) at a large urology Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC).MethodsReusable and single-use cystoscopy procedures were shadowed for timestamp collection for setup and breakdown. A subset of reusable cystoscopes were followed through the reprocessing cycle. T-tests were calculated to measure the significance between groups.ResultsThe average hands-on time necessary for reusable cystoscope preparation, breakdown, and pre-cleaning was 4′53″. Of this, 2′53″ were required for preparation, while 2′0″ were required for breakdown and pre-cleaning. The average hands-on time for reprocessing for reusable was 7’1” per cycle. The total time for single-use scopes was 2′22″. Of this, 1′36″ was needed for single-use preparation, and 45 s for breakdown. Compared to reusable cystoscopes, single-use cystoscopes significantly reduced pre and post-procedure hands-on labor time by 2’31”, or 48%. When including reprocessing, total hands-on time was 80% greater for reusable than single-use cystoscopes.ConclusionSingle-use cystoscopes significantly reduced hands-on labor time compared to reusable cystoscopes. On average, the facility saw a reduction of 2′31″ per cystoscope for each procedure. This translates to 20 additional minutes gained per day, based on an 8 procedures per day. Utilizing single-use cystoscopes enabled the facility to reduce patient wait times, decrease turnaround times, and free up staff time.

Use of Circularly Polarized Light on the Evaluation of Injectable Platelet Rich Fibrin in the Early Formation of Woven and Lamellar Bone: A Specific Method in the Study of Osseous Tissue

Purpose: In bone grafting, the goal is the formation of 100% vital bone. The ideal graft material is osteogenic, osteoconductive and osteoinductive and can be evaluated by histology and histomorphometric methods to calculate percentages of vital bone formation, residual graft material and connective tissue. Bone graft substitute materials currently used include allogeneic, xenogeneic and alloplastic materials. The goal of this study is a histological evaluation of the early effects of the liquid (injectable) form of Platelet Rich Fibrin (i-PRF) on the formation of woven and lamellar bone using Circularly Polarized Light (CPL). Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of forty-two patients from 2021 to 2022 who completed bone grafting after a non-restorable endodontically treated molar tooth was extracted in preparation for future implant surgery. Each bone graft was augmented with i-PRF. To process i-PRF, Relative Centrifugation Force (RCF) was reduced from 2,700 RPM to 700 RPM (60 g). Centrifugation time was reduced from 12 minutes to 3 minutes. After an average bone graft healing time of 8 to 12 weeks, bone core samples were obtained at the time of implant surgery for histological and histomorphometric analysis. Bone cores were stained with Stevenel’s blue and van Gieson’s picrofuchsin for histologic analysis by means of brightfield and circular polarized light microscopic evaluation to evaluate the early effects of the liquid form of PRF on formation of woven and lamellar bone using allogeneic bone. Results: Forty-two bone cores were harvested at the time of implant surgery for histological and histomorphometric analysis. The liquid form of PRF resulted in greater percentages of vital bone formation (average 87.4 %) compared to the existing published literature. CPL analysis of forty-two bone core specimens showed the positive effects of i-PRF on de novo bone formation. Conclusion: The results of this study using circularly polarized light demonstrate that the liquid form of PRF (i-PRF) resulted in greater percentages of early, new vital bone formation compared to the published literature. Circularly polarized light should be considered as an adjunctive method to determine bone maturity and structure.

Geometry impact on fundamental properties of theophylline-containing SLS printed pharmaceutical tablets

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) has the potential to offer a more accurate alternative to current-practice manipulation of oral dosage forms for pediatric, geriatric, and dysphagia-suffering patient groups. In order to create the best possible dosage forms for these patient groups, an in-depth look into how a dosage forms geometry impacts the overall properties is essential. In this study, the impact of geometry on SLS manufactured oral dosage forms on the tablet’s microstructure, actual-to-theoretical volume, mass deviation, disintegration, and dissolution was investigated. Three different shapes; cylinder, hollow cylinder, and conical frustum with similar surface area (SA), as well as three cylinders with different diameters, were investigated. The results indicate that the geometry has an impact on the mass uniformity, resultant volume, disintegration, and dissolution properties of the tablets. The mass uniformity analysis of the tablets provided the most variation between tablets of different sizes, with more uniformity for tablets with similar SA-to-volume ratio (SA/V). When examining the actual-to-theoretical volume of the tablets, a greater variance between the actual and theoretical volumes for shapes with higher overall SA was observed. The values found are approximately 1.05 for the three differently sized cylinders, 1.23 for the conical frustum, and 1.44 for the hollow cylinder, following this trend. Disintegration data supported a link between SA/V and average disintegration time, observed with the tablet of the highest SA/V disintegrating in 12 s and the tablet with the lowest SA/V disintegrating in 58 s. Dissolution results also indicated a strong dependence on SA/V. Hence, when novel ways to produce oral dosage form tablets become available by additive manufacturing, such as SLS, both geometry and SA/V must be taken into consideration in the tablet design process to ensure appropriate release kinetics and dosing standards.

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Provide Motion Grading for High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography of the Scaphoid.

In vivo high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) studies on bone characteristics are limited, partly due to the lack of standardized and objective techniques to describe motion artifacts responsible for lower-quality images. This study investigates the ability of such deep-learning techniques to assess image quality in HR-pQCT datasets of human scaphoids. In total, 1451 stacks of 482 scaphoid images from 53 patients, each with up to six follow-ups within one year, and each with one non-displaced fractured and one contralateral intact scaphoid, were independently graded by three observers using a visual grading scale for motion artifacts. A 3D-CNN was used to assess image quality. The accuracy of the 3D-CNN to assess the image quality compared to the mean results of three skilled operators was between 92% and 96%. The 3D-CNN classifier reached an ROC-AUC score of 0.94. The average assessment time for one scaphoid was 2.5 s. This study demonstrates that a deep-learning approach for rating radiological image quality provides objective assessments of motion grading for the scaphoid with a high accuracy and a short assessment time. In the future, such a 3D-CNN approach can be used as a resource-saving and cost-effective tool to classify the image quality of HR-pQCT datasets in a reliable, reproducible and objective way.

Transversal approach via a bladder neck and prostate combined longitudinal incision versus standard approach of robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer: a retrospective analysis

BackgroundTransversal approach for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy via a bladder neck and prostate combined longitudinal incision (L-RALP) is a novel surgical method for patients with respectable prostate cancer.MethodsThere were 669 patients with prostate cancer underwent L-RALP or S-RALP which identified from April 2016 to April 2020. The perioperative outcomes, Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite for Clinical Practice (EPIC-CP) scores, sexual function and urinary control ability were included and compared between two groups.ResultsIn the 669 patients, 277 of them were included into the final analysis. 151 patients received S-RALP and 126 received L-RALP. Baseline features were balanced. Patients in the S-RALP group had significantly shorter average surgical time (135.93 vs 150.04 min; p < 0.001) than those in L-RALP group. Intraoperative bleeding volume, early postoperative complications rates, postoperative catheter removal time and hospital stays were comparable between two groups. There was no difference in biochemical recurrence at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months of follow-up. Of note, the urinary control function recovers of patients in the L-RALP group was significantly better than those in the S-RALP group. Moreover, patients in the L-RALP group had much better results of EPIC-CP (including urinary control and total score) than those in the S-RALP group at 6 week and 3, 6, 12 and 18 months.ConclusionsBoth S-RALP and L-RALP were safe and effective with similar long-term clinical outcomes in patients with respectable prostate cancer. Patients received L-RALP had significantly better postoperative outcomes including urinary control, and recovery period.

Visual interpretation of clinical images among dental students using eye-tracking technology.

Tele-consultations are increasingly used for screening and diagnosis. Only a few studies have assessed dental students' visual attention to clinical images. To (i) determine dental students' gaze behavior, visual fixations, and diagnostic competence while viewing clinical images, and (ii) explore potential opportunities to strengthen the teaching-learning approaches. Tobii Pro Nano-device captured the eye-tracking data for 65 dental undergraduate students in this cross-sectional study. The predetermined areas of interest (AOI) for all five clinical photographs were uploaded onto Tobii software. All participants used a think-aloud protocol with no restrictions to view time. A total of 325 clinical pictures were analyzed, and the average view time was 189.25±76.90 s. Most participants started at the center of the image (three frontal photos), spent a significant share of their view time on prominent findings, did not follow a systematic pattern, and exhibited diagnostic incompetence. Also, most participants followed a "Z" viewing pattern (oscillating movement from left to right) for the remaining two pictures. Subjects frequently fixated on the prominent AOI, however, failed to make the correct diagnosis. Their view patterns revealed no sequential viewing. Therefore, emphasizing knowledge about common dental abnormalities and focusing on full coverage of clinical pictures can improve dental students' diagnostic competence and view patterns.

Lipoaspirate Injection in Relapsing Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis: Preliminary Results.

The management of idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) poses a clinical challenge due to high recurrence rates following both endoscopic and open approaches, often leading to tracheostomy. The activation of abnormal T-cells and cytokine pathways has been linked to iSGS pathogenesis. Autologous adipose tissue centrifugation yields lipoaspirate, offering optimal anti-inflammatory effects and biocompatibility widely utilized in various medical settings. This report presents the first 3 cases employing endoscopic dilation (ED) in combination with local lipoaspirate injection to address recurrent iSGS. A prospective observational study was conducted, involving multidisciplinary evaluation by the Tracheal Team at the University of Modena. Patients meeting specific criteria were directed to undergo ED + lipoaspirate injection. Three patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The mean number of prior endoscopic procedures performed was 8. Endoscopic examination revealed 90% stenosis in patient A, 60% stenosis in patient B, and 60% stenosis in patient C. All patients presented inflammatory tissue or incipient granulations at the stenotic site, with an average time of 6 months between previous procedures. After 15 months, none of the patients required further procedures, and endoscopic examination revealed a significant reduction or disappearance of inflammatory tissue with a stable airway lumen. The observed results are encouraging in terms of reducing local inflammation and halting stenosis progression, especially in cases of short-term relapsing iSGS.

A novel intracoronary hypothermia device reduces myocardial reperfusion injury in pigs.

Hypothermia therapy has been suggested to attenuate myocardial necrosis; however, the clinical implementation as a valid therapeutic strategy has failed, and new approaches are needed to translate into clinical applications. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a novel selective intracoronary hypothermia (SICH) device in mitigating myocardial reperfusion injury. This study comprised two phases. The first phase of the SICH was performed in a normal porcine model for 30 minutes ( n = 5) to evaluate its feasibility. The second phase was conducted in a porcine myocardial infarction (MI) model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion which was performed by balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery for 60 minutes and maintained for 42 days. Pigs in the hypothermia group ( n = 8) received hypothermia intervention onset reperfusion for 30 minutes and controls ( n = 8) received no intervention. All animals were followed for 42 days. Cardiac magnetic resonance analysis (five and 42 days post-MI) and a series of biomarkers/histological studies were performed. The average time to lower temperatures to a steady state was 4.8 ± 0.8 s. SICH had no impact on blood pressure or heart rate and was safely performed without complications by using a 3.9 F catheter. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein (CRP), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were lower at 60 min post perfusion in pigs that underwent SICH as compared with the control group. On day 5 post MI/R, edema, intramyocardial hemorrhage, and microvascular obstruction were reduced in the hypothermia group. On day 42 post MI/R, the infarct size, IL-6, CRP, BNP, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 were reduced, and the ejection fraction was improved in pigs that underwent SICH. The SICH device safely and effectively reduced the infarct size and improved heart function in a pig model of MI/R. These beneficial effects indicate the clinical potential of SICH for treatment of myocardial reperfusion injury.

Declining potential nectar production of the herb layer in temperate forests under global change

Abstract Wild pollinators are crucial for ecosystem functioning and human food production and often rely on floral resources provided by different (semi‐) natural ecosystems for survival. Yet, the role of European forests, and especially the European forest herb layer, as a potential provider of floral resources for pollinators has scarcely been quantified. In this study, we measured the potential nectar production (PNP) of the forest herb layer using resurvey data across 3326 plots in temperate forests in Europe, with an average time interval of 41 years between both surveys in order to assess (i) the importance of the forest herb layer in providing nectar for wild pollinators, (ii) the intra‐annual variation of PNP, (iii) the overall change in PNP between survey periods and (iv) the change in intra‐annual variation of PNP between survey periods. The PNP estimates nectar availability based on the relative cover of different plant species in the forest herb layer. Although PNP overestimates actual nectar production, relative differences amongst plots provide a valid and informative way to analyse differences across time and space. Our results show that the forest herb layer has a large potential for providing nectar for wild pollinator communities, which is greatest in spring, with an average PNP of almost 16 g sugar/m2/year. However, this potential has drastically declined (mean plot‐level decline &gt;24%). Change in light availability, associated with shifts in canopy structure and canopy composition, is the key driver of temporal PNP changes. Synthesis. Our study shows that if management activities are carefully planned to sustain nectar‐producing plant species for wild pollinators, European forest herb layers and European forests as a whole can play key roles in sustaining wild pollinator populations.

Delivery of hereditary cancer genetics services to patients newly diagnosed with ovarian and endometrial cancers at three gynecologic oncology clinics in the USA, Brazil, and Mexico

ObjectiveThree gynecologic oncology clinics located in the USA, Brazil, and Mexico collaborated to evaluate their delivery of hereditary cancer genetics services. This descriptive retrospective review study aimed to establish baseline...

Reliable finite-frequency H ∞ control for switched systems with actuator faults and mode-dependent average dwell time

This paper deals with the reliable finite-frequency H ∞ control problem for switched systems with actuator faults and mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT). The objective of designing reliable controllers is to guarantee the stability and robustness of the closed-loop system in the case of actuator faults. The actuator fault is solved using the convex combination method. A finite-frequency H ∞ performance index is first defined in the frequency domain, and then a finite-frequency performance condition is derived by the generalised Kalman-Yakubovi c ˘ -Popov (GKYP) lemma. Combined with the MDADT approach and linear matrix inequality technology, a sufficient condition for the existence of a set of reliable finite-frequency H ∞ controllers is derived. As a comparison, a sufficient condition is also given for the existence of a set of standard finite-frequency H ∞ controllers. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are verified using a tilt-rotor aircraft. In addition, simulations and comparisons show that the designed reliable controller can stabilise the system even if actuator faults occur.

Defendroid: Real-time Android code vulnerability detection via blockchain federated neural network with XAI

Ensuring strict adherence to security during the phases of Android app development is essential, primarily due to the prevalent issue of apps being released without adequate security measures in place. While a few automated tools are employed to reduce potential vulnerabilities during development, their effectiveness in detecting vulnerabilities may fall short. To address this, “Defendroid”, a blockchain-based federated neural network enhanced with Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is introduced in this work. Trained on the LVDAndro dataset, the vanilla neural network model achieves a 96% accuracy and 0.96 F1-Score in binary classification for vulnerability detection. Additionally, in multi-class classification, the model accurately identifies Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) categories with a 93% accuracy and 0.91 F1-Score. In a move to foster collaboration and model improvement, the model has been deployed within a blockchain-based federated environment. This environment enables community-driven collaborative training and enhancements in partnership with other clients. The extended model demonstrates improved accuracy of 96% and F1-Score of 0.96 in both binary and multi-class classifications. The use of XAI plays a pivotal role in presenting vulnerability detection results to developers, offering prediction probabilities for each word within the code. This model has been integrated into an Application Programming Interface (API) as the backend and further incorporated into Android Studio as a plugin, facilitating real-time vulnerability detection. Notably, Defendroid exhibits high efficiency, delivering prediction probabilities for a single code line in an average processing time of a mere 300 ms. The weight-sharing transparency in the blockchain-driven federated model enhances trust and traceability, fostering community engagement while preserving source code privacy and contributing to accuracy improvement.

Actigraphic sleep dimensions and associations with academic functioning among adolescents.

There is mixed evidence regarding associations of sleep duration with academic functioning in adolescents and a lack of research on other sleep dimensions, particularly using objective sleep measures. We examined associations of multiple actigraphic sleep dimensions with academic functioning among adolescents. Data were from the sleep sub-study of the age 15 wave of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 774-782; 52% female), a national, diverse sample of teens. Adolescents wore wrist-actigraphs for ~1 week and completed a survey reporting academic performance and school-related behavioral problems. Regression models assessed whether average sleep duration, timing, maintenance efficiency, and SD-variability were associated with self-reported academic functioning in cross-sectional analyses adjusted for demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. Later sleep timing (hours) and greater sleep variability (SD-hours) were associated with poorer academic outcomes, including sleep onset variability with higher odds of receiving a D or lower (OR = 1.29), sleep onset (β = -.07), sleep offset (β = -.08), and sleep duration variability (β = -.08) with fewer A grades, sleep offset with lower GPA (β = -.07), sleep offset (OR = 1.11), sleep duration variability (OR = 1.31), and sleep onset variability (OR = 1.42) with higher odds of being suspended or expelled in the past 2 years, and sleep duration variability with greater trouble at school (β = .13). Sleep duration, sleep maintenance efficiency, and sleep regularity index were not associated with academic functioning. Later sleep timing and greater sleep variability are risk factors for certain academic problems among adolescents. Promoting sufficient, regular sleep timing across the week may improve adolescent academic functioning.

Reduced sleep quality defines a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder with lower Glx levels in the resting thalamus and worse response inhibition

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the differences between resting and active thalamic neurometabolite levels and inhibitory function in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients with poor sleep quality (PSQ was defined as Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5 and sleep efficiency ≤85%) compared to OCD patients with good sleep quality (GSQ) and healthy controls (HCs), as well as the relationship of these indices to obsessive compulsive symptoms. MethodsFunctional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) was used to measure resting and active thalamic neurometabolite levels in 72 subjects (20 HCs and 38 OCD patients included in study analysis). Response inhibition function was measured by the Go-Nogo task before and during MRS recording. Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The symptoms of OCD, anxiety and depression were evaluated using relevant clinical scales. ResultsOCD patients exhibited significantly reduced Glx/Cr levels in the resting thalamus. The levels of resting thalamic Glu/Cr and Glx/Cr in OCD patients with PSQ were significantly lowest. OCD patients had significantly lower correct rates on Go tasks, higher error rates on Nogo tasks, and longer error average response times (EART) to the Nogo task. OCD patients with PSQ demonstrated the highest Nogo task error rate and the longest EART to Nogo task. Furthermore, PSQI scores exhibited negative correlations with Glu/Cr and Glx/Cr in the resting thalamus. ConclusionOCD patients with PSQ demonstrated reduced levels of thalamic resting Glx and more pronounced response inhibitory function impairment. Aberrant neurometabolite levels in critical brain regions, coupled with heightened response inhibition function deficits, may be a neurobiological basis for the PSQ that OCD patients generally exhibit.