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Background: Finger-toe pathway could represent a good alternative to assess the arterial stiffness conveniently. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the pOpmètre which measures finger-toe pulse wave velocity (ft-PWV). Methods: The pOpmètre® has 2 photodiodes sensors, positioned on the...

This paper identifies a set of external factors which may influence on users’ perceptions about an information system’s ease of use and usefulness underlying user beliefs. The research model was developed based on Davis's Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) along with extending a comprehensive list of...

The idea of Bag of Features (BoF) is recently often employed for general object recognition. But, as it does not take positional relations of detected features into account, the recognition rate is still not very high for practical use. This paper proposes a method of describing the feature of an object...

In this paper, we deal with the subject of shipwreck removal and the methods that are employed during removal operations. We use a case study to illustrate the stages of these operations as well as the parameters that affect the process. Furthermore, we outline a number of different scenarios of the...

This paper is focused on α-generalized semantic resolution automated reasoning method in linguistic truth-valued lattice-valued propositional logic. Concretely, α-generalized semantic resolution for lattice-valued propositional logic ()P(X) is equivalently transformed into that for lattice-valued...

This contribution serves historical and philosophical reflecting cognitions on the role of Soft Computing in the 21st century. Referring to Magdalena's article in this issue, this paper considers the aspects of mixtures of techniques, the opposite pair "Hard Computing" and "Soft Computing", and Computational...

Epidemiological studies on Acute Pancreatitis (AP) are significantly scarce in the Saudi Arabian Literature. In this paper, we aim to explore the current trends of AP in a sample of Saudi patients. This is a cross-sectional study in which we reviewed AP-related admissions from 2014 to 2017. Data collected...

A relationship exists between the emergency patient death rate and factors such as the failure to access a patient’s critical data and the time it takes to arrive at hospitals. The ability for Paramedics to access a patient’s complete picture of emergency-relevant medical data is critical and can significantly...

We deal with the normality asymptotic theory of empirical divergences measures based on wavelets in a series of three papers. In this first paper, we provide the asymptotic theory of the general of ϕ-divergences measures, which includes the most common divergence measures : Renyi and Tsallis families...

Recently a solvable N-body problem featuring several free parameters has been investigated, and conditions on these parameters have been identified which guarantee that this system is isochronous (all its solutions are periodic with a fixed period) and that it possesses equilibria. The N coordinates...

In this paper we investigate compatible overdetermined systems of PDEs on the plane with one common characteristic. Lie's theorem states that its integration is equivalent to a system of ODEs, and we give a new proof by relating it to the geometry of rank 2 distributions. We find a criterion for...

Aortic pulse pressure and other pulsatile components of the aortic pressure pulse are important predictors of cardiovascular outcomes, however the properties of the arterial tree that determine the aortic pulse are still poorly understood. We used numerical modelling to predict aortic pulse morphology...

Introduction: There is currently no clinical imaging techniques available to assess the degree of inflammation associated with atherosclerotic plaques. This study aims at visualising and characterising atherosclerosis using targeted USPIO as an MRI probe for detecting inflamed endothelial cells. Method:...

In recent years, great attention has been placed on local carotid elasticity. Carotid pulse wave velocity (cPWV) can be considered a surrogate marker for carotid stiffness evaluation. Aim of this study was to compare four different techniques for carotid stiffness assessment. Ten young healthy subjects...

Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure of the stiffness of the large arteries, and is often used as indicator of clinical cardiovascular risk. Yet, methodological issues still exist on how PWV should best be measured. We have used a 1D arterial network computer model of the systemic circulation...

Background: Central (aortic) blood pressure (BP) indices independently predict cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, but the physiological mechanisms underlying aortic BP waveform morphology are subject to debate. The ‘aortic reservoir’ and ‘excess pressure’ are proposed as determinants of aortic...

Rationale: Bronchiectasis is characterised by inflammation and airways injury, which lead to loss of airways function, factors which are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in various populations. Central arterial stiffness (AS) a predictor of CVD risk has not been studied...

To date, regional aortic stiffness can be evaluated by the reference tonometric technique via the pulse wave velocity (PWV) measured in two points: the carotid and the femoral arteries. Based on a similar intersecting tangent algorithm, we have developed a new method for the determination of carotid-femoral...

This research proposes a new Big File Cloud (BFC) with its architecture and algorithms to solve difficult problems of cloud-based storage using the advantages of key-value stores. There are many problems when designing an efficient storage engine for cloud-based storage systems with strict requirements...

Recently, many people have used Smartphones. The feature of Smartphones is that they are equipped with a mobile operating system (OS) for the control of sensors and modules. In this situation, we can connect external human interaction devices with the Smartphone. Our objective is to know how the external...

Recently, driving support technologies have been practically used. However, a problem has been pointed out that when a vehicle is connected with an external network, the safety of the vehicle is threatened. Ensuring the security of in-vehicle systems becomes an important priority. The present study proposes...

A new definition for the electromagnetic field velocity is proposed. The velocity depends on the physical fields. The question posed by the title of this paper is, surprisingly, not yet answered uniquely today; not even by way of definition. According to modern assumptions the light is the electromagnetic...

This paper provides a literature review in clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) with a focus on the way knowledge bases are constructed, and how inference mechanisms and group decision making methods are used in CDSSs. Particular attention is paid to the uncertainty handling capability of the commonly...

We study the integrability properties of the hierarchy of a class of nonlinear ordinary differential equations and point out some of the properties of these equations and their connection to the Ermakov-Pinney equation.

The high-voltage transmission line had been used primarily for power distribution from power plant or power station to the end users. However, the transmission line is highly prone to damage due to exposure to various thermal–mechanical loadings and material degradation. Therefore, periodical inspection...

Problem statement: Lung cancer screening using X-rays has been controversial for many years. A major concern is whether lung cancer screening really brings any survival benefits, which depends on effective treatment after early detection. The problem was analyzed from a different point of view and estimates...

Controlling hypertension is essential in cardiovascular diseases. Poor medication adherence is associated with poor disease outcomes, waste of healthcare resources, and contributes to reduced blood pressure control. This study evaluates treatment adherence to antihypertensive therapy in Lebanese hypertensive...

This study aimed to determine the predictors of Quality of Life (QoL) in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (TDT) patients based on PRECEDE (Predisposing, Reinforcing and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation) model. This cross-sectional analytical study was performed on 389 TDT...

Numerous natural compounds including Nigella sativa (N. sativa) demonstrate anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic antiangiogenic properties. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mediated inflammation is regarded as an important contributor to the inflammation that is associated with the development of arteriosclerosis....

Under the trend of intelligent industrial control systems, it is very important to prevent network hackers from invading the system to attack devices. In particular, today’s hackers have multiple attacks and the number of attacks has increased year-by-year. How to stop hackers from attacking the system...

In this paper, the (2+1)-dimensional extended quantum Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation is further explored. The equation is shown to be self-adjoint and conserved vector is constructed according to the related theorem. Then the corresponding optimal system of one-dimensional subgroups is determined. Similarity...