Acute pancreatitis:A review of diagnosis,severity prediction and prognosis assessment from imaging technology,scoring system and artificial intelligence

Acute pancreatitis(AP)is a potentially life-threatening inflammatory disease of the pancreas,with clinical management determined by the severity of the disease.Diagnosis,severity prediction,and prognosis assessment of AP typically involve the use of imaging technologies,such as computed tomography,magnetic resonance imaging,and ultrasound,and scoring systems,including Ranson,Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II,and Bedside Index for Severity in AP scores.Computed tomography is considered the gold standard imaging modality for AP due to its high sensitivity and specificity,while magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound can provide additional information on biliary obstruction and vascular complications.Scoring systems utilize clinical and laboratory parameters to classify AP patients into mild,moderate,or severe categories,guiding treatment decisions,such as intensive care unit admission,early enteral feeding,and antibiotic use.Despite the central role of imaging technologies and scoring systems in AP management,these methods have limitations in terms of accuracy,reproducibility,practicality and economics.Recent advancements of artificial intelligence(AI)provide new opportunities to enhance their performance by analyzing vast amounts of clinical and imaging data.AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of clinical and imaging data,identify scoring system patterns,and predict the clinical course of disease.AI-based models have shown promising results in predicting the severity and mortality of AP,but further validation and standardization are required before widespread clinical application.In addition,understanding the correlation between these three technologies will aid in developing new methods that can accurately,sensitively,and specifically be used in the diagnosis,severity prediction,and prognosis assessment of AP through complementary advantages.

Shaoma Zhijing granule for children with tic disorders: A rapid health technology assessment

Objective:To rapidly assess the effectiveness,safety,economy,and applicability of Shaoma Zhijing granule(SZG)for the treatment of children with tic disorders(TD),and provide currently available best evidence for decision-makers of health policies.Methods:We conducted a rapid health technology assessment(RHTA)to explore the value of SZG.A systematic literature search in eight literature databases and on three clinical trial registration platforms was performed.The literature was screened according to eligibility criteria.The screening process and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers,and the quality of the literature was also assessed.The results were summarized,analyzed,and presented in tables or figures.Results:A total of five randomized controlled trials(RCTs)were included in this study,of which one was published in English(in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)and four in Chinese journals.The overall risk of bias for the five RCTs was evaluated as“some concerns.”SZG monotherapy or in combi-nation with tiapride was better than tiapride alone in improving traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndromes and tic symptoms,with a daily cost of¥67.50e107.22.Adverse events were mainly related to the digestive,respiratory,and neurological systems,but all were mild.Conclusion:Overall,the current RHTA of published,peer-reviewed literature has located a small body of evidence evaluating the use of SZG for the treatment of TD in children.SZG has effects on improving TCM syndromes and tic symptoms;the daily cost is¥67.50e107.22;and all adverse events are mild.High-quality studies with long-term follow-up should be conducted,so as to provide local evidence and consistently guide and improve scientific decision-making.

Towards Automated Assessment of Learning Management Systems in Higher Education Institutions in Zambia

Zambia like any other country in most African regions is still grappling with the dynamics of harnessing technology for the betterment of Higher Education. The onset of the Covid 19 pandemic brought a test for the preparedness of the Zambian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in harnessing technology for pedagogical activities. As countries worldwide switched to electronic learning during the pandemic, the same could not be said for Zambian HEIs. Zambian HEIs struggled to conduct pedagogical activities on learning management platforms. This study investigated the factors affecting the implementation and assessment of learning Management systems in Zambia’s HEIs. With its focus on assessing: 1) system features, 2) compliance with regulatory standards, 3) quality of service and 4) technology acceptance as the four key assessment areas of an LMS, this article proposed a model for assessing learning management systems in Zambian HEIs. To test the proposed model, a software tool was also developed.

Why Portfolio Assessment is Introduced to Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology

The concept of portfolio assessment derived from the field of fine arts. It has been proven an effective learning and assessment tool. In Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, the traditional assessment is still used. After analysing the benefits and disadvantages, the author is eager to introduce it to Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology. The problems are also predicted.

Slope excavation quality assessment and excavated volume calculation in hydraulic projects based on laser scanning technology

Slope excavation is one of the most crucial steps in the construction of a hydraulic project. Excavation project quality assessment and excavated volume calculation are critical in construction management. The positioning of excavation projects using traditional instruments is inefficient and may cause error. To improve the efficiency and precision of calculation and assessment, three-dimensional laser scanning technology was used for slope excavation quality assessment. An efficient data acquisition, processing, and management workflow was presented in this study. Based on the quality control indices, including the average gradient, slope toe elevation, and overbreak and underbreak,cross-sectional quality assessment and holistic quality assessment methods were proposed to assess the slope excavation quality with laserscanned data. An algorithm was also presented to calculate the excavated volume with laser-scanned data. A field application and a laboratory experiment were carried out to verify the feasibility of these methods for excavation quality assessment and excavated volume calculation. The results show that the quality assessment indices can be obtained rapidly and accurately with design parameters and scanned data, and the results of holistic quality assessment are consistent with those of cross-sectional quality assessment. In addition, the time consumption in excavation quality assessment with the laser scanning technology can be reduced by 70%e90%, as compared with the traditional method. The excavated volume calculated with the scanned data only slightly differs from measured data, demonstrating the applicability of the excavated volume calculation method presented in this study.

Health technology assessment in China: challenges and opportunities

Objectives:Economic growth and rapid development of health technology in China have created opportunities to strengthen health technology assessment (HTA) capacity.Over the time,HTA institutions have been established to conduct HTA related work.This study reviewed the current status of HTA in China and analysed the challenges of HTA development in the context of health reform under'new normal'economy.Methods:Literature review and webpage searches were used to document the development of HTA in China.An institutional survey has also been conducted to collect information on the HTA research institutions in China.Results:The number of articles and research projects on HTA were rising and are continuing to rise.HTA development has made substantial progress in China in terms of growing number of research institutions and qualified HTA workforce.However,HTA has notable weaknesses such as low capacity for conducting HTA research,limited experience in HTA researchers,and lack of knowledge translation.Conclusion:Currently,the translation of HTA findings to policy-making is limited and the integration of HTA in the policy-making processes is still in its infancy.The HTA development in China has had opportunities due to demands of health care,health insurance,and health technology as a result of health reform.Capacity building and institutionalization of HTA are urgently needed for further development of HTA in China.

Health technology assessment in traditional Chinese medicine in China: current status, opportunities, and challenges

Objectives:The widespread usage of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and the government's emphasis on TCM in China have created a positive macro-environment and great opportunities to develop and strengthen health technology assessment(HTA)in TCM.Over the past ten years,a series of policies have been issued by the government to promote the application of HTA and the development of TCM in China.This study reviews the concepts and characteristics of TCM,summarizes the current status of HTA in TCM,and analyzes the opportunities and challenges faced by HTA development in TCM with respect to deepening of healthcare reforms.Methods:Literature review and website searches were used to acquire information regarding the basic theories of TCM and the current status,opportunities,and challenges for HTA in TCM.Results:The number of articles on HTA in TCM rose substantially,especially those published in China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI).With the optimistic policy environment and huge market demand for TCM,the development of HTA in TCM is expected to flourish in China.However,HTA in TCM also faces numerous challenges such as the absence of a clinical efficacy evaluation system for TCM and insufficient basic research evidence and qualified personnel.Conclusions:TCM has unique characteristic that distinguishes it from Western medicine.Currently,it is important to take all measures to address the existing main challenges and thereby take advantage of the present opportunities to develop and improve HTA in TCM.

Ecological Risk Assessment of Shan Xin Mining Area Based on Remote Sensing and Geography Information System Technology

In this paper, introducing new remote sensing and geographic information technology to solve the problem of data collection and analysis, this makes the study of ecological risk assessment very quick and accurate. Taking the Shan Xin mining area of the tin mine in Lengshuijiang of Hunan Province as the research object, using the remote sensing image data of three periods in 2005, 2010 and 2015, the remote sensing image is classified carefully and the landscape classification map of the mining area is obtained. The ecological risk index is introduced and the ecological risk values are sampled and interpolated on the ArcGIS platform. The ecological risk spatial distribution map based on the landscape pattern index was obtained. The ecological risk was divided into 5 levels by using the Jenks natural classification method, and each ecological risk grade area was counted. The research results show that: from year 2005 to year 2010, landscape ecological risk trend of the mining area is growing up;the trend rising area of landscape ecological risk is mainly in the southwest and northeast of the Shan Xin mining field;the area of higher and high ecological risk is increasing year by year;and the trend of dispersed development in space is obvious;the development trend of ecological risk in the mining area is rapidly increasing;in 2010 - 2015, the higher and high ecological risk area decrease slightly with the increasing of area of grassland and residential low vulnerability of landscape types;the ecological risk area showed a slow decreasing trend. The research results provide an objective reference for decision making of ecological environment governance.

Hospital-based health technology assessment:The next frontier for traditional Chinese medicine hospitals

Hospital-based health technology assessment(HB-HTA)is highly valuable in the application of hospital medical technology,cost control,improvement of medical quality,and protection of medical safety,and its use is increasing daily globally.However,in China,HB-HTA is still in its infancy,and it is yet to be adopted in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Therefore,this article introduces the application and development of HB-HTA,as well as discusses the current situation of TCM and related future development strategies to provide ideas and references for the development of HB-HTA in TCM.We conclude and recommend that all major stakeholders,including the state,health departments,and hospital leaders,support and promote the exploration and development of HB-HTA in TCM hospitals and integrative medicine hospitals.We also suggest the utilization of existing talents and introduction of other necessary talents to promote better and faster organizational development,as well as suggest the formation of a national and internationally recognized HB-HTA guidance manual and toolkit for TCM hospitals based on both the national HTA guidelines and the evaluation of TCM hospitals pilot projects.Moreover,we recommend that HB-HTA pilot study should be executed with Chinese patent medicine as the starting point to form the implementation process and framework in the TCM arena.

Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values:A Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System

Purpose-Nowadays successful organizations need to be masters at leadership by values to play in a constantly changing and transforming environment.But how can leaders and organizations effectively convene strategic and culture development based on values?This paper presents the Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values(TMLV)in which leaders and organizations can integrate a sustainable strategy,as well as a culture and value-based management system that simultaneously leverages human,financial,and social resources.With its three essential axes of values(economic-pragmatic,emotional-development,and ethical-social)at their intersection points,it allows leaders to focus on the strategy linkages:innovation-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the emotional-development values axis-allows them to develop sustainable innovations;survival-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the ethical-social values axis-enhances their organization’s survival;finally,sensibility-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the ethical-social values axis-makes them more humane and more socially-responsible.The application of the TMLV,using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System,can be a great inspiration for stimulating and working with values in organizations,as well as allowing leaders to develop a values-based,high-involvement,and performance-oriented culture.Methodology/Approach-This research considers empirical data analysis of the 37 case studies of the EU-InnovatE project(http//www.euinnovate.com)-a pioneering initiative to align innovation values to integrate the end user into the process of innovation and entrepreneurship related to a sustainable lifestyle and the green economy in Europe-using a fuzzy multiple-criteria decision making method and open technologies system,such as server-side PHP language,MariaDB Database,fork of MYSQL Database Management System,and JavaScript libraries to perform operation directly on the user’s browser.Findings-The application of the TMLV model,considering empirical analysis of the extracted values from the case studies,using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System,can be a great inspiration for stimulating and working with values in João organizations,as well as allowing leaders to develop suitable strategies and interventions for shaping a sustainable high-performance culture.Research implications-This research can be a starting point for further research to assess the effectiveness of the leadership model based on a decision-making open technology system in any given organization,as well as to invite researchers who have positive passion about working with values to participate in the improvement of this tool.Originality/value-The Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System is presented as an evolution in leadership models that may be used to fuel innovation,survival,and a sensibility strategic focus that is necessary to optimize human and organizational performance and deliver effective solutions to the massive array of human,financial,and social problems we face today.

Key Technology Research and Exemplification Analysis on Investigation and Assessment of Geoheritages and Geopark Construction

In recent years,great efforts have been made on the geoparks’ application and construction,but there is a shortage of research on the theories and methodologies of geoheritage investigation and assessment. Based on the summaries of having finished geoheritage investtigation and assessment and geopark construction projects,some key technologic methods analyzed in this paper are as follows:(1)

Can health technology assessments assist the global campaign against poverty?

Although a key tenant of the Sustainable Development Goals is to achieve universal health coverage,the global drug gap persists-cver a third of the global population lack access to essential medicines.Without access to affordable drugs,people have worse health outcomes,higher medical expenses,and productivity loss,pushing them into poverty.Health technology assessments(HTAs)offer an opportunity to decrease the global drug gap and increase access to essential medicines by overcoming barriers to medicine access.These barriers include drug procurement,drug affordability for payers and patients,a patienfs ability to obtain essential medicines,and health system capacity.Using HTAs can therefore close the global drug gap by increasing access to affordable essential medicines.In turn,people have better health outcomes,spend less money on medical care,and can have better productivity.Ultimately,use of HTAs can lift the population out of poverty and force fewer people into poverty by creating better health outcomes at affordable prices.

Technology Demand Assessment of Adaption of Chinese Cities to Climate Change

Climate change adaptation is the process of preparing and actively adjusting to meet the climate change (negative effects and potential opportunities). Urban adaptation is aimed at the sensitivity level of risks and specific impacts of cities under the impact of climate change, and to develop policies and investment programs to reduce the vulnerability of cities to climate change risk. Urban adaptive action provides the basis and direction for the construction of urban resilience and sustainable development. Identifying the demand of adaption technologies, promoting the practical implementation of international technology transfer and reducing domestic emissions have important significance for the global response to climate change and improvement of the ability of urban adaptation. In this paper, through in-depth analysis on the concept and connotation of climate change, climate disasters and urban adaptation to climate change, the evaluation framework and steps of urban adaptation to climate change technology are determined, and six priority application technologies which can maximize the overall efficiency of sustainable development, improve the ability to adapt to climate change and at the same time reduce the cost at the greatest extent are identified.

Establishment and Application of Urbanization Strategic Environ-mental Assessment Integration Technology System

Urbanization strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is an effective instrument to enhance the harmo-nious development of urban complex system, integrating of environment and development in decision-making. Ur-banization strategic environmental assessment integration technology system (SEA-ITS) is composed of "3S" (RS, GIS and GPS), environmental expert system and environmental model system, coupling with appropriate SEA working process closely. In this paper, the structure and components of SEA-ITS are analyzed based on Chinese characteristics, meanwhile methods to fulfill the following system functions are discussed: urbanization SEA in-quiring, analysis, discrimination, assessment, prediction, decision-making and output. Moreover, methods and tech-nologies employed in different urbanization SEA hierarchies are summarized. As a case study, urbanization SEA-ITS is applied in Changchun City to solving complex real problems. Methods such as system dynamics and grey cluster are adopted to achieve the environmental impact assessment on the eco-industrial system planning. It is revealed that the system designed is capable of reflecting the dynamic behavior of eco-industrial system under different sce-narios, meanwhile accomplishing strategy optimization and supplying scientific reference. The 4th strategy, namely concerning on economy increase and its interaction with science, technology and environment progress, would have the best efficiency. Further, more attention should be paid to the secondary development of integration techniques and function modification system of urbanization SEA-ITS.

Research of Technology Readiness Assessment for Aerospace Projects

Two problems were found in recent applications of TRLs in aerospace projects.One is how to accurately evaluate the readiness level of a given technology in a project using the TRL scale.The other is how to deal with the diversity(different types) of technologies involved in an aerospace project.To solve these problems,a technology readiness assessment(TRA) method based on three maturity characteristics is established,and this method is adapted according to the features of different types of technologies.The proposed method has been successfully applied to aerospace projects and enables great effectiveness and accuracy in assessing new technologies.

Constructing an assessment index system for strategic risk management in coal science and technology enterprises

Coal occupies a dominant position in China's national economy and is an essential energy source for future industrial development.To inform the efficient and sustainable development of the coal industry,this paper analyzes the sources of strategic risk for coal science and technology enterprises using 3 firstclass indicators,10 second-level indicators,and 37 observation points established through the existing research literature and experience.Moreover,in accordance to the obtained initial index data,the selected indicators have been tested and screened using reliability and membership degree analyses to remove redundant variables,avoid juxtaposition of risk factors at different levels,and reduce the influence of some tiny risk factors for enterprise strategic risk.Then,factor analysis of external environment factor sub-scale was carried out.Factors are extracted according to a standard characteristic value greater than 1.Variables with high coefficients are classified into one factor category;and finally,3 first-class indicators,8 second-level indicators,and 37 observation points are reconstructed.

基于信息化理念与技术的现代评价——E-assessment的研究和应用

在现代信息社会的背景下,信息化理念和技术已经成为教育评价与考试发展中不可或缺的因素。以信息化理念和技术为核心的E-assessment概念,是近年来在考试与评价领域发展起来的一种新的评价思想及其应用的集合,本文通过对国际知名教育评价机构——英国剑桥评价的研究,系统阐述了E-assessment的在教育评价与考试中的应用和意义,对我国教育评价与考试工作有着很好的启示和借鉴。