Revolutionizing diabetic retinopathy screening and management:The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning

Diabetic retinopathy(DR)remains a leading cause of vision impairment and blindness among individuals with diabetes,necessitating innovative approaches to screening and management.This editorial explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence(AI)and machine learning(ML)in revolutionizing DR care.AI and ML technologies have demonstrated remarkable advancements in enhancing the accuracy,efficiency,and accessibility of DR screening,helping to overcome barriers to early detection.These technologies leverage vast datasets to identify patterns and predict disease progression with unprecedented precision,enabling clinicians to make more informed decisions.Furthermore,AI-driven solutions hold promise in personalizing management strategies for DR,incorpo-rating predictive analytics to tailor interventions and optimize treatment path-ways.By automating routine tasks,AI can reduce the burden on healthcare providers,allowing for a more focused allocation of resources towards complex patient care.This review aims to evaluate the current advancements and applic-ations of AI and ML in DR screening,and to discuss the potential of these techno-logies in developing personalized management strategies,ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes and reduce the global burden of DR.The integration of AI and ML in DR care represents a paradigm shift,offering a glimpse into the future of ophthalmic healthcare.

Reinforcement Learning-Based Energy Management for Hybrid Power Systems:State-of-the-Art Survey,Review,and Perspectives

The new energy vehicle plays a crucial role in green transportation,and the energy management strategy of hybrid power systems is essential for ensuring energy-efficient driving.This paper presents a state-of-the-art survey and review of reinforcement learning-based energy management strategies for hybrid power systems.Additionally,it envisions the outlook for autonomous intelligent hybrid electric vehicles,with reinforcement learning as the foundational technology.First of all,to provide a macro view of historical development,the brief history of deep learning,reinforcement learning,and deep reinforcement learning is presented in the form of a timeline.Then,the comprehensive survey and review are conducted by collecting papers from mainstream academic databases.Enumerating most of the contributions based on three main directions—algorithm innovation,powertrain innovation,and environment innovation—provides an objective review of the research status.Finally,to advance the application of reinforcement learning in autonomous intelligent hybrid electric vehicles,future research plans positioned as“Alpha HEV”are envisioned,integrating Autopilot and energy-saving control.

Security Monitoring and Management for the Network Services in the Orchestration of SDN-NFV Environment Using Machine Learning Techniques

Software Defined Network(SDN)and Network Function Virtualization(NFV)technology promote several benefits to network operators,including reduced maintenance costs,increased network operational performance,simplified network lifecycle,and policies management.Network vulnerabilities try to modify services provided by Network Function Virtualization MANagement and Orchestration(NFV MANO),and malicious attacks in different scenarios disrupt the NFV Orchestrator(NFVO)and Virtualized Infrastructure Manager(VIM)lifecycle management related to network services or individual Virtualized Network Function(VNF).This paper proposes an anomaly detection mechanism that monitors threats in NFV MANO and manages promptly and adaptively to implement and handle security functions in order to enhance the quality of experience for end users.An anomaly detector investigates these identified risks and provides secure network services.It enables virtual network security functions and identifies anomalies in Kubernetes(a cloud-based platform).For training and testing purpose of the proposed approach,an intrusion-containing dataset is used that hold multiple malicious activities like a Smurf,Neptune,Teardrop,Pod,Land,IPsweep,etc.,categorized as Probing(Prob),Denial of Service(DoS),User to Root(U2R),and Remote to User(R2L)attacks.An anomaly detector is anticipated with the capabilities of a Machine Learning(ML)technique,making use of supervised learning techniques like Logistic Regression(LR),Support Vector Machine(SVM),Random Forest(RF),Naïve Bayes(NB),and Extreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost).The proposed framework has been evaluated by deploying the identified ML algorithm on a Jupyter notebook in Kubeflow to simulate Kubernetes for validation purposes.RF classifier has shown better outcomes(99.90%accuracy)than other classifiers in detecting anomalies/intrusions in the containerized environment.

AI-Driven Learning Management Systems:Modern Developments, Challenges and Future Trends during theAge of ChatGPT

COVID-19 pandemic restrictions limited all social activities to curtail the spread of the virus.The foremost and most prime sector among those affected were schools,colleges,and universities.The education system of entire nations had shifted to online education during this time.Many shortcomings of Learning Management Systems(LMSs)were detected to support education in an online mode that spawned the research in Artificial Intelligence(AI)based tools that are being developed by the research community to improve the effectiveness of LMSs.This paper presents a detailed survey of the different enhancements to LMSs,which are led by key advances in the area of AI to enhance the real-time and non-real-time user experience.The AI-based enhancements proposed to the LMSs start from the Application layer and Presentation layer in the form of flipped classroom models for the efficient learning environment and appropriately designed UI/UX for efficient utilization of LMS utilities and resources,including AI-based chatbots.Session layer enhancements are also required,such as AI-based online proctoring and user authentication using Biometrics.These extend to the Transport layer to support real-time and rate adaptive encrypted video transmission for user security/privacy and satisfactory working of AI-algorithms.It also needs the support of the Networking layer for IP-based geolocation features,the Virtual Private Network(VPN)feature,and the support of Software-Defined Networks(SDN)for optimum Quality of Service(QoS).Finally,in addition to these,non-real-time user experience is enhanced by other AI-based enhancements such as Plagiarism detection algorithms and Data Analytics.

Exploration of University English Teachers’Acceptance and Willingness to Use Learning Management System Data Analysis Tools

This study investigates university English teachers’acceptance and willingness to use learning management system(LMS)data analysis tools in their teaching practices.The research employs a mixed-method approach,combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to understand teachers’perceptions and attitudes,and the factors influencing their adoption of LMS data analysis tools.The findings reveal that perceived usefulness,perceived ease of use,technical literacy,organizational support,and data privacy concerns significantly impact teachers’willingness to use these tools.Based on these insights,the study offers practical recommendations for educational institutions to enhance the effective adoption of LMS data analysis tools in English language teaching.

The Experience of Setting up a New Learning Environment Model in Management Education： Challenges and Frustrations

The aim of this paper is to describe and to reflect on the experience of the authors in setting up a new model of learning environment in management education in a University in Brazil, which was initially called Management Practice Laboratory （MPL）. The MPL environment was conceived as a physical and conceptual space where students could learn and practice the principles and techniques of working in organizations in its three levels operational, tactical, and strategic. The foundations of the project come from social constructivist perspective on learning, from experiential learning literature and from researches that call for a new epistemological ground in management learning. In this paper, the authors will stress some challenges and frustrations with the project since these could be helpful to those interested in similar initiatives. Due to limited space, only two challenges will be stressed： （1） the construction of legitimacy for the project; and （2） the persistent dissonance between theory and practice. The authors conclude that there is room for innovation in the way management is taught and learned in universities since one shows courage to overcome the challenges and frustrations one will certainly deal with

Resource management at the network edge for federated learning

Federated learning has been explored as a promising solution for training machine learning models at the network edge,without sharing private user data.With limited resources at the edge,new solutions must be developed to leverage the software and hardware resources as the existing solutions did not focus on resource management for network edge,specially for federated learning.In this paper,we describe the recent work on resource manage-ment at the edge and explore the challenges and future directions to allow the execution of federated learning at the edge.Problems such as the discovery of resources,deployment,load balancing,migration,and energy effi-ciency are discussed in the paper.

Reinforcement Learning Model for Energy System Management to Ensure Energy Efficiency and Comfort in Buildings

This article focuses on the challenges ofmodeling energy supply systems for buildings,encompassing both methods and tools for simulating thermal regimes and engineering systems within buildings.Enhancing the comfort of living or working in buildings often necessitates increased consumption of energy and material,such as for thermal upgrades,which consequently incurs additional economic costs.It is crucial to acknowledge that such improvements do not always lead to a decrease in total pollutant emissions,considering emissions across all stages of production and usage of energy and materials aimed at boosting energy efficiency and comfort in buildings.In addition,it explores the methods and mechanisms for modeling the operating modes of electric boilers used to collectively improve energy efficiency and indoor climatic conditions.Using the developed mathematical models,the study examines the dynamic states of building energy supply systems and provides recommendations for improving their efficiency.These dynamic models are executed in software environments such as MATLAB/Simscape and Python,where the component detailing schemes for various types of controllers are demonstrated.Additionally,controllers based on reinforcement learning(RL)displayed more adaptive load level management.These RL-based controllers can lower instantaneous power usage by up to 35%,reduce absolute deviations from a comfortable temperature nearly by half,and cut down energy consumption by approximately 1%while maintaining comfort.When the energy source produces a constant energy amount,the RL-based heat controllermore effectively maintains the temperature within the set range,preventing overheating.In conclusion,the introduced energydynamic building model and its software implementation offer a versatile tool for researchers,enabling the simulation of various energy supply systems to achieve optimal energy efficiency and indoor climate control in buildings.

Enhanced Deep Reinforcement Learning Strategy for Energy Management in Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles with Entropy Regularization and Prioritized Experience Replay

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles(PHEVs)represent an innovative breed of transportation,harnessing diverse power sources for enhanced performance.Energy management strategies(EMSs)that coordinate and control different energy sources is a critical component of PHEV control technology,directly impacting overall vehicle performance.This study proposes an improved deep reinforcement learning(DRL)-based EMSthat optimizes realtime energy allocation and coordinates the operation of multiple power sources.Conventional DRL algorithms struggle to effectively explore all possible state-action combinations within high-dimensional state and action spaces.They often fail to strike an optimal balance between exploration and exploitation,and their assumption of a static environment limits their ability to adapt to changing conditions.Moreover,these algorithms suffer from low sample efficiency.Collectively,these factors contribute to convergence difficulties,low learning efficiency,and instability.To address these challenges,the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient(DDPG)algorithm is enhanced using entropy regularization and a summation tree-based Prioritized Experience Replay(PER)method,aiming to improve exploration performance and learning efficiency from experience samples.Additionally,the correspondingMarkovDecision Process(MDP)is established.Finally,an EMSbased on the improvedDRLmodel is presented.Comparative simulation experiments are conducted against rule-based,optimization-based,andDRL-based EMSs.The proposed strategy exhibitsminimal deviation fromthe optimal solution obtained by the dynamic programming(DP)strategy that requires global information.In the typical driving scenarios based onWorld Light Vehicle Test Cycle(WLTC)and New European Driving Cycle(NEDC),the proposed method achieved a fuel consumption of 2698.65 g and an Equivalent Fuel Consumption(EFC)of 2696.77 g.Compared to the DP strategy baseline,the proposed method improved the fuel efficiency variances(FEV)by 18.13%,15.1%,and 8.37%over the Deep QNetwork(DQN),Double DRL(DDRL),and original DDPG methods,respectively.The observational outcomes demonstrate that the proposed EMS based on improved DRL framework possesses good real-time performance,stability,and reliability,effectively optimizing vehicle economy and fuel consumption.

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.

Context and Machine Learning Based Trust Management Framework for Internet of Vehicles

Trust is one of the core components of any ad hoc network security system.Trust management(TM)has always been a challenging issue in a vehicular network.One such developing network is the Internet of vehicles(IoV),which is expected to be an essential part of smart cities.IoV originated from the merger of Vehicular ad hoc networks(VANET)and the Internet of things(IoT).Security is one of the main barriers in the on-road IoV implementation.Existing security standards are insufficient to meet the extremely dynamic and rapidly changing IoV requirements.Trust plays a vital role in ensuring security,especially during vehicle to vehicle communication.Vehicular networks,having a unique nature among other wireless ad hoc networks,require dedicated efforts to develop trust protocols.Current TM schemes are inflexible and static.Predefined scenarios and limited parameters are the basis for existing TM models that are not suitable for vehicle networks.The vehicular network requires agile and adaptive solutions to ensure security,especially when it comes to critical messages.The vehicle network’s wireless nature increases its attack surface and exposes the network to numerous security threats.Moreover,internet involvement makes it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.The proposed TM framework is based on context-based cognition and machine learning to be best suited to IoV dynamics.Machine learning is the best solution to utilize the big data produced by vehicle sensors.To handle the uncertainty Bayesian machine learning statistical model is used.The proposed framework can adapt scenarios dynamically and infer using the maximum possible parameter available.The results indicated better performance than existing TM methods.Furthermore,for future work,a high-level machine learning model is proposed.

Subsurface analytics: Contribution of artificial intelligence and machine learning to reservoir engineering, reservoir modeling, and reservoir management

Traditional Numerical Reservoir Simulation has been contributing to the oil and gas industry for decades.The current state of this technology is the result of decades of research and development by a large number of engineers and scientists.Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s,advances in computer hardware along with development and adaptation of clever algorithms resulted in a paradigm shift in reservoir studies moving them from simplified analogs and analytical solution methods to more mathematically robust computational and numerical solution models.

Future of Artificial Intelligence in Anesthetics and Pain Management

The potential of the second wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to change our lives beyond recognition is both exciting and challenging. AI has been around for over three decades, and this new approach of artificial intelligence, due to enhancements in technology, both software, and hardware, has resulted in the fact that human decision-making is considered inferior and erratic in many fields: none more so than medicine. Machine learning algorithms with access to large data sets can be trained to outperform clinicians in many respects. AI’s effectiveness in accurate diagnosis of various medical conditions and medical image interpretation is well documented. Modern AI technology has the potential to transform medicine to a level never seen before in terms of efficiency and accuracy;but is also potentially highly disruptive, creating insecurity and allowing the transfer of expert domain knowledge to machines. Anesthetics is a complex medical discipline and assuming AI can easily replace experienced and knowledgeable medical practitioners is a very unrealistic expectation. AI can be used in anesthetics to develop, in some respects, more advanced clinical decision support tools based on machine learning. This paper focuses on the complexity of both AI developments, deep learning, neural networks, etc. and opportunities of AI in anesthetics for the future. It will review current advances in AI tools and hardware technologies as well as outlining how these can be used in the field of anesthetics.

The Effectiveness of Blackboard System, Uses and Limitations in Information Management

This paper presents a review of the literature on the effectiveness of Blackboard system, its uses and limitations in information management and highlights the ongoing debate of it. A critical evaluation of Blackboard system literature reveals a good number of academic views, studies, theories, models and experiences regarding the virtual learning environment. The extant literature shows that the world of information management is always in flux as it is being impacted on by the learning technology such as blackboard system. Blackboard system now has a recognised presence in the information management of the education system. Now the question is: how effective is this Blackboard system? The article will explore, in part, how blackboard is designed as suitable learning models in terms of learner cognitive engagement and constructivist perspective, resulting in the effective Blackboard system. It will further cover to review the effectiveness of Blackboard as an aid to pedagogy. Finally, the article will also present a comparison between Blackboard and other LMS such as Moodle to explore the effectiveness and limitations of the Blackboard for better academic information management.

Characterization of Memory Access in Deep Learning and Its Implications in Memory Management

Due to the recent trend of software intelligence in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,deep learning has become a mainstream workload for modern computer systems.Since the data size of deep learning increasingly grows,managing the limited memory capacity efficiently for deep learning workloads becomes important.In this paper,we analyze memory accesses in deep learning workloads and find out some unique characteristics differentiated from traditional workloads.First,when comparing instruction and data accesses,data access accounts for 96%–99%of total memory accesses in deep learning workloads,which is quite different from traditional workloads.Second,when comparing read and write accesses,write access dominates,accounting for 64%–80%of total memory accesses.Third,although write access makes up the majority of memory accesses,it shows a low access bias of 0.3 in the Zipf parameter.Fourth,in predicting re-access,recency is important in read access,but frequency provides more accurate information in write access.Based on these observations,we introduce a Non-Volatile Random Access Memory(NVRAM)-accelerated memory architecture for deep learning workloads,and present a new memory management policy for this architecture.By considering the memory access characteristics of deep learning workloads,the proposed policy improves memory performance by 64.3%on average compared to the CLOCK policy.

Optimization of Interactive Videos Empowered the Experience of Learning Management System

The Learning management system(LMS)is now being used for uploading educational content in both distance and blended setups.LMS platform has two types of users:the educators who upload the content,and the students who have to access the content.The students,usually rely on text notes or books and video tutorials while their exams are conducted with formal methods.Formal assessments and examination criteria are ineffective with restricted learning space which makes the student tend only to read the educational contents and videos instead of interactive mode.The aim is to design an interactive LMS and examination video-based interface to cater the issues of educators and students.It is designed according to Human-computer interaction(HCI)principles to make the interactive User interface(UI)through User experience(UX).The interactive lectures in the form of annotated videos increase user engagement and improve the self-study context of users involved in LMS.The interface design defines how the design will interact with users and how the interface exchanges information.The findings show that interactive videos for LMS allow the users to have a more personalized learning experience by engaging in the educational content.The result shows a highly personalized learning experience due to the interactive video and quiz within the video.

Research on the Financial Management of China＇s Private Higher Learning Institutions

With the deepening of China＇s reform and opening up, China＇s private higher education has got rapid development. The expanding of the scale and the updating of the educational philosophy makes the financial management of private higher learning institutions can＇t meet the developing needs of them. Through summing up the current defects existed in the financial management activities of the private higher learning institutions, this paper tries to advise the private higher learning institutions to set out their efforts on financial management foundation, financing management, investment management, budget management, financial analysis and financial supervision six aspects, standardize and optimize the financial management activities to promote the healthy development of China＇s private higher learning institutions.

Ontology and metadata for online learning resource repository management based on semantic web

An ontology and metadata for online learning resource repository management is constructed. First, based on the analysis of the use-case diagram, the upper ontology is illustrated which includes resource library ontology and user ontology, and evaluated from its function and implementation; then the corresponding class diagram, resource description framework （RDF） schema and extensible markup language （XML） schema are given. Secondly, the metadata for online learning resource repository management is proposed based on the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and the IEEE Learning Technologies Standards Committee Learning Object Metadata Working Group. Finally, the inference instance is shown, which proves the validity of ontology and metadata in online learning resource repository management.

Efficacy and Usability of an E-Learning Program for Fostering Qualified Disease Management Nurses

In order to train nurses to perform disease management and telenursing, we developed an e-learning education program, and assessed the efficacy. A single-group pre-test and post-test design was used. Nurses who worked at a medical institution or a disease management company were included, and the duration of the program was set 2 months. We developed the program so that it could grow attitude and improve knowledge and skills in disease management and patient education. Of 55 subjects, 48 who completed the program were analyzed. After the program, subjects increased knowledge and interests in disease management and patient education. Almost of the subjects answered that e-learning was a good learning method. Our program was effective at enhancing subject’s interests in disease management and patient education, and considered to improve their skills in the future.