Report for Type 2 Bayes-Fuzzy Estimation in No-Data Problem

It is well known that the system (1 + 1) can be unequal to 2, because this system has both observation error and system error. Furthermore, we must provide our mustered service within our cool head and warm heart, where two states of nature are existing upon us. Any system is regarded as the two-dimensional variable error model. On the other hand, we consider that the fuzziness is existing in this system. Though we can usually obtain the fuzzy number from the possibility theory, it is not fuzzy but possibility, because the possibility function is as same as the likelihood function, and we can obtain the possibility measure by the maximal likelihood method (i.e. max product method proposed by Dr. Hideo Tanaka). Therefore, Fuzzy is regarded as the only one case according to Vague, which has both some state of nature in this world and another state of nature in the other world. Here, we can consider that Type 1 Vague Event in other world can be obtained by mapping and translating from Type 1 fuzzy Event in this world. We named this estimation as Type 1 Bayes-Fuzzy Estimation. When the Vague Events were abnormal (ex. under War), we need to consider that another world could exist around other world. In this case, we call it Type 2 Bayes-Fuzzy Estimation. Where Hori et al. constructed the stochastic different equation upon Type 1 Vague Events, along with the general following probabilistic introduction method from the single regression model, multi-regression model, AR model, Markov (decision) process, to the stochastic different equation. Furthermore, we showed that the system theory approach is Possibility Markov Process, and that the making decision approach is Sequential Bayes Estimation, too. After all, Type 1 Bays-Fuzzy estimation is the special case in Bayes estimation, because the pareto solutions can exist in two stochastic different equations upon Type 2 Vague Events, after we ignore one equation each other (note that this is Type 1 case), we can obtain both its system solution and its decision solution. Here, it is noted that Type 2 Vague estimation can be applied to the shallow abnormal decision problem with possibility reserved judgement. However, it is very important problem that we can have no idea for possibility reserved judgement under the deepest abnormal envelopment (ex. under War). Expect for this deepest abnormal decision problem, Bayes estimation can completely cover fuzzy estimation. In this paper, we explain our flowing study and further research object forward to this deepest abnormal decision problem.

Acoustic radiation force imaging sonoelastography for noninvasive staging of liver fibrosis

AIM:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging as a noninvasive method for the assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.METHODS:We performed a prospective blind com-parison of ARFI elastography,APRI index and FibroMax in a consecutive series of patients who underwent liver biopsy for CHC in University Hospital Bucharest. His-topathological staging of liver fibrosis according to the METAVIR scoring system served as the reference. A to-tal of 74 patients underwent ARFI elastography,APRI index,FibroMax and successful liver biopsy. RESULTS:The noninvasive tests had a good correlation with the liver biopsy results. The most powerful test in predicting fibrosis was ARFI elastography. The diagnostic accuracy of ARFI elastography,expressedas area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) had a validity of 90.2% (95% CI AUROC = 0.831-0.972,P < 0.001) for the diagnosis of significant f ibrosis (F ≥ 2). ARFI sonoelastography predicted even better F3 or F4 fibrosis (AUROC = 0.993,95% CI = 0.979-1).CONCLUSION:ARFI elastography had very good accuracy for the assessment of liver fibrosis and was superior to other noninvasive methods (APRI Index,FibroMax) for staging liver fibrosis.

Treatment of Retained Fetal Membranes: Comparison of the Postpartum Period after Routine Treatment or Routine Treatment Including an Additional Phytotherapeutic Substance in Dairy Cattle in Switzerland

Background: The therapy of retained fetal membranes (RFM) is a controversial subject. In Switzerland, intrauterine antibiotics are routinely administered although their effect on fertility parameters is questionable. The objective of this study was to compare the post-partal period after a routine treatment of RFM in 2 groups: one group received a placebo additionally (A), whereas the other group received a phytotherapeutic substance (lime bark) (B) additionally. The routine treatment of RFM included an attempt to manually remove the fetal membranes (for a maximum of 5 min), intramuscular administration of oxytetracycline and intrauterine treatment with tetracycline. In case of an elevated rectal temperature (>39.0°C), an additional non-steroidal inflam-matory drug was allowed. Methods: Cows undergoing caesarean section, suffering from prolapse of the uterus, deep cervical or vaginal injuries, hypocalcaemia, and illnesses during the last 14 days before calving were excluded. Cows had to be more than 265 days pregnant. Only cows that were artificially inseminated after RFM were included. Group stratification was done according to the last number on the ear tag (even/uneven) with (n = 50) cows in group A and (n = 55) cows in group B. Results: The number of treatments after the initial treatment of RFM was not significantly different between groups. The median interval from calving to the first insemination was 77 days in group A compared to 82 days in group B (p = 0.72). The number of AI’s until conception was not significantly different between groups. The median number of days open was 89 days in group A compared to 96 days in group B (p = 0.57). The culling rate was not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: There was neither a difference between the groups concerning therapies within the first 50 days after RFM nor concerning the subsequent fertility variables.

Optimal control of quadratic functionals for affine nonlinear systems

In this paper we analyze the optimal control problem for a class of afflne nonlinear systems under the assumption that the associated Lie algebra is nilpotent. The Lie brackets generated by the vector fields which define the nonlinear system represent a remarkable mathematical instrument for the control of affine systems. We determine the optimal control which corresponds to the nilpotent operator of the first order. In particular, we obtain the control that minimizes the energy of the given nonlinear system. Applications of this control to bilinear systems with first order nilpotent operator are considered.

Glucocorticoid-induced alterations in titin, nebulin, myosin heavy chain isoform content and viscoelastic properties of rat skeletal muscle

Viscoelastic properties of skeletal muscle are associated with a complex network of cytoskeletal proteins where titin and nebulin play a substantial role. The need for evaluation of muscle viscoelastic properties is widely accepted in clinical use to evaluate the effect of treatment or progression of muscle pathology (atrophy). We tested the hypothesis that the viscoelastic properties (elasticity, tone and stiffness) change in atrophied muscles with concomitant changes in cytoskeletal proteins (titin, nebulin) and contractile protein (myosin heavy chain) proportion. Sixteen 24- week-old male rats of the Wistar strain were randomly allocated to two groups: dexamethasone group treated each day for 10 consecutive days with dexamethasone in order to induce atrophy and control group. Skeletal muscle viscoelastic properties (elasticity, tone and stiffness) were determined using a myotonometer. Titin, nebulin and myosin heavy chain content were quantified using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. We found that glucocorticoid-induced muscle atrophy is accompanied by reduced elasticity and increased tone and stiffness, with concomitant changes in titin, nebulin and myosin heavy chain con- tent. The elasticity decreased by 10.9% (P P < 0.05), and stiffness was significantly lower in dexamethasone group (627.3 N/m vs 758.6 N/m);(P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the content of titin, nebulin and myosin heavy chain in atrophied muscle was 76.4%, 70.6% and 82.3%, respectively. Our results may lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of muscle atrophy and provide better guidance for rehabilitation practices and help to find rational therapeutic intervention in the future.

Pediatric CT of the Lung: Influences on Image Quality

Objective: To assess influential factors of CT on image quality of the lung in children. Materials and methods: Retrospective evaluation of 82 consecutive chest-CT-scans in 50 children (1-16 years, 17 females and 33 males). Two pediatric radiologists evaluated in consensus the subjective image quality on lung windows using a 4-point scale (1 = very good, 2 = good, 3 = moderate, 4 = poor). Ventilation, motion artifacts and beam hardening artifact were included in this score. The effects of the following factors were evaluated: 1) CT-settings (tube energy, tube current);2) Patient’s age, weight, chest size, ventilation;3) Artifacts of devices, tubes and lines;4) Combination MRI of the abdomen prior to CT of the chest with the same sedation/anesthesia in oncological patients. Results: The odds of having a better image quality increase with patient’s age, weight and chest diameter in a multiple-factor model. There was no difference between tube current protocols. In infants (15 kg) subjective image quality was good in only 1 (8%), moderate in 8 (67%) and poor in 3 (25%) scans. In childhood and adolescence (15 - 90 kg) 25 (36%) scans were very good, 28 (40%) good, 15 (21%) moderate and 2 (3%) poor. Artifacts of tubes and lines have no statistical significant influence on image quality. Lower lung densities were related to better ventilation and older children. Conclusion: Increasing dose parameters may not increase necessarily subjective image quality in infants (15 kg), rather than good ventilation, optimal preparation and avoiding artifacts. A possible explanation of the rather moderate image quality in infants may be the alveolar stage of the lung. Up to two years of age the lung has a high specific lung volume per kg and a low total lung volume with a low alveolar surface.

AQUAM——A Decision Support Software for Fish Farm Management

farm is presented.The software called AQUAM is dedicated to fresh water fish farms.Its aim is to make an efficient management of resources through planning,monitoring,analysis and decision support.Successful planning and management requires the integration of data related to ponds,fish species,fish growth,water and energy and economic analysis.AQUAM computes farm budgets relating various costs and returns in order to determine short and long term profitability.A simulation of the profit,as a function of the fish holding density,is performed with AQUAM.The data used in the simulation are from a fish farm of semi-intensive type,located in the region Danube Delta,at village Jurilovca,Tulcea county,Romania.The fish species that were taken into account were carp and sanger.

Dystocia in Cattle: Prospective Analysis in Daily Veterinary Practice (N = 573 Parturitions)

Purpose: The aim of this prospective study was to collect cases of dystocia in 4 rural veterinary practices in Switzerland over 12 months, focusing on calf vitality. Methods: During 12 months, data of 573 assisted parturitions were collected. The age of the cows involved ranged from 2 to 17 years (median 5.2 yr) with a median gestation length of 288 days. Results: Overall, 651 calves were born (61.2% male). 481 were single and 85 were twin births. For 7 calves, no data were available. As to calf vitality: 66.1% of the calves were alive, 25.4% dead, 5.1% weak and 3.4% died during the assisted parturition process. The percentage of dead calves was higher in twins (43.5%) than in singletons (18.9%). The vitality was influenced by gestation length, parity and the time elapsed since the rupture of the amniotic sac. In this study, calf vitality was neither influenced by sex of the calf nor breed of the parents. A uterine torsion was found in 31.8% of the cases with the direction of the rotation anti-clockwise in 94%. Twins were twice as often in posterior presentation as single-born calves (31.4% versus 15.6%). Conclusion: Calf vitality was influenced by parity, gestation length and time from amniotic sac rupture to veterinary intervention.

Sampling Designs with Linear and Quadratic Probability Functions

Fixed size without replacement sampling designs with probability functions that are linear or quadratic functions of the sampling indicators are defined and studied. Generality, simplicity, remarkable properties, and also somewhat restricted flexibility characterize these designs. It is shown that the families of linear and quadratic designs are closed with respect to sample complements and with respect to conditioning on sampling outcomes for specific units. Relations between inclusion probabilities and parameters of the probability functions are derived and sampling procedures are given.

High-performance solutions of geographically weighted regression in R

As an established spatial analytical tool,Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR)has been applied across a variety of disciplines.However,its usage can be challenging for large datasets,which are increasingly prevalent in today’s digital world.In this study,we propose two high-performance R solutions for GWR via Multi-core Parallel(MP)and Compute Unified Device Architecture(CUDA)techniques,respectively GWR-MP and GWR-CUDA.We compared GWR-MP and GWR-CUDA with three existing solutions available in Geographically Weighted Models(GWmodel),Multi-scale GWR(MGWR)and Fast GWR(FastGWR).Results showed that all five solutions perform differently across varying sample sizes,with no single solution a clear winner in terms of computational efficiency.Specifically,solutions given in GWmodel and MGWR provided acceptable computational costs for GWR studies with a relatively small sample size.For a large sample size,GWR-MP and FastGWR provided coherent solutions on a Personal Computer(PC)with a common multi-core configuration,GWR-MP provided more efficient computing capacity for each core or thread than FastGWR.For cases when the sample size was very large,and for these cases only,GWR-CUDA provided the most efficient solution,but should note its I/O cost with small samples.In summary,GWR-MP and GWR-CUDA provided complementary high-performance R solutions to existing ones,where for certain data-rich GWR studies,they should be preferred.

Discovery of a high-altitude ecotype and ancient lineage of Arabidopsis thaliana from Tibet

Arabidopsis thaliana(A.thaliana)has long been a model species for dicotyledon study,and was the first flowering plant to get its genome completed sequenced[1].Although most wild A.thaliana are collected in Europe,several studies have found a rapid A.thaliana west-east expansion from Central Asia[2].The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)is close to Central Asia and known for its high alti-

Analysis of COVID-19 Guideline Quality and Change of Recommendations:A Systematic Review

Background.Hundreds of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)clinical practice guidelines(CPGs)and expert consensus statements have been developed and published since the outbreak of the epidemic.However,these CPGs are of widely variable quality.So,this review is aimed at systematically evaluating the methodological and reporting qualities of COVID-19 CPGs,exploring factors that may influence their quality,and analyzing the change of recommendations in CPGs with evidence published.Methods.We searched five electronic databases and five websites from 1 January to 31 December 2020 to retrieve all COVID-19 CPGs.The assessment of the methodological and reporting qualities of CPGs was performed using the AGREE II instrument and RIGHT checklist.Recommendations and evidence used to make recommendations in the CPGs regarding some treatments for COVID-19(remdesivir,glucocorticoids,hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine,interferon,and lopinavir-ritonavir)were also systematically assessed.And the statistical inference was performed to identify factors associated with the quality of CPGs.Results.We included a total of 92 COVID-19 CPGs developed by 19 countries.Overall,the RIGHT checklist reporting rate of COVID-19 CPGs was 33.0%,and the AGREE II domain score was 30.4%.The overall methodological and reporting qualities of COVID-19 CPGs gradually improved during the year 2020.Factors associated with high methodological and reporting qualities included the evidence-based development process,management of conflicts of interest,and use of established rating systems to assess the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations.The recommendations of only seven(7.6%)CPGs were informed by a systematic review of evidence,and these seven CPGs have relatively high methodological and reporting qualities,in which six of them fully meet the Institute of Medicine(IOM)criteria of guidelines.Besides,a rapid advice CPG developed by the World Health Organization(WHO)of the seven CPGs got the highest overall scores in methodological(72.8%)and reporting qualities(83.8%).Many CPGs covered the same clinical questions(it refers to the clinical questions on the effectiveness of treatments of remdesivir,glucocorticoids,hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine,interferon,and lopinavirritonavir in COVID-19 patients)and were published by different countries or organizations.Although randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews on the effectiveness of treatments of remdesivir,glucocorticoids,hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine,interferon,and lopinavir-ritonavir for patients with COVID-19 have been published,the recommendations on those treatments still varied greatly across COVID-19 CPGs published in different countries or regions,which may suggest that the CPGs do not make sufficient use of the latest evidence.Conclusions.Both the methodological and reporting qualities of COVID-19 CPGs increased over time,but there is still room for further improvement.The lack of effective use of available evidence and management of conflicts of interest were the main reasons for the low quality of the CPGs.The use of formal rating systems for the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations may help to improve the quality of CPGs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.During the pandemic,we suggest developing a living guideline of which recommendations are supported by a systematic review for it can facilitate the timely translation of the latest research findings to clinical practice.We also suggest that CPG developers should register the guidelines in a registration platform at the beginning for it can reduce duplication development of guidelines on the same clinical question,increase the transparency of the development process,and promote cooperation among guideline developers all over the world.Since the International Practice Guideline Registry Platform has been created,developers could register guidelines prospectively and internationally on this platform.

Application of artificial intelligence in clinical diagnosis and treatment:an overview of systematic reviews

Objective This study aimed to summarize the characteristics and methodological quality of systematic reviews on the application of artificial intelligence(AI)in clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods We systematically searched seven English-and Chinese-language literature databases to identify sys-tematic reviews on the application of AI,deep learning,or machine learning in the diagnosis and treatment of any disease published in 2020.We evaluated the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews using“A Measurement tool for the assessment of multiple systematic reviews”(AMSTAR).We also conducted meta-analyses on the diagnostic accuracy of AI on selected disease categories with a large number of included studies and low clinical heterogeneity.Results A total of 40 systematic reviews reporting 1,083 original studies were included,covering 31 diseases from 11 groups of diseases.Eleven systematic reviews were related to neoplasms and nine were systematic reviews related to diseases of the digestive system.We selected digestive system diseases for the meta-analysis.The pooled sensitivities(with 95%confidence interval(CI))of AI to assist the diagnosis of helicobacter pylori,gastrointestinal ulcers,hemorrhage,esophageal tumors,gastric tumors,and intestinal tumors(with 95%CI)were 0.91(0.83-0.95),0.99(0.76-1.00),0.95(0.83-0.99),0.90(0.85-0.93),0.90(0.82-0.95),and 0.93(0.88-0.96),respectively,and the pooled specificities were 0.82(0.77-0.87),0.97(0.86-1.00),1.00(0.99-1.00),0.80(0.71-0.87),0.93(0.87-0.97),and 0.89(0.85-0.92),respectively.The AMSTAR items“the list of included studies”(n=39,97.5%)and“the characteristics of the included studies”(n=39,97.5%)had the highest compliance among the reviews;the compliance was relatively low to the items“the consideration of publication status”(n=1,2.5%),“the consideration of scientific quality”(n=19,47.5%),“data synthesis methods”(n=18,45.0%),and“the evaluation of publication bias”(n=13,32.5%).Conclusions The main subjects of systematic reviews on AI applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment pub-lished in 2020 were diseases of the digestive system and neoplasms.The methodological quality of the systematic reviews on AI needs to be improved,paying particular attention to publication bias and the rigorous evaluation of the quality of the included studies.

Investigation and evaluation of randomized controlled trials for interventions involving artificial intelligence

Objective Complete and transparent reporting is of critical importance for randomized controlled trials(RCTs).The present study aimed to determine the reporting quality and methodological quality of RCTs for interventions involving artificial intelligence(AI)and their protocols.Methods We searched MEDLINE(via PubMed),Embase,Web of Science,CBMdisc,Wanfang Data,and CNKI from January 1,2016,to November 11,2020,to collect RCTs involving AI.We also extracted the protocol of each included RCT if it could be obtained.CONSORT-AI(Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials-Artificial Intelligence)statement and Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias(ROB)were used to evaluate the reporting quality and methodological quality,respectively,and SPIRIT-AI(The Standard Protocol Items:Recommendations for Interventional Trials-Artificial Intelligence)statement was used to evaluate the reporting quality of the protocols.The associations of the reporting rate of CONSORT-AI with the publication year,journal’s impact factor(IF),number of authors,sample size,and first author’s country were analyzed univariately using Pearson’s chi-squared test,or Fisher’s exact test if the expected values in any of the cells were below 5.The compliance of the retrieved protocols to SPIRIT-AI was presented descriptively.Results Overall,29 RCTs and three protocols were considered eligible.The CONSORT-AI items“title and abstract”and“interpretation of results”were reported by all RCTs,with the items with the lowest reporting rates being“funding”(0),“implementation”(3.5%),and“harms”(3.5%).The risk of bias was high in 13(44.8%)RCTs and not clear in 15(51.7%)RCTs.Only one RCT(3.5%)had a low risk of bias.The compliance was not significantly different in terms of the publication year,journal’s IF,number of authors,sample size,or first author’s country.Ten of the 35 SPIRIT-AI items(funding,participant timeline,allocation concealment mechanism,implementation,data management,auditing,declaration of interests,access to data,informed consent materials and biological specimens)were not reported by any of the three protocols.Conclusions The reporting and methodological quality of RCTs involving AI need to be improved.Because of the limited availability of protocols,their quality could not be fully judged.Following the CONSORT-AI and SPIRIT-AI statements and with appropriate guidance on the risk of bias when designing and reporting AI-related RCTs can promote standardization and transparency.

Linear estimators under Pitman nearness criterion

Recently, much attention has been paid to the criterion comparison of parameter estimators, which was introduced in 1937 by Pitman. The new research results show that from both theoretical and practical points of view there are some reasons for giving preference of the Pitman criterion over the mean square error. However, the Pitman criterion has two main weaknesses: the complexity of computation and the intransitivity. '’'

The Plane WavesMethod for Numerical Boundary Identification

We study the numerical identification of an unknown portion of the boundary on which either the Dirichlet or the Neumann condition is provided from the knowledge of Cauchy data on the remaining,accessible and known part of the boundary of a two-dimensional domain,for problems governed by Helmholtz-type equations.This inverse geometric problem is solved using the plane wavesmethod(PWM)in conjunction with the Tikhonov regularizationmethod.The value for the regularization parameter is chosen according toHansen’s L-curve criterion.The stability,convergence,accuracy and efficiency of the proposedmethod are investigated by considering several examples.