METHODS: COVID-19 causes lung infections, and qRT-PCR is an essential tool used to detect virus infection. However, qRT-PCR is inadequate for detecting the severity of the disease and the extent to which it affects the lung. In this paper, we aim to determine the severity level of COVID-19 by studying lung CT scans of people diagnosed with the virus.
RESULTS: We used images from King Abdullah University Hospital in Jordan; we collected our dataset from 875 cases with 2205 CT images. A radiologist classified the images into four levels of severity: normal, mild, moderate, and severe. We used various deep-learning algorithms to predict the severity of lung diseases. The results show that the best deep-learning algorithm used is Resnet101, with an accuracy score of 99.5% and a data loss rate of 0.03%.
CONCLUSION: The proposed model assisted in diagnosing and treating COVID-19 patients and helped improve patient outcomes.
METHODS: The imaging case volumes that were performed at the King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH), Jordan, from 1 January 2020 to 8 May 2020, were retrospectively collected and compared to those from 1 January 2019 to 28 May 2019, to determine the impact of the pandemic of COVID-19 on the volume of radiological examinations. The 2020 study period was chosen to cover the peak of COVID-19 cases and to record the effects on imaging case volumes.
RESULTS: A total of 46,194 imaging case volumes were performed at our tertiary center in 2020 compared to 65,441 imaging cases in 2019. Overall, the imaging case volume in 2020 decreased by 29.4% relative to the same period in 2019. The imaging case volumes decreased for all imaging modalities relative to 2019. The number of nuclear images showed the highest decline (41.0%) in 2020, followed by the number of ultrasounds (33.2%). Interventional radiology was the least affected imaging modality by this decline, with about a 22.9% decline.
CONCLUSION: The number of imaging case volumes decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown. The outpatient service location was the most affected by this decline. Effective strategies must be adopted to avoid the aforementioned effect on the healthcare system in future pandemics.
OBJECTIVES: By leveraging the power of advanced machine learning schemes and experimental approaches, this research aims to provide valuable insights into CO2 flux prediction in coal fire areas and inform environmental monitoring and management strategies.
METHODS: The study involves the collection of an experimental dataset specific to underground coal fire areas, encompassing various parameters related to CO2 flux and underground coal fire characteristics. Innovative feature engineering techniques are applied to capture the unique characteristics of underground coal fire areas and their impact on CO2 flux. Different machine learning algorithms, including Natural gradient boosting regression (NGRB), Extreme gradient boosting (XGboost), Light gradient boosting (LGRB), and random forest (RF), are evaluated and compared for their predictive capabilities. The models are trained, optimized, and assessed using appropriate performance metrics.
RESULTS: The NGRB model yields the best predictive performances with R2 of 0.967 and MAE of 0.234. The novel contributions of this study include the development of accurate prediction models tailored to underground coal fire areas, shedding light on the underlying factors driving CO2 flux. The findings have practical implications for delineating the spontaneous combustion zone and mitigating CO2 emissions from underground coal fires, contributing to global efforts in combating climate change.
METHODS: This study encompassed a cohort of 224 older women. Each participant underwent both 2D mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis examinations. Supplementary views were conducted when necessary, including spot compression and magnification, ultrasound, and recommended biopsies. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated for 2D mammography, DBT, and ultrasound. The impact of DBT on diminishing the need for supplementary imaging procedures was predicted through binary logistic regression.
RESULTS: In dense breast tissue, DBT exhibited notably heightened sensitivity and NPV for lesion detection compared to non-dense breasts (61.9% vs. 49.3%, p 0.05) between DBT and the four dependent variables.
CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that among older women, DBT does not significantly decrease the requirement for further medical examinations.