Enhancing agriculture through real-time grape leaf disease classification via an edge device with a lightweight CNN architecture and Grad-CAM.

Crop diseases can significantly affect various aspects of crop cultivation, including crop yield, quality, production costs, and crop loss. The utilization of modern technologies such as image analysis via machine learning techniques enables early and precise detection of crop diseases, hence empowering farmers to effectively manage and avoid the occurrence of crop diseases. The proposed methodology involves the use of modified MobileNetV3Large model deployed on edge device for real-time monitoring of grape leaf disease while reducing computational memory demands and ensuring satisfactory classification performance.

The Microstructure, Mechanical, and Friction-Wear Properties of Boron Carbide-Based Composites with TiB and SiC Formed In Situ by Reactive Spark Plasma Sintering.

The paper presents the influence of the temperature of the sintering process on the microstructure and selected properties of boron carbide/TiB/SiC composites obtained in situ by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The homogeneous mixture of boron carbide and 5% vol. TiSi micropowders were used as the initial material.

Detection of various lung diseases including COVID-19 using extreme learning machine algorithm based on the features extracted from a lightweight CNN architecture.

Around the world, several lung diseases such as pneumonia, cardiomegaly, and tuberculosis (TB) contribute to severe illness, hospitalization or even death, particularly for elderly and medically vulnerable patients. In the last few decades, several new types of lung-related diseases have taken the lives of millions of people, and COVID-19 has taken almost 6.27 million lives.

Atrial fibrillation symptom reduction and improved quality of life following the hybrid convergent procedure: a CONVERGE trial subanalysis.

Background: CONVERGE was a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that evaluated the safety of Hybrid Atrial Fibrillation Convergent (HC) and compared its effectiveness to endocardial catheter ablation (CA) for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (PersAF) and longstanding PersAF (LSPAF). In 2020, we reported that CONVERGE met its primary safety and effectiveness endpoints. The primary objective of the present study is to report CONVERGE trial results for quality of life (QOL) and Class I/III anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) utilization following HC.

Unveiling the Hidden Stroke Threat in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

Recent American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) guidelines suggest that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) at intermediate to low annual risk of ischemic stroke can benefit from consideration of factors that might modify their risk of stroke. The role of nontraditional risk factors, such as primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), remains unexplored. In our study, we investigated the potential association between PHPT and the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with AF.

The utility and impact of outpatient telemetry monitoring in post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients.

Background: Conduction disturbances are a common complication of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (MCT) allows for continuous monitoring with near "real time" alerts and has allowed for timely detection of conduction abnormalities and pacemaker placement in small trials. A standardized, systematic approach utilizing MCT devices post TAVR has not been widely implemented, leading to variation in use across hospital systems.

Ensemble classification of integrated CT scan datasets in detecting COVID-19 using feature fusion from contourlet transform and CNN.

The COVID-19 disease caused by coronavirus is constantly changing due to the emergence of different variants and thousands of people are dying every day worldwide. Early detection of this new form of pulmonary disease can reduce the mortality rate. In this paper, an automated method based on machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) has been developed to detect COVID-19 using computed tomography (CT) scan images extracted from three publicly available datasets (A total of 11,407 images; 7397 COVID-19 images and 4010 normal images).

Parallel CNN-ELM: A multiclass classification of chest X-ray images to identify seventeen lung diseases including COVID-19.

Numerous epidemic lung diseases such as COVID-19, tuberculosis (TB), and pneumonia have spread over the world, killing millions of people. Medical specialists have experienced challenges in correctly identifying these diseases due to their subtle differences in Chest X-ray images (CXR). To assist the medical experts, this study proposed a computer-aided lung illness identification method based on the CXR images.

Site-specific effects of dobutamine on cardiac conduction and refractoriness.

Background: Isoproterenol, a non-specific beta agonist, is commonly used during electrophysiology studies (EPS). However, with the significant increase in the price of isoproterenol in 2015 and the increasing number of catheter ablations performed, the cost implications cannot be ignored. Dobutamine is a less expensive synthetic compound developed from isoproterenol with a similar mechanism to enhance cardiac conduction and shorten refractoriness, thus making it a feasible substitute with a lower cost.

Compound motor action potentials in transient and persistent phrenic nerve injury - metanalysis.

The right phrenic nerve is vulnerable to injury (PNI) during cryoballoon ablation (CBA) isolation of the right pulmonary veins. The complication can be transient or persistent. The reported incidence of PNI fluctuates from 4.

Efficacy and Side Effect Profile of Intrathecal Morphine versus Distal Femoral Triangle Nerve Block for Analgesia following Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Trial.

(1) Background: The management of postoperative pain after knee replacement is an important clinical problem. The best results in the treatment of postoperative pain are obtained using multimodal therapy principles. Intrathecal morphine (ITM) and single-shot femoral nerve block (SSFNB) are practiced in the treatment of postoperative pain after knee replacement, with the most optimal methods still under debate.

Enhanced susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD protein assay targeted by cellular receptors ACE2 and CD147: Multivariate data analysis of multisine impedimetric response.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters the cells through the binding of spike protein to the host cell surface-expressing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) or by endocytosis mediated by extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (CD147). We present extended statistical studies of the multisine dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (DEIS) revealing interactions between Spike RBD and cellular receptors ACE2 and CD147, and a reference anti-RBD antibody (IgG2B) based on a functionalised boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. The DEIS was supported by a multivariate data analysis of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD assay and cross-correlated with the atomic-level information revealed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Thermal-Visible Face Recognition Based on CNN Features and Triple Triplet Configuration for On-the-Move Identity Verification.

Face recognition operating in visible domains exists in many aspects of our lives, while the remaining parts of the spectrum including near and thermal infrared are not sufficiently explored. Thermal-visible face recognition is a promising biometric modality that combines affordable technology and high imaging qualities in the visible domain with low-light capabilities of thermal infrared. In this work, we present the results of our study in the field of thermal-visible face verification using four different algorithm architectures tested using several publicly available databases.

Performance of electrochemical immunoassays for clinical diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 based on selective nucleocapsid N protein detection: Boron-doped diamond, gold and glassy carbon evaluation.

The 21st century has already brought us a plethora of new threats related to viruses that emerge in humans after zoonotic transmission or drastically change their geographic distribution or prevalence. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first spotted at the end of 2019 to rapidly spread in southwest Asia and later cause a global pandemic, which paralyzes the world since then. We have designed novel immunosensors targeting conserved protein sequences of the N protein of SARS-CoV-2 based on lab-produced and purified anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies that are densely grafted onto various surfaces (diamond/gold/glassy carbon).

Impact of Deposition of the (TiB/TiSiC) x3 Multilayer on M2 HSS on the Cutting Force Components and Temperature Generated in the Machined Area during the Milling of 316L Steel.

High-speed steel (HSS) tools account for 20 percent of the cutting tools materials' global market. This is due to both their significant toughness and resistance to cracking, compared to cemented carbides. Covering steel tools with hard coatings clearly improves their mechanical properties, wear resistance, and significantly increases their durability.

Economics and laboratory efficiency of atrial fibrillation ablation.

Purpose Of Review: Atrial fibrillation is a growing public health problem and is associated with an increased risk of comorbidities with enormous socioeconomic implications. This review article focuses on fiscal burden of atrial fibrillation on the healthcare system and economic value of atrial fibrillation ablations brought to the patient and the payers by improvement in outcomes and reduction in treatment costs.

Recent Findings: This article summarizes the recently published studies evaluating the economic impact of atrial fibrillation treatment.

Detection of Inflatable Boats and People in Thermal Infrared with Deep Learning Methods.

Smuggling of drugs and cigarettes in small inflatable boats across border rivers is a serious threat to the EU's financial interests. Early detection of such threats is challenging due to difficult and changing environmental conditions. This study reports on the automatic detection of small inflatable boats and people in a rough wild terrain in the infrared thermal domain.

Impact of Cryoballoon Ablation on Electrophysiology Lab Efficiency During the Treatment of Patients With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Subanalysis of the STOP Persistent AF Study.

Background: The volume of atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation procedures has increased to address the growing patient population with AF; however, the impact of cryoballoon ablation on electrophysiology (EP) lab throughput is under-studied when treating patients with persistent AF (PsAF).

Objective: To assess EP lab utilization associated with cryoballoon ablation for the treatment of patients with PsAF and to evaluate mechanisms that optimize hospital resources.

Methods: Procedural data derived from the STOP Persistent AF trial were input into a discrete event simulation to assess EP lab utilization during AF ablation procedures.

Thermal Face Verification through Identification.

This paper reports on a new approach to face verification in long-wavelength infrared radiation. Two face images were combined into one double image, which was then used as an input for a classification based on neural networks. For testing, we exploited two external and one homemade thermal face databases acquired in various variants.

Passive imaging at 250 GHz for detection of face presentation attacks.

Face presentation attacks are becoming more efficient since new 3D facial masks are used. Passive terahertz imaging offers specific physical properties that may improve presentation attack detection capabilities. The non-zero transmission capability through a variety of non-metallic materials may provide necessary information for presentation attack detection.