bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges and opportunities for future Canadian physician-scientists: Perspectives of four experts
Authors: Levit Alexander , Bortolussi Robert
Published: September 2020

In this series of interviews, the Clinical and Investigative Medicine editorial team gathered expert opinions on the future of physician-scientist training and career prospects in Canada. This was inspired by recent publications that voiced concerns over the diminishing support for the physician-scientist in Canada and the United States. For this editorial, the term physician-scientist was intentionally broad and inclusive; referring to individuals who identify both clinical work and biomedical or healthcare research as major components of their career. The following leaders in medical research or research funding shared their perspectives: Roderick R. McInnes; Michel G. Bergeron; Thomas J. Marrie; and Bev J. Holmes.
Infarto perioperatorio y cirugía no cardíaca
Authors: Cisneros María Alejandra , Núñez Enríquez John Jader , Bolaños Delgado Andrés Fernando , Correa Gallego Cristian Felipe , Vidal Martínez Juan Felipe , González Hoyos Erwin Giovanny
Published: September 2020

Introducción: Los eventos cardiovasculares perioperatorios ocurren hasta en un 5%-8% de todos los pacientes mayores de 45 años sometidos a cirugía no cardíaca. Objetivo: El objetivo del presente artículo es realizar una revisión narrativa actualizada acerca del infarto perioperatorio que ocurre en el contexto de la cirugía no cardíaca. Metodología: Se planteó una búsqueda con distintas combinaciones de los términos: Myocardial infarction (MeSH), perioperative period (Majr), postoperative period (Majr), anesthesia (MeSH), en las bases de datos PubMed (Medline), OVID y EMBASE. Resultados: Se encontraron alrededor de 29 artículos con información importante para la realizar la presente revisión. Conclusiones: La lesión miocárdica, así como el infarto perioperatorios son entidades frecuentes, pero de difícil diagnóstico. Su identificación y pronto tratamiento genera un gran impacto sobre la morbimortalidad, por lo que debe realizarse su búsqueda activa, especialmente en pacientes con riesgo cardiovascular elevado.
Advancing pediatric lung health in Africa: COVID-19 and beyond
Authors: Zampoli Marco , Gray Diane , Lake Lorinda , Levin Michael , Vanker Aneesa , Zar Heather J.
Published: September 2020

Respiratory illnesses in children are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa where poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, and human immunodeficiency virus infection are aggravating factors in many countries. These factors, in addition to under resourced health-care infrastructure, remain important barriers to improving child lung health outcomes in Africa. However, despite these challenges, there have been significant recent advancements in understanding the epidemiology, causes, measurement tools, and treatment of childhood respiratory illnesses. In this review, we highlight some advances in childhood pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, and other important non-communicable lung diseases common in children. Furthermore, we discuss the role of environmental influences on children’s lung health in Africa and highlight novel methods of measuring lung function in children. Although children contribute a small role in the global epidemiology of COVID-19 pandemic, socioeconomic and health-care delivery disruptions caused by government responses to contain the pandemic have resulted in significant indirect setbacks to child health. We further highlight how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted areas of pediatric lung health and discuss ways to mitigate effects of COVID-19 in Africa.
Düzce il merkezinde 1999 depreminden sonra yapılan konutlarda yaşayan ailelerin demografik faktörlere göre memnuniyet derecelerinin ölçülmesi
Authors: ŞENGÜL Semih , NAKİP Mahir , GÖKMEN Aytaç , TEMİZ DİNÇ Dilek
Published: September 2020

Bu araştırmanın amacı, Türkiye’de yaşanan Düzce depreminden sonra, yapılan konutlarda memnuniyet düzeyini ölçmek ve bu memnuniyetin ailelerin demografik ve sosyoekonomik özellikleri itibariyle bir farklılık gösterip, göstermediğini anlamaya çalışmaktır. Araştırmada kullanılan yöntem pazarlama araştırmalarında en çok kullanılan yöntemlerden olan ihtimalsiz örnekleme yöntemlerinden kolayca örneklemedir. Bu yöntem kapsamında Düzce il merkezinde oturan 370 kişiye anket uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucunda, Düzce ilinde deprem sonrası yapılan evlerde ikamet eden katılımcıların genel olarak oturdukları evlerden memnun oldukları, memnuniyet durumlarının kişisel özelliklerine göre birbirine benzer olduğunun yanı sıra evlerine ilişkin memnuniyet derecelerinin yaşlarına göre farklılaştığı görülmüştür. Fakat eğitim düzeyi arttıkça katılımcıların memnuniyetsizliğinin artması bu çalışmanın başka bir çalışmaya yol gösterici nitelikte olduğunu kanıtlamaktadır. Katılımcıların konum ve iç özelliklerde vermiş oldukları cevaplarda yaşlara göre farklı sonuçlar çıkması konut pazarlamacılarının farklı yaş gruplarına farklı ürünler sunmaları gerektiğini göstermiştir. Katılımcıların cevap vermiş olduğu verilerden hareketle evlerindeki kişi sayısının 4 ve üzeri olması kişilerin konutlarının yeterince geniş olmadığını göstermektedir. Konut üreticilerinin bu analizler doğrultusunda yapacakları konutların daha geniş olması satışlarını kolaylaştıracaktır.
ANALISIS KEBERADAAN PAKAN ORANGUTAN DAN INDEKS SHANNON-WIENER PADA AREA REBOISASI ASRI DI KAWASAN TAMAN NASIONAL GUNUNG PALUNG
Authors: Fauzi Nurul Ihsan , Safitri Erina , Juliansyah Juliansyah , Diba Farah
Published: September 2020

Gunung Palung National Park had lost 35% of its primary forests over the past 30 years. A forest restoration program is thus vital to restore the damaged forest ecosystems. This study aims to analyze the presence of orangutan food supply and Shannon-Wiener index at Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) restoration site in Gunung Palung National Park. The method applies a species data collection of orangutan food (in 91 sample plots) and calculation of Shannon-Wiener index (in six 2009's plots). The result depicted approximately 65 species from 25 families found in ASRI restoration site. Eighty percent of those species indicated orangutan food.  In addition, the restoration site is believed to prevent the orangutan conflict with a human due to food availability in restoration areas for orangutans. Analysis of the Shannon-Wiener index (H') demonstrated a value of H' = 2.789, which indicated that the reforestation forest was in stable condition. The effect of increasing biodiversity as characterized by orangutan nests at restoration sites escalates the presence of wildlife.Keywords: Forest Restoration, Gunung Palung National Park, OrangutanTaman Nasional (TN) Gunung Palung telah kehilangan 35% hutan primer selama 30 tahun terakhir. Program reboisasi diperlukan untuk mengembalikan ekosistem hutan yang telah rusak. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis keberadaan pakan orangutan dan indeks Shannon-Wiener di area reboisasi yang dilakukan oleh Yayasan Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) di kawasan TN Gunung Palung. Metode yang digunakan adalah monitoring terhadap 91 plot untuk identifikasi pakan orangutan dan 6 plot penanaman tahun 2009 untuk perhitungan indeks Shanon-Wiener. Hasilnya terdapat 65 spesies dari 25 suku yang ditemukan di lokasi reboisasi ASRI. Sebanyak 85% dari spesies tersebut adalah pakan orangutan. Selain itu, keberadaan area reboisasi membantu mencegah konflik ini karena orangutan dapat mencari makanan di area reboisasi. Analisis indeks Shannon-Wiener (H’) didapatkan nilai H’ = 2,789, yang menunjukkan hutan hasil reboisasi berada dalam kondisi menengah atau stabil. Efek peningkatan biodiversitas ditandai dengan sarang-sarang orangutan ditemukan di lokasi reboisasi dan keberadaan satwa liar telah meningkat. Kata kunci: Gunung Palung, Orangutan, Restorasi hutan
POLICY ANALYSIS STUDY OF THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT OF CRIMINAL SYSTEM WHICH MAKE LOSS OF LIFE
Authors: Victoria Ong Argo , Ariyana Ade Riusma
Published: September 2020

There were many cases of traffic accidents area during 2019. These cases were dominated by elements of neglect which resulted in the loss of a person's life. This study aims to determine formal legal considerations in passing decisions on traffic crimes resulting in the loss of a person's life resulting in the death of another person and to analyze the policy on the traffic accident criminal system that results in the loss of a person's life. The research method used is the Normative Juridical Method based on facts, document studies, field surveys and interviews, then analyzed to get a conclusion. The result of this research are the Public Prosecutor uses a single indictment, the indictment prepared by the Public Prosecutor has met the formal and material requirements. And Legal considerations of the Panel of Judges in imposing criminal sanctions against the defendant, the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year because he is proven guilty of a criminal act because his negligence caused the death of a person.
The Typology of Religious Thought in Muhammadiyah
Authors: Palahuddin Palahuddin
Published: September 2020

In the perspective of religious thought, Muhammadiyah is often seen as an ambiguous Islamic mass organization. For example, in matters of worship, Muhammadiyah is very consistent in using the Bayani approach in understanding religious texts, but to determine the beginning of the lunar month associated with a time of worship, Muhammadiyah tends to use the Burhani approach. As a consequence, Muhammadiyah is often considered conservative, but at the same time also considered liberal. This perception does not arise if the methodology of religious thought in Muhammadiyah is comprehensively understood. Therefore, this study assessed the typological thinking in Muhammadiyah. A qualitative method was used for describing the characteristics of an individual, circumstances, symptoms, or certain groups based on the phenomenon of the problem reviewed in a comprehensive and depth way. There are three typologies of religious thought in Muhammadiyah, namely conservative typology, liberal typology, and moderate typology.
Microencapsulation of indigenous probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 by spray and freeze-drying: strain-dependent effect and its antibacterial property
Authors: Kamil R.Z. , Yanti R. , Murdiati A. , Juffrie M. , Rahayu E.S.
Published: September 2020

Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 is a potential probiotic candidate, and
microencapsulation is the method for extending its shelf-life. Furthermore, spray or freeze
-drying is a common method for microencapsulation, and its effect on the stability of
probiotic is strain-dependent. This research was aimed to evaluate the strain-dependent
effect of probiotic microencapsulation and to choose a suitable method for further
research. In this research, for strain-dependent analysis, L. plantarum strain Mut-7 was
used as a comparison. Probiotics were encapsulated with 10% (w/v) skim milk and 1 %
(w/v) sucrose as wall material by spray and freeze-drying method. The obtained probiotics
powder was then analyzed for physicochemical, sublethal injury and stability during
storage. Freeze-dried L. plantarum Dad-13 was than analyze the antibacterial activity
against pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that aw, color and particle diameter were
significantly different between the spray and freeze-dried probiotics. Hence, the
microstructure of spray-dried microcapsule was spherical and wrinkle, while the freezedried microcapsule was porous. However, the viable cell of freeze-dried probiotic was
significantly higher and more stable during eight weeks of storages. From both strains, we
found that there was no strain-dependent effect on viable cells after the drying method.
Thus, we deduced that freeze-drying was the suitable method for microencapsulation L.
plantarum strain Dad-13, considering the freeze-dried L. plantarum Dad-13 still had
antibacterial activity.
Quantitative Analysis of the Delay Factors in Oil and Gas Pipeline Projects
Authors: Kraidi Layth , Shah Raj , Matipa Wilfred , Borthwick Fiona
Published: September 2020

Building new Oil and Gas Pipelines (OGPs) without identifying and analyzing the Influencing Risk Factors (IRFs) could cause project delay and have a significant impact on the safety of the projects at the construction and operation stages. Hence, it is essential to assess the IRFs that are applicable to the OGP projects and manage them by quantifying their impact on the projects in an accurate way. The potential IRFs were identified via an extensive literature review, and they were analyzed using the findings of a questionnaire survey and the fuzzy logic theory. This paper aims to quantify the impact of the recorded IRFs on the project’s duration and forecast the probability of the project being completed in time. The methodology of this paper includes allocating the Risk Index (RI) values of each IRF to the work activities of the projects, applying the risk distributing methods, and calculating the impact of the IRFs on the duration of each activity of the project using Monte Carlo Simulation. This paper will be useful in providing a suitable measure for the IRFs in OGPs projects, and will aid in reducing their impact on project duration and improving the certainty of the projects delivery.
Accuracy of Drone Image Based Volumetric Surveys
Authors: Adjidjonu Denise , Burgett Joseph
Published: September 2020

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in stockpile calculations is becoming more common due to the time savings associated with its use. In this paper, the accuracy of drone-based volumetric surveys using nadir and oblique images were compared with traditional survey methods. Two cardboard pyramids, measuring 14 cubic yards and 5 cubic yards respectively, were used to simulate a stockpile. The pyramids were surveyed with waypoint-assisted flights at 40ft, 125ft, and 350ft altitudes. Additional oblique images were captured at both sides of the targets and field to supplement the nadir flights. The volumes of the resulting models were then computed with ContextCapture software. This study found that adding oblique images to the nadir surveys did not significantly increase the accuracy of the model volumes. Oblique images on their own also yielded similar results to the nadir images. The accuracy of the models at 125ft ranged from 0.35% to 3.03% from the measured values, while the oblique images were off by 0.44% to 8.23% of the actual values.
Patients Specific Spine Simulators for Surgical Training and Rehearsal in Pedicle Screws Placement: A New Way for Surgical Education
Authors: Parchi Paolo Domenico , Condino Sara , Carbone Marina , Stagnari Sara , Rocchi David , Colangeli Simone , Ferrari Mauro , Scaglione Michelangelo , Ferrari Vincenzo
Published: September 2020

In pedicle screws placement using a free-hand technique or a fluoroscopic guided technique the main difficulties are facing to the bone morphology (i.e in deformity cases) and it could be easily reproduced in a patient’s specific spine simulator (we can choose the case). The aim of this work is to evaluate the use of 3D printed patient- specific models (3D printing) not only as a surgical planning tool but also as a surgical training tool in spine surgery and in particular in pedicle screws placement. The manufacturing of patient-specific physical replica involves the elaboration of CT dataset and rapid prototyping techniques. . Five resident surgeons were involved in different training sessions on simulators

. To evaluate the exact screws position we

performed a CT evaluation of each instrumented simulators

. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software. A total of 120 pedicle screws were positioned, 90 screws were well-positioned and 30 screws were bad-positioned. There were a significant difference (p = 0.000008) between the bad-positioning screw rate of the “senior” resident (13/72) and those of “young” participants (17/48). Timeline analysis of pedicle instrumentation training showed the presence of a learning effect, with a lower error rate in the latest session (p=000001). We believe that the use of patient- specific surgical simulators, especially for those surgical tasks in which the complexity is mainly linked to the spine morphology (i.e. deformity), may represent a valid alternative to the use of cadavers that generally present a standard or otherwise poorly predictable anatomy.
Outcome Validation of a Simulation Based Patient Specific TKA Planning Tool
Authors: Twiggs Joshua , Roe Justin , Fritsch Brett , Parker David , Miles Brad
Published: September 2020

Dynamic knee computer simulations are a promising surgical planning option in TKA, allowing the impact of plan alterations on joint dynamics to be analysed prior to surgery. Previously, the dynamic results of our simulation have been shown to correlate with outcome; here we show validation of its use in pre-operative planning.

A database of TKA Patients undergoing surgery from 1-Jan-2014 operated on by 9 surgeons, who received a pre-operative and post-operative CT were assessed. A musculoskeletal computational model with similar boundary conditions to the Oxford Knee Rig was used to simulate post-TKA knee dynamics using Adams MSC software (Newport, CA). In addition, a set of pre-operative simulations were generated covering positional variations. The Dynamic Knee Score (DKS), a predictive algorithm machine learned from KOOS scored postoperative cases to predict outcome in preoperative planning was applied to all simulations.

Patients were split into groups depending on whether the ‘post-operative achieved position’ was the ‘best’ of the preoperative modelled options in terms of simulated DKS score or not. These results were compared with 12 month postoperative KOOS scores. Cases where the best plan was followed had better outcome results. A relationship was shown with the KOOS Pain subscore, with the portion of patients below a KOOS Pain score of 70 dropping to 11% from 16% (p=0.030) when the best plan was followed.

This study shows significant relationships between selection of patient specific kinematically optimal surgical plan and outcome. Such tools will play an important role in future patient specific decision making.
Statistical Analysis of Sacral Bone Density using a CNN-based Atlas Creation on a Large-scale CT database
Authors: Kawasaki Akihiro , Otake Yoshito , Uemura Keisuke , Takao Masaki , Sugano Nobuhiko , Sato Yoshinobu
Published: September 2020

Fragility fracture of the sacrum has been an issue for elderly people. Research has been limited for the sacrum partly because its shape is complex with large inter-subject variation. Also, large-scale statistical analysis of its shape and density distribution has been limited mainly due to the computational load in establishment of the voxel correspondences, i.e., deformable registration.

In this study, we employed a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deformable registration algorithm in the analysis of the sacral bone. The algorithm we employed, VoxelMorph (Dalca et al. Med Image Anal 2019), is characterized as an unsupervised algorithm where no ground truth deformation field is required. The algorithm also allows to create a conditional deformable template, which is a volume image exhibiting smallest deformation field from all samples with specific attributes (e.g., age, sex, etc.), which in short represents the “average” (or “centroid”) image among the specific age and sex group. We applied it on a database consisting of 837 CTs (149 males, 688 females, 58.14 ± 14.73 y.o.) of the pelvis region, where the sacral bone was segmented and masked. We computed the templates corresponding to ages of 20 to 80 for male and female. The templates visually illustrated reduction of the bone density with aging in both male and female. The quantitative analysis showed that the average CT value over the sacrum region was reduced from 135.73 HU to 39.88 HU for 20 y.o. template to 80 y.o. template.
Evaluation of Motion Compensation Dynamics of the Handheld Robot MINARO HD
Authors: Vossel Manuel , Radermacher Klaus , de La Fuente Matias
Published: September 2020

Current surgical robotic systems consist either of a large serial arm, resulting in higher risks due to their high inertia and no inherent limitations of the working space, or they are bone-mounted, adding substantial additional task steps to the surgical workflow.

The robot presented in this paper has a handy and lightweight design and can be easily held by the surgeon. No rigid fixation to the bone or a cart is necessary. A high-speed tracking camera together with a fast control system ensure the accurate positioning of the burring tool, while automatically compensating for movements of the surgeon or the patient’s bone.

To evaluate the motion compensation capabilities of the developed robot, an experiment was conducted in which movements of the patient were simulated on the robot’s real time control system and the actual robot had to follow those virtual movements. The positioning error, measured with a tracking camera, was recorded for different velocities of the disturbing movement.

A linear relation between the positioning error and the speed of the disturbing motion could be discovered, with a slope of 24 ms and an offset of 0.044 mm.

The slope can be interpreted as the latency of the robotic system while following a moving target. Therefore, with a measured latency of 24 ms, the developed robotic system should easily be able to compensate for the patient’s breathing as well as the tremor of the operator, whereas the latter can reach frequencies of up to 12 Hz according to literature.
iDUC: Solution to Address Common Challenges of State Agency Drone Deployment
Authors: Magxaka Marchell , Lucas Jason , Burgett Joseph
Published: September 2020

The use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), or drones, have been widely documented with benefits for many agencies and industries that deal with construction, planning, emergency management, and public safety. Many agencies that are currently using drones have limited resources and face challenges in their deployment. This research is examining the extent of those challenges among state agencies of South Carolina and how they may better be addressed through joint initiatives, enhanced communication, networking, and research. This paper documents an initial survey used to gauge drone use of different agencies throughout the state, common challenges that were identified, and strategies that are planned to address these challenges through future collaborative efforts.
Trends Associated with ASC Annual Conference Proceedings from 2004-2019
Authors: Farnsworth Clifton , Bingham Evan , Smith James
Published: September 2020

The Proceedings of the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Annual International Conference include scholarly work associated with construction education and research. This conference is a resource for ASC member institutions to publish their scholarly endeavors. However, the relative impact of the annual proceedings is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to explore the trends associated with the annual conference proceedings from 2004-2019, including a comparison of papers published by author and institution, international and collaborative efforts, and the type of research that is being published. This paper demonstrates that the demand to publish at the ASC annual conference continues to increase. Alternative and innovative solutions to accommodate this continued growth should be considered. Over the past 16 years, the annual conference proceedings have been a publishing resource for 1,212 unique authors, representing 276 different institutions. International and collaborative efforts have been reasonably strong and appear to be one of the strengths of the conference. Although the international presence seems to help validate the importance of the conference in construction related research, there also appears to be room to continue to grow this aspect of the conference.
Towards Automated Tissue Classification for Markerless Orthopaedic Robotic Assistance
Authors: Laws Stephen , Souipas Spyridon , Davies Brian , Rodriguez Y Baena Ferdinando
Published: September 2020

A markerless computer aided orthopaedic platform will require a complex computer vision system to isolate and track rigid bodies used to localize a robot to a patient. Isolating rigid bodies such as bone requires accurate segmentation and this study explores using diffuse laser reflectivity to accurately classify tissue.

Lasers (Red, 650nm and IR, 850nm) intersected four material types; cartilage, ligament, muscle and metal surgical tools within a controlled cadaveric setup. Images were captured with an infrared CMOS sensor, pre-processed to isolate laser centres, and resized to test information requirements. Images for both laser types were scaled from 5x5 pixels to 30x30 pixels and trained on a convolutional neural network, GoogLeNet.

At sizes above 15x15 pixels the IR laser had a higher classification accuracy reaching 97.8% at 30x30 pixels, whereas the red laser peaked at 94.1%. It was shown as not possible to qualitatively identify materials that were not trained in the network based on their probability outputs. Further work will be done to classify multiple points in a single scene as a step toward segmenting entire surgical views for markerless CAOS systems.
Preliminary Validation of a Patient Outcome Prediction Tool Relative to Surgeon Predictions of Patient Outcome
Authors: Twiggs Joshua , Liu David , Roe Justin , Parker David , Miles Brad
Published: September 2020

Currently, patient selection for Total Knee Arthroplasties (TKA) is surgeon specific. A combination of patient reported symptoms, clinical examination findings, and radiological criteria are combined in an idiosyncratic fashion based on the surgeon’s individual clinical experiences. Predictive models offer an alternative by providing more detailed information on expected patient outcome. This study presents validation relative to surgeon predictions of such a predictive model, the Patient Expectation Management (PEM) tool.

A cohort of patients undertook a survey covering the KOOS questionnaire and a number of other questions pertaining to comorbidities prior to their consultation. From this survey, a prediction of final state and assessment of current state was generated. Prior to seeing the prediction but after consulting the patient, surgeons were asked to score out of 100 a) their understanding of the patient’s current pain state and b) their prediction of the patient’s pain level following surgery. 35 of the patients were selected for TKA surgery and have gone on to have 12 month Knee Osteoarthritis and Outcome Scores (KOOS) captured.

The predicted change in the PEM predicted score (preop to postop difference) had a relatively high correlation with the actual KOOS pain improvement achieved (r=0.71, p<0.001), compared to no significant correlation for the surgeon prediction (r=0.24, p=0.20). Significant correlations also existed for changes in KOOS symptoms score (r=0.70, p<0.001) and KOOS Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score (r=0.42, p=0.02).

This study showed that, compared to a set of surgeon predictions of outcome following a consultation with patients, a predictive analytics tool was able to outperform in terms of predicting the improvement patients are likely to report following TKA.
ARCH-COMP20 Category Report: Continuous and Hybrid Systems with Linear Continuous Dynamics
Authors: Althoff Matthias , Bak Stanley , Bao Zongnan , Forets Marcelo , Frehse Goran , Freire Daniel , Kochdumper Niklas , Li Yangge , Mitra Sayan , Ray Rajarshi , Schilling Christian , Schupp Stefan , Wetzlinger Mark
Published: September 2020

We present the results of the ARCH1 2020 friendly competition for formal verification of continuous and hybrid systems with linear continuous dynamics. In its fourth edition, eight tools have been applied to solve eight different benchmark problems in the category for linear continuous dynamics (in alphabetical order): CORA, C2E2, HyDRA, Hylaa, Hylaa-Continuous, JuliaReach, SpaceEx, and XSpeed. This report is a snapshot of the current landscape of tools and the types of benchmarks they are particularly suited for. Due to the diversity of problems, we are not ranking tools, yet the presented results provide one of the most complete assessments of tools for the safety verification of continuous and hybrid systems with linear continuous dynamics up to this date.
ARCH-COMP20 Repeatability Evaluation Report
Authors: Johnson Taylor T
Published: September 2020

This report presents the results of the repeatability evaluation for the 4th International Competition on Verifying Continuous and Hybrid Systems (ARCH-COMP’20). The competition took place as part of the workshop Applied Verification for Continuous and Hybrid Systems (ARCH) in 2020, affiliated with the IFAC World Congress. In its fourth edition, twenty-eight tools submitted artifacts through a Git repository for the repeatability evaluation, applied to solve benchmark problems for seven competition categories. The majority of participants adhered to the requirements for this year’s repeatability evaluation, namely to submit scripts to automatically install and execute tools in containerized virtual environments (specifically Dockerfiles to execute within Docker), and several categories used performance evaluation information from a common execution platform. The repeatability results represent a snapshot of the current landscape of tools and the types of benchmarks for which they are particularly suited and for which others may repeat their analyses. Due to the diversity of problems in verification of continuous and hybrid systems, as well as basing on standard practice in repeatability evaluations, we evaluate the tools with pass and/or failing being repeatable.
Blockchain-based Information Sharing: A New Opportunity for Construction Supply Chains
Authors: Pishdad-Bozorgi Pardis , Yoon Jong Han , Dass Nishant
Published: September 2020

In the supply chain, information sharing is critical for facilitating decision making, accelerating the schedule, reducing costs, and enhancing the final quality of the project. However, information sharing is challenging in the construction supply chain when information asymmetry could help certain individuals avoid liability or help others maximize their profits by using substandard materials. In this environment, the stakeholders may not truly trust one another and may be reluctant to share complete information. Even though several studies have emphasized the importance of trust for information sharing, few studies have focused on promoting trust and verifying information using technology. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of Blockchain technology for establishing a trust-enhanced environment with distributed trust that will benefit the construction supply chain. This paper presents three logical scenarios for the application of Blockchain technology in information-sharing systems in order to demonstrate that the technology helps establish a trust-enhanced environment for reliable information sharing while eliminating counterfeiting and reducing bullwhip effect. These scenarios will demonstrate the value of Blockchain-based information sharing in the construction supply chain and possibly provide direction for future research with greater depth and specificity.
The Relationship of Embodied Energy and Cost of Buildings and Building Materials
Authors: Dixit Manish Kumar , Lavy Sarel , Abdagiri Parag
Published: September 2020

Buildings consume nearly half of global energy each year in their construction and operation as embodied and operational energy releasing approximately 40% of global carbon emission. Embodied energy (EE) is consumed indirectly through the use of construction materials, assemblies, and equipment, and directly in construction processes and related transportation. Operational energy (OE) is consumed in building air-conditioning, heating, lighting, and powering equipment. Both EE and OE must be minimized to lower this huge energy footprint of buildings. To decrease EE, a complete and accurate EE assessment is essential, which, however, is a quite data-intensive and time-consuming process. EE is conventionally computed using process- and input-output (IO)-based methods. Hybrid approaches that combine the two methods are also used to compute EE. In an IO-based method, macroeconomic data is translated into energy flows, which indicates a potential relationship between energy and economic flows, and consequently between EE and cost. In this paper, we investigated the EE-cost relationship at the building and construction material levels and found a strong positive correlation between the EE and cost of the study buildings. The results indicate a need to further analyze this relationship through regression analysis to see if EE can be predicted from cost data.
Analysis of Real-Time Control Systems using First-Order Continuization
Authors: Gaukler Maximilian
Published: September 2020

Experience Report: Real-Time control systems can be difficult to analyze due to the mixture of discrete-time and continuous-time dynamics. This difficulty is particularly pronounced if the timing is non-periodic, e.g., due to network or execution effects. Still, most control loops behave similar to a purely continuous-time system disturbed by a small discretization error, which is exploited by Bak and Johnson (2015) in the method of Continuization. This paper uncovers limitations of that work and presents an extension, First-Order Continuization, based on a new formal framework that recovers previous results and eases future development.
Femoral Component Alignment Boundaries for Tibia First Gap Balancing using Digital Tensioning Tool
Authors: Wakelin Edgar , Shalhoub Sami , Lawrence Jeffrey , Keggi John , DeClaire Jeffrey , Randall Amber , Ponder Corey , Koenig Jan , Plaskos Christopher
Published: September 2020

Achieving a balanced knee is a critical aspect of Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). Coronal and axial boundaries for femoral component placement to achieve balance however, are not well defined. Our aim is to investigate the effect of femoral component and long leg coronal and axial alignment on patient outcomes when using a tibia-first gap balancing technique.

All surgeries were performed using the OMNIBotics robot-assisted TKA platform and BalanceBot device. A total of 197 patients were prospectively enrolled into this study and received TKA surgery using the OMNIBotics platform and completed 1-year KOOS outcome scores. Femoral component and tibiofemoral alignment were categorized as inliers or outliers in the coronal and axial planes. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and University of California at Los Angeles Activity Scale (UCLA) was collected at 1-year post-op.

No significant differences were found between the KOOS subscores or UCLA outcome and femoral coronal or tibiofemoral coronal and axial alignment. Significant differences were found between the KOOS pain and sports sub-scores and femoral axial alignment (∆ = 5.4, p = 0.007, ∆ = 8.3, p = 0.03 respectively), in which outlier femoral rotation reported higher scores.

Component alignment limits for improved survival and patient outcomes are a source of ongoing debate. The data presented here indicates that when utilizing a tibia-first gap balancing technique, small deviations outside of traditional ±3°alignment boundaries did not negatively affect KOOS or UCLA outcomes, indicating balance may have a stronger link to patient outcome than alignment.
Projector-Based Augmented Reality System for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery
Authors: Gao Yuan , Xie Le , Zheng Guoyan
Published: September 2020

This paper presents a projector-based augmented reality (AR) system for Computer- Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery (CAOS). After calibration, our AR system allows for projection of not only the virtual model directly on the surface of the target organ to create an augmented reality but also important clinical information such as distance and angular deviations from a surgical plan, which are important for various computer-assisted surgical procedures such as trajectory drilling and fracture reduction. The feasibility and accuracy of the system is experimentally validated on a 3D printed phantom model with pyramid shape, a dry goat bone and an in vitro pig leg. An average projection distance error of 1.03±0.58mm and an average drill alignment error of 1.17±0.43°were found. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed AR system.
ARCH-COMP20 Category Report: Artificial Intelligence and Neural Network Control Systems (AINNCS) for Continuous and Hybrid Systems Plants
Authors: Johnson Taylor T , Manzanas Lopez Diego , Musau Patrick , Tran Hoang-Dung , Botoeva Elena , Leofante Francesco , Maleki Amir , Sidrane Chelsea , Fan Jiameng , Huang Chao
Published: September 2020

This report presents the results of a friendly competition for formal verification of continuous and hybrid systems with artificial intelligence (AI) components. Specifically, machine learning (ML) components in cyber-physical systems (CPS), such as feedforward neural networks used as feedback controllers in closed-loop systems are considered, which is a class of systems classically known as intelligent control systems, or in more modern and specific terms, neural network control systems (NNCS). We more broadly refer to this category as AI and NNCS (AINNCS). The friendly competition took place as part of the workshop Applied Verification for Continuous and Hybrid Systems (ARCH) in 2020. In the second edition of this AINNCS category at ARCH-COMP, four tools have been applied to solve seven different benchmark problems, (in alphabetical order): NNV, OVERT, ReachNN*, and VenMAS. This report is a snapshot of the current landscape of tools and the types of benchmarks for which these tools are suited. Due to the diversity of problems, lack of a shared hardware platform, and the early stage of the competition, we are not ranking tools in terms of performance, yet the presented results probably provide the most complete assessment of current tools for safety verification of NNCS.
Automatic Markerless Tracking for Computer-Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery
Authors: Hu Xue , Liu He , Rodriguez Y Baena Ferdinando M
Published: September 2020

In computer assisted orthopaedic surgery, it is important to find the correct spatial lo- cation of the target in a predefined world coordinate, so that the model can be transformed accordingly onto the surgical site for surgeons’ reference. Current tracking systems mainly rely on the detection of optical markers inserted into the anatomy. The invasiveness of fixa- tion pins increases operating time and bone complications. Automatic markerless tracking is therefore preferred in practice. In this paper, we integrate an automatic RGBD-image based segmentation neural network and a fast markerless registration algorithm to achieve the markerless tracking purpose. An experimental test with a metal leg was designed. By forcing the alignment of the measured hip joint centre, the overall tracking was shown to be sub-degree in terms of orientation accuracy, which is clinically acceptable.
Robotic-Assisted THA Can Achieve Precise Cup Positioning Even in Severe Developmental Dysplasia of Hip
Authors: Hayashi Shinya , Hashimoto Shingo , Takayama Koji , Matsumoto Tomoyuki , Shibanuma Nao , Ishida Kazunari , Kuroda Ryosuke
Published: September 2020

Introduction

We hypothesize robotic-assisted THA can achieve precise cup positioning. The aim of this study is to figure out the accuracy of cup placement of severe DDH cases by using robotic-assisted THA

Methods

This was a prospective cohort study. The study analyzed a consecutive series of 53 hips with robotic-assisted THA between Aug 2018 and Sep 2019. Fifteen patients were DDH cases, and classified Crowe type II- 7 patients, type III- 7 patients, and type IV- 1 patient. All patients underwent robotic assisted-THA (MAKO Rio Robot, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) for osteoarthritis via the Hardinge or posterior approach in the lateral position. TTo analyze the accuracy of intraoperative navigation records for cup inclination and anteversion, we compared the intraoperative cup angles using the navigation records with the postoperative angles using postoperative CT data.

Results

Reproducibility of robotic-assisted THA for preoperative plan

In non DDH cases, the average measurement absolute error (postoperative CT-preoperative target) was 1.9 ± 2.1° (inclination) and 2.0 ± 2.5° (anteversion) (Figure 1). In DDH cases, the average measurement absolute error (postoperative CT- preoperative target) was 2.2 ± 3.1° (inclination) and 2.6 ± 2.4° (anteversion) (Figure 1). There were no differences of the average measurement absolute error between DDH and non DDH cases.

Accuracy of navigation record for cup inclination and anteversion angles

In non DDH cases, the average measurement absolute error (postoperative CT-navigation record) was 2.3 ± 1.9° (inclination) and 2.2 ± 1.5° (anteversion) (Figure 1). In DDH cases, the average measurement absolute error (postoperative CT-navigation record) was 2.0 ± 2.5° (inclination) and 2.3 ± 2.7° (anteversion) (Figure 1). There were no differences of the average measurement absolute error between DDH and non DDH cases. Scatter plots demonstrated the measurement error of both inclination and anteversion within 5° was 89.5% in non DDH cases (Figure 2a) and 80% in DDH cases (Figure 2b).

Discussion

In this study, we demonstrated that no differences of the average measurement absolute navigation record error or the absolute difference between target angle and postoperative cup alignment were found between severe DDH and non-DDH cases. Our results indicate that this robotic-assisted system has high accuracy for cup placement even in severe DDH case.
Immersive VR Modules for Construction Safety Education of Generation Z Students
Authors: Azhar Salman , Han Dongnyeok , Dastider Swarnali Ghosh
Published: September 2020

This research investigated the potential of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) technology as an assistive teaching tool for construction safety and similar courses that require hands-on training. The most significant advantage of VR technology is creating real-life experiences without exposing the students to the dangers of a jobsite. Earlier studies recognized the need to develop customized VR content for construction safety courses that incorporates specific OSHA standards; hence, this study was conducted with a focus on this objective. After in-depth discussion with two construction firms, the research team identified three most needed areas for safety training namely confined space safety, scaffolding safety, and jobsite clean-up safety. A conceptual framework for VR content design, execution, and method of delivery was designed. Then a storyboard was created for each identified area to graphically depict the concept and workflow for the VR programing. Unity® gaming engine was used as the developing platform and VR modules were created for Oculus Go® head mounted display. Each module contained demonstration of the hazards and mitigation methods based on the OSHA standards. Questionnaire survey and SWOT analysis are used as tools to collect feedback and assessment data from undergraduate and graduate students and industry experts. The survey results indicate that the VR based safety education can play a positive role in improving students’ understanding, knowledge retention, and interest in the subject matter. It can help construction firms to conduct enhanced safety training without the need for physical mockups. The paper explains the strategies and lessons learned as well as provides directions for future research.
Pilot Study for Understanding a Contributing Factor for a Decrease in Skilled Construction Labor
Authors: Buckner Brent , Bender William
Published: September 2020

The construction industry has and will continue to see skilled labor shortages. The most critical shortage of staffing is at the building level, which is comprised of skilled construction craft workers. Societal pressures for higher education appear to exacerbate this shortage. To further understand the decrease of skilled construction labor, a pilot study of 53 high school students was conducted. The survey was conducted on 17 to 18- year-old students who will be graduating high school within the next one to two years. The results of the survey point to the societal view that higher education is of utmost importance to students and their families. Furthermore, the results showed that construction is not given positive consideration or seen as a valuable alternative to higher education. Parents and children deem the pursuit of higher education as the way to become financially successful and have a rewarding career.
Effect of GAN-based image standardization on MR knee bone-tissue classification performance
Authors: Jaouen Vincent , Dardenne Guillaume , Tixier Florent , Stindel Éric , Visvikis Dimitris
Published: September 2020

Due to their sensitivity to acquisition parameters, medical images such as magnetic resonance images (MRI), Positron Emission tomography (PET) or Computed Tomography (CT) images often suffer from a kind of variability unrelated to diagnostic power, often known as the center effect (CE). This is especially true in MRI, where units are arbitrary and image values can strongly depend on subtle variations in the pulse sequences [1]. Due to the CE it is particularly difficult in various medical imaging applications to 1) pool data coming from several centers or 2) train machine learning algorithms requiring large homogeneous training sets. There is therefore a clear need for image standardization techniques aiming at reducing this effect.

Considerable improvements in image synthesis have been achieved over the recent years using (deep) machine learning. Models based on generative adversarial neural networks (GANs) now enable the generation of high definition images capable of fooling the human eye [2]. These methods are being increasingly used in medical imaging for various cross-modality (image-to-image) applications such as MR to CT synthesis [3]. However, they have been seldom used for the purpose of image standardization, i.e. for reducing the CE [4].

In this work, we explore the potential advantage of embedding a standardization step using GANs prior to knee bone tissue classification in MRI. We consider image standardization as a within-domain image synthesis problem, where our objective is to learn a mapping between a domain D constituted of heterogeneous images and a reference domain R showing one or several images of desired image characteristics.

Preliminary results suggest a beneficial impact of such a standardization step on segmentation performance.
In-vivo bone segmentation approach for Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Loy Rodas Nicolas , Decrouez Marion , Bleunven Blaise , Cahen Sophie
Published: September 2020

Perceiving and making sense of the surgical scene during Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) surgery is crucial for building assistance and decision support systems for surgeons and their team. However, the need for large volumes of annotated and structured data for AI-based methods hinders the development of such tools. We hereby present a study on the use of transfer learning to train deep neural networks with scarce annotated data to automatically detect bony areas on live images. We provide quantitative evaluation results on in-vivo data, captured during several TKA procedures. We hope that this work will facilitate further developments of smart surgical assistance tools for orthopaedic surgery.