bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biografia edukacyjna malgaskich uczniów – badania wstępne
Authors: Lendzion Kinga
Published: October 2023

W artykule autorka podejmuje próbę spojrzenia na etap edukacji szkolnej oczami młodych Malgaszy. W tym celu prezentuje wyniki wstępnych badań biograficznych, osadzonych w nurcie metodologii indygenicznej, przeprowadzonych wśród malgaskich maturzystów w dwóch wybranych liceach na Madagaskarze. Uczniowie zostali poproszeni o napisanie esejów na temat historii ich edukacji. Z esejów biograficznych młodych Malgaszy wyłania się wspólna narracja zogniskowana wokół trzech etapów edukacji – szkoły podstawowej, gimnazjum i liceum. W narracjach młodzieży, obok trudnych doświadczeń związanych z edukacją i życiem rodzinnym, jako szczególnie trudny ukazywany jest okres dojrzewania przypadający zazwyczaj na okres nauki w gimnazjum.
PKM Peduli Lingkungan Guru SMPN Wonomulyo Melalui Cerpen Ekokritik
Authors: Juanda Juanda , Azis  , Afandi Iswan
Published: October 2023

Short stories are reading materials as literacy skills that contain a variety of environmental education. This Community Service aims to improve the skills of teachers, especially junior high school teachers in Wonomulyo District, to be skilled at choosing and downloading digital short stories with environmental themes; Teachers are skilled at determining the values of environmental education in digital short stories. The Service Team in carrying out this activity uses lecture training methods, discussions, workshops, and download tutorials and determines the values of environmental education in short stories. The partners in this Community Service  were 15 teachers in junior high school,  Wonomulyo District, Polman Regency, West Sulawesi Province. The results achieved are partners who are skilled at selecting and downloading digital short stories and skilled at determining the values of environmental education in short stories. The output of this PKM is in the form of news on the online media Barru Pos and YouTube videos.
Penguatan Budaya Melayu di TVRI Riau Melalui Drama Televisi
Authors: Evizariza  , Kafrawi M
Published: October 2023

Television is a medium that can be used to disseminate information and entertainment. The development of increasingly sophisticated technology with various kinds of programs requires creative thinking so that television stations are not left behind by their audience. One of the superior programs that can be created is television dramas by incorporating local cultural values. By collaborating with TVRI Riau, Malay cultural values can be combined in a creative work, namely television drama.
Peningkatan Kemampuan Membaca dan Memahami Syair Khadamuddin Karya Aisyah Sulaiman Riau
Authors: Amanan  , Hermansyah  , Juswandi
Published: October 2023

Syair Khadamuddin is a literary work created by Aisyah Sulaiman Riau, a writer from the Riau archipelago. This literary work in ancient Malay, Syair Khadamuddin, tells the attitude and outlook on life as well as the loyalty of a wife to her husband. Syair Khadamuddin tells the story of the struggle of a woman named Siti Sabariah in realizing her loyalty as a wife who awaits the return of her husband, named merchant Khadamuddin. This service activity was held for PGRI High School students in Bukit Raya District, this activity is really needed by the Riau Provincial Government in the Reformation era, which has planned to foster and develop Malay culture and Malay culture (BMR). The arrival of the service team from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Lancang Kuning University is expected to be able to help the school and especially the PGRI Pekanbaru City High School students to get to know Riau Malay Culture, especially to improve their ability to read and understand Syair Khadamuddin by Aisyah Sulaiman Riau.
Pendidikan Kewirausahaan dan Digital Marketing dalam Menghadapi MEA Bagi Para Siswa di Perbatasan Negara
Authors: Iskandar Irwan , Pazli  , Renolafitri Hendrini , Rahmi MD Herliana , Fahmi Jihan Nabila , Nurhayati
Published: October 2023

Since 2016, citizens in Indonesia have faced free competition within the framework of the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community). For this reason, the first step in facing the AEC is to introduce younger generation, especially at the state's borders, to the opportunities and challenges within the AEC. After that, there must be efforts to cultivate entrepreneurial character along with selling products or services through digital marketing/marketplace. Based on the purpose, this community service activity is carried out by using counseling approach and by targeting students of SMA Negeri 1 Rupat Utara on the edge of the Malacca Strait. After its implementation, it is known that the students, from not knowing the AEC, become aware of the AEC. They are more motivated to face AEC by doing business after finishing school, continuing their education to college or working as a trained workforce. The conclusion of this activity is that the students of SMAN 1 Rupat Utara already have an entrepreneurial character. It's just that these characters must be honed and directed so that they are maximized in facing AEC.
Constructivist Referents in Oumar Farouk Sesay’s ‘The Song of the Women of My Land’
Authors: Thulla Philip Foday Yamba , Fofanah Ibrahim Mustapha
Published: October 2023

The purpose of the research was to examine the constructivist referents in Oumar Farouk Sesay’s poem ‘The Song of the Women of My Land’. This required an analysis and understanding of the referents (terms that clearly and indirectly refer to persons, things or events) and whether the referents were used in the poem to express grief by women. The research questions were as follows: a) Does the poet use referents that suggest the death of traditions that celebrate old women, song bards, and songs from the past more than any other word? b) Is the poet more likely to employ poetic allusions to indicate negative constructivism? and c) Is the poem’s use of prosodic features related to the message? This study used computational and content analysis methods, which incorporate a careful poetry-reading critical approach, to identify and calculate constructivist referents. The referents were then manually broad-coded to include whole lines and verses. The exact words, phrases, and sentences related to the topic were coded and their frequency was determined. These were calculated by counting the number of times a referent appeared. The themes were then selected and interpreted, with a focus on relating them to the poem’s constructivist viewpoint. Finally, the main prosodic elements of the poem, as well as the referents that create them, were established. The results show that most referents by African poets are used to emphasise that traditional culture is dying and that the referents romanticise the fleeting nature of beauty in poetry and the pacifying effects of rural pastimes.
Breaking Textbook Barriers: PowToon Videos in Engaging ICT Learning for Young EFL Learners
Authors: Minarni Fitria , Mustofa Mutmainnah , Nursafira Mutia Sari
Published: October 2023

The significant interest in the development and integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the field of education is still marked with an unequal level of performance in many areas. This research explores the researcher-teacher collaboration of creating and using PowToon video in teaching English to achieve the mission of elevating the ICT competence of teachers and students in schools, especially in areas that are underdeveloped or far from the central government. The participants of the study include the sole English teacher of SD Kartika VI-7 Malang and twenty students in the fifth grade. Through four steps (analysing, designing, implementing, evaluating), this descriptive qualitative study collected data from classroom observation, teacher interview, expert analysis of the developed media, and short evaluation questionnaire. Results from the analysis stage confirmed the preliminary results of the English class’s minimal ICT usage. The design stage is where the researchers and the teacher worked together to adapt the textbook materials into interesting PowToon video for the students. The implementation stage is where the teacher used the video validated by three experts of material, media, and language. Finally, the media’s effectiveness is evaluated based on the questionnaire responses given by the students. The research concludes that the validation process of the PowToon ascertained its quality for effective English instruction to motivate student engagement. Although neither PowToon video nor its implementation is particularly new, they are novel, effective, and—arguably most importantly—friendly teaching media for classrooms that have yet to adapt with the rapid technological world.
AKTYWNOŚĆ FIZYCZNA KOBIET PO 65 ROKU ŻYCIA
Authors: CZARNECKI Dawid , SKALSKI Dariusz W , TSYHANOVSKA Nataliia , PAVLYUK Yevgen
Published: October 2023

Ewolucja cywilizacyjna i progres w medycynie przyczyniły się do wydłużenia życia człowieka. Nieznane kiedyś metody lecznictwa oraz nowoczesne środki farmaceutyczne zdecydowanie przedłużają zdolności osobnicze do zachowania sprawności fizycznej w zakresie układu krążenia, oddechowego i narządu ruchu. Zmiany te powodują zauważalną zmianę podejścia do życia, a także chęć aktywnego uczestniczenia w wielu zajęciach grupowych, dla których wcześniej nie znajdywano czasu ze względu na obciążenie innymi obowiązkami zawodowymi. Można zaobserwować, że wielu ludzi realizację swoich postanowień i pasji zostawia na wiek emerytalny. Aby te plany mogły być realizowane trzeba być do tego odpowiednio przygotowanym, nie tylko mentalnie, ale i fizycznie. W dalszym etapie życia wykorzystujemy nabytą wcześniej wydolność. Niestety stan ten nie jest nam dany na całe życie. Tak jak w każdym żywym organizmie, tak po 21 roku życia rozpoczynają się procesy starzenia, które w początkowej fazie są cyklem niezauważalnym. Po piątej dekadzie życia odczuwalne są jego trudy [14]. Obniża się wydolność fizyczna, stan psychiczny. Dokuczliwe są trudności z koncentracją oraz przyswajaniem nowych informacji. Dlatego należy dbać o kondycję fizyczną i psychiczną, ponieważ przedłuża to okres sprawności. Trend jakim jest aktywność fizyczna pozytywnie wpływa na kondycję zdrowotną, regenerację sił fizycznych i psychicznych [6].
Systematyczna aktywność fizyczna jest niezbędnym warunkiem prawidłowego rozwoju fizycznego i psychicznego, dobrego stanu zdrowia, ważnym aspektem profilaktyki chorób cywilizacyjnych, a także istotnym elementem terapii chorób i zaburzeń. Liczne badania dowodzą także, że odpowiednio dozowana aktywność ruchowa jest w stanie wyraźnie zmniejszyć negatywny wpływ procesu starzenia się˛ i jak najdłużej utrzymać zdrowie fizyczne, psychiczne i społeczne [7]. Podejmowanie różnych form aktywności ruchowej daje także możliwość poznania nowych ludzi, a tym samym większą pewność w kontaktach społecznych [4].
Eksistensi Peradilan Adat Dalam Penyelesaian Sengketa di Sumatera Barat
Authors: Murniwati Rahmi
Published: October 2023

Peradilan adat merupakan suatu lembaga organik yang berperan dalam menyelesaikan sengketa dalam sistem hukum adat. Pada daerah Minangkabau berdasarkan Pasal 1 ayat (8) Perda Prov. No. 7 Tahun 2018 tentang Nagari menyatakan bahwa Peradilan Adat Nagari merupakan lembaga penyelesaian sengketa masyarakat di Nagari berdasarkan adat salingka nagari yang bersifat mediasi. Penyelesaian sengketa adat pada daerah Minangkabau bersifat kekeluargaan dan musyawarah mufakat. Sebelum diselesaikan melalui Peradilan Adat Nagari maka terlebih dahulu harus diselesaikan dalam keluarga secara “bajanjang naiak batanggo turun”. Pada dasarnya hasil penyelesaian sengketa melalui peradilan adat nagari bertujuan untuk menghasilkan perdamaian. Namun apabila tidak dihasilkan perdamaian maka hasil penyelesaian melalui Peradilan Adat Nagari tersebut dapat menjadi sumber hukum penyelesaian sengketa oleh hakim dalam peradilan. Faktanya di daerah sumatera Bart banyak Peradilan Adat Nagari yang hasil penyelesaian sengketa tersebut berisi putusan-putusan sehingga bertentangan dengan fungsinya yang harusnya dalam penyelesaian tersebut bersifat mediasi bukan mengadili yang merupakan fungsi lembaga peradilan. Sehingga berdasarkan permasalahan diatas maka rumusan permasalahan nya adalah: 1. Bagaimana Eksistensi Peradilan Adat dalam Penyelesaian Sengketa di Sumatera Barat? 2. Bagaimana Penyelesaian Sengketa Adat di Sumatera Barat?  Metode pendekatan masalah yang digunakan adalah yuridis normatif , sumber data dalam penelitian ini berasal dari penelitian kepustakaan (library research) dan  analisis dan pengolahan data yang akan digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisis kualitatif. Hasil penelitian: 1)Pada daerah Sumatera Barat, Peradilan Adat Nagari mempunyai fungsi sebagai lembaga yang menyelesaikan sengketa adat melalui mediasi yaitu sebagai pihak netral atau penengah dalam pihak yang bersengketa. Hasil yang digharpkan yaitu win-win solution dan perdamaian, bukan memberikan putusan-putusan yang bersifat mengadili pihak. 2.) Penyelesaian sengketa di Minangkabau adalah “bajanjang naiak batango turun”. Bajanjang naik maksudnya setiap persengketaan diselesaikan melalui proses lembaga adat pada tingkat yang paling rendah yaitu oleh mamak kaum. Apabila tidak memperoleh kesepakatan , maka penyelesaian sengketa oleh kepala suku dan penghulu dalam Peradilan Adat Nagari. Batanggo Turun artinya hasil musyawarah atau atau hasil penyelesaian sengketa oleh ninik mamak atau orang yang dituakan dalam adat diharapkan akan dipatuhi oleh pihak-pihak yang berperkara. Teknik penyelesaian sengketa oleh lembaga adat yang ada di Minangkabau mulai dari lembaga yang lebi rendah yaitu oleh mamak separuik atau mamak kepala waris sampai ke tingkat yang lebih tinggi yatu oleh Peradilan Adat Nagari  secara musyawarah dan mufakat serta mengutamakan rasa keadilan.
The relationship between osteoporosis and non-dipper hypertension in postmenopausal women
Authors: ÇAKMAK Tolga , KADİFE İskender , AYHAN Erkan , IŞIK Turgay
Published: October 2023

Aims: Previous studies have shown association between hypertension and osteoporosis, however has not been evaluated alterations of circadian blood pressure patterns. The present study investigated the effects of osteoporosison the circadian blood pressure assessed by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Methods: 68 patients (mean age: 61.3±8.7 years, 34 dipper and 34 non-dipper patients) with postmenopausal hypertension (HT) were prospectively enrolled in this study. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed on all patients. We measured bone mineral density (BMD) and T-score by dual X- ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of lumbar spine BMD, optimal cut - off value for predicting non-dipper hypertension (NDHT).

Results: T-score and BMD in non-dipper patients were lower than the dipper patients. There was a significant correlation between the rate of fall in night of mean blood pressure and both lumbar spine T-score and lumbar spine BMD (r= 0.330 and P =0.006 vs r=0.322 and P =0.007, respectively). A lumbar spine BMD
The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on stroke admissions to a city
Authors: METİN Salih , AYGÜN Hüseyin , HAKİ Cemile
Published: October 2023

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in healthcare around the world. The idea that hospital admissions due to cerebrovascular diseases may be affected during global epidemics made us do this study. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the pandemic and curfew restrictions on stroke applications and admissions in Bursa at the local level.

Methods: Our study was conducted by retrospectively scanning the patients who received treatment for cerebrovascular diseases in our hospital between 01.01.2018 and 31.12.2021. The admission dates, ages and International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes of the patients included in the study were recorded. ICD-10 codes were categorized as bleeding (I60/I61/I62), infarct (I63), nonspecific (I64/I67), other (I65/I66/I68/I69) for use in analyses. Patients under the age of 18 and patients with missing file data were excluded from the study. The files of a total of 6997 patients were accessed.

Results: When in this study look at the number of patients by years, it was seen that there were 1326 people in 2018, 1562 people in 2019, 1916 people in 2020, and 2187 people in 2021. It is noteworthy that if we call the years 2018-2019, when there is no COVID-19 pandemic, as prepandemic, and if we call the years 2020-2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic is experienced, as pandemic, the cases due to infarction (I63) increase approximately twice. In the chi-square analysis we performed between categorical diagnoses and years, a statistical difference was found between years and diagnoses (p
Evaluation of the readability of consent forms used in cardiovascular surgery clinics
Authors: KAYA İbrahim Çağrı
Published: October 2023

Aims: The readability of the informed consent forms, which are a power of attorney agreement between the physician and the patient, is very important especially in clinics where high-risk procedures such as cardiovascular surgery are performed. In this study, we aimed to determine the readability levels of consent forms, which are frequently used in cardiovascular surgery clinics, according to accepted scales.

Methods: The readability level of the 15 patient consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery to its members; word counts, syllable counts, letter and character counts were calculated using Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz formulas.

Results: Consent forms included in the study were found to be readable at the 11-12th grade level according to the Ateşman scale and at the high school level in the Bezirci-Yılmaz scale. These texts have also been studied at international scales and it has been determined that they are at the level of readability that requires undergraduate education.

Conclusion: Research and data from the Turkish Statistical Institute show that the average year of schooling in our country is 6.5, and the ratio of high school graduates or equivalent to the entire population is 22.3%. We advocate simplifying the informed consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery, from the level that requires high school education to the 6-year education level, which is the average schooling year in Turkey.
A six-year retrospective evaluation of odontogenic infections in pediatric patients requiring hospitalization
Authors: YILMAZ ASAN Canay , EREN Cemil , DOĞRUEL Fatma , DEMİRBAŞ Ahmet Emin
Published: October 2023

Aims: Odontogenic infections in pediatric patients are common conditions which need to rapid treatment because of the progression of the infection into deep facial spaces. This study aimed to investigate the treatment modalities and clinical findings of hospitalized patients because of odontogenic infections.

Methods: The study sample was collected from patient’s medical records. Demographic data, clinical findings, hospital length, source of the infection and laboratory findings were compared.

Results: 330 patients were included and the study competed with 111 girls (34%) and 219 boys (66%) with a mean age of 6.81±3.25 years (min:1-max:17). 173 (%52) patients were treated for buccal space infection. The average duration of hospital stay was 2.69±0.78 days (min: 1, max: 6) in all cases and hospital stay was statistically higher in boys than girls (p=0.019). The duration of hospitalization was statistically higher in patients with fossa canina infection (p
Utility of immature granulocyte count in differentiating between pyelonephritis and cystitis in pediatric patients
Authors: NARSAT Mehmet Ali , GÜLTEN Sedat , YILDIZ Eren
Published: October 2023

Aims: Immature granulocyte (IG) is an easily accessible and inexpensive test that can be measured in hemogram parameters without additional analysis. It can be used in differentiation because of its practical applicability. This study aimed to investigate the role of IG count and inflammation-related complete blood count (CBC) parameters in differentiating between cystitis (CYS) and pyelonephritis (PYL) in pediatric patients.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed data from 79 pediatric patients (40 with PYL and 39 with CYS) who presented at a hospital pediatric outpatient clinic between January 2020 - February 2021. In addition to clinical symptoms and signs, laboratory and urinalysis results were evaluated. Laboratory analyses focused on IG count, IG percentage, and all hemogram parameters.

Results: No significant demographic differences were observed between the PYL and CYS groups (p>0.05). IG counts, and C-reactive protein levels significantly differed between the two conditions (p
Evaluation of the relationship between digital mammography radiation dose and patient age, breast volume and density
Authors: ECE Bünyamin
Published: October 2023

Aims: To determine the average radiation dose values in patients who underwent routine screening mammography in our hospital, establish the relationship between breast density and volume, and investigate other factors affecting radiation dose.

Methods: Screening bilateral mammography was retrospectively evaluated within the specified period of 2 months. Patient age, breast density ratio, mammographic size of the breast, calculated breast volume, tube voltage, current, exposure time (ms), compression force (kg), compression thickness (mm), and radiation dose (mGy) given in each projection were recorded separately for each patient. According to the BI-RADS, breast densities classified as types A-B were considered non-dense, while types C-D were considered dense breasts. The 75th percentile dose value (mGy) was chosen as the cutoff for high dose group. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the factors affecting radiation dose.

Results: 1720 mammograms from 430 patients were studied. 276 (64.2%) breasts were non-dense, while 154 (35.8%) breasts were dense. The mean total breast volume was 595±334 ml, compression thickness was 36.5±12.0 mm, and radiation dose was 2.04±0.75 mGy. There was a negative correlation between radiation dose and age (r=-0.330, p
The relationship between serum soluble ACE 2 protein level and the clinical course of COVID-19 disease
Authors: KORKMAZ Derya , KÖKEN Tülay , KOCA Halit Buğra , ORHAN Semiha , DEMİRTÜRK Neşe
Published: October 2023

Aims: The angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2) molecule, which mediates the entry of the virus into the cell, plays a very important role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 disease. However, its effect on prognosis has not been fully explained. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between soluble ACE 2 (sACE 2) levels in the blood and the course of the disease.

Methods: sACE 2 levels at 0, 3 and 5 days were measured in patients with mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 pneumonia who were hospitalized between March 15, 2020 and August 30, 2020.

Results: 69 patients, 35 (51.5%) female and 34 (49.3%) male, with a mean age of 64.3±2.1 were included in the study. 42.0% of the patients had mild, 30.4% moderate, 27.5% severe pneumonia. Clinical follow-up of 7 patients resulted in death. There was no statistically significant difference between sACE 2 levels and gender, severity of pneumonia, initial hospitalization, presence of intubation and mortality.

Conclusion: sACE 2 levels were not associated with disease severity and inflammatory markers. Studies in larger patient populations are needed to explain the relationship between sACE 2 activity and SARS-CoV-2 infection and to develop new treatment strategies.
“Structured with contemporary education methods” regarding anaesthesiology and reanimation internship education evaluation of student feedback
Authors: BAKIR Mesut , RUMELİ Şebnem , YALIN Mehmet Rıdvan , ÇELİK Fatma
Published: October 2023

Aims: This study aims to evaluate our training program, which is carried out with contemporary education methods in anaesthesia internship, for the students of our faculty, with student feedback.

Methods: In order to evaluate the comments of the students about the internship content, 1051 feedback forms filled out since 2008 were examined. There were 16 questions in the form, 15 of which were closed-ended and 1 open-ended.

Results: In the general evaluation of the internship program, 48.4% (n=509) of the students evaluated it as very productive and 46.1% (n=484) as productive. The percentage of respondents who said they were proficient in the "skill of vascular access," one of the abilities taught on models during clinical skills training and later used on patients, was 95.1% (n=999). 29.7% (n=312) of the students admitted that their "intubation practice" was inadequate.

Conclusion: It is crucial that the anaesthetic internship, which teaches one of the most fundamental medical skills—airway safety—be developed in accordance with the feedback received from the students. Standardised applied training programs increase the successful outcome of anaesthesia internship education.
The leuko-glycemic index can predict multivessel disease in the elderly acute myocardial infarction population? a retrospective cohort study
Authors: DEMİR Mevlüt
Published: October 2023

Aims: Cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of death, as the cause of approximately 30% of all deaths in the world and half of all deaths due to cardiovascular diseases also consist of individuals aged 70 and older. The leukoglycemic index (LGI) is a new parameter associated with mortality, complication, and prognosis in cardiovascular diseases. It can be applied easily at the bedside, has a low cost, and consists of a combination of leukocytes and glucose. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the predictive effect of leukoglycemic index on multivessel disease in elderly patients over 65 who were hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: In our retrospective cohort study, patients over 65 who were hospitalized with the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction were included. LGI was calculated with the formula: blood glucose × white blood cell/1000. All datas about patients were collected from the electronic hospital information system, patient files and our hospital’s archive.

Results: The patients were divided into two groups: single-vessel disease and multivessel disease. The laboratory parameters of the patients were compared, and LGI (1532.5 (577.7-3770.3) vs 2077.9 (646.6-5301); p
Stacking Up for Success: A Cascade Network Model for Efficient Road Crack Segmentation
Authors: Okran Ammar M. , Saleh Adel , Puig Domenec , Rashwan Hatem A.
Published: October 2023

This paper proposes an integrated framework for automatically segmenting road surface cracks that utilize a Multi-Attention-Network and a modified U-Net, combined through neural network stacking, to segment the crack regions accurately. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, we introduce a road crack dataset containing complex environmental noise. We explore several stacking scenarios and perform thorough evaluations to assess the performance of the proposed model. Our results show that the proposed method improves the IOU score of 1.5% compared to the original network, indicating its effectiveness in segmenting road cracks. The proposed framework can be a valuable tool for road maintenance and inspection, enabling timely detection and repair of cracks and improving road safety and longevity. Our findings demonstrate the importance of exploring various stacking scenarios and performing comprehensive evaluations to establish the efficacy of the proposed framework.
Clustering of Qualitative Time Series for 3D Printing Quality Management
Authors: Karna Ashutosh , Gibert Karina
Published: October 2023

In this research, we are attempting to extract relevant knowledge from sensor data of 3D printers. This is in continuation of our previous work to characterize the operational status of 3D printers using Bootstrap-CURE technique, including the post-processing techniques oriented to understand and conceptualize the clusters. Four clusters were identified regarding normal successful printing and abnormal situations due to different reasons like insufficient operating conditions, sensor failure, imbalance in internal temperature, etc. In the current work, the representation of data moves from punctual sensor readings to a vectorial description of a printing job in terms of the sequence of operational status over time. By representing a job by its sequence of clusters, it can be analyzed which sequential patterns are associated with successful or failing jobs. This opens the door to identifying trends and anticipating failures that are crucial to improving 3D printers’ control and management. To cluster qualitative time series, specific qualitative distances are required, like χ2-distance. One of the main challenges in clustering a time series dataset is to similarities among various time series rows. However, when the irregular length of the series and highly skewed series appear, special representation methods are required to avoid biases in results and the curse of dimensionality effects. The paper proposes to overcome these limitations.
Analyzing Car Configurator Impact Through Genetic Algorithm from a Regional Perspective1
Authors: García-Sánchez Juan Manuel , Vilasís-Cardona Xavier , García-Piquer Álvaro , Lerma-Martín Alexandre
Published: October 2023

This study examine whether visits to the Car Configurator website from a specific area in Spain, referred to as “compound,” have a similar impact compared to visits from other locations. The impact is measured by the correlation between clickstream data and sales records. To analyze this relationship, genetic algorithms are employed. The findings reveal that the genetic algorithm surpasses the bench-mark values by more than 65 points, indicating its effectiveness. Moreover, the correlation achieved from locations outside the compound is found to be equivalent to the fitness obtained from the regions comprising these compounds. This suggests that the impact of website visits on sales is consistent across different geographic locations.
EduSign: Real-Time Application for Spanish Sign Language Recognition
Authors: Vallés Víctor , Vidaña-Vila Ester
Published: October 2023

According to a survey by the National Institute of Statistics in Spain, around 2.2% of the hearing impaired population, equivalent to 27 300 people, use Sign Language to communicate. This highlights the importance of ensuring accessibility to Sign Language as a fundamental resource to guarantee inclusion and equal opportunities for deaf and hearing impaired people. To achieve this goal, it is essential to promote and disseminate Sign Language and to remove barriers to its usage and access. Technology can be of great help in this field. Therefore, this work presents EduSign, a new AI-based application that classifies the alphabet of the Spanish Sign Language in real time aiming at facilitating the communication of people with hearing disabilities. Specifically, EduSign is a web application that runs a machine learning algorithm (i.e., a neural network) where users can learn and practice the Spanish Sign Language alphabet. The methodology that enabled the creation of EduSign consisted on capturing the coordinates of the gestures made in Sign Language using the MediaPipe tool. These coordinates were then used to train several machine learning classifiers (i.e., K-Nearest Neighbors, Ridge Regression, Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, Logistic Regression and a Neural Network). Out of these classifiers, the neural network offered the best performance. More specifically, using a custom dataset with the complete Spanish alphabet, it shown an accuracy of 99%. These results reinforce the idea that the application of artificial intelligence techniques can be of great help in improving communication for deaf and hearing impaired people. Hence, it is hoped that the system can be used effectively by the target audience.
Zero-Shot Prediction for Emotion Recognition Using Deep Spectrum Features
Authors: Ortega Beltrán Elena , Benito-Altamirano Ismael , Ventura Carles
Published: October 2023

In this work we evaluate the zero-shot performance for emotion classification in audio recording datasets using a series of deep spectrum feature extractors which have been pre-trained on snore-analysus datasets.We evaluate here if those features are suitable for emotion-analysis on a zero-shot premise (no re-training of the CNNs). Once the feature extraction is complete, we evaluate training conventional classification models, i.e. an SVC, to classify a series of Spanish datasets which consist of male and female recordings expressing a set of emotions.
Respect for Autonomy in the Machine Learning Pipeline
Authors: Subías-Beltrán Paula , Pujol Oriol , De Lecuona Itziar , Ribas Ripoll Vicent
Published: October 2023

The machine learning (ML) community recognizes the potential impact of ML systems on human rights, especially regarding privacy and discrimination. To address these concerns, the community has conducted various studies on fairness, accountability, and transparency in developing and deploying ML systems. Despite these efforts, the importance of autonomy, a fundamental principle underlying many human rights, has often been overlooked. This oversight is concerning as it could jeopardize individuals’ decision-making and exercise effective control over their lives, resulting in a violation of their rights. This article examines the principle of autonomy and its significance in the ML pipeline from a transdisciplinary perspective. The authors argue that autonomy remains a theoretical concept and does not translate well into the real use of ML, leading to contradictory outcomes. The absence of an effective approach to integrating autonomy leads to the persistence of disparities.
Exploring Learning Techniques for Developing Socially-Aware Service Robots: Best Practices for Social Comfort
Authors: Guillén Ruiz Silvia , Bandera Rubio Juan P. , Hidalgo-Paniagua Alejandro , Bandera Antonio
Published: October 2023

In the past few years, there has been an increase in commercial and research focus on service robots operating in daily surroundings. These machines are anticipated to function independently in busy settings, enhancing movement efficiency and safety parameters, as well as social acceptance. Expanding conventional path planning modules to include socially aware criteria, while sustaining speedy algorithms that can adapt to human behavior without causing distress, presents a significant challenge. To address this challenge, learning methods have gained significant relevance. Among the various techniques, deep reinforcement learning, end-to-end, and inverse reinforcement learning have been the most promising. However, it is difficult to determine which techniques are superior, and sometimes, developers may obtain poor results due to inadequate data or experimental procedures during the learning stage. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate and discuss the best practices and options for an effective training stage that can improve results. As we are specifically referring to social robots, the evaluation of results should take into consideration social comfort as a key factor.
Improving Disaster Response by Combining Automated Text Information Extraction from Images and Text on Social Media
Authors: Firmansyah Hafiz Budi , Bono Carlo Alberto , Lorini Valerio , Cerquides Jesus , Fernandez-Marquez Jose Luis
Published: October 2023

During disasters, social media can serve as a valuable source of real-time information about the impacts on people and infrastructure. However, due to the lack of geographical information in most social media posts, this information is often underutilized by first responders. Previous research has attempted to estimate the location of individual social media posts using text and image analysis, but limitations still exist in fine-grained disaster area mapping. To address this issue, this paper analyses the performance of combining text from social media post with textual information from the images on improving the geolocation of social media information during a disaster.
Text Characterisation for the Fight Against Political Misinformation
Authors: Álvarez-García Elena , García-Costa Daniel , Vila-Francés Joan , Grimaldo Francisco
Published: October 2023

Social media increase the transmission of false news, hoaxes and opinions, misleading, manipulating and misinforming the population due to the speed at which information spreads. Currently there are different websites known as fact-checkers that help to unmask news as Maldita or Newtral in Spain. They analyse certain news and publications in different media like Twitter, and report on their attempts to manipulate the population with accurate data. To do this, people in charge, analyse the news and look for reliable sources that help to contrast them, but as it is a tedious and manual job, it is not possible to deal with the large amount of information published on networks. The main objective of the work consists of analysing and understanding the emotional information of miss-informed texts in order to identify patterns and characteristics that could possibly be repeated in publications that seek to manipulate and provide false information. In this case we used tweets focused on the last political elections in different regions in Spain: Madrid, Catalunya, Castilla y León and Andalucía. The extracted characteristics, such as emotions, sentiments, toxicity and fakeness, have been obtained using pre-trained models. Finally, based on the characterisation of the texts and the veracity of each one, we train a model capable of approximating whether or not a tweet is a hoax based on the way it is written.
SAT-IT: The Interactive SAT Tracer
Authors: Cané Marc , Coll Jordi , Rojo Marc , Villaret Mateu
Published: October 2023

In this work we present the Interactive SAT Tracer (SAT-IT), a visual and interactive tool to monitor and illustrate the basic algorithms for solving the Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT). We consider three algorithms with progressively increasing sophistication: simple backtracking, its extension with unit-propagation, so called Davis-Putnam-Logemann-Loveland (DPLL), and its further extension with clause-learning and conflict driven, so called Conflict-Driven Clause Learning (CDCL). The motivation of this tool is to provide an environment where the user can see the full trace of a SAT solving process in a compact but detailed way and understand the reasons why each variable assignment, backtrack or back-jump occurs. Moreover, we want the user to be able to control the evolution of the solving process at the desired pace, and let they choose what branchings (or decisions) must be done. Being able to control the solving process and having detailed information of this process, results in many pedagogical and research applications such as understanding algorithms or designing encodings.
On the Density of States of Boolean Formulas1
Authors: Ansótegui Carlos , Bonet María Luisa , Levy Jordi
Published: October 2023

Given a CNF formula with m clauses, and an integer k, where 0 ≤ k ≤ m, a density of states procedure will count the number of truth assignments that falsify exactly k clauses of the formula. We present the first approach to compute the density of states of Boolean formulas exactly. This is the first non-trivial result on this known hard problem. There are previous approaches for computing approximately the density of states of Boolean Formulas [1,2], where the authors point out they are not aware of any complete solver that is able to compute the exact density of states. The present work is the first step to fill this gap. The idea is, given a formula φ and a parameter c, construct a formula φc such that, the number of models of φc is the number of assignments that falsify exactly c clauses of φ. Then, a #SAT solver is used as a black box to count the models of φc. This approach can be also used to compute approximately the density of states by using an approximate #SAT solver. Finally, the method can be extended trivially to deal with Weighted Boolean formulas.
Developing Advanced AI Ecosystems to Enhance Diagnosis and Care for Patients with Depression
Authors: Klein Franziska , Müller-Von Aschwege Frerk , Elfert Patrick , Räker Julien , Philipsen Alexandra , Braun Niclas , Selaskowski Benjamin , Wiebe Annika , Guth Matthias , Spallek Johannes , Seuss Sigrid , Storey Benjamin , Geppert Leo N. , Lück Ingo , Hein Andreas
Published: October 2023

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has a significant impact on the daily lives of those affected. This concept paper presents a project that aims at addressing MDD challenges through innovative therapy systems. The project consists of two use cases: a multimodal neurofeedback (NFB) therapy and an AI-based virtual therapy assistant (VTA). The multimodal NFB integrates EEG and fNIRS to comprehensively assess brain function. The goal is to develop an open-source NFB toolbox for EEG-fNIRS integration, augmented by the VTA for optimized efficacy. The VTA will be able to collect behavioral data, provide personalized feedback and support MDD patients in their daily lives. This project aims to improve depression treatment by bringing together digital therapy, AI and mobile apps to potentially improve outcomes and accessibility for people living with depression.
Inferring Causality Is Preference-Sensitive: We Need a Book of Who as Well as Why
Authors: Rajput Vije Kumar , Kaltoft Mette Kjer , Dowie Jack
Published: October 2023

In multiple publications over 3 decades, most recently in The Book of Why, Judea Pearl has led what he regards as the ‘causal revolution’. His central contention is that, prior to it, no discipline had produced a rigorous ‘scientific’ way of making the causal inferences from observational data necessary for policy and decision making. The concentration on the statistical processing of data, outputting frequencies or probabilities, had proceeded without adequately acknowledging that this statistical processing is operating, not only on a particular set of data, but on a set of causal assumptions about that data, often unarticulated and unanalysed. He argues that the arrival of the directed acyclic graph (DAG), a ‘language of causation’ has enabled this fundamental weakness to be remedied. We outline the DAG approach to the extent necessary to make the key point, captured in this paper’s title regarding DAG’s potential contribution to improved decision or policy making.
Application for Screening to Monitor and Assess Pregnancy Potential Risks
Authors: Chirila Oana-Sorina , Tivig Adelina Elena , Stoicu-Tivadar Lăcrămioara
Published: October 2023

Research in the field of maternal-fetal medicine brings a new approach, by involving several fields: genetics, informatics, teratology, imaging, obstetric diagnosis, maternal-fetal physiology, endocrinology, and aims to determine the relationships that appear between the maternal medical pathology and the fetal one. In this article, we present an application for monitoring and calculating risk in Trisomy-21 for pregnant women. To calculate the risk, we used 2 methods, one mathematical and one using neural networks to investigate which one offers higher precision. Following the experimental results, due to the use of several variables that increase the risk for Trisomy-21, the conclusion is that the method using neural networks is better, having an accuracy of 95%.
Identifying Preventable Emergency Admissions in Hospitals Using Machine Learning
Authors: Alkhodair Sarah A. , Altwaijri Norah , Albarrak Ahmed I.
Published: October 2023

Overcrowding in EDs has been viewed globally as a chronic health challenge. It is directly related to the increased use of EDs for non-urgent issues, leading to increased complications, long waiting times, a higher death rate, or delayed intervention of those more acutely ill. This study aims to develop Machine Learning models to differentiate immediate medical needs from unnecessary ED visits. A Decision Tree, Random Forest, AdaBoost, and XGBoost models were built and evaluated on real-life data. XGBoost achieved the best accuracy and F1-score.
Medical Device Software: From Requirements to Certification
Authors: Giordano Noemi , Rosati Samanta , Balestra Gabriella
Published: October 2023

The role of software in healthcare is getting more and more pervasive. Nevertheless, manufacturers sometimes forget that these software are medical devices and must be certified according to the EU Medical Device Regulation 2017/745. In this work we propose a pipeline for developing a Medical Device Software (MDS) compliant with the regulations and certifiable. The pipeline includes the phase of requirements elicitation, risk assessment and analysis of effectiveness as key elements. The preparation of the technical file should be carried out in parallel with the MDS development. In the overall, it can be stated that the certification process starts with the conceptualization of the MDS and proceeds all along its design and implementation.
Enhancing HIV Patient Support Through Telehealth: Exploring Design Solutions
Authors: Noll Richard , Voigt Alexander , Koehler Susanne , Mueller Angelina , Stephan Christoph , Carney Jonathan , Von Wagner Michael , Weber Timm , Storf Holger , Schaaf Jannik
Published: October 2023

In recent years, telemedicine has advanced significantly, offering new possibilities for improving healthcare and patient outcomes. This paper presents a telemedicine app for HIV patients, developed using a human-centered design approach. Designed to meet the diverse and specific needs of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) users and Late Presenters (LP), the app is part of the COMTRAC-HIV Project at the University Hospital Frankfurt. Through interviews with HIV experts and healthcare professionals, initial design solutions were derived. The paper explores the app’s design process, core functionalities, and future directions, aiming to provide comprehensive support for individuals living with HIV.
Design of a Service for the Management of Heart Failure Patients Using Telemedicine
Authors: Giordano Noemi , Rosati Samanta , Macario Elisa , Spaccapietra Maria Luigia , Balestra Gabriella
Published: October 2023

The tremendous prevalence and mortality of heart failure (HF), along with the social and economic impact of its consequences, make an appropriate disease management utmost important. In this context, telemedicine offers promising possibilities. Current clinical guidelines and technological solutions do not address the problem of monitoring at-risk patients and patients affected by mild HF for prevention purposes. The goal of this work is to design a service based on a telemedicine framework for the management of heart failure patients. The proposed service grounds the monitoring of the patient on a custom multi-sensor array that we designed and developed for the purpose. The description of the processes involved in the service was carried out by means of Process Modelling tools, and in particular through Swim Lane Activity Diagrams. The results look promising for the implementation of the service in a real-life scenario. The main strength of the service resides in a) the use of noninvasive monitoring technologies to include patients with a mild HF or at-risk patients; and b) the integration of hospital and territory services to grant continuity and coherence in the treatment.