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In this paper, we develop an indoor positioning system using smartphones. An indoor positioning system plays a vital role in indoor spaces such as home, office, university, airport, and hospital buildings by locating and tracking persons, devices, and assets. Our indoor positioning system is applicable in any indoor spaces which has smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and robots with a Wi-Fi connection. We used Wi-Fi-based fingerprinting technique t o build o ur indoor positioning system because a Wi-Fi-based system can leverage existing Wi-Fi infrastructure and hence, it is cost effective. A major challenge in implementing a Wi-Fi-based fingerprinting technique is the missed access points (APs) problem. In this paper, we address this critical challenge by proposing a localization procedure called ‘cosine similarity + k-means clustering'. In this localization procedure, we leverage k-means clustering algorithm in identifying the wrong location estimates produced by the cosine similarity measure because of missed APs problem. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed localization procedure, we collected data from three different scenarios, specifically, home, office, a nd university f or creating signal m ap a nd performing localization tests. Additionally, we tested both stationary and walk data. Our experimental results prove that our ‘cosine similarity + k-means clustering’ localization procedure is effective in mitigating the detrimental impact of missed APs, and consequently, it significantly improves localization accuracy.

The purpose of this chapter is twofold; we first review our approach to cultural discourse analysis and then explicate the role of “discursive hubs” within it. The six discursive hubs we discuss are A Hub of Being: How is identity expressed? Acting: How do we express what we are doing? Relating: How do we express that we are related to each other? Feeling: How do we express what we feel? Dwelling: How do we express where we are (place) in our natural world (or material environment)? Timing: How do we express the understanding of process or sequencing over time? Our chapter brings to the fore several features of the general construct, discursive hub. Each feature of a hub adds an essential aspect to studies of cultural discourses. The set of features offers a systematic guideline for the design and execution of cultural discourse analytic studies into discursive hubs. Specifically, the set of features includes (a) The research question each hub raises; (b) the specific bits of discourse each concept of “discourse hub” makes relevant; (c) the socio-cultural functions of each hub within discourses or what that hub does within a discourse and (d) symbolic instantiations of that hub (in language, images, sounds and other signs) in actual cases of cultural discourse. Our discussion of the discourse hubs then turns to the heuristic role they play in the conduct of cultural discourse analyses. We emphasise that the hubs often work deeply together and thus their interrelationships breathe social life into cultural discourses. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Shi-xu; individual chapters, the contributors.

Currently, liquid biopsy method is mainly used for tumor detection based on genomic molecular alterations in vitro. Liquid biopsy is superior to traditional tissue biopsy techniques and its diagnosis time of disease and repeated diagnosis of liquid biopsy are new breakthroughs in clinical application. Liquid biopsy method can be used to detect most human disease based on genetic biomarkers from body fluids, among which, special biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples are the main research objects, and have made good achievements in preliminary clinical applications. The application of optical spectroscopy in the field of liquid biopsy has aroused great interest among researchers and demonstrated the potential of its clinical application for oncology. The aim of this study is to reveal the optical spectroscopic characteristics of the main biochemical components of CSF of brain tumor using visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy ex vivo. Tumor-associated proteins, glucose, lactate and other metabolites released to CSF can be used as markers for liquid biopsy. We studied the VRR spectra of CSF samples from 7 types of brain tumor patients. The characteristic VRR modes that were found and may be used as a combination of multiple analyte biomarkers include amyloid-β and tau protein, excess neurotransmitters such as glutamic acid derived from the exchange with interstitial fluid (ISF), DNA, glucose, lactate, etc. for optical liquid biopsy analyses. Another interesting finding was that CSF of different types of tumors showed different images similar to the crystallization of water under the optical microscope. Considering our previous study, the current study on CSF provides another proof that the VRR system can provide a complete scan region of 200 - 4000cm-1 as a clinical tool for non-invasive diagnosis of brain disease. © 2024 SPIE.

The advancement in treating medical data grows significantly daily. An accurate data classification model can help determine patient disease and diagnose disease severity in the medical domain, thus easing doctors' treatment burdens. Nonetheless, medical data analysis presents challenges due to uncertainty, the correlations between various measurements, and the high dimensionality of the data. These challenges burden statistical classification models. Machine Learning (ML) and data mining approaches have proven effective in recent years in gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of these aspects. This research adopts a well-known supervised learning classification model named a Decision Tree (DT). DT is a typical tree structure consisting of a central node, connected branches, and internal and terminal nodes. In each node, we have a decision to be made, such as in a rule-based system. This type of model helps researchers and physicians better diagnose a disease. To reduce the complexity of the proposed DT, we explored using the Feature Selection (FS) method to design a simpler diagnosis model with fewer factors. This concept will help reduce the data collection stage. A comparative analysis has been conducted between the developed DT and other various ML models, such as Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gaussian Naive Bayes (GNB), to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed model. The results of the DT model establish a notable accuracy of 93.78% and an ROC value of 0.94, which beats other compared algorithms. The developed DT model provided promising results and can help diagnose heart disease. © 2024, Zarka Private University. All rights reserved.

The search for selective anticholinergic agents stems from varying cholinesterase levels as Alzheimer’s Disease progresses from the mid to late stage. In this computational study, we probed the selectivity of FDA-approved and metabolite compounds against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with molecular-docking-based virtual screening. The results were evaluated using locally developed codes for the statistical methods. The docking-predicted selectivity for AChE and BChE was predominantly the consequence of differences in the volume of the active site and the narrower entrance to the bottom of the active site gorge of AChE. © 2024 by the authors.

This final commentary, in comic format, frames this special issue using Graphic Medicine methodologies to explore broader themes and meanings related to the scientific study of gender and health. Comics can be seen as a way to introduce complex human narratives and as an exploratory tool to ask broader social-contextual and ethical questions about health and medicine. This piece is also constructed through the lens of queer scholarship, which, together with the comics format, provides opportunities to build more embodied, complicated narratives about gender, sexuality and health. Most importantly, comics are used as a modality to tell compelling narratives about how individuals, rather than populations, may be impacted by biomedical conceptualizations of gender and health. The commentary includes a series of graphic narratives containing hypothetical stories and cases: stories of how individuals may be harmed within healthcare systems by rigid framings of gender, sex and sexuality, and stories about how gender socialization may impact health in subtle ways. These narratives furthermore examine the inextricable link between gender and power, illustrating how overt and covert manifestations of power may shape a person's health over the life course. Finally, the piece explores how expansive views of gender may contribute to positive health care experiences. The intention of this piece is to nudge scientific researchers and clinicians alike to approach the topic of gender, sexuality and health with nuance and curiosity. © 2023 The Author(s)

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The editors of Fragrant Frontier have produced an impressively researched book on the contemporary growers, in northern Vietnam and Southwest China, of three spices—star anise, black cardamom, and cinnamon, each of which has local, regional, and international economic importance—as well as the human links in the global commodity chain of these spices. This volume is much more coherent than many edited volumes, and readers should not skip any of it, as there are nice little surprises waiting here and there in the text.A good example is the “Preface and Acknowledgements” section, as this not only provides interesting information on how the volume came into being but also links to websites and scannable QR codes for “story maps” on the three spices and the places mentioned in the rest of the volume. This is a nice touch that gives this volume about the recent situation of farmers, local traders, marketplace workers, street vendors (of both the spices and foods prepared with them), wholesalers, exporters, and state officials a very contemporary feel. These story maps are only the first of an extensive number of relevant, well-done, and well-used illustrations including photographs, maps, and tables inserted throughout the following chapters.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the role of the service provider in determining customer satisfaction in sharing economy services. The authors sought to examine how the intrinsic and extrinsic cues along with their interactions influence customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a mixed-methods design to test the hypotheses. Study 1 uses secondary data from Inside Airbnb. Study 2 uses a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design. Findings Both studies support the confirmation bias perspective over the expectancy-confirmation perspective in explaining the interplay among different cues in determining customer satisfaction. In the context of Airbnb, in the absence of a Superhost badge, if hosts adopt a reactive communication style, physical presence has a greater impact on customer satisfaction compared to virtual presence. Originality/value This study extends the services marketing literature and cue utilization theory by investigating the dynamic interactions among multiple intrinsic and extrinsic service cues. It shed new light on how a combination of these cues may become additive or redundant in determining customer satisfaction. This study contributes to the services marketing literature by addressing the interactive nature of sharing economy services and the neglected role of service providers.