Accuracy of Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography Findings in the Diagnosis of Biliary System Stones

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and Ultrasound (US) images for the diagnosis of biliary system stones, as well as to assess the consistency between MRCP and US findings. The study sample included 200 cases (90 males and 110 females) with symptomatic biliary system stones between 14 and 82 years. All cases underwent both the US and MRCP imaging for biliary system diagnosis. The study revealed that the most prominent age group with symptoms of biliary system stones was the 33-60-year-old group. It also found that the accuracy of US and MRCP in detecting gallbladder (GB) stones compared with the final diagnosis was 94% and 91%, respectively, with moderate conformity between their results. The accuracy of US and MRCP images in detecting common bile duct (CBD) stones was 61% and 98%, respectively, with fair conformity between their results. In addition, there is a significant agreement between the MRCP and US results in detecting the GB and CBD stones with an agreed percentage of 74% and 71%, respectively. The study concluded that US is the preferred imaging technique for patients with symptomatic gallbladder stones, whereas MRCP is a trustworthy investigation for common bile duct stones.

Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery and Cancer Therapy

Nanotechnology facilitates exclusive opportunities for investigating and controlling a wide range of biomedical approaches at nano-scale, which could provide a groundbreaking impact on medicine, biology, and other health-related areas. This latest technology offers certain distinctive benefits in different aspects such as nanocarriers of targeted drug delivery system, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, vaccination and immunotherapy, biosensing and imaging for clinical diagnosis. A wide range of nanomaterials with biomedical prominence have already been exploited for drug delivery and cancer therapy comprising, solid lipid nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, carbon nanotube, nanogel-based compounds, nanocapsules, magnetic nanoparticles, nanofluids, nanowires, liposomes, etc. Therefore, this chapter reviewed the potential use of different nanomaterials for therapeutic applications, especially for drug delivery and cancer diagnosis and therapy by focusing their suitability and biocompatibility for extensive and safer usages.

Rancang Bangun Aplikasi Sistem Pakar Berbasis Android untuk Identifikasi Penyakit pada Gigi dengan Menggunakan Metode Forward Chaining

Teeth are an important part of the body in the digestive process. As a start of the digestive process, teeth receive various kinds of food conditions such as sweet, cold, hard foods, and so on. These food conditions affect dental health so that when teeth are not treated they become vulnerable to disease. Society in general does not pay attention to pain in the teeth. Though the pain in the teeth can be caused by diseases such as dental caries, tartar, and others. The solution of this research is manifested in the form of an expert system to diagnose dental diseases using the Android-based Forward Chaining method. The expert system application used by researchers is McGoo. The purpose of this expert system is to help the public get information and carry out a diagnosis of dental disease independently. Users only need to answer the questions displayed by the system to get the results of the diagnosis in the form of the type of illness and treatment solutions that can be done. The results of the system diagnosis have been tested and validated by experts namely dentists who are the source of information and data. Based on the accuracy of the system diagnostic test results are by the results of the expert diagnosis.

Methodological analysis for assessing the relation of the energy cost with losses of water – a case study

The rational use of energy is being increasingly encouraged. In some countries, there are even subsidies for industries to adopt energy efficiency measures. One of the sectors with great opportunities for efficiency is sanitation, where a large part of energy consumption refers to pumping stations. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the consumption of electrical energy and possible reduction of electrical energy consumption in a sector of study of the Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SAAE) of the municipality in the south of Minas Gerais. To determine the measures to be taken to reduce energy costs, it is necessary to perform a system diagnosis. For this, field trials were carried out. The study sector had an average expense of R$ 42,097.44/year due to water losses in the system. When considering only electricity costs, they represent 34.20% of the costs in relation to water losses (R$ 14,395.90/year). The system presented 27.73% of total water losses, an energy consumption of 0.6627 kWh/m³ only for the R3 pumping station and 1.302 kWh/m³ when also considering the Water Collection and Treatment Plant (WTP).

Knowledge Base Design for Diagnosis Pregnancy Problems

In Indonesia, the death rate of pregnant women was still very high. Lack of knowledge about the perceived symptoms during pregnancy make pregnant women regardless of the specific symptoms that can be harmful and disease records indicate the causes of indirect maternal death in pregnant. Moreover, the risk of pregnant mother mortality is also higher due to the delay in taking the decision factors for referenced. Based on the fact, the proposed solution in the form of expert system diagnosis of diseases of pregnant women using the method of Backward Chaining that can help recognize diseases during pregnancy to take place based on the perceived symptoms of pregnant women as well as references that should be targeted by the patient. The methods of the Backward Chaining have a performance system that is capable of running the functional needs and high accuracy percentage results. With the existence of a system of experts on pregnancy problems that use the Backward Chaining method can describe the level of confidence of an expert on the problem at hand. Based on the test results, obtained results 100% functionality of disease diagnosis expert system of pregnant women worked in accordance with a list of system requirements and the system.