Mathematical Method to Assess the Yin-Yang Balance of Commercial Complexes’ Entrances

Shopping malls are important landmarks of modern and sustainable cities as they are substantial business and investment by themselves, and as they also facilitate the social activities of communities. Entrances to shopping malls provide a first impression to customers, thus affecting the business performance of the malls. This paper presents a method to assess the entrances of modern shopping malls by applying traditionally qualitative Feng shui practices quantitatively with an innovative mathematical model. The assessment is based on the manipulation of the yin-and-yang concept applied to the layout of Ming tang (bright court) as the focus of consideration. By applying this novel approach to three shopping malls in Guangzhou, China as a pilot study to match their commercial performance, our hypothesis appears workable. The ideology of balancing yin and yang may be practically meaningful to urban planning and the successful measurement of such balance could shed light on future studies.

Evaluation of the device independent nature of a photoplethysmography-deriving smartphone app

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Smartphone apps using photoplethysmography (PPG) technology enable digital heart rhythm monitoring through their built-in camera, without the need for additional, specific, or costly hardware. This may positively impact the availability and scalability of remote monitoring. However, the diversity of smartphone specifications on the consumer market may raise concerns regarding the robustness of AF detection algorithms between various devices. Purpose To study the device independency of AF detection performance by a PPG-based smartphone application. Methods Patients from the cardiology department were consecutively enrolled. Patients were handed 7 iOS models and 1 Android model and were asked to consecutively perform one PPG measurement per device. A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was collected during the same consultation and interpreted by a cardiologist as reference diagnosis. To allow an objective comparison across the devices, patients who failed to perform one successful measurement on each device were excluded. Additional exclusions were atrial flutter rhythms and insufficient quality results. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated with respect to the reference diagnosis. McNemar’s analysis was used for the head-to-head comparison of the sensitivity and specificity of the proprietary algorithm on the different smartphone devices. Results A total of 150 patients participated in the study with a median CHA2DS2-VASc score of 3 (interquartile range: 1-5). The median age of the study population was 70 (interquartile range: 56-79) years. In total, 54.7% of the population was male and the AF-prevalence was 35.3%. After the exclusion of patients with atrial flutter (n = 14) and patients who did not successfully perform a PPG measurement on each device (n = 5), diagnostic-grade results of 131 patients were used to calculate the performance of the proprietary algorithm. The sensitivity and specificity of the AF detection algorithm ranged from 90.9% (95% CI 75.7-98.1) to 100.0% (95% CI 91.0-100) and 94.5% (95% CI 86.6-98.5) to 100.0% (95% CI 94.6-100), respectively. The overall accuracy across the devices ranged from 94.4% (95% CI 88.3-97.9) to 99.0% (95% CI 94.6-100). Head-to-head comparisons of the results did not reveal significant differences in sensitivity (P = 0.125-1.000) or specificity (P = 0.375-1.000) of the proprietary AF detection algorithm among the different devices. Conclusion This study demonstrated the device-independent nature of the PPG-deriving smartphone application with respect to 12-lead ECG diagnosis.

A smartphone ocular alignment measurement app in school screening for strabismus

Background Strabismus is the leading risk factor for amblyopia, which should be early detected for minimized visual impairment. However, traditional school screening for strabismus can be challenged due to several factors, most notably training, mobility and cost. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a smartphone application in school vision screening for detection of strabismus. Methods The beta smartphone application, EyeTurn, can measure ocular misalignment by computerized Hirschberg test. The application was used by a school nurse in a routine vision screening for 133 elementary school children. All app measurements were reviewed by an ophthalmologist to assess the rate of successful measurement and were flagged for in-person verification with prism alternating cover test (PACT) using a 2.4Δ threshold (root mean squared error of the app). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the best sensitivity and specificity for an 8Δ threshold (recommended by AAPOS) with the PACT measurement as ground truth. Results The nurse obtained at least one successful app measurement for 93% of children (125/133). 40 were flagged for PACT, of which 6 were confirmed to have strabismus, including 4 exotropia (10△, 10△, 14△ and 18△), 1 constant esotropia (25△) and 1 accommodative esotropia (14△). Based on the ROC curve, the optimum threshold for the app to detect strabismus was determined to be 3.0△, with the best sensitivity (83.0%), specificity (76.5%). With this threshold the app would have missed one child with accommodative esotriopia, whereas conventional screening missed 3 cases of intermittent extropia. Conclusions Results support feasibility of use of the app by personnel without professional training in routine school screenings to improve detection of strabismus.

Traveling towards fame: Albert Einstein and the Eddington eclipse expedition to Príncipe and Sobral in 1919

Albert Einstein abruptly rose to worldwide fame in November 1919, after Arthur Eddington announced the successful measurement of the gravitational light bending predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The measurement had been performed by an expedition towards two remote Portuguese-speaking destinations, the island of Príncipe in equatorial Africa and Sobral in northern Brazil, where the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 was visible and allowed to measure the position of stars close to the Sun, revealing the sought-after effect. This journey was the beginning of a story that still goes on today.

A Smartphone Ocular Alignment Measurement App in School Screening for Strabismus

Background: Strabismus is the leading risk factor for amblyopia, which should be early detected for minimized visual impairment. However, traditional school screening for strabismus can be challenged due to several factors, most notably training, mobility and cost. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a smartphone application in school vision screening for detection of strabismus.Methods: The beta smartphone application, EyeTurn, can measure ocular misalignment by computerized Hirschberg test. The application was used by a school nurse in a routine vision screening for 133 elementary school children. All app measurements were reviewed by an ophthalmologist to assess the rate of successful measurement and were flagged for in-person verification with prism alternating cover test (PACT) using a 2.4Δ threshold (root mean squared error of the app). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the best sensitivity and specificity for an 8Δ threshold (recommended by AAPOS) with the PACT measurement as ground truth.Results: The nurse obtained at least one successful app measurement for 93% of children (125/133). 40 were flagged for PACT, of which 6 were confirmed to have strabismus, including 4 exotropia (10△, 10△, 14△ and 18△), 1 constant esotropia (25△) and 1 accommodative esotropia (14△). Based on the ROC curve, the optimum threshold for the app to detect strabismus was determined to be 3.0△, with the best sensitivity (83.0%), specificity (76.5%). With this threshold the app would have missed one child with accommodative esotriopia, whereas conventional screening missed 3 cases of intermittent extropia.Conclusions: Results support feasibility of use of the app by personnel without professional training in routine school screenings to improve detection of strabismus.

Measuring Presidential and Prime Ministerial Power

The power of the executive is central to any understanding of politics. For those working in the tradition of comparative politics, the successful measurement of executive power is necessary to test our theories and push the discipline forward. Yet no clear consensus exists as to exactly how we should measure executive power. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some synthesis to the large amount of work that measures either presidential or prime ministerial power. After discussing the importance of executive power and considering the conceptual clarity of such measures, the chapter surveys existing measures of executive power from presidents to prime ministers. It highlights the divergence between measures of executive power in presidential systems in comparison to measures of executive power in parliamentary systems. Part of this divergence stems from the different sources of executive power for presidents, where power is rooted in constitutions, compared with prime ministers, where power is largely relational. There is also disagreement about the nature of power within regime types however. The chapter concludes by considering the future research agenda.

Isotopically Enriched 192Os Target Preparation using the Electron-gun Beam Method at Target Preparation Laboratory, Daresbury, UK.

In this work, we have discussed a novel electron gun beam method used for the preparation of an Osmium foil sample at Daresbury Target Preparatory Laboratory, UK, which was used during the 192Os(18O, 16O)194Os 2 neutron transfer reaction at IFIN-HH Bucharest. The successful measurement of gamma energies associated with the 194Os isotopic nucleus recorded from the experiment with the high resolution HPGe detectors from this clean target of 192Os showed that this method has proven very efficient in preparing the most difficult osmium target which other methods like the sputtering, thermal evaporation could not get it prepared due to the high melting point of about 3000 0C found in the Osmium foil.

Systems success measurement: instrument & framework a new perspective

There are major concerns regarding the previous research that can be said as having poor measurements, lack of theoretical grounding, and concern heavily on investment justifies. Some are also considered as having weak survey instruments, inappropriate data collection approaches, and lack of agreement on the dependent variables measurement that resulted in its incompatibility. Several related issues pertaining to high rates of systems’ failure that justify the heavy investment costs and affect the systems’ success of measurement. This matter had raised a high concern, especially for the researchers, practitioners, organization managers and systems administrators. Thus, the successful measurement of any systems is vital. The purpose of this study is to provide a framework and a high-quality validated instrument based on the literature review and experts’ validation. Subsequently, it can be used in the future studies to efficiently assist in the systems’ success measurement. The statistical test of 344 users with the smart PLS for the instrument shows an excellent result.