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Ridge regression is a variant of linear regression that aims to circumvent the issue of collinearity among predictors. The ridge parameter (Formula presented.) has an important role in the bias-variance tradeoff. In this article, we introduce a new approach to select the ridge parameter to deal with the multicollinearity problem with different behavior of the error term. The proposed ridge estimator is a function of the number of predictors and the standard error of the regression model. An extensive simulation study is conducted to assess the performance of the estimators for the linear regression model with different error terms, which include normally distributed, non-normal and heteroscedastic or autocorrelated errors. Based upon the criterion of mean square error (MSE), it is found that the new proposed estimator outperforms OLS, commonly used and closely related estimators. Further, the application of the proposed estimator is provided on the COVID-19 data of India. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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Web applications have experienced a widespread adaptation owing to the agile Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) reflecting the ever-changing software needs of users. Google Meet is one of the top video conferencing applications, especially in the post-COVID19 era. Security and privacy concerns are therefore critical. This paper presents an extensive digital forensic analysis of Google Meet running on multiple browsers and software platforms including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge browsers in Windows 10 and Linux. Artifacts, traces of potential evidence, are extracted from different locations on a client's desktop, including the memory and browser. These include meeting records, communication records, email addresses, profile pictures, history, downloads, bookmarks, cache, cookies, etc. We explore how different Random Access Memory (RAM) sizes of client devices impact the persistence and format of extracted memory artifacts. A memory artifact extraction tool is developed to automate the extraction of artifacts identified via unstructured string analysis. Google Meet forensic artifacts are critical in that they are potential digital evidence in relevant criminal investigations. Additionally, they highlight that user data can be extracted despite implementing multiple privacy and security mechanisms. © 2022 The Author(s)
ABSTRACT
Web applications have experienced a widespread adaptation owing to the agile Service Oriented Ar-chitecture (SOA) reflecting the ever-changing software needs of users. Google Meet is one of the top video conferencing applications, especially in the post-COVID19 era. Security and privacy concerns are therefore critical. This paper presents an extensive digital forensic analysis of Google Meet running on multiple browsers and software platforms including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge browsers in Windows 10 and Linux. Artifacts, traces of potential evidence, are extracted from different locations on a client's desktop, including the memory and browser. These include meeting records, communication records, email addresses, profile pictures, history, downloads, bookmarks, cache, cookies, etc. We explore how different Random Access Memory (RAM) sizes of client devices impact the persistence and format of extracted memory artifacts. A memory artifact extraction tool is developed to automate the extraction of artifacts identified via unstructured string analysis. Google Meet forensic artifacts are critical in that they are potential digital evidence in relevant criminal investigations. Additionally, they highlight that user data can be extracted despite implementing multiple privacy and security mechanisms.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of DFRWS This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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A service (social) robot is defined as the Internet of Things (IoT) consisting of a physical robot body that connects to one or more Cloud services to facilitate human-machine interaction activities to enhance the functionality of a traditional robot. Many studies found that anthropomorphic designs in robots resulted in greater user engagement. Humanoid service robots usually behave like natural social interaction partners for human users, with emotional features such as speech, gestures, and eye-gaze, referring to the users’ cultural and social background. During the COVID-19 pandemic, service robots play a much more critical role in helping to safeguard people in many countries nowadays. This paper gives an overview of the research issues from technical and social-technical perspectives, especially in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), emotional expression, and cybersecurity issues, with a case study of gamification and service robots. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Background: Pancreatic involvement in patients with Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported in the literature. The pancreatic injury in COVID-19 patients might be a result of the direct cytopathic effect of viral replication or indirectly related to the immune response to the viral infection. Methods:Westudied 183 patients diagnosed with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 and admitted to COVID-19 facilities in Qatar. We included only the patients with documented positive SARS-COV-2 PCR and measured lipase levels. The cohort was categorized into two groups based on the serum lipase level. The cutoff was the elevation of the serum lipase more than three times the upper limit of normal. Patients with lipase levels below the cutoff were included in the first group, and those with lipase levels above the cutoff were included in the second group. The primary outcome was mortality. The secondary outcomes were disease severity on presentation and markers of disease progression. Markers of disease progression (Table 1) included the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), shock, multi-organ failure, the requirement for ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Results: Our study population had a mean age of 49 and a mean BMI of 28. There was a male predominance in the study sample (more than 91%), reflecting the country's demographics. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the mean age, BMI, gender distribution, or patients' reported symptoms. There was an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) in our study population (45.4% and 44.8%). Apart from the increased prevalence of chronic liver disease in the second group, there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of comorbidities (e.g., DM, HTN) between the two groups (Table 1). The second group showed a statistically significant increase in mean creatinine, troponin, procalcitonin, ferritin, and amylase compared to the first group. On the other hand, the mean hemoglobin, sodium and albumin were lower (Table 2). Interestingly, more patients in the second group received tocilizumab and oseltamivir (Table 1). The mortality rate in our study population was 15.3%, with a higher mortality rate in the second group (Table 1). Almost 50% of the patients developed ARDS. Multiple markers of disease progression, including the development of ARDS, shock, and multi-organ failure;requirement for ICU, mechanical ventilation, and CRRT were increased in the second group compared to the first group. Also, the mean length of stay was higher in the second group (Table 1). Conclusion: Based on our study, hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who had higher lipase levels had a higher mortality rate and higher risk for disease progression. (Table Presented)
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Videoconferencing applications have seen a jump in their userbase owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The security of these applications has certainly been a hot topic since millions of VoIP users’ data is involved. However, research pertaining to VoIP forensics is still limited to Skype and Zoom. This paper presents a detailed forensic analysis of Microsoft Teams, one of the top 3 videoconferencing applications, in the areas of memory, disk-space and network forensics. Extracted artifacts include critical user data, such as emails, user account information, profile photos, exchanged (including deleted) messages, exchanged text/media files, timestamps and Advanced Encryption Standard encryption keys. The encrypted network traffic is investigated to reconstruct client-server connections involved in a Microsoft Teams meeting with IP addresses, timestamps and digital certificates. The conducted analysis demonstrates that, with strong security mechanisms in place, user data can still be extracted from a client’s desktop. The artifacts also serve as digital evidence in the court of Law, in addition to providing forensic analysts a reference for cases involving Microsoft Teams. © 2022, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.
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Background. Tocilizumab is an interleukin-6 monoclonal antibody with widespread use in rheumatologic conditions. Observational studies have shown a promising role of Tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 patients with cytokine storm syndrome. Data about tocilizumab use in pregnant patients is limited. We report two outcomes of two pregnant patients with COVID-19 in the second trimester who received tocilizumab Methods. A 24-year-old 20 weeks pregnant lady with a history of asthma and gestational diabetes mellitus presented with three days history of fever, cough and shortness of breath (Figure 1). She was clinically stable but later developed ARDS and developed increased oxygen demand up to 10 liters/min. She received Tocilizumab on. Patient was observed in a high dependency unit but did not require mechanical ventilation. Patient was discharged home with full recovery and later delivered a healthy baby. Timeline of medicines used during hospital (Figure 2). Case 2: 39-year-old 23 weeks pregnant lady presented with seven days history of fever cough and shortness of breath (Figure 1). On presentation, she had progressive worsening hypoxic respiratory failure and was intubated. Patient had her nasopharyngeal swab for CODI-19 RT PCR was positive. The patient had severe ARDS requiring ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for respiratory support. Tocilizumab 400 mg was given on the presentation, along with other medications (Figure 3). Patient had regular monitoring of fetus;however, she had intrauterine fetal demise on day 14. Patient It is unclear if IUFD was due to using of tocilizumab or severity of COVID19 itself. The patient stayed in ICU for 20 days and was discharged after full recovery. Figure 1. Case 1 treatment timeline. Abberviations: Azithro: Azithromycin, HCQ: Hydroxychloroquine, CQ: Chloroquine, LPV/r: lopinavir/Ritonavir, Osel: Oseltamivir, MP: Methylprednisolone, Ampi-sulb: Ampicillin-sulbactam, TCZ: tocilizumab Figure 2. Case 2 treatment timeline Results. Learning points: Tocilizumab use in pregnant patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia during the second trimester improved maternal outcomes in our cases. Tocilizumab use may be associated with worse fetal outcomes, including intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD). Conclusion. The pharmacological management of pregnant patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia poses significant challenges. The use of Tocilizumab may improve maternal outcomes but may also increase the risk of worse fetal outcomes. Caution should be exercised in using this agent, and risks and benefits should be discussed with the patients.
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Purpose/Background: It is well recognised that patients following long course chemoradiotherapy can have a complete clinical response. This offers the possibility for organ preservation. However these patients require intense surveillance which commonly involves frequent MRI scans and flexible sigmoidoscopy. LumenEye is a state of the art endoscopic kit, which allows a convenient, comfortable and efficient way of visualising the ano-rectal area in OPD with high quality images avoiding the need for a formal endoscopic procedure. Methods/Interventions: The device includes (a) LumenEye X1 endoscope (b) Tablet display with full HD screen (c) Intuitive CHiP software and (d) Portable case with workstation. The kit displays full HD images and can capture videos. Results/Outcomes: We have used the LumenEye X1 endoscope to survey patients following a complete clinical response who have opted for organ preservation. It avoids the need for an endoscopy and detailed images and videos can be shared with specialist centres. This has been of particular benefit during the Covid 19 pandemic where there has been a limited endoscopy resource. The technology also has other applications such as the intraoperative assessment of left sided colonic anastomosis. Conclusion/Discussion: LumenEye X1 endoscope offers an alternative to the use of endoscopy in the surveillance of patients with a complete clinical response. It also has the potential to free up valuable endoscopy resources.
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Background: As of 26 June 2020, the global number of infections caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), had reached 11 million, with more than 500 thousand associated deaths1. Limited clinical information about COVID-19 on solid organ transplant (SOT) are available so far. We herein report our preliminary experience with COVID-19 in SOT recipients in the first few weeks of the outbreak in Qatar. Method: All SOT recipients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 up to 23 May 2020 were included. Baseline characteristics, antivirals and immunosuppressive management, complications, and outcomes were retrospectively extracted from the electronic health system. Categorical data are summarized as frequency and percentages, while continuous variables are presented as medians and ranges. Results: Twenty-four SOT patients with COVID-19 were included in this report (kidney: 16, liver: 6, heart: 1, and combined liver and kidney: 1). The median age was 57 years (range 24–72). Thanks to proactive screening, five (21%) asymptomatic cases were diagnosed (Table S1). Among the other 19 symptomatic patients, fever (15/19) and cough (13/19) were the most frequent presenting symptoms (Table S1). All patients were hospitalized;5 (21%) required invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) (Table S2). Eleven (46%) patients developed acute kidney injury as a complication, including 3 in association with drug-drug interactions involving investigational COVID-19 therapies (Table S2). Maintenance of immunosuppressive therapy was changed in 18 (75%) patients, but systemic corticosteroids were not withdrawn in any. After a median follow up of 43 days (26–89), 18 (75%) patients had been discharged home, 3 (12.3%) were still hospitalized, 2 (8.3%) were still in ICU, and 1 (4.2%) had died (Table S2). Conclusion: Although higher mortality rates were observed in other reports,2,3 our results suggest that asymptomatic COVID-19 is possible in SOT recipients and that overall outcomes are not consistently worse than other immunocompetent patients. The results require validation in larger cohorts.
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Background: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic affecting over 150 million people worldwide since its emergence in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and is leading to over 600 thousand deaths. Severe acute respiratory syndrome novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-nCoV-2) causes a wide range of symptoms by affecting different organ systems of the body. This study was designed to specifically look for its rheumatological manifestations. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in the corona complex MTI Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar. A total of 141 COVID-19 positive hospitalized patients requiring oxygen therapy and having no previous rheumatological diseases were enrolled and studied for any rheumatological manifestations. Results: There were 88 (62.4%) males and 53 (37.6%) females, with age range from 27-88 years, and mean age of 58.5+/-11.5 SD. Arthralgia and myalgia were found very common, occurring in 128 (90.8%) and 119 (84.4%) of patients. Arthritis was not found in any patient. Conclusion: Arthralgia and myalgia were reported frequently in patients with severe COVID-19 requiring oxygen therapy, while arthritis was not present even in a single patient as is reported in other viral infections.