Clinical keratoconus (KCN) detection is a challenging and time-consuming task. In the diagnosis process, ophthalmologists must revise demographic and clinical ophthalmic examinations. The latter include slit-lamb, corneal topographic maps, and Pentacam indices (PI). We propose an Ensemble of Deep Transfer Learning (EDTL) based on corneal topographic maps. We consider four pretrained networks, SqueezeNet (SqN), AlexNet (AN), ShuffleNet (SfN), and MobileNet-v2 (MN), and fine-tune them on a dataset of KCN and normal cases, each including four topographic maps. We also consider a PI classifier. Then, our EDTL method combines the output probabilities of each of the five classifiers to obtain a decision based on the fusion of probabilities. Individually, the classifier based on PI achieved 93.1% accuracy, whereas the deep classifiers reached classification accuracies over 90% only in isolated cases. Overall, the average accuracy of the deep networks over the four corneal maps ranged from 86% (SfN) to 89.9% (AN). The classifier ensemble increased the accuracy of the deep classifiers based on corneal maps to values ranging (92.2% to 93.1%) for SqN and (93.1% to 94.8%) for AN. Including in the ensemble-specific combinations of corneal maps’ classifiers and PI increased the accuracy to 98.3%. Moreover, visualization of first learner filters in the networks and Grad-CAMs confirmed that the networks had learned relevant clinical features. This study shows the potential of creating ensembles of deep classifiers fine-tuned with a transfer learning strategy as it resulted in an improved accuracy while showing learnable filters and Grad-CAMs that agree with clinical knowledge. This is a step further towards the potential clinical deployment of an improved computer-assisted diagnosis system for KCN detection to help ophthalmologists to confirm the clinical decision and to perform fast and accurate KCN treatment.
The virulent genes are the key players in the ability of the bacterium to cause disease. The products of such genes that facilitate the successful colonization and survival of the bacterium in or cause damage to the host are pathogenicity determinants. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of virulence factors (esp, agg, gelE, CylA) in E. faecalis isolated from diverse human clinical collected in Iraqi patient , as well as to assess their ability to form biofilm and to determine their haemolytic and gelatinase activities. Thirty-two isolates of bacteria Enterococcus faecalis were obtained, including 15 isolates (46.87%) of the urine, 6 isolates (18.75%) for each of the stool and uterine secretions, and 5 isolates (15.62%) of the wo
... Show MoreRecently, there has been an increase in the prevalence of ulcerative colitis (UC), and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) worldwide, especially in certain recently industrialized countries like China and In¬dia. Globally, the prevalence of UC, a chronic illness that affects the large intestine, is rising. Fifty adherent invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) isolates were identified from ulcerative colitis biopsy samples originating from the Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and Hepatology teaching hospitals/medical city in Baghdad City. The test’s results demonstrated that the AIEC isolates had a high level of resistance to the majority of the an-tibiotics under investigation. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC-PCR) and m
... Show MoreBackground: Osteoporosis is denoted by low bone mass and microarchitectural breakdown of bone tissue, directing to increased fracture risk and bone fragility. Fractures may lead to a decreased quality of life and increased medical costs. Thus, osteoporosis is widely considered a significant health concern.
Objective. This study aimed to compare quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA) to detect osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Subjects and Methods. We measured spinal volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) with QCT and areal spinal and hip BMD with DXA in 164 postmenopausal women. We calculated the osteo
... Show MoreThis research aims to modify the components of stainless steel alloy by the method of surface engineering through the single diffusion coating technique in order to obtain new alloys with high efficiency in resisting harsh environmental conditions. Steam a mixture of sodium chloride ( ) and sodium sulfate ( ) at a temperature of 900 and then compare it with the base alloy. The results showed that the alloys produced in this way are very efficient. The results showed that the aluminum coating showed high efficiency in resisting oxidation and provided better protection for a longer time compared to the uncoated alloy due to the oxide crust layer formed with high adhesion as well as the aluminum-rich phases, whether the phase
... Show MoreThe research aimed to identify "the effectiveness of educational-learning design according to the model of brain compatibility in achievement among firstmiddle grade students in mathematics", in schools affiliated with the Second Karkh Directorate of Education. To achieve the goal of research, the following zero hypothesis has been formulated: " There is no statistically significant difference at the semantic level (05.0) between the average scores of experimental group students who will study with design accreditation (educational - learning) according to the brain compatibility model and the grades of control group students who will study in the usual way in the achievement thinking test". The research community, which is represented by
... Show MoreOrganizational learning is one of the most important means of human resource development in organizations, but most of the organizations, especially public ones do not realize the importance of organizational learning enough, and estimated his role accurately in building intellectual capital, the resource competitive importantly for organizations of the third millennium and who suffers is other end of lack of understanding of its meaning and how to prove its presence and measured in public organizations, so there is the need for this research, which aims to investigate the effect of organizational learning its processes (knowledge acquisition, Information transfer, Interpreting the information, Organizational me
... Show MoreThis study aimed to identify the role of school administration in achieving educational and learning goals from the point of view of educational supervisors in the stage of basic education. The descriptive method was adopted. As for the sample size, it has reached (59) educational supervisors. A questionnaire consisting of 29 paragraphs divided into four areas was used. The data were statistically analyzed on the Chi-square test, the percentage, and the mono-variance analysis. The result showed that the school administration contributes to achieving educational goals. It also works to solve problems in democratic ways, and in modern methods, there are differences in the criteria for choosing the headmaster. The study recommended that sch
... Show MoreThe modern teaching methods, and their importance in achieving the desired learning goals for the individual and the society, have been addressed, as it is necessary to develop the methods, ways and strategies used in the process of teaching the intermediate stages in the various fields in general and the field of physical education in particular, the importance of research is the effect of using the strategy of similarities in teaching some basic skills of basketball for students of the second intermediate. As for the problem of research, the researcher mentioned the lack of use of teachers’ strategy method similarities in the educational units because of its importance, and after study and analysis the researcher found it necessary to i
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