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.
A water resources management for earthen canal/stream is introduced through creating a combination procedure between a field study and the scientific analytical concepts that distinguish the hydraulic problems on this type of stream with using the facilities that are available in HECRAS software; aiming to point the solutions of these problems. Al Mahawil stream is an earthen canal which is subjected to periodic changes in cross sections due to scour, deposition, and incorrect periodic dredging processes due to growth of the Ceratophyllum plants and weeds on the bed and banks of the stream; which affect the characteristics of the flow. This research aims to present a strategy of water resources management through a field study that conducte
... Show MoreThis paper describes the use of remote sensing techniques in verification of the polluted area in Diyala River and Tigris River and the effected of AL-Rustamiyah wastewater treatment plant, which is located on Diyala River, one of the branches of Tigris River in south of Baghdad. SPOT-5 a French satellite image of Baghdad, Iraq was used with ground resolution of 2.5 m in May 2016. ENVI 5.1 software programming was utilized for Image processing to assess the water pollution of Diyala and Tigris River’s water. Five regions were selected from a study area and then classified using the unsupervised ISODATA method. The results indicated that four classes of water quality which are successful in assessing and mapping water pollution which confi
... Show MoreBlood samples were collected from (31) pregnant women infected with cytomegalovirus , also (15) blood samples were collected from congenitally infected infants, and (20),(15),(15) blood samples were collected from pregnant women ,non pregnant and infants, respectively, all of them were as control groups. CMV infection identified by using ELISA assay to detect specific CMV IgM & IgG in sera. The results of lymphocyte transformation showed a significant decrease when phytoheamagglutinin (PHA) used as stimulator, lymphocytes response in infected pregnant women was lower than that of non infected pregnant women as well as non pregnant women. Result also showed a significant decrease in the ability of lymphocyte division in healthy pregnant w
... Show MoreThis study aims mainly to identify the role of the use of blockchain technology in improving the quality of digital financial reports, answering questions and testing the hypothesis of the study, the researchers relied on the descriptive analytical approach, and to obtain the necessary data a questionnaire was distributed after evaluation to the study community.
The results of the study have shown that the use of blockchain technology helps to provide a high degree of reliability in digital financial reports published to banks over the Internet, ensure the speed of completion and completion, and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the information contained in the digital financial reports of banks
... Show MoreThe development of a new, cheap, efficient, and ecofriendly adsorbents has become an important demand for the treatment of waste water, so nano silica is considered a good choice. A sample of nanosilica (NS) was prepared from sodium silicate as precursor and the nonionic surfactant Tween 20 as a template. The prepared sample was characterized using various characterization techniques such as FT-IR, AFM, SEM and EDX analysis. The spectrum of FTIR confirms the presence of silica in the sample, while SEM analysis of sample shows nanostructures with pore ranging (2-100nm).The adsorptive properties of this sample were studied by removing Congo red dye (CR) from aqueous solution. Batch experimental methods were carried o
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to explore the effects of using ionized water on the productive and physiological performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). Our study was conducted at a private farm from 20th April, 2016 to 13th July, 2016 (84 d). One hundred 42-day-old Japanese quail chicks were used, divided randomly into 5 groups with 4 replicates. Treatments consisted in a control group (T1 - normal water:), alkaline (T2 - pH 8 and T3 - pH 9), and acidic water (T4 - pH 6 and T5 - pH 5). All birds were fed a balanced diet of energy and protein. The egg production ratio, egg weight, cumulative number of eggs, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, productivity per hen per week, and effects on plasma lipids, uric acid, glucose, calcium, and ph
... Show MoreExamining and comparing the image quality of degenerative cervical spine diseases through the application of three MRI sequences; the Two-Dimension T2 Weighed Turbo Spin Echo (2D T2W TSE), the Three-Dimension T2 Weighted Turbo Spin Echo (3D T2W TSE), and the T2 Turbo Field Echo (T2_TFE). Thirty-three patients who were diagnosed as having degenerative cervical spine diseases were involved in this study. Their age range was 40-60 years old. The images were produced via a 1.5 Tesla MRI device using (2D T2W TSE, 3D T2W TSE, and T2_TFE) sequences in the sagittal plane. The image quality was examined by objective and subjective assessments. The MRI image characteristics of the cervical spines (C4-C5, C5-C6, C6-C7) showed significant difference
... Show MoreThe study addressed the water ecosystems of the marshes of Maysan Governorate as one of the important areas in Iraq in terms of the environmental, economic and tourism aspects. This area was exposed to great environmental changes due to natural and human factors which greatly affected the water ecosystem and made the area susceptible to many problems that affected the biological life of living organisms. The marshes of Maysan Governorate was affected by vital factors and non-vital factors. The marshes of Maysan Governorate was characterized by the UN Organization as one of the most important centers of biodiversity in the world because of the abundance of different and rare living organisms such as birds, fish, and reptiles as well as the e
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