ABSTRACT

The use of smaller ports in surgery is the next step in the evolution of minimally invasive procedures. We present findings, using a novel flexible needle made from a super elastic titanium alloy, which demonstrate that it is possible for a 26- and 30-mm needle to pass through a 3.5- and 5-mm trocar. This new approach results in less trauma and improved cosmetic effect in comparison to the classical 10-mm port. Traditional steps such as handling of the needle holders, loading the needle and placing it at the correct angle and direction, inserting the needle into the tissue and finally safely tying a knot remain the same as with the standard procedure. We propose that this improved type of needle creates a refinement opportunity to replace the classic ones during both laparoscopic and robotic surgeries.

Visual impairments often pose serious restrictions on a visually impaired person and there is a considerable number of persons, especially among aging population, which depend on assistive technology to sustain their quality of life. Development and testing of assistive technology for visually impaired requires gathering information and conducting studies on both healthy and visually impaired individuals in a controlled environment. We propose test setup for visually impaired persons by creating RFID based assistive environment – Visual Impairment Friendly RFID Room. The test setup can be used to evaluate RFID object localization and its use by visually impaired persons. To certain extent every impairment has individual characteristics as different individuals may better respond to different subsets of visual information. We use virtual reality prototype to both simulate visual impairment and map full visual information to the subset that visually impaired person can perceive. Time-domain color mapping real-time image processing is used to evaluate the virtual reality prototype targeting color vision deficiency.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented worldwide crisis affecting several sectors, including health, social care, economy and society at large. The World Health Organisation has emphasized that mental health care should be considered as one of the core sectors within the overall COVID-19 health response. By March 2020, recommendations for the organization of mental health services across Europe have been developed by several national and international mental health professional associations. Methods The European Psychiatric Association (EPA) surveyed a large European sample of psychiatrists, namely the “EPA Ambassadors”, on their clinical experience of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of psychiatric patients during the month of April 2020 in order to: a) identify and report the views and experiences of European psychiatrists; and b) represent and share these results with mental health policy makers at European level. Based on the recommendations issued by national psychiatric associations and on the results of our survey, we identified important organisational aspects of mental health care during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19. Results While most of the recommendations followed the same principles, significant differences between countries emerged in service delivery, mainly relating to referrals to outpatients and for inpatient admission, assessments and treatment for people with mental disorders. Compared to previous months, the mean number of patients treated by psychiatrists in outpatient settings halved in April 2020. In the same period, the number of mentally ill patients tested for, or developing, COVID-19 was low. In most of countries, traditional face-to-face visits were replaced by online remote consultations. Conclusions Based on our findings we recommend: 1) to implement professional guidelines into practice and harmonize psychiatric clinical practice across Europe; 2) to monitor the treatment outcomes of patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing mental disorders; 3) to keep psychiatric services active by using all available options (for example telepsychiatry); 4) to increase communication and cooperation between different health care providers.

The objective of preparing and presenting financial statements is to provide information about the financial position and performance of an entity, which is useful to a wide range of users of financial statements for business decisions. If information presented in the financial statements is not full disclosure and/or is incorrect, the presented image of the business entity will be wrong, as well as business decisions made on the basis of such financial statements. Unfortunately, many entities knowingly manipulate revenues and expenses to manage earnings in a way that suits the entity management. Detecting frauds in financial statements is the primary task of forensic accountants. This paper analyzes the possibilities of applying Benford’s law in the forensic analysis of income statements of economic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to detect possible earnings manipulation. The results of the research confirm that the positions of revenues and expenses in the income statements of economic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina generally follow Benford’s law, but also stress the need to increase attention and conduct additional forensic investigations for certain items as indicators of financial statement manipulation.

Advanced signal detectors pose a lot of technical challenges for designing signal detection methods in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with index modulation (IM). Traditional signal detection methods such as maximum likelihood have an excessive complexity, and existing deep learning (DL) based detection methods can reduce the complexity significantly. To further improve the detection performance, in this paper, we propose a complex deep neural network (C-DNN) and a complex convolution neural network (C-CNN) based intelligent signal detection method for OFDM-IM. Specifically, the proposed intelligent signal detection method is designed by C-DNN and C-CNN. The proposed signal detection methods for OFDM-IM use pilots to achieve semi-blind channel estimation, and to reconstruct the transmitted symbols based on channel state information (CSI). Simulation results are given to confirm the performance of the proposed signal detection method in terms of bit error rate and convergence speed.

The European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) fellowship programme was established in 2014, allowing nine surgeons annually to obtain experience and skills in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) from specialist centres across the Europe and United States. It aligns with the strategic focus of EAES Education and Training Committee on enabling Learning Mobility opportunities. To assess the impact of the programme, a survey was conducted aiming to evaluate the experience and impact of the programme and receive feedback for improvements. A survey using a 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate clinical, education and research experience. The impact on acquisition of new technical skills, change in clinical practice and ongoing collaboration with the host institute was assessed. The fellows selected between 2014 and 2018 were included. Ratings were analysed in percentage; thematic analysis was applied to the free-text feedbacks using qualitative analysis. All the fellows had good access to observing in operating theatres and 70.6% were able to assist. 91.2% participated in educational activities and 23.5% were able to contribute through teaching. 44.1% participated in research activities and 41.2% became an author/co-author of a publication from the host. 97.1% of fellows stated that their operative competency had increased, 94.3% gained new surgical skills and 85.7% was able to introduce new techniques in their hospitals. 74.29% agreed that the clinical experience led to a change in their practices. The most commonly suggested improvements were setting realistic target in clinical and research areas, increasing fellowship duration, and maximising theatre assisting opportunities. Nevertheless, 100% of fellows would recommend the fellowship to their peers. EAES fellowship programme has shown a positive impact on acquiring and adopting new MIS techniques. To further refine the programme, an individualised approach should be adopted to set achievable learning objectives in clinical skills, education and research.

The paper aims to investigate the influencing factors for the choice of accounting specialization by students at ten public higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In addition to the above, the paper also explores the gender structure of the students, the type of secondary education, the time of making the decision to choose the field of accounting, and planned future training in accounting. The research sample consisted of 253 respondents, and data collection was performed by electronic survey through distance learning platforms. To identify the key factors in choosing to study accounting, we used the multivariate method of factor analysis of major components. The results of the research point to the existence of four key influencing factors in the selection of accounting specialization: achievement, job fulfillment, the influence of authorities in the field of science and profession, and the influence of parents and friends. Over 77 percent of the students are women, and the students have mostly completed general high schools (gymnasiums) or high schools of economics (92 percent). More than 98 percent of the students plan to continue their training in the field of accounting. The results of the research have practical use in terms of preparation and presentation of accounting policies at public higher education institutions in BiH, given that the reduced number of students has resulted in rival positions among different study areas. The results of the research can also be useful to professional groups in the field of accounting in terms of achieving their strategic goals.

Money laundering, in its almost 90-year-long history, has attracted the attention of the scientific, professional, but also the general public. Throughout the entire period, the manifestations of this criminal phenomenon, its typology, etiological factors, etc., have changed, but the essence has remained the same: the transformation of illegally acquired money into legal financial flows. Emerging markets are particularly burdened, which is the subject of this paper: identifying, monitoring and proving the process of money laundering with the aim to reduce it in developing countries. In addition, what can be observed in these markets is that money laundering operations are mainly related to those activities where most of the payments are made in cash. Their specificity, that is, the basic motive for execution, is not just a profit, but the aspiration to introduce “dirty” money into legal flows. The aim of this paper is to use the method of description to explain and describe scientifically the money laundering process and to combat this phenomenon with a focus on the characteristics of the money laundering process. In addition, the paper describes the models and weaknesses of this process, while at the same time it respects the standards and specifics of business operations in emerging markets. The result of the paper is that it provides an overview of money laundering in the 21st century in small and open economies, including proposals to prevent and combat this negative phenomenon.

Neonatal Jaundice (NJ) is a worldwide and commonly known issue with known treatment and preventions. However, in low-resource settings (LRSs), the solution to treatment is far from trivial. This paper aims to address the issues and causes for insufficient NJ phototherapy on a global scale, presenting the design, test and development of a first prototype of a vest, with embedded fibre optics and sensors for autonomous phototherapy treatment of new born jaundice in LRSs. Specifically, this paper evaluates and reports on the feasibility of such a device to be a means of delivering complete and effective phototherapy treatment to jaundiced neonates in LRSs. Among the main innovations included in our design, are garmented jaundice treatment, accessibility in LRSs, and integrated diagnostics for a closed loop control. The scope will hopefully facilitate at-home treatment in an effort to fulfil the global unmet need for phototherapy, typically occurring in rural and LRSs. In particular, this paper focuses on how the results of the needs assessment were cascaded into an innovative product design specification.

Concrete is one of the most used materials in the world, second only to water. One of the key advantages of this versatile material is its workability in the early stages before setting. Here, we use in situ underwater Raman microspectroscopy to investigate and visualize the early hydration kinetics of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with submicron spatial and high temporal resolution. First, the spectral features of the C-S-H gel were analyzed in the hydroxyl stretching region to confirm the coexistence of Ca-OH and Si-OH bonds in a highly disordered C-S-H gel. Second, the disordered calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) is experimentally identified for the first time in the mixture before setting, suggesting that Ca(OH)2 crystallization and growth are essential in the setting of cement paste. Finally, the phase transformations of clinker, C-S-H, and Ca(OH)2 are spatially and temporally resolved, and the hydration kinetics are studied by analyzing the spatial relationships of these phases using two-point correlation functions. The results quantitatively validate that the setting occurs as a percolation process, wherein the hydration products intersect and form an interconnected network. This time-space-resolved characterization method can map and quantitatively analyze the heterogeneous reaction of the cementitious colloidal system and thus provide potential application value in the field of cement chemistry and materials design more broadly.

Specific emitter identification (SEI) is a promising technology to discriminate the individual emitter and enhance the security of various wireless communication systems. SEI is generally based on radio frequency fingerprinting (RFF) originated from the imperfection of emitter’s hardware, which is difficult to forge. SEI is generally modeled as a classification task and deep learning (DL), which exhibits powerful classification capability, has been introduced into SEI for better identification performance. In the recent years, a novel DL model, named as complex-valued neural network (CVNN), has been applied into SEI methods for directly processing complex baseband signal and improving identification performance, but it also brings high model complexity and large model size, which is not conducive to the deployment of SEI, especially in Internet-of-things (IoT) scenarios. Thus, we propose an efficient SEI method based on CVNN and network compression, and the former is for performance improvement, while the latter is to reduce model complexity and size with ensuring satisfactory identification performance. Simulation results demonstrated that our proposed CVNN-based SEI method is superior to the existing DL-based methods in both identification performance and convergence speed, and the identification accuracy of CVNN can reach up to nearly 100% at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). In addition, SlimCVNN just has 10% $\sim 30$ % model sizes of the basic CVNN, and its computing complexity has different degrees of decline at different SNRs; there is almost no performance gap between SlimCVNN and CVNN. These results demonstrated the feasibility and potential of CVNN and model compression.