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Comparing aggregate statistics and surveying selected empirical studies, this paper shows that the characteristics and results of labour markets in eastern and western Germany have become quite similar in some respects but still differ markedly in others even 25 years after unification. Whereas no substantial differences can be detected in firms' labour demand decisions and in employees' representation via works councils or trade unions, both parts of the country are somewhat apart concerning labour supply behaviour, labour productivity, wages, and bargaining coverage, and they still exhibit substantially different rates of unemployment. These differences may reflect observable and unobservable characteristics of economic actors as well as differences in behaviour, norms, and individuals' attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows how the impulses of the transformation process in eastern Germany have spread through the economy and the labour market. The form of transformation has long-term effects on the form of control over the economy; it is managed largely from western firms. This fact has manifold consequences for the innovation behaviour of plants, among others, which in turn is further related to productivity and thus to the labour market. We argue that this transfers further to persistently lower wages and higher unemployment rates in eastern compared with western Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors update previous findings on the total East-West gap in overall life satisfaction and its trend by using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 1992 to 2013. Additionally, the East-West gap and its trend are separately analyzed for men and women as well as for four birth cohorts. The results indicate that reported life satisfaction is on average significantly lower in East than in West German federal states and that part of the raw East-West gap is due to differences in household income and unemployment status. The conditional East-West gap decreased in the first years after the German reunification and remained quite stable and sizeable since the mid-nineties. The results further indicate that gender differences are small. But the East-West gap is significantly smaller and shows a trend towards convergence for younger birth cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study provides evidence for firms' evaluation of location quality. We use a 2004 survey of 6,000 East German firms that contained questions on the importance and assessment of 15 different location factors ranging from closeness to customers and suppliers, transport infrastructure, and proximity to research institutions and universities, as well as questions about the local financial institutions and region's "image". The results show (1) a great deal of heterogeneity in terms of which firm- or regional-level characteristics are important in the evaluation of a specific location factor, (2) that the model's explanatory power is, overall, low and thus neither location characteristics nor internal factors are fully reflected in the perceptions of location quality, (3) that a firm's business situation and whether a location factor is considered important have explanatory power for perception. One policy-relevant conclusion that we derive from these findings is that location policy should consider firms' perception of a specific location in addition to improving the actual attributes of that location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of public funding on the performance of establishments in Eastern Germany. Using data from the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) Establishment Panel from 1996 through 2012, the effect of economic promotion in the eastern part of Germany is studied on a number of indicators that provide insight into the topic. For this purpose, conditional difference-in-differences estimators were derived using a propensity score matching approach. Treated establishments in the area of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) invested more, had a higher value added and requested more labour than untreated firms when the amount of public funding is considered. However, on average, establishments with a history of previous investments also receive more funding than establishments that do not receive promotion. Also, some of the results are not permanent, such as the share of investment. Other effects of economic promotion in Germany include increases in wages, but these effects are rather small when compared to the size of the economic promotion. In addition, outcome for firms' productivity is always insignificant and close to zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a new tailor-made data set to investigate the differences in extensive and intensive margins of exports in manufacturing firms from East Germany and West Germany. It documents that these margins do still differ in 2010, 20 years after the re-unification of Germany. West German firms outperform East German firms at all four margins of exports – they have a larger propensity to export, export a larger share of total sales, export more goods and export to a larger number of countries. All these differences are large from an economic point of view. A decomposition analysis shows that in 2010 between 59 percent and 78 percent of the difference in margins can be explained by differences in firm characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LLC resonant converter is a widely used DC/DC converter that offers the benefit of enabling soft switching compared to classical DC/DC converters. However, traditional PI control strategy based on a linear model has drawbacks such as slow dynamic response and poor anti-interference performance. To overcome the shortage, a passivitybased control strategy based on the Euler–Lagrange (EL) model is proposed in this paper to improve the dynamic performance of the half-bridge LLC resonant converter. In addition, the stability of the system based on the proposed strategy is analyzed and verified. Further, the effectiveness and performance of the proposed strategy is verified in the simulation by comparing with the traditional PI controller. Finally, a prototype was built to verify the dynamic performance of the LLC resonant converter based on the proposed control strategy.

This systematic review of qualitative studies explored interventions to improve student nurses' knowledge, attitudes or willingness to work with older people. Student nurses are likely to encounter older people in all health and aged care settings, however, research demonstrates that few have career aspirations in gerontological nursing. Qualitative systematic review method based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Search of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost and Scopus yielded 1841 articles which were screened to include primary research about educational interventions to improve student nurses' knowledge, attitudes and/or willingness to work with older people. Data extraction was performed on the 14 included studies, and data were analysed using directed content analysis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used the assess the quality of the studies. Educational interventions included theory or practice courses, or a combination of theory and practice. While most interventions changed nursing students' negative attitudes towards older people, few increased their willingness to work with them. Practice courses had the most significant impact on willingness to work with older people. Quality assessment revealed methodical limitations. More research is needed to better understand the elements of practice interventions that enhance student nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to work with older people, so that they can be replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop a new data-driven methodology for identifying suitable influencers for a brand using data from social media. The increasing presence of such figures in these communication channels makes it challenging to select consistent and influential influencers for a specific audience. This paper introduces an innovative approach to defining these figures based on the analysis of relationships within the brand's network. Specifically, this methodology will be applied to the case study of a brand named “Anemonia”. The approach relies on the sequential application of various steps, including the use of tools such as Social Network Analysis (SNA) centrality, Sentiment Analysis (SA), and Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). Through the application of this methodology, the brand has been able to identify influencers consistent with its aesthetics and vision.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is shed light on the underlying forces behind entrepreneurship within a regional innovation system (RIS) in a remote rural region. The authors examine the following questions: Which are the main underlying forces behind the entrepreneurial process in a rural RIS characterized by traditionally low-tech, small-scale businesses? How can the development of a low-tech regional innovation system be conceptualized? Design/methodology/approach: The design of the study is based on entrepreneurship theory. Data analysis followed practices used in phenomenography, a research approach used to analyse and identify commonalities and variations in populations' perceptions of a certain phenomenon. Data are composed using semi-structured interviews and a database composed of company information of all firms in the population. Findings: A proactive mobilization of regional stakeholders and resources can be an important driving force behind the entrepreneurial process and generation of a rural RIS. Innovation can be generated within low-tech industries turning the rural context into an asset. An RIS in a remote rural context can be initiated and orchestrated by regional authorities, but knowledge brokering and orchestration can also be managed by networks of small-scale businesses brought together by mutual benefit and common interests. Research limitations/implications: Regional innovation systems theory is most often used to study high-tech industries. But by combining regional innovation systems with rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship context theory is a fruitful avenue to understand the role of rural entrepreneurship in regional development, even in remote and peripheral regions. Innovation does not need to entail high-tech international environments; it can appear as the result of efforts in low-tech industries in rural and remote environments. The authors' findings need to be scrutinized; therefore, the authors call for more research on regional innovation systems in rural environments. Practical implications: It is possible for regional authorities to orchestrate a development process through the actions of a strong regional agent but also by supporting the creation of networks of small businesses that are built on trust and common interests. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature with a new perspective to the study of entrepreneurship and of regional innovation systems. Entrepreneurship research with focus on rural contexts most often highlight limits to entrepreneurship and see entrepreneurship as "just running a business". A perspective that starts from innovation and innovative behaviour, despite the rural context and embedded resources, helps to generate new knowledge that can enrich the understanding of entrepreneurship and also be the foundation for more precise business development policies in rural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Apples have always been considered a healthy product able to provide curative properties to consumers. In Italy, there is a long tradition of apple consumption and production both as a fresh product and as processed food. However, as with many other products, the consumption of fruits and vegetables and, more specifically apples, has been drastically affected by the first lockdown in 2020. In this project, the authors investigate whether the change in consumption habits had long-lasting consequences beyond 2020 and what are the main eating motivations, food-related behavior and socio-demographic affecting the consumption of fruits and vegetables after the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors ran two online surveys with 1,000 Italian consumers across a year (from October 2021 to December 2022). In the study, participants answered questions about their consumption habits and their eating motives. Out of 1,000 consumers, the authors included in the final analysis only the participants who answered both surveys, leaving a final sample of 651 consumers. Findings: The results show that participants have allocated more budget to fruit and vegetables after the lockdown than before it. Moreover, consumers reported an average increase in the consumption of apples. However, the increase was more pronounced for people aged between 30 and 50 years old and identified as female. After showing the difference across time, a cluster analysis identified three main segments that differ in their eating motives, place of purchase and area of residence. Practical implications: Overall, the results contribute to a better understanding of how the global pandemic is still affecting people's daily life. Moreover, the findings can be used to guide the marketing and communication strategies of companies in the food sector. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and, more specifically, apples, in Italy more than one year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study proposes a classification of consumers based on their habits in a time frame during which the COVID-19 wave was at its bottom which is not currently present in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines how key actors in the UK food system (FS) understand the role of the local food sector in relation to FS resilience. Design/methodology/approach: Discourse analysis was used to assess and compare the framings of the UK FS in 36 publications released during Covid-19 from alternative food networks (AFNs) actors and from other more mainstream FS actors, including the UK government. Findings: The analysis shows that AFNs actors perceive the UK FS as not resilient and identify local FSs as a route towards greater resilience ("systemic" framing). In contrast, other food actors perceive the UK FS as already resilient, with the role of local food limited to specific functions within the existing system ("add-on" framing). The two groups converge on the importance of dynamic public procurement and local abattoir provision, but this convergence does not undermine the fundamental divergence in the understanding of the role of "the local" in resilient UK FSs. The local food sector's messages appear to have gone largely unheard in mainstream policy. Research limitations/implications: The paper presents an analysis of public sector reports focused on the UK FS released during the Covid-19 pandemic years 2020–2021. The corpus inclusion criteria mean that publications during this period which focus on other food sector issues, such social injustices, climate change and health, were not included in the analysis, although they may have touched upon local food issues. The authors further recognise that Covid-19 had a longer lasting effect on FSs than the years 2020–2021, and that many other publications on FSs have been published since. The time span chosen targets the time at which FSs were most disrupted and therefore aims to capture emerging issues and solutions for the UK FS. The authors' insights should be further validated through a more complete review of both public reports and academic papers covering a wider base of food-related issues and sectors as well as a broader timespan. Originality/value: A comparison of how different FS actors understand the importance of local food, especially in relation to resilience, has not been undertaken to date. The findings raise important questions about the disconnect between AFN actors and other actors in the framing of resilience. Considering the need to ensure resilience of the UK FS, this study's findings raise important insights for UK food policy about the "local food blindspot" and for food movement actors wishing to progress their vision of transformative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the combination of innovation determinants driving the creation of innovative products amongst market leaders and market followers in food and beverage (F&B) firms. Design/methodology/approach: This research is based on the case study methodology by using two types of data sources: (1) semi-structured interviews with industry experts and (2) in-depth interviews with managers. In addition, a questionnaire adapted from prior research was used to consider market and firm types. Findings: Suggesting an integrated theoretical framework based on firm-based factors and market-based factors, this study identified a combination of determinants significantly impacting innovative products in the market. Specifically, these determinants are competition intensity and innovation capability (a combination of research and development (R&D) investment and marketing capabilities). The study also examined how these determinants vary depending on whether the firms are market leaders or market followers. Practical implications: This research provides practical insights for managers working in the F&B industry by using case studies and exploring the determinants of developing innovative products. In doing so, suitable strategies can be selected according to the market and firm situations. Originality/value: The originality of the study is shown by focussing on how different combinations of market and firm factors could be applied in creating successful innovative products in the food sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: High levels of child obesity alongside rising stunting and the absence of a coherent food policy have deemed UK's food system to be broken. The National Food Strategy (NFS) was debated intensely in media, with discussions on how and who should fix the food system. Design/methodology/approach: Using a mixed methods approach, the authors conduct framing analysis on traditional media and sentiment analysis of twitter reactions to the NFS to identify frames used to shape food system policy interventions. Findings: The study finds evidence that the media coverage of the NFS often utilised the tropes of "culture wars" shaping the debate of who is responsible to fix the food system – the government, the public or the industry. NFS recommendations were portrayed as issues of free choice to shift the debate away from government action correcting for market failure. In contrast, the industry was showcased as equipped to intervene on its own accord. Dietary recommendations made by the NFS were depicted as hurting the poor, painting a picture of helplessness and loss of control, while their voices were omitted and not represented in traditional media. Social implications: British media's alignment with free market economic thinking has implications for food systems reform, as it deters the government from acting and relies on the invisible hand of the market to fix the system. Media firms should move beyond tropes of culture wars to discuss interventions that reform the structural causes of the UK's broken food systems. Originality/value: As traditional media coverage struggles to capture the diversity of public perception; the authors supplement framing analysis with sentiment analysis of Twitter data. To the best of our knowledge, no such media (and social media) analysis of the NFS has been conducted. The paper is also original as it extends our understanding of how media alignment with free market economic thinking has implications for food systems reform, as it deters the government from acting and relies on the invisible hand of the market to fix the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this case study, we examine how a citrus peel valorising company based in the Netherlands was able to adopt a circular business model while navigating regulatory, managerial, and supply chain-related barriers. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth, semi-structured interviews with key personnel in the company, notes from field observations, photographs of the production process, and documents from a legal judgement served as data for this single, qualitative case study. Data were coded inductively using the in vivo technique and were further developed into four themes and a case description. Findings: Results from our study indicate that the regulatory and political contexts in the Netherlands were critical to the company's success. Like in the case of most fruitful industrial symbioses, partnerships founded on mutual trust and economically appealing value propositions played a crucial role in ensuring commercial viability. Collaborating with larger corporations and maintaining transparent communication with stakeholders were also significant contributing factors. Lastly, employees' outlook towards circularity combined with their willingness to learn new skills were important driving factors as well. Originality/value: In addition to expanding the scholarship on the adoption of circular business models, this research offers novel insights to policymakers and practitioners. It provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of public awareness, adaptable legislation, and harmonised policy goals for supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study employs two independent experimental studies to collect data. It focuses on the matching effect between advertising appeals and product types. The Elaboration Likelihood Model serves as the theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive processing involved in consumers' responses to these advertising appeals and product combinations. Design/methodology/approach: This paper aims to investigate the impact of advertising appeals on consumers' intentions to purchase organic food. We explored the interaction between advertising appeals (egoistic vs altruistic) and product types (virtue vs vice) and purchase intention. The goal is to provide insights that can enhance the advertising effectiveness of organic food manufacturers and retailers. Findings: The analysis reveals significant effects on consumers' purchase intentions based on the matching of advertising appeals with product types. Specifically, when egoistic appeals align with virtuous products, there is an improvement in consumers' purchase intentions. When altruistic appeals match vice products, a positive impact on purchase intention is observed. The results suggest that the matching of advertising appeals with product types enhances processing fluency, contributing to increased purchase intention. Originality/value: This research contributes to the field by providing nuanced insights into the interplay between advertising appeals and product types within the context of organic food. The findings highlight the importance of considering the synergy between egoistic appeals and virtuous products, as well as altruistic appeals and vice products. This understanding can be strategically employed by organic food manufacturers and retailers to optimize their advertising strategies, thereby improving their overall effectiveness in influencing consumers' purchase intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of the application of blockchain to agri-food supply chains, including key issues and trends. It examines the state of the art and conceptual structure of the field and proposes an agenda to guide future research. Design/methodology/approach: This article performs a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software on a sample of 205 articles from the WoS database to identify research trend topics. Findings: The number of publications in this area has increased since 2020, which shows a growing research interest. The research hotspots are related to the integration of blockchain technology in the agri-food supply chain for traceability, coordination between all actors involved, transparency of operations and improvement of food safety. Furthermore, this is linked to sustainability and the achievement of the sustainable development gtoals (SDGs), while addressing key challenges in the implementation of blockchain-based technologies in the agri-food supply chain. Practical implications: The application of blockchain in the agri-food supply chain may consider four key aspects. Firstly, the implementation of blockchain can improve the traceability of food products. Secondly, this technology supports sustainability issues and could avoid disruptions in the agri-food supply chain. Third, blockchain improves food quality and safety control throughout the supply chain. Fourthly, the findings show that regulation is needed to improve trust between stakeholders. Originality/value: The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the blockchain phenomenon in the agri-food supply chain by optimising the search criteria. Moreover, it serves to bridge to future research by identifying gaps in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, huge concerns have been raised in diagnosing chest diseases, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular diagnosis processes of chest diseases sometimes fail to distinguish between Corona and Viral Pneumonia diseases through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests which are a time-engrossing process that needs convoluted manual procedures. Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques have achieved high performance in aiding medical diagnostic processes. The innovation of this work lies in using a new diagnostic technique to distinguish between COVID-19 and Viral Pneumonia diseases using advanced AI technologies. This is done by extracting novel features from chest X-ray images based on Wavelet analysis, Scale Invariant Feature Transformation (SIFT), and the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC). Support vector machines (SVM) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were utilized to build classification algorithms using 1200 chest X-ray mages for each case. Using Wavelet features, the results of evaluating the SVM and ANN models were 97% accurate, and with SIFT features, they were closer to 99%. The proposed models were very effective at identifying COVID-19 and Viral Pneumonitis, so physicians can determine the best treatment course for patients with the support of this high accuracy. Moreover, this model can be used in hospitals and emergency rooms when a massive number of patients are waiting, as it is faster and more accurate than the regular diagnosis processes as each step takes few seconds on average to complete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomedical signal processing is crucial in many sectors that save lives. Artificial intelligence improvement in signal collection and conditioning boosted this application's adaptability to varied bodily circumstances. In this study, a novel method is put forth for predicting the type of stroke in the human brain based on the observation of the Electroencephalography (EEG) signal. The signal is the first condition for removing undesirable frequencies by passing through a lowpass filter. To accurately extract the signal features, the signal is first transformed into a 1-second frame format and then normalised. Certain statistical and frequency domain aspects are highlighted to increase taxonomic accuracy. Under the wavelet packet transform, the empirical mode decomposition approach is utilised to recover the most information feasible from the signal. After training on extracted characteristics, the extreme learning machine is regarded to conduct classification. These work achieves 94.95 of Sensitivity, 84.95 of Specificity, 93.74 of Precision, 96.96 of Accuracy, 96.12 of F1 Score. Compared to the standard procedures, the proposed techniques have a greater accuracy rate of about 98%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retinal image segmentation process deals with problems like spurious vascularisation and thin vessel detection. In this paper, a three-step methodology has been proposed for retinal vessel segmentation. In first step, RGB to YIQ conversion is performed. In second step, Y component enhancement is performed. A novel Chaotic weighted Elephant Herding Optimization (CWEHO) has been proposed to optimize the clip limit and block size values of Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE). CWEHO-based CLAHE along with morphological operations, non-local means filter, and median filter is applied to enhance retinal images. In third step, thin and thick vessel segmentation is performed. Top hat transformation, otsu thresholding algorithm, and vessel point selection are applied for thick vessel extraction. The first-order Gaussian derivative in conjunction with the match filter is used to extract thin vessels. DRIVE and HRF datasets are used to assess the effectiveness of proposed methodology. The average values of segmentation accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, and Mathew Correlation Coefficient (MCC) are observed to be 0.9650, 0.9895, 0.7007, 0.7650, respectively, for observer1 and 0.9696, 0.9912, 0.7390, 0.7901 for observer2 using DRIVE dataset. Similarly, 0.9592, 0.9839, 0.6850, and 0.7116, respectively, metrics for HRF dataset. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, the proposed segmentation methodology provides better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image muscle segmentation is useful to quantitatively assess musculoskeletal diseases by extracting biomarkers such as shape, texture and water diffusivity metrics. Although volumetric manual segmentation is time consuming and a bottleneck in practice, fully automatic approaches are still in progress to reach an acceptable accuracy. In this paper, we provide a robust semi-automated tool to segment two musculoskeletal systems, i.e. thigh and shoulder in MRI and CT modalities, respectively. The tool only needs a few manually labelled cross-sections to build a directed graph-structure of corresponding points between the successive spaced slices. The boundaries of each muscle are obtained by performing a spline interpolation based on the directed graph-structure. Each muscle label and its corresponding 3D mesh are deduced using post-processing techniques. We evaluated the tool on 26 MRI thighs and 16 CT shoulders. Three metrics along with inter-muscle overlapping were employed to evaluate the tool by comparison to an expert manual segmentation and a publicly available tools (ITK-SNAP, 3D Slicer). The results showed a mean Dice $0.988 \pm 0.003$ 0.988 ± 0.003 , and Hausdorff Distance $4.86 \pm 1.67$ 4.86 ± 1.67 mm in comparison to the manual reference for thigh muscle segmentation, and a mean Dice $0.961 \pm 0.005$ 0.961 ± 0.005 and Hausdorff Distance $2.42 \pm 0.79$ 2.42 ± 0.79 mm for shoulder muscle segmentation, outperformed the other methods. The tool is proposed as slicer module available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the common eye conditions affecting patients with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy (DR). It is characterised by the progressive impairment to the blood vessels with the increase of glucose level in the blood. The grading efficiency still finds challenging because of the existence of intra-class variations and imbalanced data distributions on the retinal images. Traditional machine learning techniques utilise hand-engineered features for classification of the affected retinal images. As convolutional neural network produces better image classification accuracy in many medical images, this work utilises the CNN-based feature extraction method. This feature has been used to build Gaussian mixture model (GMM) for each class that maps the CNN features to log-likelihood dimensional vector spaces. Since the Gaussian mixture model can be realised as a mixture of both parametric and nonparametric density models and has their flexibility in capturing different data distributions, probabilistic outputs, interpretability, efficient parameter estimation, and robustness to outliers, the proposed model aimed to obtain and provide a smooth approximation of the underlying distribution of features for training the model. Then these vector spaces are trained by the SVM classifier. Experimental results illustrate the efficacy of the proposed model with accuracy 86.3% and 89.1%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) is a congenital disease with a polygenic hereditary component, characterised by abnormal development of the coxo-femoral joint which results in poor coaptation of the femoral head in the acetabulum; the disease rapidly progresses to osteoarthritis of the hip. While dysplasia has been recognised in practically all canine breeds, it is much more common and of concern in medium and large dog breeds with rapid development. Dysplasia in predisposed breeds, particularly the German Shepherd, is the object of screening based on systematic radiological control in some countries. Our collected dataset comprises 507 X-ray images of dogs affected by hip dysplasia (HD). These images were meticulously evaluated using six Deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models. Following an extensive analysis of the top-performing models, VGG16 emerged as the leader, achieving remarkable accuracy, recall, and precision scores of 98.32%, 98.35%, and 98.44%, respectively. Leveraging deep learning (DL) techniques, this approach excels in diagnosing CHD from hip X-rays with a high degree of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markerless motion capture has been made available by the development of pose estimation algorithms that provide both an estimate of the location of body keypoints in two-dimensional images and its associated confidence. It seems relevant to use this additional information for three-dimensional (3D) point reconstruction. Yet, it has been little described, nor has its influence on 3D point reconstruction. Eight participants performed a manual material handling task, which was recorded by 10 video cameras. Each video was processed using OpenPose. Different 3D point reconstruction methods were compared: direct linear transform (DLT) and weighted DLT (wDLT), with 10 cameras and with a subset of 4 cameras. For each keypoint, confidence and position deviation from the 3D reconstructed point with 10 cameras projected in the image reference frame were assessed. Results suggest that using confidence information reduces both average and maximum 3D distance between 3D points reconstructed with 4 and 10 cameras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting up a complex CNN requires a powerful platform, several hours of run-time, and a lot of data for training. Here, we propose a generalised lightweight solution that exploits super-resolution and scalable vector graphics and uses a small-scale UNet as the baseline framework to segment different organs in MR and CT data. We selected the UNet since many researchers use it as the baseline, modify it in their proposal, and perform an ablation study to show the effectiveness of the proposed modification. First, we downsample the input 2D CT slices by bicubic interpolation. Using the architecture of the conventional UNet, we reduce the size of the network's input, and the number of layers and filters to construct a lightweight UNet. The network segments the low-resolution images and prepares the mask of an organ. Then, we upscale the boundary of the output mask by the Scalable Vector Graphics technique to obtain the final border. This design reduces the number of parameters and the run-time by a factor of two. We segmented several tissues to prove the stability of our method to the type of organ. The experiments proved the feasibility of setting up complex deep neural networks with conventional platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial Emotion Recognition is gaining interest from researchers in various fields due to its numerous applications. The Vision Transformer (ViT) outperforms convolutional neural network (CNN)-based systems significantly in terms of performance when compared to contemporary image categorisation algorithms. In this context, the primary objective of this paper is to present an innovative and efficient deep learning model for facial emotion recognition. This hybrid intelligent model combines the Vision Transformer with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The proposed model accurately identified the majority of emotions in images, achieving an accuracy of 95.93% for the Fer2013plus dataset and 100% for the CK+ dataset, as demonstrated through experiments conducted on both datasets. According to the results, the proposed facial expression recognition approach has either outperformed or closely matched the performance of state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system for categorizing breast masses in mammogram images from the DDSM database as Benign, Malignant, or Normal. The CAD process involves Pre-processing, Segmentation, Feature Extraction, Feature Selection, and Classification. Three feature selection methods, namely the Genetic Algorithm (GA), t-test, and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are used. In the classification phase, three machine learning algorithms (kNN, multiSVM, and Naive Bayes) are explored. Evaluation metrics like accuracy, AUC, precision, recall, F1-score, MCC, Dice coefficient, and Jaccard coefficient are used for performance assessment. Training and testing accuracy are assessed for the three classes. The system is evaluated using nine algorithm combinations, producing the following AUC values: GA+kNN (0.93), GA+multiSVM (0.88), GA+NB (0.91), t-test+kNN (0.91), t-test+multiSVM (0.86), t-test+NB (0.89), PSO+kNN (0.89), PSO+multiSVM (0.85), and PSO+NB (0.86). The study shows that the GA and kNN combination outperforms others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical imaging research has experienced significant growth over the past decade, particularly in the fields of computer vision and pattern recognition. Computational approaches have been proposed to address the challenges in breast cancer detection, classification and segmentation. However, recent advancements in computational technology such as machine learning (ML) methods have dramatically changed the landscape of breast cancer imaging research. This survey aims to provide a compilation of information for future breast cancer imaging researchers by 1) comprehensively examining how various ML techniques are being used to address the main challenges in breast cancer imaging; 2) providing an in-depth discussion and review of publicly available datasets for the development and evaluation of novel breast cancer detection, classification and segmentation approaches; and 3) outlining current evaluation metrics used by breast cancer imaging researchers. The insights and findings presented in this survey will serve as a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians interested in breast cancer imaging. By providing an overview of the current state-of-the-art techniques and highlighting areas for future research, we hope to facilitate the development of more accurate and effective breast cancer imaging ML techniques, and contribute to advancing our understanding and improving the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) is a dynamic field intersecting various disciplines, with applications spanning medicine and diagnostics. Our focus on advancing medical imaging has led to groundbreaking progress in brain tumor diagnosis, fostering optimism in treatment. In this pursuit, we introduce HoloBrain, an accessible AR application designed to transform medical education. Utilizing smartphones, HoloBrain enables automatic segmentation, AR visualization, and 3D interaction without the need for head-mounted devices. Emphasizing practicality over hyper-realism, our innovation allows medical students to seamlessly integrate a virtual brain tumor model into their surroundings. This immersive approach facilitates exploration of the 3D representation of an afflicted brain, enhancing educational experiences. Tests in a controlled environment using a phantom head yielded promising results, with our solution demonstrating average errors of 2 mm to 4.5 mm on smartphone displays. These outcomes highlight the precision and effectiveness of our contribution, underlining its potential in transforming medical education and training. HoloBrain represents a step forward in making AR accessible and impactful for aspiring medical professionals, offering a valuable tool for enhancing their understanding of complex medical scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the rapid advancements in deep learning, image processing has progressively attracted the attention of medical researchers to achieve accurate diagnoses of numerous human diseases in a non-invasive manner. Image processing systems are among the most helpful and crucial disease identification technologies. Liver cancer is the world's fifth most prevalent and leading cause of cancer deaths. Diagnoses and treatment are essential because of the high mortality rate and recurrence after treatment. Medical image analysis is extremely beneficial in the healthcare industry. In the last several years, creating and developing computer-assisted imaging systems has been increasingly vital to aid physicians or doctors in strengthening their diagnoses. This research presents a deep model to identify cancerous regions in the liver aims using Computerized Tomography (CT) scans from the Kaggle dataset. Basic preprocessing is applied to CT images from the dataset acquired from the Kaggle repository. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated using different performance metrics, and an accuracy score of 94.3% was achieved in tumour identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to tackle the implementation of a single deep learning (DL) technique to the brain tumour recognition, segmentation and classification problem based on MR images. We propose utilising the Mask R-CNN approach along with transfer learning models on images. This was done by assigning bounding boxes and successfully constructing a border on each image for the tumour volume in order to distinguish it from neighbouring tissues and structures. By processing the images in this way, a single DL model could accurately identify, classify and segment three different categories of brain tumours (meningioma, glioma or pituitary). ResNet-50 and ResNet-101 network architectures were trained for 1000 epochs, and their classification and segmentation performances were assessed. A higher classification success was achieved for the ResNet-101 backbone pretrained on COCO images (%75 accuracy) in the testing phase. ResNet-50, on the other hand, achieved a higher classification accuracy (%87) when used with the ImageNet dataset. The classification and segmentation successes of meningioma and pituitary tumours were comparable, while glioma tumours could be segmented at relatively lower success rates (41–73% for all models), despite similar classification performances (73–95%) with other tumour types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A brain tumour is fatal; thus, early discovery is crucial to preserving life. Brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) segmentation can be used to find the tumour area. Radiologic assessments can pinpoint a suspected brain tumour's exact location and size. For future diagnostic and treatment planning, the assessment report is crucial. For the goal of diagnosis, the tumour detection process must be quick and precise. This paper suggests an automated system to distinguish between malignant brain MRIs and those not. Each image is assigned a set of characteristics utilising statistical, edge. Then, to compare the precision of the suggested framework, the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) classifier is used with various cross-validations on the feature set. The BRATS 2020 dataset is used to validate the suggested technique. The approach has an average accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 99.1%, 99.9%, and 99.3%. It can detect tumours more precisely and with less processing time than current techniques. This study suggests a powerful method for identifying brain cancers and predicting the kind of tumour. The suggested method first uses the adaptive histogram equalisation strategy to boost the resolution of BRATS-2020 MRI images. The goal is to improve segmentation performance as a result. After that, the WFCM technique is used to segment the MRI picture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work uses Fuzzy Lattices and Neural Reinforcement Learning techniques for seizure classification. EEG database of Bonn University and CHB-MIT has been used for the evaluation of the proposed method. Here, features are represented in the form of fuzzy lattices, and feature vectors are created in the form of Kinetic Energy (K.E.) using Schrödinger equation. Then, the highest K.E.-based seven fuzzy lattices have been used for classification using Neural Reinforcement Learning classifier. Neural Reinforcement Learning classifier is a self-learner method that classifies different seizure sub-classes (healthy eyes open, healthy eye closed, Epileptogenic Zone, hippocampal formation of opposite hemisphere, epileptic seizure). The effectiveness of the proposed method has been tested on two different public datasets. The average classification accuracy achieved is 97.6% and 97.5% for Bonn and CHB-MIT datasets, respectively. Results are compared with existing techniques to show the precedence of proposed approach. Also, computation speed of proposed classifier is more than 1.5 times compared to Fuzzy Q Learning classifier. The objective is to develop a hybrid model integrating fuzzy lattices and neural reinforcement learning (adaptive methods) for accurate classification, aiming to enhance and speeding up seizure detection and diagnosis to improve patient care through advanced computational techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to introduce a novel sugarcane plant disease prediction. There are three stages to the projected method, namely: (i) Preprocessing, (ii) Feature extraction, and (iii) Disease detection phase. Initially, the input image is given to the pre-processing stage in which the grey transformation and bilinear interpolation are carried out. The grey transformation is undergone to improve the clarity of the picture and the bilinear interpolation is used as a re-sampling technique. The feature extraction step follows the pre-processed picture, where both texture and colour features are retrieved. More specifically, the texture features like GLCM and suggested Distance-based LBP (D-LBP) features will be extracted. Subsequently, the extracted features are subjected to the disease detection phase process, where a hybrid classifier is introduced. This hybrid classifier blends the concepts of 'Neural Network (NN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM)' for better prediction results. In order to verify the effectiveness of the work that is suggested, a comparison analysis is conducted comparing the suggested and current approaches. The proposed method achieves highest accuracy in 80% of learning which is 13.97%, 16.12%, 11.82%, and 12.9% better than the other methods such as SVM, DT, RF, and NN, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention is a cognitive process that is essential for human performance. Human development frequently depends on attention; however, this topic still requires additional research. Recently, EEG brain waves have been utilised to identify a person's attention states. This work aims to review numerous machine learning algorithms to analyse the Electroencephalographic (EEG) data to recognise human attention. Various machine learning approaches for the analysis of emotional states with EEG data were reviewed. Moreover, the analysis includes the performance achieved in various works; their benefits and disadvantages are reviewed. An EEG data processing pipeline and a review of human attention recognition are developed to evaluate the performance of various machine learning techniques. According to the analysis, the neural network framework achieves 99.81% accuracy. The results serve as a design framework for future systems using EEG data on brain activity to monitor people's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has aimed to develop the Breast Cancer Detection (BCD) technique along with the mammography reports of the patients. For this proposed framework, the required images are collected from publicly available datasets. Further, the collected images are given into the phase of feature extraction, where the deep features based on texture features, ResNet, morphological features and density features are extracted and fused together. In addition, the weighted fused feature selection is performed with the fused features, in which the weight is optimised with the Modified Hybrid based Leader Optimization (MHLBO) obtained from Hybrid Leader-Based Optimization(HLBO) to elevate the feature performance on classification. Then, breast cancer can be classified with the developed Adaptive Cascaded Deep Network (ACDN) by combing the classification results of, Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Gate Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). Here, the parameter tuning has occurred in all three classifiers using the same enhanced HLBO. Throughout the experimentation, the designed model shows 97% and 96% regarding accuracy and F1-score, respectively. The tentative outcomes show the efficacy of the designed BCD method is compared with other baseline approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corneal Ulcers are defined as inflammation or even infection. They are one of the most frequent diseases that affect eye health. The proper measurement of corneal ulcer lesions enables the physician to evaluate the treatment effectiveness and decision making. This paper presents a segmentation method that aims to assist doctors in monitoring the treatment of corneal ulcer lesions. We applied a stepwise fine-tuning in U-Net Convolutional Neural Network architecture to train a model with 358 Point-flaky corneal ulcer images. The result from the model using U-Net architecture is then submitted to post-processing operations. Based on experiments performed with 91 Flaky corneal ulcer images, our approach achieved 0.823 of the Dice Coefficient on average, 88.9% of Recall, 99.4% of Specificity, and True Dice Coefficient of 0.835. The results are promising; we then have evidence that the proposed method could generalise the data from the training phase to segment the test data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multimodal Medical Image Fusion (MMIF) is affected by poor image quality, which leads to the extraction of inefficient features. The main intent of this work is to fuse various planes in the PET and MRI medical images efficiently using the MMIF approach. Initially, the sample images containing the axial plane of PET and MRI images are aggregated from standard datasets. Then, the collected images are employed for the decomposition process, which is accomplished via Optimal Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform (ONSCT). The parameters in the NSCT are optimized using the Modified Water Strider Algorithm (MWSA. Once the images are decomposed, it is segmented into two sub-bands as high frequency and low-frequency sub-bands. Consequently, the high-frequency sub-bands of both PET and MRI images are fused by using the optimal weighted average fusion, in which the weight factor is obtained optimally by the MWSA algorithm. Similarly, the low-frequency sub-bands of both medical images are combined by sparse fusion technique. Finally, both the resultant fused images are subjected to Inverse Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform (INSCT) to get desired fused images. The experimental findings suggest that the proposed model has effectively fused the images, and it also enhances the similarity score with axial planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the viruses may cause lung parenchyma and airway involvement. Usually, viral pneumonia causes ground-glass opacities, bilateral peripheral distribution, consolidation, vascular thickening, and reticular opacity. These features are common in COVID-19 rather than Non-Covid-19 viral pneumonia. However, in advanced cases, COVID-19 viral pneumonia may cause organising pneumonia and fibrosis of the lung. Atypical findings of Non-Covid-19 pneumonia have included central peripheral distribution, pleural effusion, lymphadenopathy, nodules, tree-in-bud opacities, and pneumothorax. Therefore, differentiating Non-Covid-19 pneumonia from COVID-19 pneumonia at chest computed tomography (CT) is necessary. In that case, CT scans of the thorax are one of the essential tools for early identification and future prognosis of viral pneumonia. We have proposed a Computer-Aided Diagnostic (CAD) system that can detect features of chest CT using a Deep Neural Network (DNN) with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). Transfer learning using pre-trained DNN models (ResNet50, VGG19, InceptionV3, Xception, DenseNet121, and VGG16) is applied to retain both high-level and low-level features effectively. The deep features are passed to the LSTM layer. The LSTM is utilised as a classifier and detects long short-term dependencies. The proposed method employs a hybrid DNN-LSTM network for automatic detection to take advantage of the uniqueness of the two models. The proposed models are trained with common and different features present in the chest CT of COVID-19 and Non-Covid-19 viral pneumonia. The 5-fold cross-validation (CV) method validated and tested the proposed model. The proposed DNN model's performance is quite improved with LSTM and CV. As a result, the proposed LM-DNN (VGG16+LSTM+CV) model has achieved the classification test accuracy of 91.58% and specificity of 93.86%, which offers superior performance with state-of-the-art. Also, the DenseNet121+LSTM+CV model has reached the classification test accuracy of 90.1% and sensitivity of 92%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper-limb prostheses are either too expensive for many consumers or have a greatly simplified choice of actions. This research aims to enable an improvement to the quality of life for recipients of these devices by providing an understanding of how we use our hands in modern everyday life. To achieve this a taxonomy of grasps used in activities of daily living has been created. A portable motion capture system was developed to collect data. Thirteen participants' hand movements were recorded (totalling 62 hours and 10 minutes of data). From these data, 38 and 22 grasps were observed from the left and right hands, respectively. The portable system effectively captured natural hand motions, which formed an updated taxonomy of grasps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin melanoma is a potentially fatal form of cancer. If left untreated or allowed to spread, it can lead to death or serious disability. Therefore, early diagnosis is crucial for improving patient prognosis and outcomes. Recent advances in machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) have greatly contributed to the categorisation and identification of melanoma. The goal of this survey is to evaluate 60 publications that have been submitted in order to create an overview of the melanoma detection process. It examines several feature extraction techniques.The evaluation concentrates on different melanoma detection methods, including 'deep learning (DL)' and 'machine learning (ML)' models. The analysis includes performance metrics and a review of the results obtained from the PH2 dataset, which achieved a high accuracy of 96.5%. Finally, the survey addresses research gaps to facilitate future investigations into melanoma identification strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A virus known as the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) can have serious effects on a variety of body parts. Preventing this spread of the virus requires early detection and proper treatment. Many methods are followed for early detection of this disease based on symptoms and classification for proper treatment. In this paper, classification of COVID-19 using Computed Tomography (CT) scan images with hybrid optimisation-enabled deep learning is researched. Here, a hybrid optimisation algorithm called War Snake Optimisation Algorithm (WSOA) is proposed to train Deep Q-Network (Deep Q-Net). Moreover, the proposed WSOA is formed by integrating War strategy optimisation (WSO) and Snake Optimiser (SO). In this paper, pre-processing is carried out using a median filter, followed by lung lobe segmentation that is done by Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). Furthermore, image augmentation is done by translation, rotation, flipping and scaling. Then, feature extraction is followed after image augmentation, where needed features get extracted to end up with the classification of COVID-19. This classification brings out the patient's health condition of normal and abnormal situations. Moreover, this research work is analysed with three performance metrics, such as accuracy, sensitivity and specificity with values of 93.7%, 94.8% and 89.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of enhancing colour fundus photographs is proposed to reduce the effect of cataracts. The enhancement method employs a decorrelation stretch (DS) technique in an LCC colour model. The initial designed technique embeds Hubbard's colouration model into DS parameters to produce enhanced results in a standard form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) reading centres. The colouration model could modify to enhance the colour of lesions observed in diabetic retinopathy (DR). The proposed algorithm could improve the effect of cataracts on fundus images and provided good results when the density of the cataract was less than grade 2. In the case of images taken through cataracts higher than or equal to grade 2, some output results could become unusable when the cataract was in line with the macula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has seriously affected normal life as well as public safety. It is extremely transmissible and has now infected millions of people worldwide. To obtain more image features of the lungs, Computed Tomography (CT) scans are widely used. However, manual examination of CT images for abnormal areas of COVID-19 disease can be time-consuming, and it is highly subjective to determine whether they are infected. To rapidly screen patients, Machine Learning (ML) can be used to determine whether patients have the disease. In this paper, a hybrid extraction technique is used to extract feature vectors from CT images, which is a mixture of a histogram of orientation gradients (HOG) extraction technique and a local binary pattern (LBP) extraction technique. In this experiment, 960 NON-COVID-19 and 960 COVID-19 were adopted to train the model, and 240 NON-COVID-19 and 240 COVID-19 were used to test the model. And the CT images were scaled to a uniform size. After obtaining the feature vectors using HOG and LBP feature extraction methods, The CT images were classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier optimised by Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO). In the performance evaluation of the presented classification model, the combination of the HOG feature extraction technique and the LBP feature extraction technique resulted in a substantial improvement in the classification effectiveness of the SVM. HOG_LBP PSO SVM improved Accuracy to 97.5%, Precision to 97.75%, Recall to 97.27%, Specificity to 97.25%, F1_score to 97.50%, and Mcc to 95.01%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liver is the largest solid organ in the body that can be anatomically divided into segments. We present in this work a web-based subject-specific human liver atlas based on the Couinaud segments simulated from portal venous (PV) perfusion zones, hepatic arterial (HA) and hepatic venous (HV) trees, as well as biliary drainage. The purpose of the atlas is to provide the modelling community with freely accessible 3D hepatic structures for in silico simulations, which are of tremendous value in yielding novel insights in hepatic circulation, drug transport and clearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilised a prototype system which consisted of a person-specific 3D printed jaw tracking harness interfacing with the maxillary and mandibular teeth and custom jaw tracking software implemented on a smartphone. The prototype achieved acceptable results. The prototype demonstrated a static position accuracy of less than 1 mm and 5°. It successfully tracked 30 cycles of a protrusive excursion, left lateral excursion, and 40 mm of jaw opening on a semi-adjustable articulator. The standard error of the tracking accuracy was reported as 0.1377 mm, 0.0449 mm, and 0.9196 mm, with corresponding ${r^2}$ r 2 values of 0.98, 1.00, and 1.00, respectively. Finally, occlusal contacts of left, right, and protrusive excursions were tracked with the prototype system and their trajectories were used to demonstrate kinematic modelling (no occlusal forces) with a biomechanical simulation tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning methods have been extensively employed to predict COVID-19 using chest X-ray images in numerous studies. However, a machine learning model must exhibit robustness and provide reliable predictions for diverse populations, beyond those used in its training data, to be truly valuable. Unfortunately, the assessment of model generalisability is frequently overlooked in current literature. In this study, we investigate the generalisability of three classification models – ResNet50v2, MobileNetv2, and Swin Transformer – for predicting COVID-19 using chest X-ray images. We adopt three concurrent approaches for evaluation: the internal-and-external validation procedure, lung region cropping, and image enhancement. The results show that the combined approaches allow deep models to achieve similar internal and external generalisation capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain injuries caused by strokes are one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Current procedures require a specialised physician to analyse MRI images before diagnosing and deciding on the specific treatment. However, the procedure can be costly and time-consuming. Artificial intelligence techniques are becoming a game-changer for analysing MRI images. This work proposes an end-to-end approach in three stages: Pre-processing techniques for normalising the images to the standard MNI space, as well as inhomogeneities and bias corrections; lesion segmentation using a CNN network, trained for cerebrovascular accidents and feature extraction; and, classification for determining the vascular territory within which the lesion occurred. A CLCI-Net was used for stroke segmentation. Four Deep Learning (DL) and four Shallow Machine Learning (ML) network architectures were evaluated to assess the strokes' territory localisation. All models' architectures were designed, analysed, and compared based on their performance scores, reaching an accuracy of 84% with the DL models and 95% with the Shallow ML models. The proposed methodology may be helpful for rapid and accurate stroke assessment for an acute treatment to minimise patient complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Auditory electrophysiological tests of the cortex, which are processed in or close to the auditory cortex, are brain reactions to sound. A variation in a continuous stimulus causes the acoustic change complex potential (ACC), which is a wave following the P1-N1-P2 response. Objective: To measure the amplitude and latency of different components of ACC in normal subjects and across individuals with mild and moderate degrees of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Patients and methods: The study includes 100 individuals with the age ranged from 10 to 50 years with different degrees of SNHL. The ACC was evoked by a change of second formant in the middle of ongoing steady-state synthetic, 3 formant vowels (ooee). The total duration was 500 ms. Changing occurred at 250 ms. Results: The SNHL subgroups showed statistically significantly longer P1 and N1 latencies. N1 and P2 amplitudes of ACC onset response were larger with a statistical significance as compared to controls. Post hoc analysis revealed no statistically significant difference between mild and moderate SNHL on ACC parameters. Age showed a significant negative correlation with ACC N1 and P2 latency, ACC P1 and N1 amplitude, and onset P2 latency. Onset response P1 latency was significantly higher in children than adults. Median ACC P1 amplitude significantly increased in children than adults. Conclusion: ACC is a reliable tool for testing the auditory cortex function of detecting difference in sounds presented that can be recorded readily in patients with mild and moderate SNHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]