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Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Computed tomography (CT) are crucial imaging techniques in both diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy. MRI provides excellent soft tissue contrast but lacks the direct electron density data needed to calculate dosage. CT, on the other hand, remains the gold standard due to its accurate electron density information in radiation therapy planning (RTP) but it exposes patients to ionizing radiation. Synthetic CT (sCT) generation from MRI has been a focused study field in the last few years due to cost effectiveness as well as for the objective of minimizing side‐effects of using more than one imaging modality for treatment simulation. It offers significant time and cost efficiencies, bypassing the complexities of co‐registration, and potentially improving treatment accuracy by minimizing registration‐related errors. In an effort to navigate the quickly developing field of precision medicine, this paper investigates recent advancements in sCT generation techniques, particularly those using machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL). The review highlights the potential of these techniques to improve the efficiency and accuracy of sCT generation for use in RTP by improving patient care and reducing healthcare costs. The intricate web of sCT generation techniques is scrutinized critically, with clinical implications and technical underpinnings for enhanced patient care revealed. Purpose: This review aims to provide an overview of the most recent advancements in sCT generation from MRI with a particular focus of its use within RTP, emphasizing on techniques, performance evaluation, clinical applications, future research trends and open challenges in the field. Methods: A thorough search strategy was employed to conduct a systematic literature review across major scientific databases. Focusing on the past decade's advancements, this review critically examines emerging approaches introduced from 2013 to 2023 for generating sCT from MRI, providing a comprehensive analysis of their methodologies, ultimately fostering further advancement in the field. This study highlighted significant contributions, identified challenges, and provided an overview of successes within RTP. Classifying the identified approaches, contrasting their advantages and disadvantages, and identifying broad trends were all part of the review's synthesis process. Results: The review identifies various sCT generation approaches, consisting atlas‐based, segmentation‐based, multi‐modal fusion, hybrid approaches, ML and DL‐based techniques. These approaches are evaluated for image quality, dosimetric accuracy, and clinical acceptability. They are used for MRI‐only radiation treatment, adaptive radiotherapy, and MR/PET attenuation correction. The review also highlights the diversity of methodologies for sCT generation, each with its own advantages and limitations. Emerging trends incorporate the integration of advanced imaging modalities including various MRI sequences like Dixon sequences, T1‐weighted (T1W), T2‐weighted (T2W), as well as hybrid approaches for enhanced accuracy. Conclusions: The study examines MRI‐based sCT generation, to minimize negative effects of acquiring both modalities. The study reviews 2013‐2023 studies on MRI to sCT generation methods, aiming to revolutionize RTP by reducing use of ionizing radiation and improving patient outcomes. The review provides insights for researchers and practitioners, emphasizing the need for standardized validation procedures and collaborative efforts to refine methods and address limitations. It anticipates the continued evolution of techniques to improve the precision of sCT in RTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design and usability evaluation of an Arabic keyboard for applications that predominantly use single-pointer input device. Such applications are particularly used in mobile devices like Portable Data Assistants (PDAs) and smartphones. They are also valuable in gaze-controlled interfaces that constitute a growing mode of communication and that particularly empower people with mobility impairments. A special focus is given to the optimization of the key arrangement based on the movement time and character transition frequencies. An optimization model as well as a Simulated Annealing algorithm are presented. Then, the performance of the optimized layout is assessed showing that it outperforms the commonly used Arabic keyboard in terms of the estimated typing speed. However, the main limitation that the new layout might face is that a new arrangement of keys may not be adopted by users, even if the currently used layouts are not optimum. Therefore, a usability evaluation of the optimized layouts was conducted using eye-tracking and task-based testing involving the end-users and considering both objective and subjective measures of usability. Implications for the design are also discussed.

COVID-19 has had broad disruptive effects on economies, healthcare systems, governments, societies, and individuals. Uncertainty concerning the scale of this crisis has given rise to countless rumors, hoaxes, and misinformation. Much of this type of conversation and misinformation about the pandemic now occurs online and in particular on social media platforms like Twitter. This study analysis incorporated a data-driven approach to map the contours of misinformation and contextualize the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to socio-religious-political information. This work consists of a combined system bridging quantitative and qualitative methodologies to assess how information-exchanging behaviors can be used to minimize the effects of emergent misinformation. The study revealed that the social media platforms detected the most significant source of rumors in transmitting information rapidly in the community. It showed that WhatsApp users made up about 46% of the source of rumors in online platforms, while, through Twitter, it demonstrated a declining trend of rumors by 41%. Moreover, the results indicate the second-most common type of misinformation was provided by pharmaceutical companies; however, a prevalent type of misinformation spreading in the world during this pandemic has to do with the biological war. In this combined retrospective analysis of the study, social media with varying approaches in public discourse contributes to efficient public health responses.

Recent developments and studies in brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies have facilitated emotion detection and classification. Many BCI studies have sought to investigate, detect, and recognize participants’ emotional affective states. The applied domains for these studies are varied, and include such fields as communication, education, entertainment, and medicine. To understand trends in electroencephalography (EEG)-based emotion recognition system research and to provide practitioners and researchers with insights into and future directions for emotion recognition systems, this study set out to review published articles on emotion detection, recognition, and classification. The study also reviews current and future trends and discusses how these trends may impact researchers and practitioners alike. We reviewed 285 articles, of which 160 were refereed journal articles that were published since the inception of affective computing research. The articles were classified based on a scheme consisting of two categories: research orientation and domains/applications. Our results show considerable growth of EEG-based emotion detection journal publications. This growth reflects an increased research interest in EEG-based emotion detection as a salient and legitimate research area. Such factors as the proliferation of wireless EEG devices, advances in computational intelligence techniques, and machine learning spurred this growth.

This paper presents the design and usability evaluation of an Arabic keyboard for applications that predominantly use single-pointer input device. Such applications are particularly used in mobile devices like Portable Data Assistants (PDAs) and smartphones. They are also valuable in gaze-controlled interfaces that constitute a growing mode of communication and that particularly empower people with mobility impairments. A special focus is given to the optimization of the key arrangement based on the movement time and character transition frequencies. An optimization model as well as a Simulated Annealing algorithm are presented. Then, the performance of the optimized layout is assessed showing that it outperforms the commonly used Arabic keyboard in terms of the estimated typing speed. However, the main limitation that the new layout might face is that a new arrangement of keys may not be adopted by users, even if the currently used layouts are not optimum. Therefore, a usability evaluation of the optimized layouts was conducted using eye-tracking and task-based testing involving the end-users and considering both objective and subjective measures of usability. Implications for the design are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments and studies in brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies have facilitated emotion detection and classification. Many BCI studies have sought to investigate, detect, and recognize participants' emotional affective states. The applied domains for these studies are varied, and include such fields as communication, education, entertainment, and medicine. To understand trends in electroencephalography (EEG)-based emotion recognition system research and to provide practitioners and researchers with insights into and future directions for emotion recognition systems, this study set out to review published articles on emotion detection, recognition, and classification. The study also reviews current and future trends and discusses how these trends may impact researchers and practitioners alike. We reviewed 285 articles, of which 160 were refereed journal articles that were published since the inception of affective computing research. The articles were classified based on a scheme consisting of two categories: research orientation and domains/applications. Our results show considerable growth of EEG-based emotion detection journal publications. This growth reflects an increased research interest in EEG-based emotion detection as a salient and legitimate research area. Such factors as the proliferation of wireless EEG devices, advances in computational intelligence techniques, and machine learning spurred this growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]