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Background: The prevalence of thyroid disease has seen a rapid increase in recent times, primarily attributed to the fast pace of lifestyles that often result in poor dietary choices, work-life imbalances, social stress, genetic mutations, and improved diagnostic capabilities. However, the precise contribution of these factors to thyroid disease remains a subject of controversy. Consequently, there is a pressing need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the related associations in order to potentially mitigate the associated morbidity and mortality rates. Methods: This study employed association rule mining techniques to reveal hidden correlations among complex and diverse epidemiological connections pertaining to thyroid disease associations. We proposed a framework which incorporates text mining and association rule mining algorithms with exceptionality measurement to simultaneously identify common and exception risk factors correlated with the disease through real-life digital health records. Two distinctive datasets were analyzed through two algorithms, and mutual factors were retained for interpretation. Results: The results confirmed that age, gender, and history of thyroid disease are risk factors positively related to subsequent thyroid cancer. Furthermore, it was observed that the absence of underlying chronic disease conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity, are associated with reduced likelihood of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Conclusions: Collectively, the proposed framework demonstrates its sound feasibility and should be further recommended for different disease in-depth knowledge discovery.

Since its inception, the Actiotope Model of Giftedness (AMG) has provided researchers with a useful model to explain the development of exceptionality. Rather than a focus on the individual, the model postulates that exceptionality is the outcome of a system that includes complex interactions between an individual’s current level of talent and their internal and external environment. To date, however, the statistical techniques that have been used to investigate the model, including linear regression and structural equation modeling, are unable to fully operationalize the systemic nature of these interactions. In order to fully realize the predictive potential and application of the AMG, we outline the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to model the complex interactions and suggest that such networks can provide additional insights into the development of exceptionality. In addition to supporting continued research into the AMG, the use of ANNs has the potential to provide educators with evidence-based strategies to support student learning at both an individual and whole-school level.

Early detection of malignant thyroid nodules leading to patient-specific treatments can reduce morbidity and mortality rates. Currently, thyroid specialists use medical images to diagnose then follow the treatment protocols, which have limitations due to unreliable human false-positive diagnostic rates. With the emergence of deep learning, advances in computer-aided diagnosis techniques have yielded promising earlier detection and prediction accuracy; however, clinicians’ adoption is far lacking. The present study adopts Xception neural network as the base structure and designs a practical framework, which comprises three adaptable multi-channel architectures that were positively evaluated using real-world data sets. The proposed architectures outperform existing statistical and machine learning techniques and reached a diagnostic accuracy rate of 0.989 with ultrasound images and 0.975 with computed tomography scans through the single input dual-channel architecture. Moreover, the patient-specific design was implemented for thyroid cancer detection and has obtained an accuracy of 0.95 for double inputs dual-channel architecture and 0.94 for four-channel architecture. Our evaluation suggests that ultrasound images and computed tomography (CT) scans yield comparable diagnostic results through computer-aided diagnosis applications. With ultrasound images obtained slightly higher results, CT, on the other hand, can achieve the patient-specific diagnostic design. Besides, with the proposed framework, clinicians can select the best fitting architecture when making decisions regarding a thyroid cancer diagnosis. The proposed framework also incorporates interpretable results as evidence, which potentially improves clinicians’ trust and hence their adoption of the computer-aided diagnosis techniques proposed with increased efficiency and accuracy.