Editorial

4 pages, 174 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

by Antonio Celesti, Ivanoe De Falco, Antonino Galletta and Giovanna Sannino

Computers 2021, 10(8), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10080100 - 16 Aug 2021

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Health is one of the major research topics that has been attracting cross-disciplinary research groups [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

12 pages, 3735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Neural Network Methodology for the Identification and Classification of Lipopeptides Based on SMILES Annotation

by Manisha Yadav and Satya Eswari Jujjavarapu

Computers 2021, 10(6), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10060074 - 10 Jun 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2208

Abstract

Artificial Neural Networks can be applied for the identification and classification of prospective drug candidates such as complex compounds, including lipopeptide, based on their SMILES string representation. The training of neural networks is done with SMILES strings, which are predictive of structural identification; [...] Read more.

Artificial Neural Networks can be applied for the identification and classification of prospective drug candidates such as complex compounds, including lipopeptide, based on their SMILES string representation. The training of neural networks is done with SMILES strings, which are predictive of structural identification; the ANNs are efficient of correctly classifying all compounds, substructures and their analogues distinguishing the drugs based upon atomic organization to obtain lead optimization in drug discovery. The proficiency of the trained ANN models in recognizing and classifying the analogous compounds was tested for analysis of similar compounds, which were not taken previously for training and achieved results with correct classification in the validation set. The best result was achieved with 10 numbers of hidden layers. The R2 value for training is 0.90586; the R2 value for testing is 0.99508; the R2 value after validation is 0.94151; the final value of R2 for total sets is 0.89456. The graphs are plotted between 21 epochs and mean square error (MSE) to report the performance of the model. The value of 798.1735 for the gradient of the curve after 21 iterations and 6 validation checks was obtained. A successful model was developed for the identification and classification of lipopeptides from their SMILES annotation that efficiently classifies similar compounds and supports in decision making for analogue-based drug discovery. This will help in appropriate lead optimization studies for the prediction of potential anticancer and antimicrobial lipopeptide-based therapeutics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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11 pages, 267 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Two-Stage Heart Arrhythmia Ensemble Classifier

by Mercedeh J. Rezaei, John R. Woodward, Julia Ramírez and Patricia Munroe

Computers 2021, 10(5), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10050060 - 01 May 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2771

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmia (Arr) are among the most common and fatal cardiac arrhythmias in the world. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data, collected as part of the UK Biobank, represents an opportunity for analysis and classification of these two diseases in the UK. [...] Read more.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmia (Arr) are among the most common and fatal cardiac arrhythmias in the world. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data, collected as part of the UK Biobank, represents an opportunity for analysis and classification of these two diseases in the UK. The main objective of our study is to investigate a two-stage model for the classification of individuals with AF and Arr in the UK Biobank dataset. The current literature addresses heart arrhythmia classification very extensively. However, the data used by most researchers lack enough instances of these common diseases. Moreover, by proposing the two-stage model and separation of normal and abnormal cases, we have improved the performance of the classifiers in detection of each specific disease. Our approach consists of two stages of classification. In the first stage, features of the ECG input are classified into two main classes: normal and abnormal. At the second stage, the features of the ECG are further categorised as abnormal and further classified into two diseases of AF and Arr. A diverse set of ECG features such as the QRS duration, PR interval and RR interval, as well as covariates such as sex, BMI, age and other factors, are used in the modelling process. For both stages, we use the XGBoost Classifier algorithm. The healthy population present in the data, has been undersampled to tackle the class imbalance present in the data. This technique has been applied and evaluated using an ECG dataset from the UKBioBank ECG taken at rest repository. The main results of our paper are as follows: The classification performance for the proposed approach has been measured using F1 score, Sensitivity (Recall) and Specificity (Precision). The results of the proposed system are 87.22%, 88.55% and 85.95%, for average F1 Score, average sensitivity and average specificity, respectively. Contribution and significance: The performance level indicates that automatic detection of AF and Arr in participants present in the UK Biobank is more precise and efficient if done in a two-stage manner. Automatic detection and classification of AF and Arr individuals this way would mean early diagnosis and prevention of more serious consequences later in their lives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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29 pages, 3131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CAT-CAD: A Computer-Aided Diagnosis Tool for Cataplexy

by Ilaria Bartolini and Andrea Di Luzio

Computers 2021, 10(4), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10040051 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3998

Abstract

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a severe lifelong disorder characterized, among others, by sudden loss of bilateral face muscle tone triggered by emotions (cataplexy). A recent approach for the diagnosis of the disease is based on a completely manual analysis of video recordings of [...] Read more.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a severe lifelong disorder characterized, among others, by sudden loss of bilateral face muscle tone triggered by emotions (cataplexy). A recent approach for the diagnosis of the disease is based on a completely manual analysis of video recordings of patients undergoing emotional stimulation made on-site by medical specialists, looking for specific facial behavior motor phenomena. We present here the CAT-CAD tool for automatic detection of cataplexy symptoms, with the double aim of (1) supporting neurologists in the diagnosis/monitoring of the disease and (2) facilitating the experience of patients, allowing them to conduct video recordings at home. CAT-CAD includes a front-end medical interface (for the playback/inspection of patient recordings and the retrieval of videos relevant to the one currently played) and a back-end AI-based video analyzer (able to automatically detect the presence of disease symptoms in the patient recording). Analysis of patients’ videos for discovering disease symptoms is based on the detection of facial landmarks, and an alternative implementation of the video analyzer, exploiting deep-learning techniques, is introduced. Performance of both approaches is experimentally evaluated using a benchmark of real patients’ recordings, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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20 pages, 2261 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Approach for Emotion Detection and Stabilizing Mental State by Using Machine Learning Techniques

by Nisha Vishnupant Kimmatkar and B. Vijaya Babu

Computers 2021, 10(3), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10030037 - 19 Mar 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3829

Abstract

The aim of this research study is to detect emotional state by processing electroencephalography (EEG) signals and test effect of meditation music therapy to stabilize mental state. This study is useful to identify 12 subtle emotions angry (annoying, angry, nervous), calm (calm, peaceful, [...] Read more.

The aim of this research study is to detect emotional state by processing electroencephalography (EEG) signals and test effect of meditation music therapy to stabilize mental state. This study is useful to identify 12 subtle emotions angry (annoying, angry, nervous), calm (calm, peaceful, relaxed), happy (excited, happy, pleased), sad (sleepy, bored, sad). A total 120 emotion signals were collected by using Emotive 14 channel EEG headset. Emotions are elicited by using three types of stimulus thoughts, audio and video. The system is trained by using captured database of emotion signals which include 30 signals of each emotion class. A total of 24 features were extracted by performing Chirplet transform. Band power is ranked as the prominent feature. The multimodel approach of classifier is used to classify emotions. Classification accuracy is tested for K-nearest neighbor (KNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), recurrent neural network (RNN) and deep neural network (DNN) classifiers. The system is tested to detect emotions of intellectually disable people. Meditation music therapy is used to stable mental state. It is found that it changed emotions of both intellectually disabled and normal participants from the annoying state to the relaxed state. A 75% positive transformation of mental state is obtained in the participants by using music therapy. This research study presents a novel approach for detailed analysis of brain EEG signals for emotion detection and stabilize mental state. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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31 pages, 3634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Unifying Framework and Comparative Evaluation of Statistical and Machine Learning Approaches to Non-Specific Syndromic Surveillance

by Moritz Kulessa, Eneldo Loza Mencía and Johannes Fürnkranz

Computers 2021, 10(3), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10030032 - 10 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2135

Abstract

Monitoring the development of infectious diseases is of great importance for the prevention of major outbreaks. Syndromic surveillance aims at developing algorithms which can detect outbreaks as early as possible by monitoring data sources which allow to capture the occurrences of a certain [...] Read more.

Monitoring the development of infectious diseases is of great importance for the prevention of major outbreaks. Syndromic surveillance aims at developing algorithms which can detect outbreaks as early as possible by monitoring data sources which allow to capture the occurrences of a certain disease. Recent research mainly concentrates on the surveillance of specific, known diseases, putting the focus on the definition of the disease pattern under surveillance. Until now, only little effort has been devoted to what we call non-specific syndromic surveillance, i.e., the use of all available data for detecting any kind of infectious disease outbreaks. In this work, we give an overview of non-specific syndromic surveillance from the perspective of machine learning and propose a unified framework based on global and local modeling techniques. We also present a set of statistical modeling techniques which have not been used in a local modeling context before and can serve as benchmarks for the more elaborate machine learning approaches. In an experimental comparison of different approaches to non-specific syndromic surveillance we found that these simple statistical techniques already achieve competitive results and sometimes even outperform more elaborate approaches. In particular, applying common syndromic surveillance methods in a non-specific setting seems to be promising. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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20 pages, 568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Sensitive Data Access Model in Support of Learning Health Systems

by Thibaud Ecarot, Benoît Fraikin, Luc Lavoie, Mark McGilchrist and Jean-François Ethier

Computers 2021, 10(3), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10030025 - 26 Feb 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3773

Abstract

Given the ever-growing body of knowledge, healthcare improvement hinges more than ever on efficient knowledge transfer to clinicians and patients. Promoted initially by the Institute of Medicine, the Learning Health System (LHS) framework emerged in the early 2000s. It places focus on learning [...] Read more.

Given the ever-growing body of knowledge, healthcare improvement hinges more than ever on efficient knowledge transfer to clinicians and patients. Promoted initially by the Institute of Medicine, the Learning Health System (LHS) framework emerged in the early 2000s. It places focus on learning cycles where care delivery is tightly coupled with research activities, which in turn is closely tied to knowledge transfer, ultimately injecting solid improvements into medical practice. Sensitive health data access across multiple organisations is therefore paramount to support LHSs. While the LHS vision is well established, security requirements to support them are not. Health data exchange approaches have been implemented (e.g., HL7 FHIR) or proposed (e.g., blockchain-based methods), but none cover the entire LHS requirement spectrum. To address this, the Sensitive Data Access Model (SDAM) is proposed. Using a representation of agents and processes of data access systems, specific security requirements are presented and the SDAM layer architecture is described, with an emphasis on its mix-network dynamic topology approach. A clinical application benefiting from the model is subsequently presented and an analysis evaluates the security properties and vulnerability mitigation strategies offered by a protocol suite following SDAM and in parallel, by FHIR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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15 pages, 884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Generic Encapsulation to Unravel Social Spreading of a Pandemic: An Underlying Architecture

by Saad Alqithami

Computers 2021, 10(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10010012 - 17 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3306

Abstract

Cases of a new emergent infectious disease caused by mutations in the coronavirus family, called “COVID-19,” have spiked recently, affecting millions of people, and this has been classified as a global pandemic due to the wide spread of the virus. Epidemiologically, humans are [...] Read more.

Cases of a new emergent infectious disease caused by mutations in the coronavirus family, called “COVID-19,” have spiked recently, affecting millions of people, and this has been classified as a global pandemic due to the wide spread of the virus. Epidemiologically, humans are the targeted hosts of COVID-19, whereby indirect/direct transmission pathways are mitigated by social/spatial distancing. People naturally exist in dynamically cascading networks of social/spatial interactions. Their rational actions and interactions have huge uncertainties in regard to common social contagions with rapid network proliferations on a daily basis. Different parameters play big roles in minimizing such uncertainties by shaping the understanding of such contagions to include cultures, beliefs, norms, values, ethics, etc. Thus, this work is directed toward investigating and predicting the viral spread of the current wave of COVID-19 based on human socio-behavioral analyses in various community settings with unknown structural patterns. We examine the spreading and social contagions in unstructured networks by proposing a model that should be able to (1) reorganize and synthesize infected clusters of any networked agents, (2) clarify any noteworthy members of the population through a series of analyses of their behavioral and cognitive capabilities, (3) predict where the direction is heading with any possible outcomes, and (4) propose applicable intervention tactics that can be helpful in creating strategies to mitigate the spread. Such properties are essential in managing the rate of spread of viral infections. Furthermore, a novel spectra-based methodology that leverages configuration models as a reference network is proposed to quantify spreading in a given candidate network. We derive mathematical formulations to demonstrate the viral spread in the network structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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15 pages, 658 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online Learning of Finite and Infinite Gamma Mixture Models for COVID-19 Detection in Medical Images

by Hassen Sallay, Sami Bourouis and Nizar Bouguila

Computers 2021, 10(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10010006 - 27 Dec 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3551

Abstract

The accurate detection of abnormalities in medical images (like X-ray and CT scans) is a challenging problem due to images’ blurred boundary contours, different sizes, variable shapes, and uneven density. In this paper, we tackle this problem via a new effective online variational [...] Read more.

The accurate detection of abnormalities in medical images (like X-ray and CT scans) is a challenging problem due to images’ blurred boundary contours, different sizes, variable shapes, and uneven density. In this paper, we tackle this problem via a new effective online variational learning model for both mixtures of finite and infinite Gamma distributions. The proposed approach takes advantage of the Gamma distribution flexibility, the online learning scalability, and the variational inference efficiency. Three different batch and online learning methods based on robust texture-based feature extraction are proposed. Our work is evaluated and validated on several real challenging data sets for different kinds of pneumonia infection detection. The obtained results are very promising given that we approach the classification problem in an unsupervised manner. They also confirm the superiority of the Gamma mixture model compared to the Gaussian mixture model for medical images’ classification. Full article

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25 pages, 10390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Elderly Care Based on Hand Gestures Using Kinect Sensor

by Munir Oudah, Ali Al-Naji and Javaan Chahl

Computers 2021, 10(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10010005 - 26 Dec 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4648

Abstract

Technological advances have allowed hand gestures to become an important research field especially in applications such as health care and assisting applications for elderly people, providing a natural interaction with the assisting system through a camera by making specific gestures. In this study, [...] Read more.

Technological advances have allowed hand gestures to become an important research field especially in applications such as health care and assisting applications for elderly people, providing a natural interaction with the assisting system through a camera by making specific gestures. In this study, we proposed three different scenarios using a Microsoft Kinect V2 depth sensor then evaluated the effectiveness of the outcomes. The first scenario used joint tracking combined with a depth threshold to enhance hand segmentation and efficiently recognise the number of fingers extended. The second scenario utilised the metadata parameters provided by the Kinect V2 depth sensor, which provided 11 parameters related to the tracked body and gave information about three gestures for each hand. The third scenario used a simple convolutional neural network with joint tracking by depth metadata to recognise and classify five hand gesture categories. In this study, deaf-mute elderly people performed five different hand gestures, each related to a specific request, such as needing water, meal, toilet, help and medicine. Next, the request was sent via the global system for mobile communication (GSM) as a text message to the care provider’s smartphone because the elderly subjects could not execute any activity independently. Full article

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21 pages, 798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trading-Off Machine Learning Algorithms towards Data-Driven Administrative-Socio-Economic Population Health Management

by Silvia Panicacci, Massimiliano Donati, Francesco Profili, Paolo Francesconi and Luca Fanucci

Computers 2021, 10(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10010004 - 25 Dec 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2926

Abstract

Together with population ageing, the number of people suffering from multimorbidity is increasing, up to more than half of the population by 2035. This part of the population is composed by the highest-risk patients, who are, at the same time, the major users [...] Read more.

Together with population ageing, the number of people suffering from multimorbidity is increasing, up to more than half of the population by 2035. This part of the population is composed by the highest-risk patients, who are, at the same time, the major users of the healthcare systems. The early identification of this sub-population can really help to improve people’s quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. In this paper, we describe a population health management tool based on state-of-the-art intelligent algorithms, starting from administrative and socio-economic data, for the early identification of high-risk patients. The study refers to the population of the Local Health Unit of Central Tuscany in 2015, which amounts to 1,670,129 residents. After a trade-off on machine learning models and on input data, Random Forest applied to 1-year of historical data achieves the best results, outperforming state-of-the-art models. The most important variables for this model, in terms of mean minimal depth, accuracy decrease and Gini decrease, result to be age and some group of drugs, such as high-ceiling diuretics. Thanks to the low inference time and reduced memory usage, the resulting model allows for real-time risk prediction updates whenever new data become available, giving General Practitioners the possibility to early adopt personalised medicine. Full article

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Review

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11 pages, 1243 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Brief Review on the Sensor Measurement Solutions for the Ten-Meter Walk Test

by Ivan Miguel Pires, Eurico Lopes, María Vanessa Villasana, Nuno M. Garcia, Eftim Zdravevski and Vasco Ponciano

Computers 2021, 10(4), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10040049 - 11 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2505

Abstract

The wide-spread use of wearables and the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm provide an opportunity to use mobile-device sensors for medical applications. Sensors available in the commonly used devices may inspire innovative solutions for physiotherapy striving for accurate and early [...] Read more.

The wide-spread use of wearables and the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm provide an opportunity to use mobile-device sensors for medical applications. Sensors available in the commonly used devices may inspire innovative solutions for physiotherapy striving for accurate and early identification of various pathologies. An essential and reliable performance measure is the ten-meter walk test, which is employed to determine functional mobility, gait, and vestibular function. Sensor-based approaches can identify the various test phases and their segmented duration, among other parameters. The measurement parameter primarily used is related to the tests’ duration, and after identifying patterns, a variety of physical treatments can be recommended. This paper reviews multiple studies focusing on automated measurements of the ten-meter walk test with different sensors. Most of the analyzed studies measure similar parameters as traditional methods, such as velocity, duration, and other involuntary and dangerous patients’ movements after stroke. That provides an opportunity to measure different parameters that can be later fed into machine learning models for analyzing more complex patterns. Full article

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17 pages, 2299 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Systematic Investigation of Models for Color Image Processing in Wound Size Estimation

by Filipe Ferreira, Ivan Miguel Pires, Mónica Costa, Vasco Ponciano, Nuno M. Garcia, Eftim Zdravevski, Ivan Chorbev and Martin Mihajlov

Computers 2021, 10(4), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10040043 - 01 Apr 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3046

Abstract

In recent years, research in tracking and assessing wound severity using computerized image processing has increased. With the emergence of mobile devices, powerful functionalities and processing capabilities have provided multiple non-invasive wound evaluation opportunities in both clinical and non-clinical settings. With current imaging [...] Read more.

In recent years, research in tracking and assessing wound severity using computerized image processing has increased. With the emergence of mobile devices, powerful functionalities and processing capabilities have provided multiple non-invasive wound evaluation opportunities in both clinical and non-clinical settings. With current imaging technologies, objective and reliable techniques provide qualitative information that can be further processed to provide quantitative information on the size, structure, and color characteristics of wounds. These efficient image analysis algorithms help determine the injury features and the progress of healing in a short time. This paper presents a systematic investigation of articles that specifically address the measurement of wounds’ sizes with image processing techniques, promoting the connection between computer science and health. Of the 208 studies identified by searching electronic databases, 20 were included in the review. From the perspective of image processing color models, the most dominant model was the hue, saturation, and value (HSV) color space. We proposed that a method for measuring the wound area must implement different stages, including conversion to grayscale for further implementation of the threshold and a segmentation method to measure the wound area as the number of pixels for further conversion to metric units. Regarding devices, mobile technology is shown to have reached the level of reliable accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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31 pages, 580 KiB

Open AccessReview

Automated Machine Learning for Healthcare and Clinical Notes Analysis

by Akram Mustafa and Mostafa Rahimi Azghadi

Computers 2021, 10(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10020024 - 22 Feb 2021

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 12457

Abstract

Machine learning (ML) has been slowly entering every aspect of our lives and its positive impact has been astonishing. To accelerate embedding ML in more applications and incorporating it in real-world scenarios, automated machine learning (AutoML) is emerging. The main purpose of AutoML [...] Read more.

Machine learning (ML) has been slowly entering every aspect of our lives and its positive impact has been astonishing. To accelerate embedding ML in more applications and incorporating it in real-world scenarios, automated machine learning (AutoML) is emerging. The main purpose of AutoML is to provide seamless integration of ML in various industries, which will facilitate better outcomes in everyday tasks. In healthcare, AutoML has been already applied to easier settings with structured data such as tabular lab data. However, there is still a need for applying AutoML for interpreting medical text, which is being generated at a tremendous rate. For this to happen, a promising method is AutoML for clinical notes analysis, which is an unexplored research area representing a gap in ML research. The main objective of this paper is to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive survey and analytical study towards AutoML for clinical notes. To that end, we first introduce the AutoML technology and review its various tools and techniques. We then survey the literature of AutoML in the healthcare industry and discuss the developments specific to clinical settings, as well as those using general AutoML tools for healthcare applications. With this background, we then discuss challenges of working with clinical notes and highlight the benefits of developing AutoML for medical notes processing. Next, we survey relevant ML research for clinical notes and analyze the literature and the field of AutoML in the healthcare industry. Furthermore, we propose future research directions and shed light on the challenges and opportunities this emerging field holds. With this, we aim to assist the community with the implementation of an AutoML platform for medical notes, which if realized can revolutionize patient outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence for Health)

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