Hadeel T. El Kassabi

The widespread adoption of edge computing for resource-constrained devices presents challenges in computational straggler issues, primarily due to the heterogeneity of edge node resources. This research addresses these issues by introducing a novel resource-aware federated hybrid profiling approach. This approach involves classifying edge node resources with relevant performance metrics and leveraging their capabilities to optimize performance and improve Quality of Service (QoS), particularly in real-time eHealth applications. Such paradigms include Federated Patient Similarity Network (FPSN) models that distribute processing at each edge node and fuse the built PSN matrices in the cloud, presenting a unique challenge in terms of optimizing training and inference times, while ensuring efficient and timely updates at the edge nodes. To address this concern, we propose a resource-aware federated hybrid profiling approach that measures the available static and dynamic resources of the edge nodes. By selecting nodes with the appropriate resources, we aim to optimize the FPSN to ensure the highest possible Quality of Service (QoS) for its users. We conducted experiments using edge performance metrics, i.e., accuracy, training convergence, memory and disk usage, execution time, and network statistics. These experiments uniquely demonstrate our work’s contribution to optimizing resource allocation and enhancing the performance of eHealth applications in real-time contexts using edge computing.

Continuous monitoring of patients involves collecting and analyzing sensory data from a multitude of sources. To overcome communication overhead, ensure data privacy and security, reduce data loss, and maintain efficient resource usage, the processing and analytics are moved close to where the data are located (e.g., the edge). However, data quality (DQ) can be degraded because of imprecise or malfunctioning sensors, dynamic changes in the environment, transmission failures, or delays. Therefore, it is crucial to keep an eye on data quality and spot problems as quickly as possible, so that they do not mislead clinical judgments and lead to the wrong course of action. In this article, a novel approach called federated data quality profiling (FDQP) is proposed to assess the quality of the data at the edge. FDQP is inspired by federated learning (FL) and serves as a condensed document or a guide for node data quality assurance. The FDQP formal model is developed to capture the quality dimensions specified in the data quality profile (DQP). The proposed approach uses federated feature selection to improve classifier precision and rank features based on criteria such as feature value, outlier percentage, and missing data percentage. Extensive experimentation using a fetal dataset split into different edge nodes and a set of scenarios were carefully chosen to evaluate the proposed FDQP model. The results of the experiments demonstrated that the proposed FDQP approach positively improved the DQ, and thus, impacted the accuracy of the federated patient similarity network (FPSN)-based machine learning models. The proposed data-quality-aware federated PSN architecture leveraging FDQP model with data collected from edge nodes can effectively improve the data quality and accuracy of the federated patient similarity network (FPSN)-based machine learning models. Our profiling algorithm used lightweight profile exchange instead of full data processing at the edge, which resulted in optimal data quality achievement, thus improving efficiency. Overall, FDQP is an effective method for assessing data quality in the edge computing environment, and we believe that the proposed approach can be applied to other scenarios beyond patient monitoring.

Distance learning has been adopted as an alternative learning strategy to the face-to-face teaching methodology. It has been largely implemented by many governments worldwide due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implication in enforcing lockdown and social distancing. In emergency situations distance learning is referred to as Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Due to this dynamic, sudden shift, and scaling demand in distance learning, many challenges have been accentuated. These include technological adoption, student commitments, parent involvement, and teacher extra burden management, changes in the organization methodology, in addition to government development of new guidelines and regulations to assess, manage, and control the outcomes of distance learning. The objective of this paper is to analyze the alternatives of distance learning and discuss how these alternatives reflect on student academic performance and retention in distance learning education. We first, examine how different stakeholders make use of distance learning to achieve the learning objectives. Then, we evaluate various alternatives and criteria that influence distance learning, we study the correlation between them and extract the best alternatives. The model we propose is a multi-criteria decision-making model that assigns various scores of weights to alternatives, then the best-scored alternative is passed through a recommendation model. Finally, our system proposes customized recommendations to students, and teachers which will lead to enhancing student academic performance. We believe that this study will serve the education system and provides valuable insights and understanding of the use of distance learning and its effectiveness.

Continuous monitoring of patients involves collecting and analyzing sensory data from a multitude of sources. To overcome communication overhead, ensure data privacy and security, reduce data loss, and maintain efficient resource usage the processing and analytics are moved close to where the data is located (e.g., the Edge). Data quality (DQ) can be degraded because of imprecise or malfunctioning sensors, dynamic changes in the environment, transmission failures, or delays. Therefore, can mislead clinical judgments and cause incorrect actions, if not managed properly. In this paper, inspired by Federated Learning (FL), we propose a novel approach using Federated Data Quality (FDQ) Profiling to assess DQ at the edge considering a global quality profile aggregated based on local profiles. We conducted experiments to evaluate the effect of FDQ profiling on DQ improvement considering the assessment of outlier detection and unbalanced data. The results demonstrated that the improved DQ has a positive impact on the accuracy of four conventional machine learning models.

Precision medicine can be defined as the comparison of a new patient with existing patients that have similar characteristics and can be referred to as patient similarity. Several deep learning models have been used to build and apply patient similarity networks (PSNs). However, the challenges related to data heterogeneity and dimensionality make it difficult to use a single model to reduce data dimensionality and capture the features of diverse data types. In this paper, we propose a multi-model PSN that considers heterogeneous static and dynamic data. The combination of deep learning models and PSN allows ample clinical evidence and information extraction against which similar patients can be compared. We use the bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) to analyze the contextual data and generate word embedding, where semantic features are captured using a convolutional neural network (CNN). Dynamic data are analyzed using a long-short-term-memory (LSTM)-based autoencoder, which reduces data dimensionality and preserves the temporal features of the data. We propose a data fusion approach combining temporal and clinical narrative data to estimate patient similarity. The experiments we conducted proved that our model provides a higher classification accuracy in determining various patient health outcomes when compared with other traditional classification algorithms.

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has become the center of concern worldwide and hence the focus of media attention. Checking the coronavirus-related news and updates has become a daily routine of everyone. Hence, news processing and analytics become key solutions to harvest the real value of this massive amount of news. This conscious growth of published news about COVID-19 makes it hard for a variety of audiences to navigate through, analyze, and select the most important news (e.g., relevant information about the pandemic, its evolution, the vital precautions, and the necessary interventions). This can be realized using current and emerging technologies including Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning (DL). In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze the massive amount of public Covid-19 media reports over the Cloud. This framework encompasses four modules, including text preprocessing, deep learning, and machine learning-based news information extraction, and recommendation. We conducted experiments to evaluate three modules of our framework and the results we have obtained prove that combining derived information from the news reports provides the policymakers, health authorities, and the public, a complete picture of the way this virus is proliferating. Analyzing this data swiftly is a powerful tool to provide imperative answers to questions that are relevant to public health.

Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and is increasing at an alarming rate, according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Attack and Stroke Statistics-2021. This increase has been further exacerbated because of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, thereby increasing the pressure on existing healthcare resources. Smart and Connected Health (SCH) is a viable solution for the prevalent healthcare challenges. It can reshape the course of healthcare to be more strategic, preventive, and custom-designed, making it more effective with value-added services. This research endeavors to classify state-of-the-art SCH technologies via a thorough literature review and analysis to comprehensively define SCH features and identify the enabling technology-related challenges in SCH adoption. We also propose an architectural model that captures the technological aspect of the SCH solution, its environment, and its primary involved stakeholders. It serves as a reference model for SCH acceptance and implementation. We reflected the COVID-19 case study illustrating how some countries have tackled the pandemic differently in terms of leveraging the power of different SCH technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and mobile applications. In combating the pandemic, SCH has been used efficiently at different stages such as disease diagnosis, virus detection, individual monitoring, tracking, controlling, and resource allocation. Furthermore, this review highlights the challenges to SCH acceptance, as well as the potential research directions for better patient-centric healthcare.