Enhancing fraud detection in banking by integration of graph databases with machine learning.

The banking sector's shift from traditional physical locations to digital channels has offered customers unprecedented convenience and increased the risk of fraud for customers and institutions alike. In this study, we discuss the pressing need for robust fraud detection & prevention systems in the context of evolving technological environments. We introduce a graph-based machine learning model that is specifically designed to detect fraudulent activity in various types of banking operations, such as credit card transactions, debit card transactions, and online banking transactions. This model uses advanced methods for anomalies, behaviors, and patterns to analyze past transactions and user behavior almost immediately. We provide an in-depth methodology for evaluating fraud detection systems based on parameters such as Accuracy Recall rate and False positive rate ROC curves. The findings can be used by financial institutions to develop and enhance fraud detection strategies as they demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach. This study emphasizes the critical role that innovative technologies play in safeguarding the financial sector from the ever-changing strategies of fraudsters while also enhancing banking security.•This paper aims to implement the detection of fraudulent transactions using a state-of-the-art Graph Database approach.•The relational graph of features in the dataset used is modelled using Neo4J as a graph database.•Applying JSON features from the exported graph to various Machine Learning models, giving effective outcomes.

Cannabis companies and the sponsorship of scientific research: A cross-sectional Canadian case study.

Corporations across sectors engage in the conduct, sponsorship, and dissemination of scientific research. Industry sponsorship of research, however, is associated with research agendas, outcomes, and conclusions that are favourable to the sponsor. The legalization of cannabis in Canada provides a useful case study to understand the nature and extent of the nascent cannabis industry's involvement in the production of scientific evidence as well as broader impacts on equity-oriented research agendas. We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, meta-research study to describe the characteristics of research that reports funding from, or author conflicts of interest with, Canadian cannabis companies. From May to August 2021, we sampled licensed, prominent Canadian cannabis companies, identified their subsidiaries, and searched each company name in the PubMed conflict of interest statement search interface. Authors of included articles disclosed research support from, or conflicts of interest with, Canadian cannabis companies. We included 156 articles: 82% included at least one author with a conflict of interest and 1/3 reported study support from a Canadian cannabis company. More than half of the sampled articles were not cannabis focused, however, a cannabis company was listed amongst other biomedical companies in the author disclosure statement. For articles with a cannabis focus, prevalent topics included cannabis as a treatment for a range of conditions (15/72, 21%), particularly chronic pain (6/72, 8%); as a tool in harm reduction related to other substance use (10/72, 14%); product safety (10/72, 14%); and preclinical animal studies (6/72, 8%). Demographics were underreported in empirical studies with human participants, but most included adults (76/84, 90%) and, where reported, predominantly white (32/39, 82%) and male (49/83, 59%) participants. The cannabis company-funded studies included people who used drugs (37%) and people prescribed medical cannabis (22%). Canadian cannabis companies may be analogous to peer industries such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco, and food in the following three ways: sponsoring research related to product development, expanding indications of use, and supporting key opinion leaders. Given the recent legalization of cannabis in Canada, there is ample opportunity to create a policy climate that can mitigate the harms of criminalization as well as impacts of the "funding effect" on research integrity, research agendas, and the evidence base available for decision-making, while promoting high-priority and equity-oriented independent research.

Identifying the impact of social networks on mental and emotional health seeking behaviours amongst women who are refugees from Syria living in Canada.

Between 2015 and 2017, over 24,000 Syrian women came to Canada as refugees. Refugees are two to three times more likely than native Canadians to suffer from depression and other mental health challenges. A qualitative approach was taken to understand roles of social networks in shaping the mental and emotional health resource-seeking behaviours of twelve Syrian women who are refugees. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in both English and Arabic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically coded using NVivo 12. Findings reveal that (1) families play large roles in teaching and providing information about Canada's health system, including mental health services; (2) Social networks influence assumptions about mental and physical health services; (3) women feel more welcomed into social networks in Canada than in countries of first asylum; and (4) social networks act as alternatives to seeking formal mental and emotional health care. Through first-hand stories and experiences of Syrian women's transitions into Canada, this study identifies the ways in which social networks may help or hinder engagement with mental and emotional health services.

Use of symptom checkers for COVID-19-related symptoms among university students: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: Symptom checkers are potentially beneficial tools during pandemics. To increase the use of the platform, perspectives of end users must be gathered. Our objectives were to understand the perspectives and experiences of young adults related to the use of symptom checkers for assessing COVID-19-related symptoms and to identify areas for improvement. METHODS: We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with 22 young adults (18-34 years of age) at a university in Ontario, Canada. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: We identified six main themes related to the decision of using a symptom checker for COVID-19 symptoms: (1) presence of symptoms or a combination of symptoms, (2) knowledge about COVID-19 symptoms, (3) fear of seeking in-person healthcare services, (4) awareness about symptom checkers, (5) paranoia and (6) curiosity. Participants who used symptom checkers shared by governmental entities reported an overall positive experience. Individuals who used non-credible sources reported suboptimal experiences due to lack of perceived credibility. Five main areas for improvement were identified: (1) information about the creators of the platform, (2) explanation of symptoms, (3) personalised experience, (4) language options, and (5) option to get tested. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests an increased acceptance of symptom checkers due to the perceived risks of infection associated with seeking in-person healthcare services. Symptom checkers have the potential to reduce the burden on healthcare systems and health professionals, especially during pandemics; however, these platforms could be improved to increase use.

Young Adults' Perspectives on the Use of Symptom Checkers for Self-Triage and Self-Diagnosis: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Young adults often browse the internet for self-triage and diagnosis. More sophisticated digital platforms such as symptom checkers have recently become pervasive; however, little is known about their use. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to understand young adults' (18-34 years old) perspectives on the use of the Google search engine versus a symptom checker, as well as to identify the barriers and enablers for using a symptom checker for self-triage and self-diagnosis. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive case study research design was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 young adults enrolled in a university in Ontario, Canada. All participants were given a clinical vignette and were asked to use a symptom checker (WebMD Symptom Checker or Babylon Health) while thinking out loud, and were asked questions regarding their experience. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and imported into the NVivo software program. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. RESULTS: Using the Google search engine was perceived to be faster and more customizable (ie, ability to enter symptoms freely in the search engine) than a symptom checker; however, a symptom checker was perceived to be useful for a more personalized assessment. After having used a symptom checker, most of the participants believed that the platform needed improvement in the areas of accuracy, security and privacy, and medical jargon used. Given these limitations, most participants believed that symptom checkers could be more useful for self-triage than for self-diagnosis. Interestingly, more than half of the participants were not aware of symptom checkers prior to this study and most believed that this lack of awareness about the existence of symptom checkers hindered their use. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness related to the existence of symptom checkers and their integration into the health care system are required to maximize benefits related to these platforms. Addressing the barriers identified in this study is likely to increase the acceptance and use of symptom checkers by young adults.

Toward Standardization of Electrophysiology and Computational Tissue Strain in Rodent Intracortical Microelectrode Models.

Progress has been made in the field of neural interfacing using both mouse and rat models, yet standardization of these models' interchangeability has yet to be established. The mouse model allows for transgenic, optogenetic, and advanced imaging modalities which can be used to examine the biological impact and failure mechanisms associated with the neural implant itself. The ability to directly compare electrophysiological data between mouse and rat models is crucial for the development and assessment of neural interfaces. The most obvious difference in the two rodent models is size, which raises concern for the role of device-induced tissue strain. Strain exerted on brain tissue by implanted microelectrode arrays is hypothesized to affect long-term recording performance. Therefore, understanding any potential differences in tissue strain caused by differences in the implant to tissue size ratio is crucial for validating the interchangeability of rat and mouse models. Hence, this study is aimed at investigating the electrophysiological variances and predictive device-induced tissue strain. Rat and mouse electrophysiological recordings were collected from implanted animals for eight weeks. A finite element model was utilized to assess the tissue strain from implanted intracortical microelectrodes, taking into account the differences in the depth within the cortex, implantation depth, and electrode geometry between the two models. The rat model demonstrated a larger percentage of channels recording single unit activity and number of units recorded per channel at acute but not chronic time points, relative to the mouse model Additionally, the finite element models also revealed no predictive differences in tissue strain between the two rodent models. Collectively our results show that these two models are comparable after taking into consideration some recommendations to maintain uniform conditions for future studies where direct comparisons of electrophysiological and tissue strain data between the two animal models will be required.

Focused Ion Beam Lithography to Etch Nano-architectures into Microelectrodes.

With advances in electronics and fabrication technology, intracortical microelectrodes have undergone substantial improvements enabling the production of sophisticated microelectrodes with greater resolution and expanded capabilities. The progress in fabrication technology has supported the development of biomimetic electrodes, which aim to seamlessly integrate into the brain parenchyma, reduce the neuroinflammatory response observed after electrode insertion and improve the quality and longevity of electrophysiological recordings. Here we describe a protocol to employ a biomimetic approach recently classified as nano-architecture. The use of focused ion beam lithography (FIB) was utilized in this protocol to etch specific nano-architecture features into the surface of non-functional and functional single shank intracortical microelectrodes. Etching nano-architectures into the electrode surface indicated possible improvements of biocompatibility and functionality of the implanted device. One of the benefits of using FIB is the ability to etch on manufactured devices, as opposed to during the fabrication of the device, facilitating boundless possibilities to modify numerous medical devices post-manufacturing. The protocol presented herein can be optimized for various material types, nano-architecture features, and types of devices. Augmenting the surface of implanted medical devices can improve the device performance and integration into the tissue.

Studies on the properties and biodegradability of PVA/Trapa natans starch (N-st) composite films and PVA/N-st-g-poly (EMA) composite films.

The morphological modification of Trapa natans starch was done by grafting the methylmethacrylate (EMA) using ferrous ammonium sulphate­potassium persulphate as a redox initiator. Different reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, time, monomer concentration, pH and solvent were optimized to get maximum graft yield (56%). The graft copolymers thus formed were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and TGA/DTA/DTG techniques. PVA/starch (N-st) composite films and PVA/N-Starch-grafted-poly (EMA) composite films were prepared separately by using glycerol as a plasticizer. The effect and content of grafted starch on the mechanical properties, water uptake (%), and biodegradability of the composite films were observed. Elongation at break % of PVA/starch-grafted-poly (EMA) (1:1) increased up to 38.9% of pure PVA/N-starch composites (1:1). With further increase in the ratio of grafted starch from (50% to 70%) Elongation at break, % increased to a great extent. There was 223.14% increased in PVA/starch-grafted-poly (EMA) (3:7) as compared to pure PVA/N-starch (3:7) composite films. The Max stress increased up to 100% in PVA/N-starch-grafted-poly (EMA) (3:7) composite film of pure PVA/N-starch composite films (3:7). There were 41.63% decreases in water uptake in PVA/N-starch-grafted-poly (EMA) (3:7) composite films as compared to PVA/N-starch composite films.