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Prispevek predstavlja izhodišča za razpravo o jezikovnih smernicah in učnih ciljih v vrtcih in šolah s slovenskim učnim jezikom v Tržaški in Goriški pokrajini ter v večstopenjski šoli s slovensko-italijanskim dvojezičnim poukom v Špetru. Izhaja iz rezultatov kvantitativne raziskave o poteku pouka na daljavo med epidemijo covid-19, izvedene med pedagoškim kadrom, dijaki in starši otrok, ki obiskujejo vrtce in šole s slovenskim učnim jezikom in dvojezičnim slovensko-italijanskim poukom v Italiji. Izsledke dopolnjuje analiza petnajstih polstrukturiranih globinskih intevjujev z učitelji o didaktično-metodičnih izzivih pri poučevanju učencev, katerih prvi ali primarni jezik ni slovenski, slovenščina pa tudi ni jezik okolja, v katerem živijo.

The paper proposes a graph-theoretical approach to auscultation, bringing out the potential of graph features in classifying the bioacoustics signals. The complex network analysis of the bioacoustics signals - vesicular (VE) and bronchial (BR) breath sound - of 48 healthy persons are carried out for understanding the airflow dynamics during respiration. The VE and BR are classified by the machine learning techniques extracting the graph features – the number of edges (E), graph density (D), transitivity (T), degree centrality (Dcg) and eigenvector centrality (Ecg). The higher value of E, D, and T in BR indicates the temporally correlated airflow through the wider tracheobronchial tract resulting in sustained high-intense low-frequencies. The frequency spread and high-frequencies in VE, arising due to the less correlated airflow through the narrow segmental bronchi and lobar, appears as a lower value for E, D, and T. The lower values of Dcg and Ecg justify the inferences from the spectral and other graph parameters. The study proposes a methodology in remote auscultation that can be employed in the current scenario of COVID-19.

The development of novel digital auscultation techniques has become highly significant in the context of the outburst of the pandemic COVID 19. The present work reports the spectral, nonlinear time series, fractal, and complexity analysis of vesicular (VB) and bronchial (BB) breath signals. The analysis is carried out with 37 breath sound signals. The spectral analysis brings out the signatures of VB and BB through the power spectral density plot and wavelet scalogram. The dynamics of airflow through the respiratory tract during VB and BB are investigated using the nonlinear time series and complexity analyses in terms of the phase portrait, fractal dimension, Hurst exponent, and sample entropy. The higher degree of chaoticity in BB relative to VB is unwrapped through the maximal Lyapunov exponent. The principal component analysis helps in classifying VB and BB sound signals through the feature extraction from the power spectral density data. The method proposed in the present work is simple, cost-effective, and sensitive, with a far-reaching potential of addressing and diagnosing the current issue of COVID 19 through lung auscultation.

Cough signal analysis for understanding the pathological condition has become important from the outset of the exigency posed by the epidemic COVID-19. The present work suggests a surrogate approach for the classification of cough signals - croup cough (CC) and pertussis (PT) – based on spectral, fractal, and nonlinear time-series techniques. The spectral analysis of CC reveals the presence of more frequency components in the short duration cough sound compared to PT. The musical nature of CC is unveiled not only through the spectral analysis but also through the phase portrait features – sample entropy (S), maximal Lyapunov exponent (L), and Hurst exponent (Hb). The modifications in the internal morphology of the respiratory tract, giving rise to more frequency components associated with the complex airflow dynamics, get staged through the higher fractal dimension of CC. Among the two supervised classification tools, cubic KNN (CKNN) and neural net pattern recognition (NNPR), used for classifying the CC and PT signals based on nonlinear time series parameters, NNPR is found better. Thus, the study opens the possibility of identification of pulmonary pathological conditions through cough sound signal analysis.

Objectives: The present work reports the study of 34 rhonchi (RB) and Bronchial Breath (BB) signals employing machine learning techniques, timefrequency, fractal, and non-linear time-series analyses. Methods: The timefrequency analyses and the complexity in the dynamics of airflow in BB and RB are studied using both Power Spectral Density (PSD) features and non-linear measures. For accurate prediction of these signals, PSD and nonlinear measures are fed as input attributes to various machine learning models. Findings: The spectral analyses reveal fewer, low-intensity frequency components along with its overtones in the intermittent and rapidly damping RB signal. The complexity in the dynamics of airflow in BB and RB is investigated through the fractal dimension, Hurst exponent, phase portrait, maximal Lyapunov exponent, and sample entropy values. The greater value of entropy for the RB signal provides an insight into the internal morphology of the airways containing mucous and other obstructions. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) employs PSD features, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) along with Pattern Recognition Neural Network (PRNN) uses non-linear measures for predicting BB and RB. Signal classification based on phase portrait features evaluates the multidimensional aspects of signal intensities, whereas that based on PSD features considers mere signal intensities. The principal components in PCA cover about 86.5% of the overall variance of the data class, successfully distinguishing BB and RB signals. LDA and PRNN that use nonlinear time-series parameters identify and predict RB and BB signals with 100% accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision. Novelty: The study divulges the potential of non-linear measures and PSD features in classifying these signals enabling its application to be extended for low-cost, non-invasive COVID-19 detection and real-time health monitoring.

Covid-19 je na svetovni ravni okrepil državni nadzor, vse pogosteje moramo posegati po osebnih dokumentih, pri čemer je osrednji subjekt identifikacije postal človeški obraz – na katerem temeljijo tudi najnovejše tehnologije nadzora.

A first report of unveiling the fractality and fractal nature of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS CoV-2) responsible for the pandemic disease widely known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is presented. The fractal analysis of the electron microscopic and atomic force microscopic images of 40 coronaviruses (CoV), by the normal and differential box-counting method, reveals its fractal structure. The generalised dimension indicates the multifractal nature of the CoV. The higher value of fractal dimension and lower value of Hurst exponent (H) suggest higher complexity and greater roughness. The statistical analysis of generalised dimension and H is understood through the notched box plot. The study on CoV clusters also confirms its fractal nature. The scale-invariant value of the box-counting fractal dimension of CoV yields a value of 1.820. The study opens the possibility of exploring the potential of fractal analysis in the medical diagnosis of SARS CoV-2.