Bitplanes Block Based Exact Image Compression

Abstract: In this paper, an exact image compression based on bit-planes blocking is proposed. The proposed algorithm uses two bit codes for block representation. The codes represent the states of Unicode block and non-Unicode. The algorithm considers further division to non-Unicode block. The block division continues until the smallest block size which are kept as residuals. The smallest block size in the study is two by two. The main process of encoding consumed three codes. Subsequent process uses the fourth code for further compression. The resultant file is subject to further exact compression. The compression technique considered in this study is Huffman. The compression-decompression implementation complexity is comparable with the well-known methods. Also, the compression ratio for the algorithm is comparable with well-known methods. The algorithm parallelization is straightforward and dependent on number of planes. Within a plane, the process hardware realization is simple and does on require special hardware

Bitplanes Block Based Lossy Image Compression

Abstract: In a former paper [21], an exact image compression based on bit-planes blocking was proposed. The proposed algorithm uses two bit codes for block representation. The outcome of the encoding process is two streams: Main Bit Stream, MBS and Residual Bit Stream, RBS. The algorithm core is searching for the greatest block of Unicode to encode in main stream and if not found until size of two by two then it will be kept as is in residual stream. In this paper, a lossy version of that algorithm is presented. The change in the base algorithm is in the definition of the unary-code-block is eased to be above certain percent. The percent is varied from plane to another as their contribution to image power varies. The testing of the proposed algorithm shows comparable results. Image degradations seems restorable even for high compression ratios

Effect of Discharge Plan on Outcomes of Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery

Context: Discharge planning for patients undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery is considered a strategy for promoting their home and community outcomes. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the discharge plan's effect on patients' outcomes with lumbar disc herniation surgery. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized to conduct this study. The study was conducted in the neurosurgical ward at El-Demerdash hospital and outpatient clinic at Ain Shams University Hospital, affiliated to Ain Shams University. A purposive sample of 60 patients with lumbar disc herniation surgery was selected according to specific inclusion criteria. The sample size was determined statistically by power analysis considering the total number of patients with lumbar disc herniation surgery in El Demerdash hospital (2016). Tools of the study included patients’ interviewing questionnaire regarding patients’ demographic characteristics, assessment of patients' knowledge, and patients' outcomes assessment tools that include Oswestry disability index, the lower extremity functional scale, and the social dysfunction scale and SF36 to assess psychological outcome. Results: The present study revealed that the mean age of the patients under study was 39.58±8.69, 60% of them were females, and there was a highly statistically significant difference among patients under study throughout discharge planning phases regarding their knowledge, their level of disability, their lower extremity functional scale, total social dysfunction, and total psychological outcomes pre and at follow-up. There were statistically significant relations between patients' level of knowledge and their outcome pre and three months after implementing the discharge plan. Conclusion: Application of discharge planning regarding lumbar disc herniation surgery improved patients' outcomes. The discharge plan should be available in the neurosurgical department and clinic for all patients who will be undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery and should be updated periodically. &nbsp

Screening of Guava genotypes to natural infestation of fruit flies (Diptera:Tephritidae) in River Nile, Sennar and North Kordofan States, Sudan

The infesting species and their infestation indices of fruit flies were determined for guava genotypes (Psidium guajava L.),grown in River Nile, Sennar and North Kordofan States during the period from June to August 2010 .Twenty genotypes were selected from each state to be evaluated ,where ten mature fruits from each genotypes were harvested randomly from insecticide unsprayed trees. Fruits were brought to the laboratory and placed in individual plastic vials containing sand at the bottom to obtain the pupae. Infestation indices were estimated by means of total number of pupae/fruit. Pupal viability was then calculated based on the percentage of pupae resulted in fly emergence. Data was analyzed using analysis of variance and Duncan multiple range test for mean separations. Results showed that Guava fruits were infested by four fruit fly species Ceratitis cosyra, C.quinaira, C capitata and Bactrocera dorsalis constitute (82.2), (0.8), (16.7), (0.3% ) and 28.35 ,0.01 ,10.1 and 61.56% in River Nile and Sennar States respectively. While in North Kordofan State guava fruits were infested by C.cosyra, C.capitat and B.dorsalis 98.4,0.4 and 1.2% respectively. All the evaluated genotypes in River Nile and Sennar States were infested by the fruit fly with varying degrees only two genotypes 15 red flesh fruit and 19 white flesh fruit in Kordofan state were found free from fruit fly infestation. Infestation was much higher in Sennar and River Nile states (32 and 29 pupae/fruit) respectively compared to North Kordofan (1.6 pupae/fruit).The higher infestation rate occurred in ripe guava fruits (33) compared to 18 and 6 pupae/fruit in mature green and immature green fruit respectively

Optical coherence properties of Kramers' rare-earth ions at the nanoscale for quantum applications

Rare-earth (RE) ion doped nano-materials are promising candidates for a range of quantum technology applications. Among RE ions, the so-called Kramers' ions possess spin transitions in the GHz range at low magnetic fields, which allows for high-bandwidth multimode quantum storage, fast qubit operations as well as interfacing with superconducting circuits. They also present relevant optical transitions in the infrared. In particular, Er$^{3+}$ has an optical transition in the telecom band, while Nd$^{3+}$ presents a high-emission-rate transition close to 890 nm. In this paper, we measure spectroscopic properties that are of relevance to using these materials in quantum technology applications. We find the inhomogeneous linewidth to be 10.7 GHz for Er$^{3+}$ and 8.2 GHz for Nd$^{3+}$, and the excited state lifetime T$_1$ to be 13.68 ms for Er$^{3+}$ and 540 $\mu$s for Nd$^{3+}$. We study the dependence of homogeneous linewidth on temperature for both samples, with the narrowest linewidth being 379 kHz (T$_2$ = 839 ns) for Er$^{3+}$ measured at 3 K, and 62 kHz (T$_2$ = 5.14 $\mu$s) for Nd$^{3+}$ measured at 1.6 K. Further, we investigate time-dependent homogeneous linewidth broadening due to spectral diffusion and the dependence of homogeneous linewidth on magnetic field, in order to get additional clarity of mechanisms that can influence the coherence time. In light of our results, we discuss two applications: single qubit-state readout and a Fourier-limited single photon source.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Estimating the burden of disease attributable to a diet low in fruit and vegetables in South Africa for 2000, 2006 and 2012

Background. Low intake of fruit and vegetables is associated with an increased risk of various non-communicable diseases, including major causes of death and disability such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and cancers. Diets low in fruit and vegetables are prevalent in the South African (SA) population, and average intake is well below the internationally recommended threshold. Objectives. To estimate the burden of disease attributable to a diet low in fruit and vegetables by sex and age group in SA for the years 2000, 2006 and 2012. Methods. We followed World Health Organization and Global Burden of Disease Study comparative risk assessment methodology. Population attributable fractions – calculated from fruit and vegetable intake estimated from national and local surveys and relative risks for health outcomes based on the current literature – were applied to the burden estimates from the second South African National Burden of Disease Study (SANBD2). Outcome measures included deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost from ischaemic heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and five categories of cancers. Results. Between 2000 and 2012, the average intake of fruit of the SA adult population (≥25 years) declined by 7%, from 48.5 g/d (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 46.6 - 50.5) to 45.2 g/d (95% UI 42.7 - 47.6). Vegetable intake declined by 25%, from 146.9 g/d (95% UI 142.3 - 151.8) to 110.5 g/d (95% UI 105.9 - 115.0). In 2012, these consumption patterns are estimated to have caused 26 423 deaths (95% UI 24 368 - 28 006), amounting to 5.0% (95% UI 4.6 - 5.3%) of all deaths in SA, and the loss of 514 823 (95% UI 473 508 - 544 803) healthy life years or 2.5% (95% UI 2.3 - 2.6%) of all DALYs. Cardiovascular disease comprised the largest proportion of the attributable burden, with 83% of deaths and 84% of DALYs. Age-standardised death rates were higher for males (145.1 deaths per 100 000; 95% UI 127.9 - 156.2) than for females (108.0 deaths per 100 000; 95% UI 96.2 - 118.1); in both sexes, rates were lower than those observed in 2000 (–9% and –12%, respectively). Conclusion. Despite the overall reduction in standardised death rates observed since 2000, the absolute burden of disease attributable to inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables in SA remains of significant concern. Effective interventions supported by legislation and policy are needed to reverse the declining trends in consumption observed in most age categories and to curb the associated burden

Estimating the changing burden of disease attributable to high fasting plasma glucose in South Africa for 2000, 2006 and 2012

Background. Worldwide, higher-than-optimal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) is among the leading modifiable risk factors associated with all- cause mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to the direct sequelae of diabetes and the increased risk for cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. Objectives. To report deaths and DALYs of health outcomes attributable to high FPG by age and sex for South Africa (SA) for 2000, 2006 and 2012. Methods. Comparative risk assessment methodology was used to estimate the burden attributable to high FPG. A meta-regression analysis was performed using data from national and small-area studies to estimate the population distribution of FPG and diabetes prevalence. Attributable fractions were calculated for selected health outcomes and applied to local burden estimates from the second South African National Burden of Disease Study (SANBD2). Age-standardised rates were calculated using World Health Organization world standard population weights. Results. We estimated a 5% increase in mean FPG from 5.31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.18 - 5.43) mmol/L to 5.57 (95% CI 5.41 - 5.72) mmol/L and a 75% increase in diabetes prevalence from 7.3% (95% CI 6.7 - 8.3) to 12.8% (95% CI 11.9 - 14.0) between 2000 and 2012. The age-standardised attributable death rate increased from 153.7 (95% CI 126.9 - 192.7) per 100 000 population in 2000 to 203.5 (95% CI 172.2 - 240.8) per 100 000 population in 2012, i.e. a 32.4% increase. During the same period, age-standardised attributable DALY rates increased by 43.8%, from 3 000 (95% CI 2 564 - 3 602) per 100 000 population in 2000 to 4 312 (95% CI 3 798 - 4 916) per 100 000 population in 2012. In each year, females had similar attributable death rates to males but higher DALY rates. A notable exception was tuberculosis, with an age-standardised attributable death rate in males double that in females in 2000 (14.3 v. 7.0 per 100 000 population) and 2.2 times higher in 2012 (18.4 v. 8.5 per 100 000 population). Similarly, attributable DALY rates were higher in males, 1.7 times higher in 2000 (323 v. 186 per 100 000 population) and 1.6 times higher in 2012 (502 v. 321 per 100 000 population). Between 2000 and 2012, the age-standardised death rate for chronic kidney disease increased by 98.3% (from 11.7 to 23.1 per 100 000 population) and the DALY rate increased by 116.9% (from 266 to 578 per 100 000 population). Conclusion. High FPG is emerging as a public health crisis, with an attributable burden doubling between 2000 and 2012. The consequences are costly in terms of quality of life, ability to earn an income, and the economic and emotional burden on individuals and their families. Urgent action is needed to curb the increase and reduce the burden associated with this risk factor. National data on FPG distribution are scant, and efforts are warranted to ensure adequate monitoring of the effectiveness of the interventions

Object-based VQ for image compression

In this paper, a vector quantization algorithm is proposed for image compression. The proposed algorithm composed of three phases, initialization, iterative and finalization. The initialization phase based on Max–Min algorithm. The iterative phase is an adaptive LBG algorithm. The finalization frees the codebook from redundancy. The LBG adapted to locate the codebook points to line up across the boundary of the objects they represent. The algorithm testing results showed that images main features sustain the high compression ratios. The same algorithm is applicable to codebook bins to improve the quality for the areas that have fine details

Easy blood gas analysis: Implications for nursing

Arterial blood gas analysis is a common investigation in emergency departments and intensive care units for monitoring patients with acute respiratory failure. It also has some applications in general practice, such as assessing the need for domiciliary oxygen therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An arterial blood gas result can help in the assessment of a patient’s gas exchange, ventilatory control and acid–base balance. Nurses are usually involved in taking and analyzing the ABGs and normally they report these results to the doctors or anesthesiologists. Out of these results the anesthesiologists will then prescribe further treatment for the critically ill patient. Hence, it is important that nurses are familiar with the information obtained to be able to detect the disturbances in ventilation, oxygen delivery and acid–base balance

Effect of premodulated interferential current versus diadynamic current on the management of lateral elbow tendinopathy

Study aim: To compare the effect of premodulated interferential current (PREMOD IFC) and diadynamic current (DD) with exercise training on the management of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET)