Improving the Sharpness of Digital Images Using a Modified Laplacian Sharpening Technique

Many imaging systems produce images with deficient sharpness due to different real limitations. Hence, various image sharpening techniques have been used to improve the acutance of digital images. One of such is the well-known Laplacian sharpening technique. When implementing the basic Laplacian technique for image sharpening, two main drawbacks were detected. First, the amount of introduced sharpness cannot be increased or decreased. Second, in many situations, the resulted image suffers from a noticeable increase in brightness around the sharpened edges. In this article, an improved version of the basic Laplacian technique is proposed, wherein it contains two key modifications of weighting the Laplace operator to control the introduced sharpness and tweaking the second order derivatives to provide adequate brightness for recovered edges. To perform reliable experiments, only real-degraded images were used, and their accuracies were measured using a specialized no-reference image quality assessment metric. From the obtained experimental results, it is evident that the proposed technique outperformed the comparable techniques in terms of recorded accuracy and visual appearance

Determinants of CEO pay: an examination of the Hadrami charitable foundations

Although the nonprofit sector is enormous, corporate governance, particularly the role of CEO pay, has received very little attention in this sector. This study is examining CEO pay in Hadrami nonprofit organizations. For this purpose, this study uses firm characteristics (sector of the organization and organizational size) and CEO characteristics (CEO's qualifications, CEO's experience, CEO duality, and CEO's tenure) to ex-mine the impact on CEO pay. A web-based questionnaire was considered an appropriate method for this study. The sample was selected from nonprofit organizations listed on Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs that operate in Hadramout (90 charitable foundations). A total of 57 CEOs responded to the questionnaire, generating a 63.33% response rate. Using multiple regression analysis, the results of this study indicate that the size of organization and CEO's qualifications have significant influence on CEO pay. Other variables namely, sector of the organization, CEO's experience, CEO duality, and CEO's tenure have no significant impact on CEO pay

The Effect of Rehabilitation Exercises Accompanied by The Shock Wave Device on The Strength of Some Muscles and Chronic Lower Back Pain for Weightlifters

Athletes who engage in sports that demand the use of great force to overcome great resistance—like weightlifters—are subjected to various loads during training that place stress on their bodies, particularly the musculoskeletal system. As a result, it is common for these athletes to experience lower back pain. One of the most common consequences of spinal injuries that needs to be treated is chronic lower back pain. Natural therapeutic approaches are among the significant and secure approaches that the world has recently started to focus on with great strides, as contemporary methods and techniques have been applied, Physical therapy facilities have used a wide range of treatment techniques, but take caution Shockwave electrophoresis using the shockwave apparatus is an effective method that targets enhancing the muscles' capacity to resume their original function. The purpose of the research was to develop rehabilitation workouts that would work with the shock wave strength gadget. For weightlifters, some lower back stiffness and muscular soreness over time. Find out how exercise affects Treatment for persistent lower back pain with the shock wave gadget enhances muscular strength. For those who exercise weights in between pre- and post-tests. Using a single experimental group design, the researcher used the experimental technique to identify the research community. The Karbala Governorate is home to weightlifting athletes, five of them are wounded

Thematization of Power in D. H. Lawrence’s Women in Love with reference to Nietzsche’s - The Will to Power

This paper gives a brief discussion on Nietzsche's - The Will to Power. It aims to thoroughly discuss how this theme has been reflected within the plot and characters of D. H. Lawrence novel Women in Love. This paper briefly talks about Nietzsche and his concept of The Will to Power, Nietzsche’s influence over Lawrence, the relationships between characters in Women in Love and their significances, and The Will to Power and conflicts for dominations. Subsequently, it focuses on the Will to Power between male and female. Also, it considers social status as a source of power and authority. Finally, this study concludes on the type of Will to Power that is mainly reflected in Women in Love

Insertion of Rotational Effects to the Calculation of J-Integrals Using Finite and Boundary Element Methods

The calculation of J-integrals for cases with rotational effects using the finite or boundary elements needs special treatment. In this work, an attempt is made to derive the J-integral expressions for cases with rotational loading conditions. New useful ideas for reducing domain integrals to boundary integrals and improving the accuracy of J-integrals are developed. The new ideas are implemented in finite and boundary element programs which were developed and validated in this work by taking a case study of central-cracked rotating disc with known analytical solution. The results of the developed programs show good agreements with the analytical solution

A linear relation to calculate one particle expectation value for 1S2 configuration for 2< Z

One particle expectation value for 1S2 configuration for Z =2 to 10 are evaluated by using Hartree-Fock-Roothaan (HFR) wavefunction. A linear relation are determined to describe these results, and this relation have tested to check its ability to calculate one particle expectation value for atoms with higher atomic numbers (Z = 2 to 100). Results are in good agreement with calculations given by [S.L. Saito Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables95, (2009) ,836-870] for Z<20

An Outcome-Based Assessment And Improvement System For Measuring Student Performance And Course Effectiveness

The evaluation of students’ expected performance and course effectiveness play a vital role in determining the course contribution toward meeting the program’s learning objectives or outcomes. The success of any course not only requires a well-designed syllabus with clearly defined course learning outcomes and the use of appropriate outcome-based teaching and assessment methods, but also a systematic approach to document and analyze the entire assessment data and results. Such an approach will be helpful in providing a better insight and understanding of students’ competency levels achieved in all course learning outcomes which ultimately would facilitate course instructors in their efforts to improve course curricula and to introduce reforms in teaching and assessment processes. This paper presents a simple and easy-to-use system that aids course instructors in recording and analyzing the results of various assessment instruments administered in their courses. A detailed analysis provided by the system would also guide curriculum planners and assessors in suggesting reforms and improvements at the program level

Effect of Watermelon Rind Powder on Gut Microbiome and Weight Loss in Obese Rats

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of watermelon rind powder on the blood lipid profile of male albino rats (Sprague-Dawley strain), weighing about 200–250 g) were separated randomly into two main groups as follows: The first main group -ve control = 6 rats) was given a basic diet. The second main group (24 rats) was fed a high-fat diet (10% sheep fat) for one month to induce obesity and hypercholesterolemia. Six rats were separated and fed on a high fat diet only as a control (positive group + ve), then the remaining 18 rats were separated into 3 subgroups (6 rats per group). These subgroups 1, 2, and 3 were fed on a basal diet mixed with watermelon rind powder at 5%, 10%, and 15%, respectively. All rats were killed after 8 weeks of experimentation in order to get their blood. LDL, HDL, VLDL, TG, ALT, AST, TC, and HB were determined. Results: Hypercholesterolemia rats fed on a basal diet mixed with watermelon rind powder showed significantly (P&lt;0.05) decreasing liver function enzymes, VLDL, LDL, TC, TG, and VLDL, with significantly (P&lt;0.05) increasing hemoglobin and HDL levels when contrasted with the control groups. Conclusion: Feeding on a basal diet mixed with watermelon rind powder could be utilized as a suitable therapy for obese cases and may lead to microbial diversity

Contemplation Impact of Pulp Seeds Cucurbita Pepo L. and its Paste on Oxidative Stress in Rats

Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds and seeds paste which are rich sources of phytochemicals and act as a rich source of antioxidants. The most important phytochemicals present in the cucurbits are cucurbitacin’s, saponins, carotenoids, phytosterols, and polyphenols. These bioactive phyto-constituents are responsible for the pharmacological effects including antioxidant effect. Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds and seeds paste on rats suffering from oxidative stress. Thirty-six male albino rats were used in the experiment (Sprague-Dawley strain). The animals randomly divided 6 rats each group according to the following the first Group: Rats were fed basal diet and set as negative control. The other rats (n = 30) were fed on basal diet containing monosodium glutamate (120 mg/kg) for induce stress condition. After that, rats further divided into 5 groups (n = 6) each for six weeks as follows: -2nd Group: Rats were fed on basal diet containing monosodium glutamate and set as positive control. 3rd Group: Rats were fed on diet containing monosodium glutamate with addition of Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds 5%. 4th Group: Rats were fed on diet containing monosodium glutamate with addition of Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds 10%. 5th Group: Rats were fed on diet containing monosodium glutamate with addition of Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds paste 5%. 6th Group: Rats were fed on diet containing monosodium glutamate with addition of Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds paste 10%. The experimental period was six weeks; Blood samples were collected. At the end of the experiment, the results showed that using seeds 5% &amp; 10% and seeds paste 5% &amp; 10% in feeding the stressed rats increased (BWG%, FI, FER, Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) with highest results in group fed on 10% seeds paste and decreased (Urea, Creatinine, ALT, AST, IL-6 and INF-gamma) with lowest results in group fed on 10% Cucurbita Pepo L. seeds paste