Modified Canny Detector-based Active Contour for Segmentation

In the present work, an integrated modified canny detector and an active contour were proposed for automated medical image segmentation. Since the traditional canny detector (TCD) detects only the edge’s pixels, which are insufficient for labelling the image, a shape feature was extracted to select the initial region of interest ‘IROI’ as an initial mask for the active contour without edge (ACWE), using a proposed modified canny detector (MCD). This procedure overcomes the drawback of the manual initialization of the mask location and shape in the traditional ACWE, which is sensitive to the shape of region of region of interest (ROI). The proposed method solves this problem by selecting the initial location and shape of the IROI using the MCD. Also, a post-processing stage was applied for more cleaning and smoothing the ROI. A practical computational time is achieved as the proposed system requires less than 5 minutes, which is significantly less than the required time using the traditional ACWE. The results proved the ability of the proposed method for medical image segmentation with average dice 87.54%

Modified Canny Detector-based Active Contour for Segmentation

In the present work, an integrated modified canny detector and an active contour were proposed for automated medical image segmentation. Since the traditional canny detector (TCD) detects only the edge’s pixels, which are insufficient for labelling the image, a shape feature was extracted to select the initial region of interest ‘IROI’ as an initial mask for the active contour without edge (ACWE), using a proposed modified canny detector (MCD). This procedure overcomes the drawback of the manual initialization of the mask location and shape in the traditional ACWE, which is sensitive to the shape of region of region of interest (ROI). The proposed method solves this problem by selecting the initial location and shape of the IROI using the MCD. Also, a post-processing stage was applied for more cleaning and smoothing the ROI. A practical computational time is achieved as the proposed system requires less than 5 minutes, which is significantly less than the required time using the traditional ACWE. The results proved the ability of the proposed method for medical image segmentation with average dice 87.54%

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

الصوت: فرانز فانون، إقبال أحمد، إدوارد سعيد / The Voice: Frantz Fanon, Eqbal Ahmad, and Edward Said

[This article explores the relation between Frantz Fanon, Eqbal Ahmad, and Edward Said, and their common intellectual project. The article argues that Ahmad, who worked with Fanon in the ranks of the Algerian National Liberation Front and who was later to become Said\u27s friend and mentor, constituted a link between the two men. The article does not trace influence, but rather explores the aspirations and performance of these three third-world intellectuals who could draw on their colonial burdens and their rich experiences, creating an inspiring project of the oppositional intellectual. /ترى كاتبة هذه المقالة أننا إن أردنا تناول العلاقة بين إدوارد سعيد وفرانز فانون فلا بد أن نفعل ذلك مروراﹰ بإقبال أحمد الذي ﺷﻜّﻞ حلقة وصل بينهما تتيح ﺍﺳﺘﻤﺮﺍﺭﻳﺔ نموذج المثقف الناقد المرتبط بقضايا التحرر عموماﹰ، والتحرر الوطني تحديداﹰ٠ إن حضور فانون في فكر سعيد يظل هامشياﹰ إن اقتصرنا على تتبع ما ورد عنه في كتابات سعيد، مغفلين الدلالة الأهم للاقتراب التدريجي والمتزايد من مشروع فانون (قراءة سعيد لهذا المشروع، وتطلعه لمواصلته) ، وهو اقتراب أتى متزامناﹰ مع اضطلاع سعيد بشكل متصاعد بدور سياسي٠ ومن هنا لا تتناول الكاتبة حضور فانون في كتاﺑﺔ سعيد، بل تتوقف عند ذلك التماس بين حياة فرانز فانون وإقبال أحمد وإدوارد سعيد، ثلاثة رجال محمّلون بوطأة التجربة الكولونيالية، اختاروا أن يلتقي وعيهم بتجارب أوطانهم بما اكتسبوه من معارف وخبرات في العواصم الكولونيالية، لتصبّ في تكوين مشروع ملهم للمثقف٠‬

THE SEARCH FOR A BLACK POETICS: A STUDY OF AFRO-AMERICAN CRITICAL WRITINGS.

Abstract not availabl

My Experience with Writing / ﺗﺠﺮﺑﺘﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻜﺘﺎﺑﺔ

[قدمت هذه الشهادة في أبريل ١٩٨٨ في سياق أبحاث الندوة الدولية حول فن القص والبلاغة في الأدبين الفرنسي والعربي في جامعة القاهرة۰ وفياها تتناول الأديبة والناقدة وأستذة الأدب الإنجليزي رضوى عاشور تجربتها في الإبداع وتربطها ربطاً مباشراً بحقوق الإنسان ورغبته في الحياة وسعيه إلى التحقق۰ وهذه مقتطفات من النص المترجم كاملاً في هذا العدد: أكتب لأني أحب الكتابة، أقصد أنني أحبها بشكل يجعل السؤال لماذا؟ يبدو غريباً وغير مفهوم٠ ومع ذلك فأنا أكتب أيضاً لأني أشعر بالخوف من الموت الذي يتربّص وما أعنيه هنا ليس فقط الموت في نهاية المطاف ولكن أيضاً الموت بأقنعته العديدة في الأركان والزوايا۰ في الشارع والبيت والمدرسة۰ أعني الوأد واغتيال الإمكانية۰ أنا امرأة عربية ومواطن من العالم الثالث وتراثي في الحالتين تراث الممؤدة۰ أعي هذه الحقيقة حتى العظم مني، وأخافها إلى حد الكتابة دفاعاً عن نفسي و عن آخرين بلا عدّ أشعر أنني مثلهم أو أنهم مثلي۰ أريد أن أكتب لأن الواقع يشعرني بالوحشة۰ الصمت يزيد وحشتي والبوح يفتح بابي فأذهب إلى الآخرين أو يأتون هم إليّ۰ الكتابة بالنسبة لي علاقة بأمور ثلاثة۰ علاقة بالواقع المحيط، وهو واقع أراه ذا صفة اجتماعية تاريخية أساساً، وعلاقة باللغة ومن ورائها التراث الثقافي والأدبي المتجسدين فيها ومن خلالها، وعلاقة بحرفة الكتابة والخبرات المكتسبة في الورشة اليومية۰ كانت مادة الرحلة جزءاً من سيرتي الذاتية وإن لم تكن تطرح أية صعوبات في فهمها والإحاطة بها۰ بدت الكتابة ممكنة۰ وكنت أرغب في تقديم شهادة على رحلتي الأمريكية تختلف وتتواصل مع مجموعة من النصوص التي كتبها أدباء مصريون ذهبوا إلى الغرب كطلاب علم وسجلوا في الغالب الأعم انبهارهم بالأنوار الإمبريالية۰ كانت تجربتي امتداداً لتجاربهم وإن كانت تختلف لأنني ذهبت بتشكك وخوف وربما حتى مرارة من الآخر الإمبريالي۰ كنت انتمي لجيل آخر، لي موقف إيديولوجي مغاير ثم أنني امرأة۰ كانت العين التي ترى والوعي الذي يصنّف مفردات التجربة وينتظمها يفرضان ضرورات مختلفة تنعكس على مضمون التجربة وكتابتها۰

The rule of the front and behind top edges of weirs on their hydraulic performance and working efficiency

The geometry of weirs is a prime factor influencing hydraulic performance and accuracy. One of the geometric components of weirs, is the situation of its top corners, are they sharp or rounded, and what is the most suitable radius of such rounding curves? The present study was conducted to examine the effect of using five different radius of curvature for both the upstream and downstream top corners of a clear over-fall weir on its hydraulic performance and accuracy. Eleven models of wooden weirs were shaped and prepared with five different values of rounding curvature. The prepared weir models were located in a laboratory tilting flume of 13.50 m length, 0.30 m width, and 0.30 m depth. The study was carried out in the Irrigation and Hydraulic Laboratory of the Civil Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Egypt. A discharge ranging from 2.0 to 22.0 dm3 s−1 was used, and through 66 experimental runs, all the necessary hydraulic parameters were measured, and recorded. The obtained data were tabulated, analyzed, plotted, and technically discussed. The main results and obtained conclusions proved that when the front weir top edge is curved the discharge coefficient increases up to 8%. Also, when both front, and behind weir top edges are curved the discharge coefficient increases up to 14%. At the same time the discharge coefficient has a maximum value when the radius of curvature in upstream and downstream top corners equals 20% of the height of the weir

The Surveillance of <i>Borrelia</i> Species in <i>Camelus dromedarius</i> and Associated Ticks: The First Detection of <i>Borrelia miyamotoi</i> in Egypt

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are emerging and re-emerging infections that have a worldwide impact on human and animal health. Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a severe zoonotic disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. Borrelia miyamotoi is a spirochete that causes relapsing fever (RF) and is genetically related to Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. However, there have been no reports of B. miyamotoi in Egypt, and the data on LB in camels is scarce. Thus, the present study was conducted to screen and genetically identify Borrelia spp. and B. miyamotoi in Egyptian camels and associated ticks using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods: A total of 133 blood samples and 1596 adult hard ticks were collected from Camelus dromedaries at Cairo and Giza slaughterhouses in Egypt. Tick species were identified by examining their morphology and sequencing the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene. Borrelia spp. was detected using nested PCR on the IGS (16S-23S) gene, and positive samples were genotyped using 16S rRNA and glpQ spp. genes specific for Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi, respectively. The positive PCR products were sequenced and analyzed by phylogenetic tree. Results: Analysis of the cox1 gene sequence revealed that the adult ticks belonged to three genera; Hyalomma (H), Amblyomma (Am), and Rhipicephalus (R), as well as 12 species, including H. dromedarii, H. marginatum, H. excavatum, H. anatolicum, R. annulatus, R. pulchellus, Am. testudinarium, Am. hebraeum, Am. lipidium, Am. variegatum, Am. cohaerens and Am. gemma. Borrelia spp. was found in 8.3% (11/133) of the camel blood samples and 1.3% (21/1596) of the ticks, respectively. Sequencing of the IGS (16S-23S) gene found that B. afzelii, detected from H. dromedarii and H. marginatum, and B. crocidurae, which belongs to the RF group, was detected from one blood sample. B. burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi were discovered in the blood samples and tick species. Phylogenetic analysis of the glpQ gene showed that the B. miyamotoi in this study was of the Asian and European types. Conclusions: These results suggest that the camels can be infected by Lyme borrelia and other Borrelia bacteria species. This study also provides the first insight into the presence of Borrelia miyamotoi and B. afzelii DNA in camels and associated ticks in Egypt

Green Synthesis of Metal-Organic Framework Bacterial Cellulose Nanocomposites for Separation Applications

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials that can be designed to act as selective adsorbents. Due to their high porosity they can possess very high adsorption capacities. However, overcoming the brittleness of these crystalline materials is a challenge for many industrial applications. In order to make use of MOFs for large-scale liquid phase separation processes they can be immobilized on solid supports. For this purpose, nanocellulose can be considered as a promising supporting material due to its high flexibility and biocompatibility. In this study a novel flexible nanocellulose MOF composite material was synthesised in aqueous media by a novel and straightforward in situ one-pot green method. The material consisted of MOF particles of the type MIL-100(Fe) (from Material Institute de Lavoisier, containing Fe(III) 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) immobilized onto bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers. The novel nanocomposite material was applied to efficiently separate arsenic and Rhodamine B from aqueous solution, achieving adsorption capacities of 4.81, and 2.77 mg g‒1, respectively. The adsorption process could be well modelled by the nonlinear pseudo-second-order fitting

Evaluating river driftwood as a feedstock for biochar production

International audienc