Persian Heritage Image Binarization Competition (PHIBC 2012)

The first competition on the binarization of historical Persian documents and manuscripts (PHIBC 2012) has been organized in conjunction with the first Iranian conference on pattern recognition and image analysis (PRIA 2013). The main objective of PHIBC 2012 is to evaluate performance of the binarization methodologies, when applied on the Persian heritage images. This paper provides a report on the methodology and performance of the three submitted algorithms based on evaluation measures has been used.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, conferenc

A Set of Criteria for Face Detection Preprocessing

AbstractThe goal of this paper is to provide a robust set of preprocessing steps to be used with any face detection system. Usually, the purpose of using preprocessing steps in face detection system is to speed up the detection process and reducing false positives. A preprocessing step should reject an acceptable amount of non-face windows. First proposed criterion is based on linear image transform (LIT) which ignores scanning a number of non-face windows. Second criterion utilizes regional minima (RM) to reject non-face windows. The last one uses a modified adaptive thresholding (ADT) technique to convert input image into a binary representation and perform an exclusion process on the latter form. The proposed criteria have been used in conjunction with a version of Viola-Jones face detector. Experimental results show significant advantage against early exclusion criterion or variance classifier in terms of speed and rejection rate. CMU-MIT and BioID datasets have been used in the experiments

Incorporating Betweenness Centrality in Compressive Sensing for Congestion Detection

This paper presents a new Compressive Sensing (CS) scheme for detecting network congested links. We focus on decreasing the required number of measurements to detect all congested links in the context of network tomography. We have expanded the LASSO objective function by adding a new term corresponding to the prior knowledge based on the relationship between the congested links and the corresponding link Betweenness Centrality (BC). The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by simulations on two real datasets. The results demonstrate that our model outperformed the state-of-the-art CS based method with significant improvements in terms of F-Score

Diagnostic Value of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography and Digital Periapical Radiography in Detection of Separated Instruments

Introduction: File Fracture is one of the most common problems during root canal treatment which can affect treatment procedure and prognosis, so it is important to diagnose and prevent it. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and digital periapical radiography for detection of separated instrument retained inside the canal. Methods and Materials: Ninety single-rooted extracted human teeth were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups (n=30). Group 1, separated file #10 at the 2-mm apical third of the root canal; group 2, separated file #35 at the 2-mm apical third of the root canal; and group 3, without a broken file (control group). The teeth were instrumented to size #30 and were shaped to size #55 and then the canals were obturated up to separated instrument, or the working length for the teeth without a separated instrument, with lateral condensation technique. After that all teeth were placed in dry skull, digital radiography and CBCT was taken. After data collection, data was analyzed using SPSS software by means of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and frequency tables. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of digital periapical radiography in detection of a fractured file #10 in the canal was 96.7% and 63.3%, 76.7%, 73.1%, 67.6%, 70%, for CBCT, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of digital periapical radiography in detection of a fracture file #35 in the canal was 93.3%, 96.7%, 96.6%, 93.5% and 95%, and 36.7%, 76.7%, 61.1%, 54.8%, 56.66%, for CBCT, respectively. Conclusion: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of digital periapical radiography was better than the CBCT technique in both sizes of broken files.Keywords: Broken File; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Digital Radiography; Separated Instrumen

Evaluating the Accuracy of Two Microleakage Assessment Methods for Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Calcium-enriched Mixture Cement

Introduction: Multiple methods for evaluating microleakage have been introduced over the years, but there has been no agreement as to which technique will give more accurate results. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and results of fluid filtration and marginal adaptation methods for mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement apical plugs. Methods and Materials: A total of 250 single-rooted human teeth were collected. The teeth were decoronated, the root canals were prepared and open apex condition was stimulated by passing #1 to 4 Peeso Reamer drills from apical foramen. Five teeth were selected as the positive and negative controls and the rest of the samples were randomly allocated to two groups of MTA and CEM cement plugs. In each group, apical plug was placed into the canal. After the apical plugs were completely set, microleakage and marginal adaptation of the samples were evaluated using fluid filtration method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The obtained results were analyzed by independent-samples t test. Results: Gap between plug and dentin walls and air bubbles displacement was higher in MTA group compared to the CEM cement group, though this difference between MTA group and CEM cement group was not statistically significant. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it seems that there is a direct relationship between the two methods of microleakage assessment. Keywords: Calcium-enriched Mixture Cement; Marginal Adaptation; Microleakage; Mineral Trioxide Aggregat

Comparison of peritonsillar infiltration effects of ketamine and tramadol on post tonsillectomy pain: a double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

Aim To assess the effect of peritonsillar infiltration of ketamine and tramadol on post tonsillectomy pain and compare the side effects. Methods The double-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 126 patients aged 5-12 years who had been scheduled for elective tonsillectomy. The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups to receive either ketamine, tramadol, or placebo. They had American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class I and II. All patients underwent the same method of anesthesia and surgical procedure. The three groups did not differ according to their age, sex, and duration of anesthesia and surgery. Post operative pain was evaluated using CHEOPS score. Other parameters such as the time to the first request for analgesic, hemodynamic elements, sedation score, nausea, vomiting, and hallucination were also assessed during 12 hours after surgery. Results Tramadol group had significantly lower pain scores (P = 0.005), significantly longer time to the first request for analgesic (P = 0.001), significantly shorter time to the beginning of liquid regimen (P = 0.001), and lower hemodynamic parameters such as blood pressure (P = 0.001) and heart rate (P = 0.001) than other two groups. Ketamine group had significantly greater presence of hallucinations and negative behavior than tramadol and placebo groups. The groups did not differ significantly in the presence of nausea and vomiting. Conclusion Preoperative peritonsillar infiltration of tramadol can decrease post-tonsillectomy pain, analgesic consumption, and the time to recovery without significant side effects

Performance Assessment of Ancient Wind Catchers - an Experimental and Analytical Study

AbstractWind catchers – “Baud-Geers” in Persian– are the main component of the traditional buildings in the hot regions of Iran. A Baud-Geer is a tower linked to a building that uses wind to provide natural ventilation and passive cooling. This passive renewable strategy offers the opportunity to improve the ambient comfort conditions in buildings whilst reducing the energy consumption of air-conditioning systems. In this research the natural ventilation performance of a typical wind tower in a hot dry central region of Iran -Yazd city- is studied. The tower is equipped with wind, temperature, air-velocity and solar sensors to acquire a climatic database. Using the measured data, the theoretical values of the ventilation rates are estimated and analysed to assess the performance of the wind tower. Additionally the data collected from the on-site measurements will assist in the validation of a CFD computer model. Finally the findings from this field study will lead to a discussion on the potential of Baud-Geers in achieving thermal comfort. This can contribute to energy savings for cooling and to the reuse and reappraisal of wind towers in Iran

Identifcation of Candida Species Isolated From Oral Colonization in Iranian HIV-Positive Patients, by PCR-RFLP Method.

Background: The incidence of opportunistic infections due to Candida albicans and other Candida spp. has been increasing. Rapid identifcation of candidiasis is important for the clinical management of immunocompromised patients. Polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) is a rapid, sensitive, and specifc method for detection of clinically important fungi. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify Candida spp. isolated from the oral cavities of HIV-infected patients in southeastern Iran (Kerman), by using PCR-based restriction enzyme digestion. Patients and Methods: We identifed 96 Candida isolates obtained from 139 Iranian patients infected with the human immunodefciency virus (HIV), between April 2009 and April 2010, by using PCR-RFLP assay. Universal primers for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1–ITS4) of the fungal rRNA genes were used for this assay. Results: We successfully identifed the different Candida spp. by using the restriction enzyme MspI. C. albicans was the most commonly identifed species (82.2%), followed by C. glabrata (7.29%), C. parapsilosis and C. kefyr (both 4.1%), and C. tropicalis (2%). Conclusions: PCR-RFLP is a highly sensitive, specifc, and direct method for fungal detection and can be used for fungal epidemiological studies in HIV-positive and other immunocompromised patients