A generalized entropy-based two-phase threshold algorithm for noisy medical image edge detection

[EN] Edge detection in medical imaging is a significant task for object recognition of human organs and is considered a pre-processing step in medical image segmentation and reconstruction. This article proposes an efficient approach based on generalized Hill entropy to find a good solution for detecting edges under noisy conditions in medical images. The proposed algorithm uses a two-phase thresholding: firstly, a global threshold calculated by means of generalized Hill entropy is used to separate the image into object and background. Afterwards, a local threshold value is determined for each part of the image. The final edge map image is a combination of these two separate images based on the three calculated thresholds. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared to Canny and Tsallis entropy using sets of medical images corrupted by various types of noise. We used Pratt's Figure Of Merit (PFOM) as a quantitative measure for an objective comparison. Experimental results indicated that the proposed algorithm displayed superior noise resilience and better edge detection than Canny and Tsallis entropy methods for the four different types of noise analyzed, and thus it can be considered as a very interesting edge detection algorithm on noisy medical images. (c) 2017 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and by FEDER funds under Grant BFU2015-64380-C2-2-R.Elaraby, A.; Moratal, D. (2017). A generalized entropy-based two-phase threshold algorithm for noisy medical image edge detection. Scientia Iranica. 24(6):3247-3256. https://doi.org/10.24200/sci.2017.43593247325624

Synthesis of Gemini cationic surfactants based on natural nicotinic acid and evaluation of their inhibition performance at C-steel/1 M HCl interface: Electrochemical and computational investigations

Herein, we prepare effective Gemini cationic surfactants (CSII, CSIV) and characterize them using FT-IR and 1HNMR spectroscopy. The adsorptive properties of CSII and CSIV at HCl/air and C-steel/HCl interfaces were examined with surface tension and electrochemical parameters, respectively. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the CSII and CSIV indicated their adsorption affinity at the HCl/air interface. Where, aliphatic chains increase surface coverage percentage and aid in surfactant adsorption. The electrochemical parameters of C-steel in 1 M HCl were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) at different temperatures. The charge transfer resistance of the C-steel electrode was enhanced from 28.2 Ω.cm2 to 770.79 and 831.45 Ω.cm2 after adding 5 × 10−4 M of CSII and CSIV, respectively. Both CSII and CSIV act as mixed inhibitors with inhibition performance exceeding 97% due to their highly adsorption affinity. The chemical adsorption affinity of these compounds is suggested by the higher adsorption energy (∆G*ads) values (>−40 kJ mol−1) according to the Langmuir isotherm model. The theoretical calculations including DFT, and Monte Carlo simulation (MCs) provide insight into the relationship between corrosion inhibition and molecular structure, where the calculated parameters agree with the experimental results

Theoretical and electrochemical evaluation of tetra-cationic surfactant as corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in 1 M HCl

Abstract Recently, scientist study the role of surfactants for carbon steel corrosion protection. In the present study, newly tetra-cationic surfactant (CS4: 1,N1'-(ethane–1,2-diyl) bis (N1, N2—didodecyl–N2–(2- (((E)-3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-benzylidene)amino)ethyl)ethane-1,2-diaminium) chloride) based on Schiff-base compound(5,5'-((1E,17E)-2,5,8,11,14,17-hexaazaoctadeca-1,17-diene-1,18-diyl)bis(2-methoxyphenol) was synthesised, purified and characterized using FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy. The synthesized Tetra-cationic surfactant (CS4) was evaluated as anti-corrosion for carbon steel (CS-metal) in aggressive 1 M HCl using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques (PDP). CS4 compound had a good surface-active property by reducing the surface tension as a result to the hydrophobic chains role. The prepared CS4 behaved as hybrid inhibitor (mixed-type) by blocking the anodic and cathodic sites. CS4 exhibited good inhibition efficiency reached 95.69%. The surface morphology of CS-metal was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)confirming the anti-corrosive effect of CS4 compound returned into the adsorption process of CS4 molecules over CS-metal which obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibitive effect of CS4 was supported by theoretical quantum chemical studies using the density functional theory (DFT), Monte Carlo (MC) and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulation

Edge Detection of Noisy Medical Images Based Mixed Entropy

Edge detection of medical image has used as one of diagnostics techniques largely applied for the doctor's diagnosis determination. Although the edge detection of medical images is existing since years but it is still challenging and scope of research. It has been found that the previous used algorithms were not able to produce optimized or ideal results in different cases. In most applications, medical images contain object boundaries and object shadows and noise. Therefore, they may be difficult to distinguish the exact edge from noise or trivial geometric features. In this paper, we propose a new efficient algorithm for edge detection of noisy medical images based on mixed entropy. Mixed entropy  is defined in order to suppress noise and adapt to different edge in the image. Our target is to get the best edge representation under noise effect. The performance of our algorithm is compared against other methods using images corrupted with various levels of "salt and pepper". It is observed that the proposed algorithm displayed superior noise resilience and decrease the computation time. The results indicate the accuracy of the proposed edge-detection method is superior to that of conventional edge-detection methods for medical image. Keywords: Edge Detection; Medical Images ; Entropy; Noisy Image

A Novel Algorithm for Edge Detection of Noisy Medical Images

Medical image edge detection is an important work for object recognition of the human organs, and it is an essential pre-processing step in medical image segmentation and 3D reconstruction. Although many edge-detection evaluation methods have been developed in the past years, however this is still a challenging and unsolved problem. Conventionally, edge is detected according to some early brought forward algorithms like Canny, LOG, Sobel, Prewitt, Roberts algorithms but in theory they belong to the high pass filtering, which are not fit for noise medical image edge detection because noise and edge belong to the scope of high frequency. In real world applications, medical images contain object boundaries and object shadows and noise. Therefore, they may be difficult to distinguish the exact edge from noise or trivial geometric features. After studying all traditional methods of edge detection, it has been analyzed that for these situations, a new algorithm is needed which is optimal. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for edge detection of noisy medical images based on both Tsallis and Shannon entropy together. The performance of our method is compared against other methods by using blood cells image corrupted with various levels of "salt and pepper". It is observed that the proposed algorithm displayed superior noise resilience and decrease the computation time

Saving lives through road safety risk factor interventions: global and national estimates

Global road mortality is a leading cause of death in many low-income and middle-income countries. Data to support priority setting under current resource constraints are urgently needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6. This Series paper estimates the potential number of lives saved if each country implemented interventions to address risk factors for road injuries. We did a systematic review of all available evidence-based, preventive interventions for mortality reduction that targeted the four main risk factors for road injuries (ie, speeding, drink driving, helmet use, and use of seatbelt or child restraint). We used literature review variables and considered three key country-level variables (gross domestic product per capita, population density, and government effectiveness) to generate country-specific estimates on the potential annual attributable number of lives that would be saved by interventions focusing on these four risk factors in 185 countries. Our results suggest that the implementation of evidence-based road safety interventions that target the four main road safety risk factors could prevent between 25% and 40% of all fatal road injuries worldwide. Interventions addressing speed could save about 347 258 lives globally per year, and at least 16 304 lives would be saved through drink driving interventions. The implementation of seatbelt interventions could save about 121 083 lives, and 51 698 lives could be saved by helmet interventions. We identify country-specific estimates of the potential number of lives saved that would be attributable to these interventions. Our results show the potential effectiveness of the implementation and scaling of these interventions. This paper presents key evidence for priority setting on road safety interventions and shows a path for reaching SDG 3.6

Behavioural factors associated with fear of litigation as a driver for the increased use of caesarean sections : a scoping review

Objective To explore the behavioural drivers of fear of litigation among healthcare providers influencing caesarean section (CS) rates. Design Scoping review. Data sources We searched MEDLINE, Scopus and WHO Global Index (1 January 2001 to 9 March 2022). Data extraction and synthesis Data were extracted using a form specifically designed for this review and we conducted content analysis using textual coding for relevant themes. We used the WHO principles for the adoption of a behavioural science perspective in public health developed by the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Behavioural Sciences and Insights to organise and analyse the findings. We used a narrative approach to summarise the findings. Results We screened 2968 citations and 56 were included. Reviewed articles did not use a standard measure of influence of fear of litigation on provider's behaviour. None of the studies used a clear theoretical framework to discuss the behavioural drivers of fear of litigation. We identified 12 drivers under the three domains of the WHO principles: (1) cognitive drivers: availability bias, ambiguity aversion, relative risk bias, commission bias and loss aversion bias; (2) social and cultural drivers: patient pressure, social norms and blame culture and (3) environmental drivers: legal, insurance, medical and professional, and media. Cognitive biases were the most discussed drivers of fear of litigation, followed by legal environment and patient pressure. Conclusions Despite the lack of consensus on a definition or measurement, we found that fear of litigation as a driver for rising CS rates results from a complex interaction between cognitive, social and environmental drivers. Many of our findings were transferable across geographical and practice settings. Behavioural interventions that consider these drivers are crucial to address the fear of litigation as part of strategies to reduce CS

Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Adults in Saudi Arabia: Consensus Recommendations from the Dermatological Expert Group

Abdullah Alakeel,1 Afaf Al Sheikh,2,3 Ali A Alraddadi,4– 6 Khalid Mohammed Alattas,7 Maha Aldayel,8 Mohammed Abdulaziz Alajlan,9 Mohammed Al-Haddab,1 Mohammad Almohideb,3,10 Mohamed Fatani,11 Issam R Hamadah,12 Ruaa Alharithy,13,14 Yousef Binamer,15,16 Kim Papp,17 Ahmed Elaraby18 1Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Dermatology, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Dermatology, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5King Abdullah International Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 6King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 7King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 8Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 9Dermatology Section MSD, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 10King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 11Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 12King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 13Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 14Princess Nourah University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 15Department of Dermatology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 16Department of Dermatology, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 17Probity Medical Research Inc. and K. Papp Clinical Research Inc., Waterloo, ON, Canada; 18Bachelor of pharmacy, Cairo University, Giza, EgyptCorrespondence: Issam R Hamadah, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a long-term, pruritic, recurrent, systemic, inflammatory skin disorder. In the Middle East region, the burden of AD is understudied, and there is a dearth of AD guideline documents for practitioners.Methods: An expert panel meeting, encompassing 12 dermatologists from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), was congregated to develop evidence- and experience-based consensus recommendations for AD management, especially in adults in KSA. They completed a questionnaire with seven clinical statements, and a consensus was defined when the responses of ≥ 75% of participants coincided.Results: The expert recommendations were as follows: American Association of Dermatology guidelines are to be followed for defining AD; Eczema Area and Severity Index or SCORing atopic dermatitis index may be used to quantify the disease severity; Dermatology Life Quality Index may be used to determine the impact of AD on patients’ quality of life; Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool may be used to assess long-term disease control in AD patients; and the European guidelines are to be followed for the management of AD. In AD patients who are inadequately controlled with topical or systemic therapies, the preferred systemic agent for use either alone or in combination with topical treatments is dupilumab, cyclosporine, methotrexate, phototherapy, or other available systemic treatments that may include mycophenolate mofetil or oral corticosteroids.Conclusion: These expert recommendations assist physicians by providing a reference framework for optimal care of adult AD patients.Keywords: atopic dermatitis, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Eczema Area and Severity Index, SCORing atopic dermatiti