An Improved Dynamic Daltonization for Color-Blinds

Color-blindness is an inherited condition which leads to the sufferer not being able to distinguish between certain colors. One of the most widely used algorithms for enhancing a color-blind’s color perception of images is Daltonization. Non-iterative Daltonization leaves the possibility of modifying imperceptible colors into colors that already exist in an image. Iterative Daltonization method provides better results by overcoming this problem. This paper presents a new iterative Daltonization method for protanopes which uses hue to ensure imperceptible colors are not modified into colors similar to existing perceptible ones. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms similar existing methods

Eco-friendly Entrepreneurship to Promote Plastic Alternatives

Plastic production has become a global concern, including in Bangladesh. Among all types of plastic products, single-use plastic is considered treacherous and the most responsible for damaging the natural environment. To replace plastics on a daily usage basis, the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh have reiterated some initiatives to manufacture and promote plastic alternatives. This study aims to assess the market potential, existing challenges, and users’/customers’ perceptions of the plastic alternative industry in Bangladesh. Key informant interviews (KIIs) with structured questionnaires were conducted among 15 plastic alternative entrepreneurs and 30 customers through online platforms. The framework analysis method was used to analyse and interpret the collected data. Despite highlighting some challenges, plastic alternative entrepreneurs contribute significantly to replacing plastic products, and the market potential is quite promising for this industry. Moreover, this study portrays an efficacious inclination of consumer behaviours towards using plastic alternatives. By following the concept of the green economy, the entrepreneurs of the plastic alternative industry in Bangladesh are gradually able to replace plastic products and contribute toward building a sustainable city

Examining the prevalence, correlates and inequalities of undiagnosed hypertension in Nepal: a population-based cross-sectional study

Objective To examine the prevalence, correlates and sociodemographic inequalities of undiagnosed hypertension in Nepal. Design This study used cross-sectional 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. Undiagnosed patients with hypertension were defined as an NDHS respondent who was diagnosed as hypertensive (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg) during the survey, but never took any prescribed anti-hypertensive medicine to lower/control blood pressure and was never identified as having hypertension by a health professional prior the survey. Multiple binary logistic regression analysis was performed, and Concentration Index was measured. Setting Nepal. Participants Adult patients with hypertension. Results Among 3334 patients with hypertension, 50.4% remained undiagnosed during the survey in Nepal. Adjusted model reveals that patients who were male, belonged to households other than the highest wealth quintile, and lived in province 4 and province 5 were at higher risk of remaining undiagnosed for hypertension. Patients who were ≥65 years of age and were overweight/obese were at lower risk of remaining undiagnosed for hypertension. The poor-rich gap was 24.6 percentage points (Q1=64.1% vs Q5=39.6%) and poor:rich ratio was 1.6 (Q1/Q5=1.6) in the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension. Undiagnosed hypertension was disproportionately higher among lower socioeconomic status groups (Concentration Index, C=−0.18). Inequalities in the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension further varied across other geographic locations, including place of residence, ecological zones and administrative provinces. Conclusions Undiagnosed hypertension was highly prevalent in Nepal and there were substantial inequalities by sociodemographics and subnational levels. Increasing awareness, strengthening routine screening to diagnose hypertension at primary health service facilities and enactment of social health insurance policy may help Nepal to prevent and control this burden

Critical Success Factors of Retail and Wholesale Industry: A Case Study

This paper illustrate to identify critical success factors of retail and wholesale industry base on a case study. The rampant development of urban advancement in Malaysia has expanded the quantity of basic supply retail outlets that gives assortments of items. Due to this, clients are accustomed to visit different oulets. Retailer also acknowledged consumer loyalty playing a part in their business achivement. Therefore, it has become inportant for grocery retail stores to identify the factors in decision makings of customer selections. This study was conducted in three chosen stores, specifically Mydin, Giant and Tesco in Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia. Data from 190 respondents were collected from questionnaires. Daya will than analysed by using summative score examination, relative investigation and chi-square freedom test. Primary variables that were significant were location, facility, process, product quality and value of money.Hence, a few suggestion are displayed to enhance consumer loyalty and dependability of their clients. This study unlocks further frontiers for the prospective entrepreneur in order to get idea about various success factors to set up retail business. With this study it also contribute for sustainability of the business retail and wholesale outlet

An Efficient Transfer Learning-based Approach for Apple Leaf Disease Classification

Correct identification and categorization of plant diseases are crucial for ensuring the safety of the global food supply and the overall financial success of stakeholders. In this regard, a wide range of solutions has been made available by introducing deep learning-based classification systems for different staple crops. Despite being one of the most important commercial crops in many parts of the globe, research proposing a smart solution for automatically classifying apple leaf diseases remains relatively unexplored. This study presents a technique for identifying apple leaf diseases based on transfer learning. The system extracts features using a pretrained EfficientNetV2S architecture and passes to a classifier block for effective prediction. The class imbalance issues are tackled by utilizing runtime data augmentation. The effect of various hyperparameters, such as input resolution, learning rate, number of epochs, etc., has been investigated carefully. The competence of the proposed pipeline has been evaluated on the apple leaf disease subset from the publicly available `PlantVillage' dataset, where it achieved an accuracy of 99.21%, outperforming the existing works.Comment: Accepted in ECCE 2023, 6 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

The Factors That Influence Trust and Confidence in the Halal Food Information Sources and Institutions in Malaysia

This paper explored the factors that influence trust and confidence in the halal food information sources and institutions in Malaysia. A survey involving 151 participants was used. A Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that there was a significant difference in trust in information sources for halal food, between the information sources groups. Mann–Whitney U-tests indicated that IIUM respondents trusted Independent information sources more than media and commercials sources. Muslims are more trusted over media and commercial sources. However, there was no significant difference between commercial and media and commercial sources, Independent information sources and Muslim sources. But, there was a significant difference between Independent information sources and commercial sources, Muslim and commercial sources. These results suggest that Students of the respondents have a high degree of trust in the information sources regarding halal food in Malaysia. They really have confidence in the local institutions regulating and related to halal food industries and a moderate confidence in foreign institutions

Serial Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: a Case Report and Literature Review

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. CJD usually appears in later life and runs a rapid course. Typically, the onset of symptoms occurs about age 60 and about 90% of individuals die within one year. We report a case of 67-year-old male presented with progressive aphasia, confusion, dysphagia and inability to carry out activities of daily life (ADLs) over a period of three to four weeks. The patient had past medical history of chronic atrial fibrillation and hypertension. Prior to admission, the patient was treated for ischemic stroke of left basal ganglia but continued to have worsening encephalopathy. The spinal tap revealed a 14-3-3 protein level of thirteen times the upper limit of normal; electroencephalogram (EEG) showed a diffuse slowing of the background and periodic sharp waves with greater involvement of the left hemisphere. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the time of admission showed extensive signal abnormality in the basal ganglia bilaterally and in the cerebral cortex bilaterally, particularly over the left cerebral hemisphere. The persistence of the MRI findings over several weeks was concerning for spongiform encephalopathy. The probable diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was made based on these imaging findings taken together with the patient’s clinical signs and symptoms of a rapidly progressive encephalopathy. The patient was able to have some quality time with his family as the diagnosis was made earlier than perhaps otherwise and expired peacefully after comfort care measures were chosen. Serial MRI may serve as a clue to the early diagnosis of CJD and potentially provide a better quality of life for the patients