A Robust DWT Digital Image Watermarking Technique Basis On Scaling Factor

Abstract: At the present time, the aptitude in contemplation of accessing as well as sharing images has become progressively facile with the Internet allowing people to procure information remotely from anywhere in the entire world. Moreover, there has been also an expansion with regard to the number of the still digital images over the internet for the sake of the fact that a vast number of millions of people are capturing digital photos. Fundamentally, the procedure of digital watermarking can be delineated as a method for embedding information into another signal (a digital signal). In case of digital images, the embedded information can be either visible or hidden from the user. In this project, we will concentrate on imperceptible watermarks. The principal intention of digital watermarks is to provide copyright protection for intellectual property that is in digital format. Typical usage scenarios for watermarking are such as copyright protection and data authentication. In this paper, we describe an imperceptible and a robust DWT digital Image Watermarking algorithm.The algorithm watermarks a given digital image using a Discrete Wavelet Transform

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ORAL FAST DISSOLVING TABLET OF ONDANSETRON HYDROCHLORIDE BY COPROCESS EXCIPIENTS

Recent development in fast disintegrating technology mainly works to improve the quality of these delicate dosage forms without affecting their integrity. Current investigations deal with the formulation of fast dissolving tablet of Ondansetron HCl with the effect of different co-processed excipients by using ball mill that disintegrates in oral cavity on contact with saliva & thereby improve therapeutic efficacy because the mannitol was stick to dies and punch therefore ball mill is used to prepare co ground mixtures of crospovidone and mannitol to improve the compatibility and stability of product. The Fast disintegrating tablets of Ondansetron HCl were prepared by direct compression method using different synthetic superdisintegrant such as Crospovidone, and natural superdisintegranst such as Karaya gum and Fenugreek gum in different concentration. The FTIR, DSC analysis revealed that the Betacyclodextrin and superdisintegrants used were compatible with Ondansetron HCl. A complex of Betacyclodextrin and Ondansetron HCl was successfully formed in 1:2 ratios. Disintegration time decrease with increase in the concentration o superdisintegrant. Among all formulation, containing Karaya Gum as superdisintegrants is fulfilling all the parameters satisfactorily. In vitro release studies that almost 98.88% of the drug was released from all the formulation were within 15 minutes. Best Formulation F6 showed faster drug release within 7 minutes in comparison to other formulation. ThE result shows that Co-processing of excipients is the most suitable approach for formulation of Fast dissolving tablet. Keywords: Coprocess, Fast disintegrating tablets, Ball mill, Disintegration time, Mannitol etc. Â

Testing the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the painDETECT questionnaire in the assessment of neuropathic pain

Introduction Neuropathic pain (NP) can cause substantial suffering and, therefore, it must be diagnosed and treated promptly. Diagnosis of NP can be difficult and if made by an expert pain physician is considered the gold standard, however where expert help may not be easily available, screening tools for NP can be used. The painDETECT questionnaire (PD-Q) is a simple screening tool and has been widely used in several languages. We developed an Arabic version of PD-Q and tested its validity and reliability. Methods The original PD-Q was translated into the Arabic language by a team of experts. The translated version of the PD-Q was administered to the study population, which included patients having moderate to severe pain for at least three months. Reliability of the Arabic version was evaluated by an intra-class-correlation coefficient (ICC) between pre- and post-measures and Cronbach’s α values. Validity was measured by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Expert pain physician diagnosis was considered as the gold standard for comparing the diagnostic accuracy. Results A total of 375 patients were included in the study, of which 153 (40.8%) patients were diagnosed with NP and 222 [59.2%] patients had nociceptive pain. The ICC between pre- and post-PD-Q scale total scores for the overall sample, NP group, and NocP group was 0.970 (95% CI, 0.964–0.976), 0.963 (95% CI, 0.949–0.973), and 0.962 (95% CI, 0.951–0.971), respectively. The Cronbach’s α values for the post-assessment measures in the overall sample, NP group, and nociceptive pain group, were 0.764, 0.684, and 0.746, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.775 (95% CI, 0.725–0.825) for the PD-Q total score. Conclusion The Arabic version of the PD-Q showed good reliability and validity in the detection of NP component in patients with chronic pain

Mothers’ and Caregivers’ Knowledge and Experience of Neonatal Danger Signs: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia

Introduction. The majority of neonatal deaths in developing countries occur at home. Many of these deaths are related to late recognition of the signs of a serious illness by parents and a delay in the decision to seek medical care. Since the health-seeking behavior of mothers for neonatal care depends on the mothers' knowledge about WHO recognized danger signs, it is essential to investigate their knowledge of these signs.Objective. To investigate the knowledge and the experience of mothers and caregivers towards the WHO suggested neonatal danger signs.Methods. A community-based study was conducted on mothers who had delivered or had nursed a baby in the past two years.Results. A total of 1428 women were included in the analysis. Only 37% of the participant's knowledge covered three or more danger signs. The frequently reported participants’ knowledge of danger signs in this study was for yellow soles (48.0%), not feeding since birth or stopping to feed (46.0%), and signs of local infection (37.0%). The majority (69.0%) of the participants had experienced at least one of the danger signs with their baby. The noteworthy frequent reports of the participants’ experiences were for yellow soles (27.0%), not feeding since birth or stopping to feed (25.0%), and umbilical complications (19.0%).Conclusion. The proportion of mothers with knowledge of at least three neonatal danger signs is low. There is a need for developing interventions to increase a mother’s knowledge of newborns danger signs

ADMET Prediction of synthesized Heterocyclic derivatives to treat renal cancer

A library of 121 potent, synthesized, and characterized compounds from different heterocyclic derivatives such as pyrimidine, phthalazine, benzothiazole, benzpyrazoline, indoline, benzimidazole, phthalazine, indole, quinoline, quinazoline were selected based on their anti-renal cancer activity. The Drug likeness, Bioactivity, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity of all the screened compounds were predicted through Molinspiration, PreADMET, and Osiris software. After screening 121 compounds, 19 compounds showed drug-like properties and an absorption percentage better than the standard drug Sorafenib. These compounds were further assessed based on their distribution parameter and the compounds that showed plasma protein binding equal to or below 90% and blood-brain barrier penetration below 1.000 were selected, i.e., compounds 3, 23, 64, 65 were then further assessed for the toxicity. Osiris property explorer was used to predict drug relevance and toxicity of the synthesized compounds. Compounds 3 and 23 were non-toxic similar to the standard drug Sorafenib. Compounds 3 and 23 were found to be active as Kinase Inhibitors, with a bioactivity score of 0.2 and 0.6 compared to standard drug sorafenib, which scored 0.44. Therefore Compound 3 N-(4-fluoro-2-methoxyphenyl)-7-methyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropyrido [4',3':4,5] thieno[2,3-d] pyrimidin-4-amine and compound 23 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-methyl-N-phenyl-3a,7a-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidin-4-amine belonging to pyrimidine derivatives were considered as best and suggested to be taken further for preclinical and clinical trials. The pyrimidine derivatives with anti-renal cancer activity can serve as a scaffold for the design of renal cancer targeting agents and motivates the further development of effective and safer compounds

Recent Advances on Properties and Utility of Nanomaterials Generated from Industrial and Biological Activities

Today is the era of nanoscience and nanotechnology, which find applications in the field of medicine, electronics, and environmental remediation. Even though nanotechnology is in its emerging phase, it continues to provide solutions to numerous challenges. Nanotechnology and nanoparticles are found to be very effective because of their unique chemical and physical properties and high surface area, but their high cost is one of the major hurdles to its wider application. So, the synthesis of nanomaterials, especially 2D nanomaterials from industrial, agricultural, and other biological activities, could provide a cost-effective technique. The nanomaterials synthesized from such waste not only minimize pollution, but also provide an eco-friendly approach towards the utilization of the waste. In the present review work, emphasis has been given to the types of nanomaterials, different methods for the synthesis of 2D nanomaterials from the waste generated from industries, agriculture, and their application in electronics, medicine, and catalysis

Validity and reliability of Arabic version of the ID Pain screening questionnaire in the assessment of neuropathic pain

Diagnosis of neuropathic pain (NP) can be challenging. The ID Pain (ID-P) questionnaire, a screening tool for NP, has been used widely both in the original version and translated forms. The aim of this study was to develop an Arabic version of ID-P and assess its validity and reliability in detecting neuropathic pain. The original ID-P was translated in Arabic language and administered to the study population. Reliability of the Arabic version was evaluated by percentage observed agreement, and Cohen’s kappa; and validity by sensitivity, specificity, correctly classified, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Physician diagnosis was considered as the gold standard for comparing the diagnostic accuracy. The study included 375 adult patients (153 [40.8%] with NP; 222 [59.2%] with nociceptive pain). Overall observed percentage agreement and Cohen’s kappa were >90% and >0.80, respectively. Median (range) score of ID-P scale was 3 (2–4) and 1 (0–2) in the NP group and NocP group, respectively (p<0.001). Area under the ROC curve was 0.808 (95% CI, 0.764–0.851). For the cut-off value of ≥2, sensitivity was 84.3%, specificity was 66.7%, and correct classification was 73.9%. Thus, the Arabic version of ID-P showed moderate reliability and validity as a pain assessment tool. This article presents the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of ID Pain questionnaire. This Arabic version may serve as a simple yet important screening tool, and help in appropriate management of neuropathic pain, specifically in primary care centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Age and frailty are independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality and increased care needs in survivors: results of an international multi-centre study

Introduction: Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with COVID-19, but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods: This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty, and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation, and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results: Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, IQR 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (&gt;80 vs 18–49: HR 3.57, CI 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 vs 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 vs 1–3: OR 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia, and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusions: Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead