An Effective Noise Adaptive Median Filter for Removing High Density Impulse Noises in Color Images

Images are normally degraded by some form of impulse noises during the acquisition, transmission and storage in the physical media. Most of the real time applications usually require bright and clear images, hence distorted or degraded images need to be processed to enhance easy identification of image details and further works on the image. In this paper we have analyzed and tested the number of existing median filtering algorithms and their limitations. As a result we have proposed a new effective noise adaptive median filtering algorithm, which removes the impulse noises in the color images while preserving the image details and enhancing the image quality. The proposed method is a spatial domain approach and uses the 3×3 overlapping window to filter the signal based on the correct selection of neighborhood values to obtain the effective median per window. The performance of the proposed effective median filter has been evaluated using MATLAB, simulations on a both gray scale and color images that have been subjected to high density of corruption up to 90% with impulse noises. The results expose the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm when compared with the quantitative image metrics such as PSNR, MSE, RMSE, IEF, Time and SSIM of existing standard and adaptive median filtering algorithms

Qualitative Assessment Of Bottled Water In The Middle East

Many brands of bottled water are being produced in the Middle East including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Over fourteen brands of bottled water could be found in the market of Doha. Use of bottled water has kept on increasing in this region. Reasons for the increase in use of bottled water for drinking have been discussed. The raw water source for the bottled water is groundwater. Most of the manufacturers of the bottled water claim bottled water as "Natural Mineral Water" which is contrary to the definition suggested by the International Bottled Water Association of Washington D.C. In fact there is no such thing as "mineral water" and the term is a misnomer. Samples of various brands of bottled water available in Doha and municipal water were collected during 1993 and 1994 for physical, chemical, and bacteriological analysis. All the samples were found potable and safe for drinking and conform to various drinking water standards. The physical and chemical composition of bottled water varies with time but the concentration of constituents printed on the labels of bottles is always the same. It may be preferable to print the range of concentration on the labels rather than a single value. Moreover the analysis should be monitored and certified by a competent authority, and should be displayed on the label

Outcome of Essential Tremors with Stereotactic Thalamotomy: Noble Art of Lesioning

Objective:  Objective of study is to identify the effects of Stereotactic thalamotomy of the nucleus ventral intermediate (VIM) for treatment of essential tremor. Material and Methods:  This is a descriptive study.It was performed at NCCI, Karachi, duration of study was 7 years, from 2-10-2012 to 7-10-2019. Those patients were included who were with tremors refractory to medication, their duration of disease was > 3 years, and with grade 4 tremors. The thalamotomy was performed in all cases, and follow-up was conducted at 3, 6, and 12 months respectively. The success of the surgery was measured in the form of a reduction in medication number and reduction in dose >50% and by calculating the Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (tetras). Results:  Total of 26 patients were included. All patients showed remarkable improvement post-procedure at 12 month follow-up. 20 (77%) patient required no medications. In 6 (23%) patients, the dose of medication was reduced to less than half post-treatment. The tetras score showed marked improvement in all a patient; 4 (15%) patients who had grade 4 tremor, showed the symptoms of minimal tremors graded 0.5 on last visit 3rd visit. Side effect post-procedure were mild transient numbness on the contralateral side was observed in 11 (42.3%) patient, 1 (3.8%) patient had dysarthria. Conclusion:  We concluded that stereostatic Ventral intermedius nucleus thalamotomy was effective in reducing tremor grades and improved all functionality with few mild side effects

Dielectric properties of (CuO,CaO₂, and BaO)y/CuTl-1223 composites

We synthesized (CuO, CaO₂, and BaO)y/Cu₀,₅Tl₀,₅Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀–δ (y = 0, 5%, 10%, 15%) composites by solid-state reaction and characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, dc-resistivity, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Frequency and temperature dependent dielectric properties such as real and imag-inary part of dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and ac-conductivity of these composites are studied by capacitance and conductance measurement as a function of frequency (10 kHz to 10 MHz) and temperature (78 to 300 K). The x-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the characteristic behavior of Cu₀,₅Tl₀,₅Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀–δ supercon-ductor phase and its structure is nearly undisturbed by doping of nanoparticles. The scanning electron microsco-py images show the improvement in the intergranular links among the superconducting grains with increasing nanoparticles concentration. Microcracks are healed up with the inclusion of these nanoparticles and superconduct-ing volume fraction is also increased. The dielectric properties of these composites strongly depend upon the fre-quency and temperature. The zero resistivity critical temperature and dielectric properties show opposite trend with the addition of nanoparticles in Cu₀,₅Tl₀,₅Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀–δ superconductor matrix

Dose Optimization of Colistin: A Systematic Review

Colistin is considered a last treatment option for multi-drug and extensively resistant Gram-negative infections. We aimed to assess the available data on the dosing strategy of colistin. A systematic review was performed to identify all published studies on the dose optimization of colistin. Grey literature and electronic databases were searched. Data were collected in a specified form and the quality of the included articles was then assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cohort studies, the Cochrane bias tool for randomized clinical trials (RCT), and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical checklist for case reports. A total of 19 studies were included, of which 16 were cohort studies, one was a RCT, and two were case reports. A total of 18 studies proposed a dosing regimen for adults, while only one study proposed a dosing schedule for pediatric populations. As per the available evidence, a loading dose of 9 million international units (MIU) of colistin followed by a maintenance dose of 4.5 MIU every 12 h was considered the most appropriate dosing strategy to optimize the safety and efficacy of treatment and improve clinical outcomes. This review supports the administration of a loading dose followed by a maintenance dose of colistin in severe and life-threatening multi-drug Gram-negative bacterial infections

Radiative and magnetohydrodynamics flow of third grade viscoelastic fluid past an isothermal inverted cone in the presence of heat generation/absorption

A mathematical analysis is presented to investigate the nonlinear, isothermal, steady-state, free convection boundary layer flow of an incompressible third grade viscoelastic fluid past an isothermal inverted cone in the presence of magnetohydrodynamic, thermal radiation and heat generation/absorption. The transformed conservation equations for linear momentum, heat and mass are solved numerically subject to the realistic boundary conditions using the second-order accurate implicit finite-difference Keller Box Method. The numerical code is validated with previous studies. Detailed interpretation of the computations is included. The present simulations are of interest in chemical engineering systems and solvent and low-density polymer materials processing

Dose optimization of β-lactams antibiotics in pediatrics and adults:A systematic review

Background: β-lactams remain the cornerstone of the empirical therapy to treat various bacterial infections. This systematic review aimed to analyze the data describing the dosing regimen of β-lactams. Methods: Systematic scientific and grey literature was performed in accordance with Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The studies were retrieved and screened on the basis of pre-defined exclusion and inclusion criteria. The cohort studies, randomized controlled trials (RCT) and case reports that reported the dosing schedule of β-lactams are included in this study. Results: A total of 52 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 40 were cohort studies, 2 were case reports and 10 were RCTs. The majority of the studies (34/52) studied the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of a drug. A total of 20 studies proposed dosing schedule in pediatrics while 32 studies proposed dosing regimen among adults. Piperacillin (12/52) and Meropenem (11/52) were the most commonly used β-lactams used in hospitalized patients. As per available evidence, continuous infusion is considered as the most appropriate mode of administration to optimize the safety and efficacy of the treatment and improve the clinical outcomes. Conclusion: Appropriate antibiotic therapy is challenging due to pathophysiological changes among different age groups. The optimization of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters is useful to support alternative dosing regimens such as an increase in dosing interval, continuous infusion, and increased bolus doses

A Systematic Review on Clinical Safety and Efficacy of Vancomycin Loading Dose in Critically Ill Patients

Background: The clinical significance of utilizing a vancomycin loading dose in critically ill patients remains unclear. Objective: The main aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of the vancomycin loading dose in critically ill patients. Methods: We performed a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, the Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar, the Saudi Digital Library and other databases were searched. Studies that reported clinical outcomes among patients receiving the vancomycin LD were considered eligible. Data for this study were collected using PubMed, the Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Saudi Digital Library using the following terms: “vancomycin”, “safety”, “efficacy” and “loading dose” combined with the Boolean operator “AND” or “OR”. Results: A total of 17 articles, including 2 RCTs, 11 retrospective cohorts and 4 other studies, met the inclusion/exclusion criteria out of a total 1189 studies. Patients had different clinical characteristics representing a heterogenous group, including patients in critical condition, with renal impairment, sepsis, MRSA infection and hospitalized patients for hemodialysis or in the emergency department. Conclusions: The study shows that the target therapeutic level is achieved more easily among patients receiving a weight-based LD as compared to patients received the usual dose without an increased risk of new-onset adverse drug reactions