Curvelet Denoising with Improved Thresholds for Application on Ultrasound Images

In medical image processing, image denoising has become a very essential exercise all through the diagnose. Negotiation between the preservation of useful diagnostic information and noise suppression must be treasured in medical images. In case of ultrasonic images a special type of acoustic noise, technically known as speckle noise, is the major factor of image quality degradation. Many denoising techniques have been proposed for effective suppression of speckle noise. Removing noise from the original image or signal is still a challenging problem for researchers. In this paper, a Curvelet transform based denoising with improved thresholds is proposed for ultrasound images

Periodic Noise Removal in Strain and Natural Images Using 2-D Fast Fourier Transform

This paper presents a 2-D FFT removal algorithm for reducing the periodic noise in natural and strain images. For the periodic pattern of the artifacts, we apply the 2-D FFT on the strain and natural images to extract and remove the peaks which are corresponding to periodic noise in the frequency domain. Further the mean filter applied to get more effective results. The performance of the proposed method is tested on both natural and strain images. The results of proposed method is compared with the mean filter based periodic noise removal and found that the proposed method significantly improved for the noise removal

A supportive self-management program for people with chronic headaches and migraine : a randomized controlled trial and economic evaluation

Background and Objectives: Chronic headache disorders are a major cause of pain and disability. Education and supportive self-management approaches could reduce burden of headache disability. We tested the effectiveness of a group educational and supportive self-management programme for people living with chronic headaches. Methods: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Participants were aged ≥18 years with chronic migraine or chronic tension type headache, with or without medication overuse headache. We primarily recruited from general practices. Participants were assigned to either a two-day group education and self-management programme, a one-to-one nurse interview, and telephone support or to usual care plus relaxation material. The primary outcome was headache related quality of life using the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) at 12 months. The primary analysis used intention-to-treat principles for participants with migraine and both baseline and 12-month HIT-6 data. Results: Between April 2017 and March 2019, we randomised 736 participants. Since only nine participants just had tension type headache our main analyses were on the 727 participants with migraine. Of these 376 were allocated to the self-management intervention 351 to usual care. Data from 586 (81%) participants were analysed for primary outcome. There was no between group difference in HIT-6, (adjusted mean difference = -0·3, 95% CI -1·23 to 0·67), or headache days (0·9, 95% CI -0·29, 2·05), at 12 months. The CHESS intervention generated incremental adjusted costs of £268 (95% CI,£176 to £377) [USD383 (95%CI USD252 to USD539)] and incremental adjusted quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of 0.031 (95% CI -0.005 to .063). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £8,617 (USD12,322) per QALY gained. Discussion: These findings conclusively show a lack of benefit for quality of life or monthly headache days from a brief group education and supportive self-management programme for people living with chronic migraine or chronic tension type headache with episodic migraine. Registered on the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number registry, ISRCTN79708100 16th December 2015 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN79708100 The first enrolment was 24th April 2017. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that a brief group education and self-management program does not increase the probability of improvement in headache related quality of life in people with chronic migraine

Entrepreneurship barriers and entrepreneurial inclination among Malaysian postgraduate students

Purpose: Postgraduate students who are more mature and have greater job experience are more likely to be inclined towards entrepreneurship. However, postgraduate students face various barriers such as lack of funds, fear of failure and lack of social networking that may hinder their entrepreneurial inclination. The barriers faced by these postgraduate students may also exhibit different dimensions compared with barriers faced by existing entrepreneurs. This study aims to examine the relationship between perceived barriers to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial inclination. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a survey‐based methodology, data were collected from a sample of 267 postgraduate students from various Malaysian universities. Respondents' perception towards five barriers to entrepreneurship (aversion to risk, fear of failure, lack of resources, lack of social networking, and aversion to stress and hard work) and their entrepreneurial inclination were assessed. Findings: The model R‐squared indicated that 31.5 percent of the variation in the entrepreneurial inclination is explained by the five perceived barriers. The highest ranked barrier to entrepreneurship was lack of social networking followed by lack of resources and aversion to risk. Research limitations/implications: The findings in this study cannot be generalized to non‐student populations since it covers only postgraduate students. The quantitative approach used was unable to uncover in‐depth information on the various barriers. A qualitative approach may be more appropriate to obtain further details. Originality/value: This research provides interesting insights into the entrepreneurship barriers faced by postgraduate students from a developing nation where such research is lacking

Entrepreneurial Inclination of Students at a Private University in Malaysia

Most past studies on students’ entrepreneurial intention tend to focus on the phenomenon in developed countries.There is limited research on entrepreneurial intention of university students from developing nations. This article intends to close this gap by providing some insights into students’ entrepreneurial inclination in a developing country, Malaysia. A total of 234 students from three faculties at both graduate and undergraduate levels were surveyed to examine their entrepreneurial inclination and also to examine the relationship between their demographic and social characteristics with entrepreneurial inclination.The study found strong entrepreneurial inclination among the students. Significant difference was found between students studying part time and full time and their entrepreneurial inclination. Significant difference was also found between the type of program enrolled in and students’ entrepreneurial inclination. Further analysis and other findings were reported and recommendation for future research are been put forth in this article

The lepers, lunatics, the lame, the blind, the infirm and the making of asylums and benevolent charities: The Indian merchant class and disability in colonial India

This study aims to explore the role of the Indian merchant class in 19th-century colonial India in addressing the social concerns of disability. Specifically, it addresses why and how business engaged with disability in colonial India