High-Quality Wavelets Features Extraction for Handwritten Arabic Numerals Recognition

Arabic handwritten digit recognition is the science of recognition and classification of handwritten Arabic digits. It has been a subject of research for many years with rich literature available on the subject.  Handwritten digits written by different people are not of the same size, thickness, style, position or orientation. Hence, many different challenges have to overcome for resolving the problem of handwritten digit recognition.  The variation in the digits is due to the writing styles of different people which can differ significantly.  Automatic handwritten digit recognition has wide application such as automatic processing of bank cheques, postal addresses, and tax forms. A typical handwritten digit recognition application consists of three main stages namely features extraction, features selection, and classification. One of the most important problems is feature extraction. In this paper, a novel feature extraction approach for off-line handwritten digit recognition is presented. Wavelets-based analysis of image data is carried out for feature extraction, and then classification is performed using various classifiers. To further reduce the size of training data-set, high entropy subbands are selected. To increase the recognition rate, individual subbands providing high classification accuracies are selected from the over-complete tree. The features extracted are also normalized to standardize the range of independent variables before providing them to the classifier. Classification is carried out using k-NN and SVMs. The results show that the quality of extracted features is high as almost equivalently high classification accuracies are acquired for both classifiers, i.e. k-NNs and SVMs

Knowledge, apptitude and practice: smoking and gutka habits in a lower socio-economic cohort

Background: Smoking and smokeless tobacco use is the major cause of death and disease in South Asia, the use of gutka has surpassed that of smoking in this region thus, acting as a major contributor to oral and esophageal cancer especially in the younger population. Authors have designed this study to explore the knowledge, apptitude and practice regarding smoking and gutka use in a lower socio-economic cohort and observe the impact of education, income and type of profession on the users.Methods: This cross sectional descriptive survey is conducted in Creek General Hospital, Korangi, Karachi. The study design is non-probability convenience. A questionnaire is used to quantify the frequency of smoking-related knowledge-attitude-practice, knowledge and attitude about tobacco-related disease and, smoking cessation-related thoughts and practice. Data is analysed in SPSS 16.Results: A total of 250 subjects participated in this descriptive study, 133 subjects (22% females and 62.6% males) were found addicted to smoking or smokeless tobacco product with stress, seeking pleasure and peer pressure being the most convincing factor to initiate their habit.90% of the users want to stop using the substance of abuse and 80 have at least once tried to quit the habit.Conclusions: This study shows a direct relationship between level of education and socioeconomic status with use of addictive substance. It also resulted in identifying the desire to quit in our cohort and need for formulating a plan specifically for the target population to focus not only to remove the cause, but also to empower them to take responsibility for their own well being.

An Algorithm for Autonomous Aerial Navigation using MATLAB® Mapping Tool Box

In the present era of aviation technology, autonomous navigation and control have emerged as a prime area of active research. Owing to the tremendous developments in the field, autonomous controls have led today’s engineers to claim that future of aerospace vehicle is unmanned. Development of guidance and navigation algorithms for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an extremely challenging task, which requires efforts to meet strict, and at times, conflicting goals of guidance and control. In this paper, aircraft altitude and heading controllers and an efficient algorithm for self-governing navigation using MATLAB® mapping toolbox is presented which also enables loitering of a fixed wing UAV over a specified area. For this purpose, a nonlinear mathematical model of a UAV is used. The nonlinear model is linearized around a stable trim point and decoupled for controller design. The linear controllers are tested on the nonlinear aircraft model and navigation algorithm is subsequently developed for for autonomous flight of the UAV. The results are presented for trajectory controllers and waypoint based navigation. Our investigation reveals that MATLAB® mapping toolbox can be exploited to successfully deliver an efficient algorithm for autonomous aerial navigation for a UAV

The effect of right ventricular apical and non-apical pacing on the short- and long-term changes in left ventricular ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

BACKGROUND The right ventricular apex (RVA) is the traditional lead site for chronic pacing but in some patients may cause impaired left ventricular (LV) systolic function over time. Comparisons with non-apical (RVNA) pacing sites have generated inconsistent results and recent meta-analyses have demonstrated unclear benefit due to heterogeneity across studies. METHODS AND RESULTS A systematic search for randomized controlled trials that compared LVEF outcomes between RVNA and RVA pacing was performed up to October 2014. Twenty four studies (n = 1628 patients) met the inclusion criteria. To avoid between study heterogeneity two homogenous groups were created; group one where studies reported a difference (in favor of RVNA pacing) and group two where studies reported no difference between pacing sites. For group one weighted mean difference (WMD) between RVNA and RVA pacing in terms of LVEF at follow-up was 5.40% (95% CI: 3.94 to 6.87), related in part to group one's RVA arm demonstrating a significant reduction (mean loss -3.31%; 95% CI: -6.19 to -0.43) in LVEF between study baseline and end of follow-up. Neither of these finding were seen in group two. Weighted regression modeling demonstrated that inclusion of poor baseline LVEF (<40%) in combination with greater than 12 months follow-up was three times more common in group one compared to group two (weighted RR 2.82; 95% CI 1.03 - 7.72; P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS In patients requiring chronic right ventricular pacing where there is inclusion of impaired baseline LVEF (<40%), RVA pacing is associated with deterioration in LV function relative to RVNA pacing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Management of allergic fungal sinusitis with postoperative oral and nasal steroids: a controlled study.

In Patients with allergic fungal sinusitis, the mainstay of treatment remains surgical removal of allergic mucin and fungal debris. But as a single modality, surgery is associated with high rates of recurrence, so a number of adjunctive medical modalities have been tried, including postoperative corticosteroid therapy. We conducted a study of 63 Patients with allergic fungal sinusitis who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery with or without postoperative steroid therapy. A group of 30 Patients who had been treated prior to January 2000 had undergone surgery only, their cases were reviewed retrospectively, and they served as historical controls. Another 33 Patients who were treated after June 2000 underwent surgery plus oral and nasal steroid therapy. All Patients were followed for a minimum of 2 years. Recurrences were seen in 50.0% (15/30) of the no-steroid group and 15.2% (5/33) of the steroid group-a statistically significant difference (p = 0.008). The results of our study strongly support the use of steroids to control allergic fungal sinusitis and prevent its recurrence, and we recommend further study to identify the optimal dosage and duration of therapy

Performance evaluation of IEC 61850 MMS messages under cybersecurity considerations

IEC 62351-4 standard is published to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities of IEC 61850 Manufacturing Message Specification (MMS) messages. This standard includes a set of cipher suites that are recommended for securing MMS messages. However, these are only a set of recommendations. There is no work in the literature that implements them on an IEC 61850 MMS message and reports the performances. In order to fill this importance knowledge gap, this short communication reports results of implementing cipher suites recommended by IEC 62351-4 on IEC 61850 messages. In addition to implementation details, real message exchanges are demonstrated with lab experiments. Finally, changing certificate and message sizes are reported. The results show that cipher suite selection is critical as some suites have 29.67 % smaller certificate size than others. The novelty of this short communication is showing details of IEC 62351 application and relevant changes on message sizes and structures of IEC 61850 MMS messages. There is no similar work or publication showing such procedures and results

Renal cortical necrosis: A case series of nine patients & review of literature

Background: The purpose of this study is to review cases of renal cortical necrosis (RCN) which we came across during a period of five years, confirmed on needle biopsy specimens, with literature available so far.Methods: All renal biopsy records between January 1996 to December 2001 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan were reviewed to identify patients with histologically proven renal cortical necrosis. Seven patients were also referred by the department of Nephrology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. Patients\u27 medical records were reviewed for demographic, clinical, and follow up data.Results: There were total of nine patients identified with renal cortical necrosis. The mean age was 26.21 +/- 13.01 year. Five cases (55.5%) were caused by obstetric complications. The most common histology type of RCN was patchy cortical necrosis in seven patients (77.8%). Three patients were alive at last follow up; remaining patients were lost to follow up.Conclusion: Obstetric complications remain the leading cause of renal cortical necrosis in our setting. The recognition of this entity and value of renal biopsy in cases of acute renal failure needs to be emphasized as this helps in establishing diagnosis, to assess prognosis and to aid in selection of a rational approach to therapy

Occult nodal metastasis in oral cavity cancers

Introduction: In squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, there is always a risk of occult metastasis to neck nodes in the clinically and radiologically negative neck (N0). Therefore, elective neck dissection (END) has ever been under discussion since the beginning of their routine use for the management of neck for oral carcinomas. The purpose of the current study is to identify the percentage of occult nodal metastasis to neck levels I-V in the cases of oral carcinoma who were treated for the N0 with END.Methods: Patients who were treated between June 2005 and May 2010 with END from neck levels I to V for the management of N0 with oral SCC had been identified from the database of Aga Khan University Hospital. Those who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Using descriptive statistics, the mean was computed for the quantitative variable (age). Frequencies and percentages were calculated for gender, site, tumor grade, and lymph node involvement for each neck level.Results: A total of 50 patients were included in the study. There were 38 males and 12 females. The mean age was 47 (range 25-72). The most common site of the tumor was buccal mucosa in 50% of the cases followed by tongue 20%, then floor of mouth 14%, dentoalveolar ridge 8%, retromolar area 4%, lip 2%, and hard palate 2%. Histopathological grading of tumors showed well-differentiated 28%, moderately differentiated 33%, and poorly differentiated 6%. Twenty-seven out of 50 patients were found positive for nodal metastasis on final postoperative histopathology. Neck node metastasis at level I was found in 22 patients, at level II in 16 patients, at level III in seven patients, and at level IV in two patients. The level V was found free of metastasis in all of the cases.Conclusion: The rate of occult metastatic disease to the neck nodes was similar to that found in the literature. Both early and advanced local disease is associated with a risk of occult metastasis. END for neck levels I-V is, therefore, recommended for the management of the N0 in all cases of oral SCCs. Spread to levels IV and V is rare and these levels should not be a part of routine END

Biochemical Alterations in the Leaves of Resistant and Susceptible Mungbean Genotypes Infected withMungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus

Mungbean (Vigna radiata), an important leguminous crop, is highly susceptible to yellow mosaic disease (YMD) caused by Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV), resulting in high yield penalty. Previously, different varieties of mungbean have been reported possessing resistance%252F tolerance against MYMIV. However, the molecular events occurring during compatible and incompatible interactions between mungbean and MYMIV are yet to be explored. Therefore, in this study using MYMIV-resistant (NM-2016), moderately resistant (NM-2011) and susceptible genotype (VC-1647C), alterations in various biochemical attributes due to MYMIV infection were analysed and compared with healthy non-inoculated control plants for understanding the resistance mechanism. After MYMIV inoculation, the level of total phenolic contents (TPC) and total soluble proteins (TSP) increased significantly in the susceptible genotype. However, the level of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) remained same in all the genotypes. Level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) decreased in the susceptible genotype but CAT level increased in the moderately resistant genotype. Protease level decreased significantly in all the genotypes while esterase level increased in moderately resistant and susceptible genotype. Peroxidase (POD) increased only in moderately resistant genotype and Total Oxidant Status (TOS) increased significantly in the susceptible genotype. Due to MYMIV infection the level of all plant pigments decreased in all the genotypes tested. The comparative proteome analysis using SDS-PAGE resolved 22 peptides with molecular weight from 12.5 to 163 kDa. Differential expression of protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) and Cytochrome b6 (Photosynthesis) in resistant and moderately resistant genotypes%253B Pectin acetyl esterase and Resistant specific protein-1(4) in resistant genotype and up-regulation of superoxide dismutase [Cu-Zn] and RuBisco by MYMIV may have triggered signal transduction pathway and consequently induced a resistance response against MYMIV in V. radiata by activating PR proteins