Use of colour for hand-filled form analysis and recognition

Colour information in form analysis is currently under utilised. As technology has advanced and computing costs have reduced, the processing of forms in colour has now become practicable. This paper describes a novel colour-based approach to the extraction of filled data from colour form images. Images are first quantised to reduce the colour complexity and data is extracted by examining the colour characteristics of the images. The improved performance of the proposed method has been verified by comparing the processing time, recognition rate, extraction precision and recall rate to that of an equivalent black and white system

Stupa, Pagoda and Chorten: origin and meaning of Buddhist Architecture

This paper discusses the Indian Stupa, the Han Pagoda and the Tibetan Chorten, all three being an important typology of Buddhist Architecture. The Stupa in India first built in the second century BCE to house the Buddha’s relics was later used as symbolic or commemorative purposes. Then Buddhism which started in India reached China at the Han Dynasty (67CE). Together with the literature of teachings came the need for architecture to receive the holy relics as well as to establish educational institutions for Buddhism. So this is the beginning of Buddhist architecture in China. With the fusion of Buddhism and the Han culture and technology, pagodas were built. These buildings find their shapes and sizes in great variety as they appeared in different places. How these forms relate to the philosophy of Buddhism will be discussed. On the other hand, Buddhism was disseminated directly into Tibet in the seventh century. Indian Stupas were also transformed through local culture and technology into Tibetan Chorten. These can be placed within temples or individually. This article will explore the names, the origin and different symbolic meanings of these Stupa, Pagoda and Chorten in the context of the philosophy of Buddhism.published_or_final_versio

Purity and Equanimity - the Mandala of Zen Rock Garden

Forum Theme: To Open Minds, To Educate Intelligence, To Inform DecisionsThis paper discusses the ultimate essence of realization in Buddhism as the nature of purity and great equanimity. To illustrate this, the Zen rock garden is revealed like a Zen Koan, a case study to discern into the essence. The example used here is the karesansui (dry landscape) or rock garden in the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto ...published_or_final_versio

An integral inequality of an intrinsic measure on bounded domains in Cn

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Prevalence of chronic pain, insomnia, and fatigue in Hong Kong

Key Messages 1. Chronic pain, insomnia and fatigue affect a substantial proportion of the Hong Kong general population; as much as a quarter of the adult population experience one of these chronic symptoms. The prevalence of comorbidity is also high, impacting nearly one-third of the adult population. This is a considerable burden to society in terms of individual suffering and disability and to the health care system. 2. Those who are older, female, more educated, married or divorced, or with other health problems are more likely to develop these chronic symptoms.published_or_final_versio

Prevalence and characteristics of chronic pain in the general population of Hong Kong

Western studies document the prevalence of chronic pain in the general adult population to be between 2 and 55%. Knowing the prevalence of chronic pain among Chinese populations provides important comparative perspective: To determine the prevalence of chronic pain in the general population of Hong Kong; evaluate the relationship of chronic pain with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors; and describe the pain characteristics among chronic pain sufferers. A total of 5,001 adults aged ≥18 years (response rate 58%) drawn from the general population of Hong Kong completed the Chronic Pain Grade (CPG) questionnaire, providing information on chronic pain and sociodemographic status using telephone interviews. Overall 34.9% reported pain lasting more than 3 months (chronic pain), having an average of 1.5 pain sites; 35.2% experienced multiple pain sites, most commonly of the legs, back, and head with leg and back being rated as the most significant pain areas among those with multiple pain problems. The CPG criteria classified 21.5% of those with chronic pain symptoms as Grade III or above. Fully adjusted stepwise regression analyses identified being female, older age, divorced/separated, having part-time employment, existing long-term health problems, higher HADS Anxiety scores, poor QoL (mental health component), and low self-perceived health to be significantly associated with chronic pain. Perspective: Our data evidenced that chronic pain is common in the general population of Hong Kong, and the prevalence is highest among women and middle-aged adults. © 2011 by the American Pain Society.postprin

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the 20-item pain anxiety symptoms scale (ChPASS-20)

Context: The Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS) was designed to assess pain-related anxiety and fear. Although the scale is a reliable measure with good psychometric properties, its validity among ethnic Chinese has yet to be evaluated. Objectives: This study aimed to translate the English-language version of the 20-item PASS into Chinese (ChPASS-20) and evaluate its factor structure, reliability, and validity. Methods: A total of 223 Chinese patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain attending orthopedic specialist clinics completed the ChPASS-20, the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire, the Chinese version of the 11-item Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and questions assessing sociodemographic and pain characteristics. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that all the five-factor solutions tested met the minimum acceptable fit criterion. The four ChPASS-20 subscales and the entire scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's αs: 0.72-0.92). All ChPASS-20 scales showed significant positive correlations with depression, pain intensity, and disability. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the ChPASS-20 total score predicted concurrent depression [F(4,159) = 11.97, P < 0.001], pain intensity [F(4,161) = 2.47, P < 0.05], and pain disability [F(4,191) = 5.47, P < 0.001] scores, and the ChPASS-20 Avoidance subscale (standardized beta coefficient = 0.21, P < 0.05) emerged as a significant independent predictor of concurrent pain disability. Conclusion: Our data support the factorial validity, reliability, and construct validity of the ChPASS-20 in a Chinese population. © 2012 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.postprin

Rotational and hyperfine analysis of the near infrared 3Φ4-X3Φ4 transitions of CoCl and Col

A rotational and hyperfine analysis of the 3φ 4- 3φ 4 transition of CoCl and CoI in the near infrared region was reported. Six and eight vibronic transition band soft CoCl and CoI, respectively, were recorded and analyzed. Accurate molecular parameters for both the upper and the ground 3φ 4 states were determined by least squares fitting of line positions of observed bands simultaneously for each molecule, which yielded accurate molecular parameters for both the upper and lower 3φ 4 states.published_or_final_versio

Icteric flare of chronic hepatitis B in a 95-year old patient

A 95-year old gentleman developed fatal icteric flare of chronic hepatitis B despite lamivudine treatment. This article highlights the atypical presentations of chronic hepatitis B in elderly patient and the need to consider this possibility for acute fulminant hepatitis in endemic areas.published_or_final_versio

A longitudinal analysis on pain treatment satisfaction among Chinese patients with chronic pain: predictors and association with medical adherence, disability, and quality of life

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