Improving the Segmentation of Arabic Handwriting Using Ligature Detection Technique

Recognizing handwritten characters remains a critical and formidable challenge within the realm of computervision. Although considerable strides have been made in enhancing English handwritten character recognitionthrough various techniques, deciphering Arabic handwritten characters is particularly intricate. This complexityarises from the diverse array of writing styles among individuals, coupled with the various shapes that a singlecharacter can take when positioned differently within document images, rendering the task more perplexing. Inthis study, a novel segmentation method for Arabic handwritten scripts is suggested. This work aims to locatethe local minima of the vertical and diagonal word image densities to precisely identify the segmentation pointsbetween the cursive letters. The proposed method starts with pre-processing the word image without affectingits main features, then calculates the directions pixel density of the word image by scanning it vertically and fromangles 30° to 90° to count the pixel density fromall directions and address the problem of overlapping letters, whichis a commonly attitude in writing Arabic texts by many people. Local minima and thresholds are also determinedto identify the ideal segmentation area. The proposed technique is tested on samples obtained fromtwo datasets: Aself-curated image dataset and the IFN/ENIT dataset. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achievesa significant improvement in the proportions of cursive segmentation of 92.96% on our dataset, as well as 89.37%on the IFN/ENIT dataset.

Urdu Ligature Recognition System:An Evolutionary Approach

Cursive text recognition of Arabic script-based languages like Urdu is extremely complicated due to its diverse and complex characteristics.Evolutionary approaches like genetic algorithms have been used in the past for various optimization as well as pattern recognition tasks,reporting exceptional results.The proposed Urdu ligature recognition system uses a genetic algorithm for optimization and recognition.Overall the proposed recognition system observes the processes of pre-processing,segmentation,feature extraction,hierarchical clustering,classification rules and genetic algorithm optimization and recognition.The pre-processing stage removes noise from the sentence images,whereas,in segmentation,the sentences are segmented into ligature components.Fifteen features are extracted from each of the segmented ligature images.Intra-feature hierarchical clustering is observed that results in clustered data.Next,classification rules are used for the representation of the clustered data.The genetic algorithm performs an optimization mechanism using multi-level sorting of the clustered data for improving the classification rules used for recognition of Urdu ligatures.Experiments conducted on the benchmark UPTI dataset for the proposed Urdu ligature recognition system yields promising results,achieving a recognition rate of 96.72%.

Risk factors for predicting early variceal rebleeding after endoscopic variceal ligation

AIM: To analyze the clinical risk factors for early variceal rebleeding after endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL).METHODS: 342 cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices who received elective EVL to prevent bleeding or rebleeding at our endoscopy center between January 2005 and July 2010.were included in this study.The early rebleeding cases after EVL were confirmed by clinical signs or endoscopy.A case-control study was performed comparing the patients presenting with early rebleeding with those without this complication.RESULTS: The incidence of early rebleeding after EVL was 7.60%,and the morbidity of rebleeding was 26.9%.Stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that four variables were independent risk factors for early rebleeding: moderate to excessive ascites [odds ratio (OR) 62.83,95% CI: 9.39-420.56,P < 0.001],the number of bands placed (OR 17.36,95% CI: 4.00-75.34,P < 0.001),the extent of varices (OR 15.41,95% CI: 2.84-83.52,P = 0.002) and prothrombin time (PT) > 18 s (OR 11.35,95% CI: 1.93-66.70,P = 0.007).CONCLUSION: The early rebleeding rate after EVL is mainly affected by the volume of ascites,number of rubber bands used to ligate,severity of varices and prolonged PT.Effective measures for prevention and treatment should be adopted before and after EVL.

Offline Urdu Nastaleeq Optical Character Recognition Based on Stacked Denoising Autoencoder

Offline Urdu Nastaleeq text recognition has long been a serious problem due to its very cursive nature. In order to get rid of the character segmentation problems, many researchers are shifting focus towards segmentation free ligature based recognition approaches. Majority of the prevalent ligature based recognition systems heavily rely on hand-engineered feature extraction techniques. However, such techniques are more error prone and may often lead to a loss of useful information that might hardly be captured later by any manual features. Most of the prevalent Urdu Nastaleeq test recognition was trained and tested on small sets. This paper proposes the use of stacked denoising autoencoder for automatic feature extraction directly from raw pixel values of ligature images. Such deep learning networks have not been applied for the recognition of Urdu text thus far. Different stacked denoising autoencoders have been trained on 178573 ligatures with 3732 classes from un-degraded(noise free) UPTI(Urdu Printed Text Image) data set. Subsequently, trained networks are validated and tested on degraded versions of UPTI data set. The experimental results demonstrate accuracies in range of 93% to 96% which are better than the existing Urdu OCR systems for such large dataset of ligatures.

The Elastic Ligation of Internal Hemorrhoids: Where Are We Now?

Hemorrhoidal disease requires different means of treatment: medical, surgical and instrumental. Among these, the elastic ligature seems to be an effective and widespread technique in the world. The aim of our study is to report our experience in methodology and short and medium term results of ligation in a population that strongly fears surgery. Patients and Methods: It’s about a retrospective and descriptive study of 208 outpatients treated with elastic ligations for symptomatic internal hemorrhoids. These patients were collected over a period of 15 years (October 2003-April 2018) at the gastroenterology department of Hassan II CHU in Fez. Results: The average age of our patients was 50.3 years [20 - 82 years] with a sex-ratio M/F of 2.85. The clinical signs were dominated by rectorrhagia (99%) complicated by anemia in 116 cases requiring blood transfusion in 72 cases, followed by proctalgia (27.4%). Transit disorders were noted in 65 patients (31.2%). Indications for elastic ligation were symptomatic internal hemorrhoids Grade 3 (65.4%) and Grade 2 (34.6%). The average number of ligation sessions that achieved the therapeutic goal was 2.30 sessions [1 - 4]. The average number of rings per session was 3.1 rings [1 - 6]. Moderate to severe pain was reported by 20 patients (9.6%) mostly within 6 hours of ligation. Minimal rectorrhagia was reported in 33 cases (15.8%). There were no major complications who required a hospitalization. The success rate was 80.7% (n = 168). Surgery was performed in 31 patients (14.9%) and sclerosis in 7 patients (3.3%). Conclusion: The elastic ligation of internal hemorrhoids remains an effective and inexpensive technique when it comes to the treatment of symptomatic internal hemorrhoids of Grade 2 to 3. The results obtained in our study were very reassuring and motivating.

Laparoscopic complete mesocolic excisions for colonic cancer in the last decade:Five-year survival in a single centre

AIM To analyse clinical and long-term oncologic results after laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision(CME) for colonic cancer over a 10-year period.METHODS Consecutive patients who received laparoscopic CME at our hospital from 2007 to 2017 were prospectively registered and retrospectively analysed. In total, 341 patients were included with tumour-nodal-metastasis(TNM) stages 0-Ⅲ.RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 71.9 years. The median length of stay was 5 d. The mean lymph node harvest was 17.8. The mortality rate was 1.2%. Fifteen patients were reoperated on for anastomotic leaks. The local recurrence rate was 2.3%. Five-year TTR and cancer-specific survival CSS were 83.1% and 90.3%. The location of the tumour was not a significant variable for survival in unadjusted and adjusted survival analysis. TNM stage and anastomotic leaks were significant variables with respect to survival.CONCLUSION Laparoscopic CME results in acceptable complication rates and long-term oncologic results. It is important to avoid anastomotic leaks because of their negative effect on survival.

Microbial Adhesion on Orthodontic Ligating Materials: An <i>in Vitro</i>Assessment

Orthodontic fixed appliance therapy is the commonest mode of treatment for most types of malocclusions (teeth irregularities). However, these materials are liable for microbial adhesion, which predisposes the wearer to increased microbial burden. The present study aims to evaluate, microbial adhesion and growth on commonly used orthodontic ligating materials (Teflon coated wire, stainless steel wire, elastic rings) under in vitro condition. Furthermore, the role of saliva on adhesion and microbial colonization on said materials was also assessed. Experiments were conducted with three different orthodontic ligating materials each in 6 numbers. Growth OD, metabolic activity and cell viability were the experimental variables in addition to SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) analysis performed. Results revealed irespective of the nature of the ligating materials, microbial adhesion and growth were observed in all the materials and suggested that the chosen materials promotes microbial adhesion. Nevertheless, stainless steel ligatures were less prone to adhesion compared to Teflon coated and elastic ligatures. Presence of saliva accelerates adhesion and growth.

Uncompensated Centrifugal Flow about Accelerated Cosmic Expansion

Currently, we are under the perception of a visible universe which has an accelerated expansion, because repeated evidences obtained by several technics since the well known observations performed by Edwin Powell Hubble. The world scientific community was astonished by these observations, and since then until today, countless calculations have been made that only leave the hypothesis of the existence of an unknown cosmic entity that has the particularity of repelling matter from each other when it is sufficiently separated by huge amounts of that entity, which was called as “dark energy”. This “dark energy” is a completely unknown thing, and it is understood by some researchers as the convenient hypothesis, because it is which emerges from deep calculations and observations. Bearing in mind that we already know about all cosmic objects and systems are in rotation, both locally and not so locally, and that everything is full and endowed with intrinsic and extrinsic angular momentum, it seems logical to think that rotational dynamics must also apply to the more extensive, and that if locally (and not so locally) we perceive and infer rotating objects everywhere, then they must also exist globally. So, starting from the idea that rotation is omnipresent, at every level of sizes;from the invisibly small to the invisibly large, I thought that it is really wise to cover it through rotation dynamics, or that in the worst case, we cannot ignore the fact of the omnipresent rotation in any entity to infer. And this is the main reason for the resolution and the motivation of the birth of the publication of this study. Based on this seemingly simple idea, these results and conclusions of this study was reached: following a formal logic and evidence of the accelerated unfolding of the cosmic fabric, another hypothesis is proposed as an alternative to the existence of the “dark energy”: The intensities of centrifugal acceleration fluxes exceed the intensities of gravitational fluxes, which are not sufficient to compensate for the centrifugal flux, which is why baryonic and exotic matter, energy, space and time are extended, in geometric progression with respect to our apparent time. So, this unfolding of the cosmic fabric might not be caused by a “dark energy”, but by centrifugal fields of rotational-orbital domains. Besides all the above, this publication has a double purpose, because it is also intended to cover another matter;these deep attentions to the Rotational Dynamics also derive in another solution or hypothesis regarding the formed mystery after observing the incoherent too high velocity of matter in the far latitudes in spiral galaxies: The hypothesis of the existence of the so-called “dark matter” arises from the observation that, in spiral galaxies, all that matter which is located beyond a critical distance from the galactic rotation axis, travels too fast, while the calculations illustrate an insufficient intensity of gravitational acceleration flux to explain that speed and to retain all that matter while maintaining the orbital distance. However, the concept I present here, is that, in a spiral galaxy, all those matter which is positioned farthest from the main rotation axis, is effectively lost in space as time goes by, or what is the same, the intensity of the centrifugal acceleration field is not compensated by that of the gravitational field, and the destiny of every spiral galaxy is a more or less homogeneous and compact disk-shaped galaxy. As a basic NOTE to be taken into account;in the present article we intend to show the radical, meticulous and delicate relation that exists in the considerations of the classic concept of “isolated system of particles”, with the degrees of the consistencies of the connections between all those “particles”, whether they are inter-material bonds, or, in a relativistic scope, bonds between the same cosmic fabric. And this is so, because the idea of “isolated” falls directly and precisely on the criterion that we put to the degree of consistency of each connection between each “part” or “particle” that integrates the presumed and inferred concept of “isolated system” with respect to the rest of systems or universe.

Histological examination of carotid artery tissue in cases of ligature strangulation and hanging

Violence against the neck can result in a range of macromorphological and micromorphological findings.However,the forensic relevance of the carotid sinus in cases of violence against the neck remains controversial.In this follow-up study of 22 cases of suicidal and accidental strangulations,carotid bifurcations were examined histologically for morphological changes implying direct trauma,including haemorrhage and immunohistochemical expression of heat-shock proteins 27,60,and 70 and aquaporin-3.These cases were compared with a control group(82 cases)without neck compression or head trauma and with variable causes of death.No relevant histopathological findings implying direct trauma of the carotid bifurcation were found.No cases showed positive aquaporin-3 staining and only five cases showed positive heat-shock protein-27 staining,all of which were hangings.Without massive trauma of the carotid bifurcation,histological alterations cannot be expected.Without signs of rapid death,findings of acute circulatory failure,macromorphological and micromorphological findings of neck compression,and reliable markers indicating relevant impact on the carotid bifurcation the diagnosis of a lethal reflex cannot be verified.

Characteristics of Mechanical Asphyxia:A Retrospective Epidemiological Study in Two Developed Cities in China

Background:Mechanical asphyxia(MA)is multi-classified.Some epidemiological characteristics are shared and the others different among different MA types.Aims and Objectives:To reveal the characteristics of different types of MA and provide reference data for forensic identification of MA.Materials and Methods:We analyzed 913 cases to reveal the epidemiological characteristics of MA in Dongguan and Guangzhou,China.Results:Seven types of MA were identified and strangulation accounted for up to 89.2%.Those aged 20-29 were the most susceptible to all types,except for traumatic and positional asphyxia.Suicide accounted for 96.6%of hanging cases,and accident was the main manner of death in cases of choking,traumatic,and positional asphyxia.Homicide was the most common in cases of ligature strangulation(LS),manual strangulation(MS),smothering,and asphyxia concomitant with lethal mechanical injury.The homicide rate in LS was positively correlated with the rate of female victims(P<0.001,OR=21.14).In MS,the ratio of female:male was 101:15 in homicide.Compared to native residents,migrant workers were more likely to suffer from LS and MS.Rope was used in 50.8%of hanging cases,while LS tools were evenly distributed.Ligature marks were mostly found above the thyroid cartilage in both hanging and LS cases.The U shaped marks were shown in 51.01%of hanging cases but absent in LS cases.In LS,ligature marks completely encircling the neck,discontinuous marks,as well as≥two marks,were more(P<0.001)than in hanging.In LS and MS cases,abrasion and subcutaneous hemorrhages on the neck were more frequent than in hanging cases(P=0.004 and P<0.001),but the difference in frequency of blister marks was opposite(P<0.001).Conclusion:In summary,this study revealed the epidemiological characteristics of the MA cases in Guangzhou and Dongguan cities.The characteristics of death scene and autopsy findings are important in differentiation of different types of MA,especially between suicide and homicide.