This paper presents a parametric audio compression scheme intended for scalable audio coding applications, and is particularly well suited for operation at low rates, in the vicinity of 5 to 32 Kbps. The model consists of two complementary components: Sines plus Noise (SN). The principal component of the system is an. overlap-add analysis-by-synthesis sinusoidal model based on conjugate matching pursuits. Perceptual information about human hearing is explicitly included into the model by psychoacoustically weighting the pursuit metric. Once analyzed, SN parameters are efficiently quantized and coded. Our informal listening tests demonstrated that our coder gave competitive performance to the-state-of-the- art HelixTM Producer Plus 9 from Real Networks®, and on the average our coder Offered a 20 percent lower bitrate for the some audio quality. The audio coder gives a much wider range of scalability than previous work of sinusoidal coders as well as existing commercial audio coders. Moreover, the audio coder a gracefully degrades in quality from hi-fidelity to a reasonable quality at a very low bitrate, 5 Kbps. The most obvious application for the SN coder is in scalable, high fidelity audio coding and signal modification.
Background: Dental caries is generally given the highest priority in national oral health services for adult populations. Yet, there is no study which has explored the impact on quality of life specifically related to dental caries in samples of dental students. The purpose of the current study was to assess the impact of caries experience on quality of life among dental students in three governorates in Iraq. Materials and Methods: This observational study included 1364 dental students aged 18–22 years old, from three governorates. Information on quality of life was obtained from a structured, self-administered questionnaire from the students who were willing to participate in the study. The data was collected, summarized and sta
... Show More
This study was aimed to reduce the amount of the sprayed solution lost during trees spraying. At the same time, the concentration of the sprayed solution on the target (tree or bush) must be ensured and to find the best combination of treatments. Two factors controls the spraying process: (i) spraying speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), and (ii) the type of sensor. The test results showed a significant loss reduction percentage. It reached (6.05%, 5.39% and 2.05%) at the speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), respectively. It was noticed that when the speed becomes higher the loss becomes less accordingly. The interaction between the 3.6 km/h speed and the type of Ultrasonic sensor led to a decrease in the percentage of the spray
... Show More
(1)
Background: Moral distress, as one of the most important issues in the nursing profession, can negatively affect the healthcare system. Purpose: To examine the effect of moral distress on professional quality work life. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study a non-probability sampling method used and total sample collected was (126) of ICU nurses. Results: Moral distress, BO, STS, and, CS among ICUs nurses were moderate. Conclusion: Nurses in ICUs suffered from moderate MD which that effected their BO and STS, and the result can be negative effects on quality of care. Although MD did not affect nurses' CS, it is still an important issue that nurses may face in ICUs
(1)
Two molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) membranes for Levofloxacin (LEV) were prepared based on PVC matrix. The imprinted polymers were prepared by polymerization of styrene (STY) as monomer, N,N methylene di acrylamide as a cross linker ,benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator and levofloxacin as a template. Di methyl adepate (DMA) and acetophenone (AOPH) were used as plasticizers , the molecular imprinted membranes and the non molecular imprinted membranes were prepared. The slopes and detection limits of the liquid electrodes ranged from -21.96 – -19.38 mV/decade and 2×10-4M- 4×10-4M, and Its response time was around 1 minute, respectively. The liquid electrodes were packed with 0.1 M standar
... Show MoreThe quality of groundwater in the Al-Hawija area was assessed using a water quality index. Data of nine physico-chemical parameters of 28 groundwater wells were used to calculate the water quality index (WQI). A heterogeneous water quality was reported, where in close proximity to the Lesser Zab River (LZR), it has low WQI values and permissible for human consumptions due to the dilution processes by fresh water; whereas, it becomes deteriorated in areas located far away the river. The values of WQI ranges from 22 to 336, indicating a good to very poor groundwater quality.
(2)
This study presents the debonding propagation in single NiTi wire shape memory alloy into linear low-density polyethylene matrix composite the study of using the pull-out test. The aim of this study is to investigate the pull-out tests to check the interfacial strength of the polymer composite in two cases, with activation NiTinol wire and without activation. In this study, shape memory alloy NiTinol wire 2 mm diameter and linear fully annealed straight shape were used. The study involved experimental and finite element analysis and eventually comparison between them. This pull-out test is considered a substantial test because its results have a relation with behavior of smart composite materials. The pull-out test was carried out by a u
... Show More
Abstract: Background: Staphylococcus aureus is Gram-positive bacteria that lives as a normal flora in living organisms but can be pathogenic to humans. Although a relatively unspectacular, nonmotile coccoid bacterium, S. aureus is a dangerous human pathogen in both community-acquired and nosocomial infections. Due to the increasing emergence of new strains of this antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it has become essential to approach different methods to control this pathogen. One of these methods is the antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation process using a low-level laser, in this paper, the Photodynamic effects of Rose Bengal and LLLL on the virulence factors of S.aureus were evaluated.
Background: Prophylaxis methods are used to mechanically remove plaque and stain from tooth surfaces; such methods give rise to loss of superficial structure and roughen the surface of composites as a result of their abrasive action. This study was done to assess the effect of three polishing systems on surface texture of new anterior composites after storage in artificial saliva. Materials and methods: A total of 40 Giomer and Tetric®N-Ceram composite discs of 12 mm internal diameter and 3mm height were prepared using a specially designed cylindrical mold and were stored in artificial saliva for one month and then samples were divided into four groups according to surface treatment: Group A (control group):10 specimens received no surfa
... Show MoreABSTRACT
The study was conducted at the ruminant research station of the general commission for agricultural research/Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the laboratory of genetic resources of the department of livestock/Ministry of Agriculture and the laboratory of the college of agriculture engineering science, with the aim of determine the genotypic of the expression region (intron 2 and part of exon 3) of the LHX3 gene And its relationship to the fertility rate in local and Shami goats. For this purpose, the RFLP technique was used, and the percentages of genotypes for the LHX3 gene in the local goat sample were 29.17, 50.00, 20.83 for the TT, AT, and AA genotypes, respectively, while in the Shami goa
... Show More