This paper presents a combination of enhancement techniques for fingerprint images affected by different type of noise. These techniques were applied to improve image quality and come up with an acceptable image contrast. The proposed method included five different enhancement techniques: Normalization, Histogram Equalization, Binarization, Skeletonization and Fusion. The Normalization process standardized the pixel intensity which facilitated the processing of subsequent image enhancement stages. Subsequently, the Histogram Equalization technique increased the contrast of the images. Furthermore, the Binarization and Skeletonization techniques were implemented to differentiate between the ridge and valley structures and to obtain one pixel-wide lines. Finally, the Fusion technique was used to merge the results of the Histogram Equalization process with the Skeletonization process to obtain the new high contrast images. The proposed method was tested in different quality images from National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) special database 14. The experimental results are very encouraging and the current enhancement method appeared to be effective by improving different quality images.
Background: Although various imaging modalities are available for evaluating suspicious breast lesions, ultrasound-based Shear-Wave Elastography (SWE) is an advanced, non-invasive technique complementary to grayscale sonography. This technique evaluates the elasticity of a specific tissue by applying sonic pressure to that tissue.
Objective: The aim is to assess the role of SWE in evaluating solid breast masses in correlation to histopathological study results.
Subjects and Methods: This prospective study was done in a tertiary care teaching hospital from September 2019 to August 2020. A study population of 50 women aged 18 years or above with an
... Show MoreAbstract—The upper limb amputation exerts a significant burden on the amputee, limiting their ability to perform everyday activities, and degrading their quality of life. Amputee patients’ quality of life can be improved if they have natural control over their prosthetic hands. Among the biological signals, most commonly used to predict upper limb motor intentions, surface electromyography (sEMG), and axial acceleration sensor signals are essential components of shoulder-level upper limb prosthetic hand control systems. In this work, a pattern recognition system is proposed to create a plan for categorizing high-level upper limb prostheses in seven various types of shoulder girdle motions. Thus, combining seven feature groups, w
... Show MoreIn current article an easy and selective method is proposed for spectrophotometric estimation of metoclopramide (MCP) in pharmaceutical preparations using cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure. The method involved reaction between MCP with 1-Naphthol in alkali conditions using Triton X-114 to form a stable dark purple dye. The Beer’s law limit in the range 0.34-9 μg mL-1 of MCP with r =0.9959 (n=3) after optimization. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and percentage recoveries were 0.89 %, and (96.99–104.11%) respectively. As well, using surfactant cloud point extraction as a method to extract MCP was reinforced the extinction coefficient(ε) to 1.7333×105L/mol.cm in surfactant-rich phase. The small volume of organi
... Show MoreLead-free 0.88(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3–0.084(K0.5Bi0.5)TiO3–0.036BaTiO3 (BNT–BKT–BT) piezoelectric ceramics were prepared using the conventional mixed-oxide method with a sintering temperature range of 1120–1200 °C. The effect of the sintering temperature on the crystal structure, microstructure, and densification, as well as the dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and the pyroelectric properties of BNT–BKT–BT ceramics were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to study the microstructures of the sintered samples. The results showed that the increase in sintering temperature was very effective in improving both the density and electrical properties. However, the samples deteriorated when the sintering te
... Show MoreAutonomous systems are these systems which power themselves from the available ambient energies in addition to their duties. In the next few years, autonomous systems will pervade society and they will find their ways into different applications related to health, security, comfort and entertainment. Piezoelectric harvesters are possible energy converters which can be used to convert the available ambient vibration energy into electrical energy. In this contribution, an energy harvesting cantilever array with magnetic tuning including three piezoelectric bimorphs is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Other than harvester designs proposed before, this array is easy to manufacture and insensitive to manufacturi
... Show MoreE. coli was isolated, and it was Gram-negative rod bacteria that was colony circular, regular edged, thick somewhat glitter and viscous(less). It was lactose fermenter bacteria and belongs the family of Enterobacteriaceae. E. coli showed sensitivity to all used antibiotics except Erythromycin (E), Cloxacellin (CX), Rifampin (RA), Cephalothin (KF), Ampicillin (AM), and Penicillin (P). The experimental results of antibiotic sensitivity of E. coli in media containing different concentrations of omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, showed an enhancement of resistance by decreasing the sensitivity of E. coli inversely with drug concentration against the antibiotics that E. coli was sensitive to. It seems that omeprazole changed cell mem
... Show MoreData steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods
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Paraffin wax is utilized for the heat storage applications taking advantage from the high stored latent heat during the phase change (from solid to fluid) period. What isn't right with this procedure is that the wax has a little heat transfer rate because of its low thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity improvement of the paraffin wax has been examined utilizing nano-material with high thermal conductivity. In the recent study, (Al2O3) nanoparticles with weights of 1, 2, and 3% of the paraffin wax were added to the paraffin wax. The Iraqi paraffin wax accessible at the local markets was utilized as a phase change material (PCM).
Many properties of the
... Show MoreAt present, numerous novel chemical compounds face challenges related to their limited solubility in aqueous environments. These compounds are classified under the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) as either class II or class IV substances. Different carriers were used to increase their solubility. Candesartan cilexetil (CC) is one of the most widely used antihypertensive drugs, which belongs to class II drugs. The aim of this research was to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of CC through a complexation approach involving β-cyclodextrin and its derivatives, specifically hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), methyl beta cyclodextrin (M-β-CD), and sulfonyl ether beta-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD), serving as
... Show MoreData steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods
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