Analyzing plantar pressure trajectories is crucial for assessing foot behavior in dynamic gait stability. We propose the identification of foot symmetry and the detection of deformities by analyzing the trajectories of the center of pressure (CoP) and peak pressure (PP). First, using a foot pressure mapping system, plantar pressure data are acquired during a normal gait cycle. After the data have been acquired, post processing extracts both the CoP and PP trajectories over the spatiotemporal domain of foot motion for each foot independently. For this purpose, we used the optical flow technique which accurately estimates the direction of foot motion. The extracted trajectories of each foot are then segmented into, the medial and lateral regions. This segmentation is essential for assessing symmetries and deformities of the foot. Our focus is on two types of foot deformities, flat and high-arched which are compared with a control population that we used to evaluate any errors in our proposed approach. The results show that our hybrid symmetry index, which includes CoP and PP trajectories along the butterfly medial region, has better sensitivity than traditional metrics. The medial region analysis thus seems to more effective at distinguishing between pathological and normal gait patterns
he study aims to build a model that revolves around the main question of the role of strategic agility (SA) in enhancing organizational excellence (OE). For the purpose of achieving OE and to determine the extent of interest and knowledge of managers at the Midwest Refineries Company (MRC) on the theoretical and practical implications, and on the performance foundations of these two vital variables with the aim of continuous improvement. A questionnaire was used and distributed to a random sample of 54 managers in this important energy production company. The study followed the descriptive analytical approach to answer the questions raised. The study model and dimensions were built according to reference models, most notably the models (Al-
... Show MoreThree Spirurid nematodes: Amidostomoides acutum (Lundahl,1848) Seurat, 1918, Epomidiostomum uncinatum (Lundahl,1848) Seurat, 1918 and Tetrameres sp. Creplin,1846 were isolated from the stomach (provenrticulus and gizzard) of the shoveler Anas clypeata from central Iraq. A brief description, morphometric and meristic characters for the nematodes were provided.Incidence of the three nematodes discussed with pertinent literatures.
Problem of water scarcity is becoming common in many parts of the world. Thus to overcome this problem proper management of water and an efficient irrigation systems are needed. Irrigation with buried vertical ceramic pipe is known as a very effective in management of irrigation water. The two- dimensional transient flow of water from a buried vertical ceramic pipe through homogenous porous media is simulated numerically using the software HYDRUS/2D to predict empirical formulas that describe the predicted results accurately. Different values of pipe lengths and hydraulic conductivity were selected. In addition, different values of initial volumetric soil water content were assumed in this simulation a
... Show MoreMicrobial lipases today occupy a place of prominence among biocatalysts owing to their ability to catalyze awide variety of reactions in aqueous and non- aqueous media, A.baumannii were isolated from different clinical specimens from hospitalized patients from Baghdad hospitals and were detected by biochemical tests and API20E system. The percentage of isolation was (16.6%), A. baumannii is an increasingly multidrug – resistant (MDR), it showed high level of resistant to Ceftriaxon, Colistin, Piperacillin, Co-trimoxazol, Tertracycline, Carbenicillin, Amoxicillin, Penicillin G, Gentamicin and Ceftazidim , wherease the isolates were highly sensitive to Imipenem, Ciprofloxacin, Meropenem, Amikacin, and Cefotaxime.
... Show MoreBackground BK polyomavirus is one of the common post-transplant viral infections, affecting ∼15% of renal transplantation recipients (RTR), leading to graft loss in more than half of cases. Objectives Study the rate of detection of BK virus (BKV) in RTRs in Pap-stained urine cytology specimens. Methods A single center study, urine samples were collected from 99 RTR patients, with 15 Living Donors (LD) and 15 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) were taken as controls. And urine cytology smears were Pap stained for detection of decoy cells (DCs). Results Out of the 99 RTRs, 27 (27.3%) patients were decoy positive, 8 out of these 27 patients had uncommon DCs, and 5 out of these 27 cytology positive patients (18.5%) had biopsy proven B
... Show MoreThis paper deals with the thirteenth order differential equations linear and nonlinear in boundary value problems by using the Modified Adomian Decomposition Method (MADM), the analytical results of the equations have been obtained in terms of convergent series with easily computable components. Two numerical examples results show that this method is a promising and powerful tool for solving this problems.
Although the events of September 2001 marked the United States' employment of solid forces in its direct comprehensive strategy to counter terrorist organizations and any other challenges to US national security, the United States did not lose sight of the importance of the cultural variable. The cultural variable is the United States' most important instrument of soft power in ensuring its dominance of the international system and promoting its global project. France viewed US soft power as a threat to its own civilizational pattern. Therefore, France considers culture to be an inherent component of its national personality and a cornerstone of its international standing as a major force. Additionally, the US-French political and economic
... Show MoreThe issue of penalized regression model has received considerable critical attention to variable selection. It plays an essential role in dealing with high dimensional data. Arctangent denoted by the Atan penalty has been used in both estimation and variable selection as an efficient method recently. However, the Atan penalty is very sensitive to outliers in response to variables or heavy-tailed error distribution. While the least absolute deviation is a good method to get robustness in regression estimation. The specific objective of this research is to propose a robust Atan estimator from combining these two ideas at once. Simulation experiments and real data applications show that the proposed LAD-Atan estimator
... Show MoreThe influence of the grounded electrode area on the ignition voltage in capcitively coupled radio frequency discharge at 13.56 MHz in argon gas is studied experimentally. The results indicate a systematic decrease of the breakdown voltage with increasing grounded electrode area for the same pd value. Results show that the secondary ionization coefficient γ increases with the increase of grounded electrode area. Furthermore, results also the discharge current at the breakdown voltage increases almost linearly with the increase of electrode area suggesting an almost constant current density.