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

In despite of the expansion of using the dummy variables as a explanatory variables, but their using as a dependent variables is still limited, and the reason of that may be return to may problems when using dummy variables as a dependent variables. the study aimed to using the quality Response Models to Measuring Efficiency of cows farms by random sample including (19) farm from (Abi gherak district). The study estimating the transcendental logarithmic production function by using stochastic frontier Analysis (SFA) to interpret the relation between the return achieved from the cows farms as a dependent variables and each of labor and capital as an independent variables. the function indicates that increasing in labor by (100%) will

Four simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) beams were test experimentaly and analyzed using the extended finite element method (XFEM). This method is used to treat the discontinuities resulting from the fracture process and crack propagation in that occur in concrete. The Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) used to model concrete as a heterogenous material consists of a three-phasic material (coarse aggregate, mortar, and air voids in the cement paste). The coarse aggregate that was used in the casting of these beams rounded and crashed aggregate shape with maximum size of 20 mm. The compressive strength used in these beams is equal to 17 MPa and 34 MPa, respectively. These RC beams are designed to fail due to flexure when subjected to lo

Television white spaces (TVWSs) refer to the unused part of the spectrum under the very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands. TVWS are frequencies under licenced primary users (PUs) that are not being used and are available for secondary users (SUs). There are several ways of implementing TVWS in communications, one of which is the use of TVWS database (TVWSDB). The primary purpose of TVWSDB is to protect PUs from interference with SUs. There are several geolocation databases available for this purpose. However, it is unclear if those databases have the prediction feature that gives TVWSDB the capability of decreasing the number of inquiries from SUs. With this in mind, the authors present a reinforcement learning-ba

Fe3O4:Ce thin films were deposited on glass and Si substrates by Pulse Laser Deposition Technique (PLD). Polycrystalline nature of the cubic structure with the preferred orientation of (311) are proved by X-ray diffraction. The nano size of the prepared films are revealed by SEM measurement. Undoped Iron oxide and doped with different concentration of Ce films have direct allowed transition band gap with 2.15±0.1 eV which is confirmed by PL Photoluminescence measurements. The PL spectra consist of the emission band located at two sets of peaks, set (A) at 579±2 nm , and set (B) at 650 nm, respectively when it is excited at an excitation wavelength of 280 nm at room temperature. I-V characteristics have been studied in the dark and under v

In this study, structures damage identification method based on changes in the dynamic characteristics
(frequencies) of the structure are examined, stiffness as well as mass matrices of the curved
(in and out-of-plane vibration) beam elements is formulated using Hamilton's principle. Each node
of both of them possesses seven degrees of freedom including the warping degree of freedom. The
curved beam element had been derived based on the Kang and Yoo’s thin-walled curved beam theory
in 1994. A computer program was developing to carry out free vibration analyses of the curved
beam as well as straight beam. Comparing with the frequencies for other researchers using the general
purpose program MATLAB. Fuzzy logic syste

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene at locations -308G/A, -857C/T, and -863C/A with the tendency of being non-responder to etanercept.

Patients and methods: Between October 2020 and August 2021, a total of 80 patients (10 males, 70 females; mean age: 50 years; range, 30 to 72 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving etanercept for at least six months were included. The patients were divided into two groups responders and non-responders, based on their response after six months of continuous treatment. Following polymerase chain reac

This paper generalizes and improves the results of Margenstren, by proving that the number of -practical numbers  which is defined by   has a lower bound in terms of . This bound is more sharper than Mangenstern bound when  Further general results are given for the existence of -practical numbers, by proving that the interval contains a -practical for all