An Efficient Skewed Line Segmentation Technique for Cursive Script OCR

Segmentation of cursive text remains the challenging phase in the recognition of text. In OCR systems, the recognition accuracy of text is directly dependent on the quality of segmentation. In cursive text OCR systems, the segmentation of handwritten Urdu language text is a complex task because of the context sensitivity and diagonality of the text. This paper presents a line segmentation algorithm for Urdu handwritten and printed text and subsequently to ligatures. In the proposed technique, the counting pixel approach is employed for modified header and baseline detection, in which the system first removes the skewness of the text page, and then the page is converted into lines and ligatures. The algorithm is evaluated on manually generated Urdu printed and handwritten dataset. The proposed algorithm is tested separately on handwritten and printed text, showing 96.7% and 98.3% line accuracy, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed line segmentation algorithm correctly extracts the lines when tested on Arabic text.

Completeness and quality of text paging for subspecialty consult requests

It is unclear whether previously developed frameworks for effective consultation apply to requests initiated by alphanumeric text page. We assessed a random sample of 210 text paged consult requests for communication of previously described ‘essential elements’ for effective consultation: reason for consult, level of urgency and requester contact information. Overall page quality was evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale. Over 90% of text paged consult requests included contact information and reason for consult; 14% indicated level of urgency. In ordinal logistic regression, reason for consult was most strongly associated with quality (OR 22.4; 95% CI 8.1 to 61.7), followed by callback number (OR 6.2; 95% CI 0.8 to 49.5), caller’s name (OR 5.0; 95% CI 1.9 to 13.1) and level of urgency (OR 3.3; 95% CI 1.6 to 6.7). Results suggest that text paged consult requests often include most informational elements, and that urgency, often missing, may not be as ‘essential’ for text pages as it was once thought to be.

Comprehensive Analysis of Web Page Classifier for Fsocused Crawler

Focused Crawler collects domain specific web page from the internet. However, the performance of focused web crawler depends upon the multidimensional nature of the web page. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of recent web page classifiers for focused crawlers and also explores the impact of web-based feature in collaboration with web classifier. It also evaluates the performance of classification technique such as Support vector machine, Naive Bayes, Linear Regression and Random Forest over web page classification. Along with that it examines the impact of web feature i.e. anchor text, Page content and link over web page classification. Finally the paper yield interesting result about the collective response of web feature and classification technique for web page classification as a relevant class and irrelevant class.

Real Time Implementation of Optical Character Recognition Based TTS System using Raspberry pi

Thetext to speech (TTS) conversion technology is proposed to help the blind people and people with poor vision. According to survey done by World Health Organization (WHO) there are about 286 million blind people in this world and about 91% of them reside in developing countries. So there is necessity of portable TTS converter which should be affordable to help the blinds. To help the blind community a smart reader is proposed in this paper. It includes a web cam to capture input text page which is then processed by TTS unit installed in raspberry pi and the output is then amplified by audio and given out on speaker.

Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology for pointed links

A well-known conjecture states that for any [Formula: see text]-component link [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text], the rank of the knot Floer homology of [Formula: see text] (over any field) is less than or equal to [Formula: see text] times the rank of the reduced Khovanov homology of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we describe a framework that might be used to prove this conjecture. We construct a modified version of Khovanov homology for links with multiple basepoints and show that it mimics the behavior of knot Floer homology. We also introduce a new spectral sequence converging to knot Floer homology whose [Formula: see text] page is conjecturally isomorphic to our new version of Khovanov homology; this would prove that the conjecture stated above holds over the field [Formula: see text].

Optimizing Notification Of Hospital Admission: A Fellow-Led Quality Initiative

Background There is increasing attention nationally to improve the continuum of care for patients. The advent of hospitalists has created significant challenges in effective communication of patient care. The quality and reliability of hospital admission notification of patients to primary hematologists/oncologists, including fellows, anecdotally was a concern. Objective To determine the current level of satisfaction for University of Kansas Cancer Center practice (faculty and fellows) with notification of admission to University of Kansas Hospital and determine desired means of notification by Cancer Center practice. Based on a survey, an intervention would be developed to improve quality and satisfaction. Methods A pre-intervention survey was administered to determine the desired means and satisfaction of KU Cancer Center faculty and fellows. Based on the results of the survey, an intervention was devised with the use of the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) to generate an inbasket message with desired details. A post-intervention survey will be administered to evaluate the intervention. Results Pre-intervention survey was completed by 23 of 51 (45%) invited participants. 16 of 23 (70%) who completed the survey were not notified of admissions. The remaining 7 (30%) participants were notified of admissions but there were no standard means of notification [Fig 1]. Only 4 (17%) of the participants were satisfied and 12 (52%) of the participants were dissatisfied and very dissatisfied with admission notification [Fig 2]. Only 3 (13%) were satisfied and 14 (60%) were dissatisfied and very dissatisfied with the timeliness of admission notification [Fig 3]. The top 3 preferred means of admission notification desired by participants included in-basket message in EMR (n=18), email (n=18), text page (n=14) [table 1]. The top 2 preferred content of the notification desired by participants included Admission Date (n=20) and Diagnosis (n=20) [table 2]. Post-intervention survey is yet to be completed but preliminary results are promising, and will be reported at the time of poster presentation. Conclusion A key component of the continuity of care for patients is good, timely communication, including the notification of the admission of patients. A fellow-led intervention highlights opportunities for fellows to participate and execute quality initiatives that meet both educational and professional needs. Utilization of the EMR and technology can improve communication, as demonstrated by this initiative. We achieved great improvement in the provider satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of notification, which should facilitate better care for patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Rainbow Crow – Nagweyaabi-Aandeg by D. Bouchard

Bouchard, David. Rainbow Crow – Nagweyaabi-Aandeg. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2012 Print and CD-ROM.David Bouchard is a best-selling Métis author who has received literary awards and the Order of Canada. This volume is a retelling of the Lenape myth of how crows became black and acquired their raspy voices. The story is printed in English and Ojibwe. The accompanying CD-ROM is read in English, French (Bouchard) and Ojibwe (Jason Jones) with background music by the Paris-based Ecuadorian group, Manantial. The recordings are high quality and the readings clear and easy to understand. In the English reading, Bouchard incorporates some dramatic reading and changes of voice for different animals.Bouchard opens the book with a description of the appropriate protocol for storytelling. He asks listeners to sit in a circle, on the earth or floor. The story comes from a time before people, when the winters were very cold and the animals thought that they might perish. They send little Crow, a small bird with rainbow-coloured feathers and a beautiful song, to visit the Creator to get help. The Creator gives her a burning branch to take back, and on the return trip she is burned. The Creator rewards her bravery and sacrifices with beautiful black feathers that shine with the colours of the rainbow, a strong family and burnt-tasting flesh so that no one will want to hunt her.In the story, traditional values emerge. We see the Council at work, deciding how to solve the problem and agreeing on who should go to the Creator. We see the exchange of gifts as a method of maintaining relationships and bravery and sacrifice for the community being honoured and rewarded. Throughout, the story is illustrated by the paintings of Toronto artist David Jean, done on traditional drums. The images take up one full page and spill over onto the facing text page. The whole book is grounded in a brown and beige colour palette that incorporates the natural colour variations of the skin on a drum. Highlight colours are used, for example in the crow’s rainbow feathers, but the colours are muted. Overall this is fine book from a master story teller, with the added bonus of the audio-CD. Because traditional stories contain lessons for the whole community, this book is of interest to all ages and the CD makes it accessible to all ages. Rainbow Crow is also available in French and is a wonderful addition to school and public libraries. Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.