Document layout analysis (DLA) is a preprocessing step of document understanding systems. It is responsible for detecting and annotating the physical structure of documents. DLA has several important applications such as document retrieval, content categorization, text recognition, and the like. The objective of DLA is to ease the subsequent analysis/recognition phases by identifying the document-homogeneous blocks and by determining their relationships. The DLA pipeline consists of several phases that could vary among DLA methods, depending on the documents’ layouts and final analysis objectives. In this regard, a universal DLA algorithm that fits all types of document-layouts or that satisfies all analysis objectives has not been developed, yet. In this survey paper, we present a critical study of different document layout analysis techniques. The study highlights the motivational reasons for pursuing DLA and discusses comprehensively the different phases of the DLA algorithms based on a general framework that is formed as an outcome of reviewing the research in the field. The DLA framework consists of preprocessing, layout analysis strategies, post-processing, and performance evaluation phases. Overall, the article delivers an essential baseline for pursuing further research in document layout analysis.

Accurate load forecasting is of utmost importance for modern power generation facilities to effectively meet the ever-changing electricity demand. Predicting electricity consumption is a complex task due to the numerous factors that influence energy usage. Consequently, electricity utilities and government agencies are constantly in search of advanced machine learning solutions to improve load forecasting. Recently, deep learning (DL) has gained prominence as a significant area of interest in prediction efforts. This paper introduces an innovative approach to electric load forecasting, leveraging advanced DL techniques and making significant contributions to the field of energy management. The hybrid predictive model has been specifically designed to enhance the accuracy of multivariate time series forecasting for electricity consumption within the energy sector. In our comparative analysis, we evaluated the performance of our proposed model against ML-based and state-of-the-art DL models, using a dataset obtained from the Distribution Network Station located in Tetouan City, Morocco. Notably, the proposed model surpassed its counterparts, demonstrating the lowest error in terms of the Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE). This outcome underscores its superior predictive capability and underscores its potential to advance the accuracy of electricity consumption forecasting.

Objective: To develop a machine learning-based model for predicting epileptic seizures by analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and classifying the interictal and preictal phases. Methods: The EEG signals were analyzed in both the time and frequency domains using advanced feature extraction techniques. Three different machine learning approaches were employed, with special focus on long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. Features were extracted and classified to differentiate between seizure and non-seizure phases. The proposed models were evaluated using the publicly available CHB-MIT EEG dataset. The study was conducted between September 2022 and September 2024. Results: Among the tested models, the LSTM-based approach using the full-feature extraction pipeline achieved the highest prediction accuracy of 97.73%. This performance demonstrates strong potential for real-time seizure forecasting. Conclusion: Machine learning, particularly LSTM models, can accurately predict epileptic seizures by analyzing EEG signal patterns. These findings support the development of automated seizure prediction systems that could significantly improve the quality of life for epilepsy patients.