A comparative analysis of automatic deep neural networks for image retrieval

Feature descriptor and similarity measures are the two core components in content-based image retrieval and crucial issues due to “semantic gap” between human conceptual meaning and a machine low-level feature. Recently, deep learning techniques have shown a great interest in image recognition especially in extracting features information about the images. In this paper, we investigated, compared, and evaluated different deep convolutional neural networks and their applications for image classification and automatic image retrieval. The approaches are: simple convolutional neural network, AlexNet, GoogleNet, ResNet-50, Vgg-16, and Vgg-19. We compared the performance of the different approaches to prior works in this domain by using known accuracy metrics and analyzed the differences between the approaches. The performances of these approaches are investigated using public image datasets corel 1K, corel 10K, and Caltech 256. Hence, we deduced that GoogleNet approach yields the best overall results. In addition, we investigated and compared different similarity measures. Based on exhausted mentioned investigations, we developed a novel algorithm for image retrieval

Estimation of some Immunological Factors in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تقييم بعض معايير المناعة الخلوية لمرضى التدرن الرئوي من خلال تقدير مستويات الانترلوكينات IFN-γ )وIL-10و( IL-12   وتقدير فيتامين. D3  تم خلال الدراسة جمع عينات الدم من 50 مريضا بالتدرن الرئوي من المراجعات الى العيادة الاستشارية للأمراض الصدرية في الحلة -محافظة بابل خلال الفترة مابين شهر شباط 2016 إلى شباط 2017. ومن بين مرضى التدرن الرئوي، كان هناك 27 ذكور و23 إناث، وعمر المرضى يتراوح بين 12-80 عاما. تم قياس السايتوكينات وفيتامين D3باستخدام تقنية الاليزا. أظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل الدم IL-10  وIL-12 أن هناك زيادة معنوية (p˂ 0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي بالمقارنة مع مجموعة السيطرة (4.024 و1.049) بغ / مل , (51.563 و13.514) بغ / مل على التوالي.  في حين لم يظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل IFN-γ زيادة معنوية (p˃0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي مقارنة بمجموعة السيطرة (36.505 و25.019) بغ / مل. أظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل الدم ل VD3 انخفاضا معنويا (p ˂ 0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي مقارنة بمجموعة السيطرة (18.186 و29.321) نغ/ لThis study aimed to assess the status of cell mediated immunity for pulmonary tuberculosis patients through evaluation levels of Interleukins (IFN-γ ,IL-10, IL-12) and estimation vitamin D3 . Whole blood samples collected from 50 pulmonary tuberculosis patients who are admitted to consultant clinic for respiratory diseases in Hilla – Babylon province during the period from February 2016 to February 2017. Out of the pTB patients, there were 27 males and 23 females, the patients age range was between 12-80 years. Cytokines levels and vitamin D3 estimated by using ELISA technique. The mean of serum concentration of IL-10  and IL-12 revealed that there is a significantly increased (p˂ 0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients as compared to controls (4.024 and 1.049)pg/ml (51.563 and 13.514) pg/ml ,respectively. While, the mean of serum concentration of IFN-γ showed no significant increasing (p˃0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients compared to controls (36.505 and 25.019)pg/ml.  The mean of serum concentration of VD3 showed a significant decreasing (p˂ 0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients as compared to controls (18.186 and 29.321) ng/ml. Conclusions: The results provide a good correlation between the levels of  IL-10 , IL-12, IFN-γ and Vitamin D3 with the cellular immunity against pulmonary tuberculosis

SPECTRAL ALGORITHM FOR CONTENT-BASED IMAGE RETRIEVAL

Colour images are rich in visual information. The process of searching for the most similar images in large-scale database based on visual features of query image is still a challenge in Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) due to a semantic gap issue. In this paper, we proposed a fusing retrieval method to diminish the gap between high-level and low-level meanings by involving two aspects. The first aspect is increasing the effectiveness of image representation. Hence, data-level fusion features were suggested, a local feature from Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Local Binary Patterns (LBP) in frequency and spatial domains respectively that was applied by a spectral clustering algorithm (graph-based) in addition to a global weighted LBP feature. The second aspect is fusing multiple retrieved similarity measures (scores/evidences) obtained from above global (LBP) and local features (DCTLBP) in terms of score-level fusion. The method is evaluated in WANG standard publically dataset

Investigating the Fouling Models of the Microfiltration Mixed Matrix Membranes-Based Oxide Nanoparticles Applied for Oil-in-Water Emulsion Separation

Membrane fouling is a major problem encountered in the use of microfiltration (MF) processes to separate the emulsified oil from water. This work involves assessing the efficacy of removing oil-in-water emulsion (O/W emulsion), and evaluating fouling resistance by studying the membrane morphology before and after fouling, and after washing with different cleaning solutions via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. Also, the fundamental mechanism involved in the flux drop during crossflow MF has been assessed using models such as the Hermia blocking models and the modified model by Field. The standard and intermediate pore blocking models provided the best prediction for experimental behavior when analyzing the decay in the flux with time for the bio silicon oxide/polyvinylchloride (B-SiO2/PVC) membrane and the stannic oxide/polyvinylchloride (SnO2/PVC) membrane. This research established regression equations of the flux for both membranes in which these equations are highly correlated with R2 of 98.33% for B-SiO2/PVC and R2 of 99.52% for SnO2/PVC using the surface response methodology (RSM). The high flux recovery ratio (FRR) is indicative of the improved antifouling feature of the manufactured membranes where it was 96.8% for B-SiO2/PVC and 94.6% for SnO2/PVC. The results obtained by Hermia and Field were in good agreement with RSM analysis supporting the standard pore-blocking mechanism.

Effect of measles infection on cellular immunity in tuberculosis patients

This study was applied on 60 TB patients admitted in the Babylon Center of Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases in Hilla, Iraq. TB patients consisted of 38 males and 22 females with 40 healthy individuals as control group. Blood samples were collected from patients and control group to estimate phagocytic index, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and anti-measles IgG level. The level of anti-measles IgG showed a significant increase (27.9 DU, p<0.05) in comparison to control (18.9 DU). The cell mediated parameters showed a significant decrease (p< 0.05) in phagocytic index (7.3%) with no significant increase in IFN-γ level (0.123 IU/ml, p> 0.05) compared to the control group

Virulence of bacteria isolates in Mesopotamian Himri, Carasobarbus luteus, from the Al-Diwaniya River, Iraq

About 100 C. luteus were examined to determine the extent of the presence of disease-causing bacteria in the Diwaniyah River from April 2021 to March 2022. The bacteria were isolated using the VITEK2 system, and vital tests identified the species Aeromonas hydrophila and Sphingobacterium thalpophilum. Aeromonas hydrophila and S. thalpophilum were tested in vitro, revealing noticeable antibiotic susceptibility. Levofloxacin (?0.22 ?g/ml for A. hydrophila and ?0.20 ?g/ml for S. thalpophilum), as well as Ciprofloxacin (?0.10 ?g/ml) and Imipenem (?0.23 ?g/ml), demonstrated notable effectiveness. Resistance to Cefazolin was observed in A. hydrophila (?69 ?g/ml) and S. thalpophilum (?70 ?g/ml). The study highlights the presence of harmful bacteria in C. luteus from the river, specifically A. hydrophila and S. thalpophilum. The findings emphasize the critical importance of prudent antibiotic use and ongoing monitoring in aquaculture practices to mitigate risks and safeguard public health

Assessment of Body Mass Index and Nutritional Status in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease which affects nutritional status of the patients. The presence of poor nutritional status in pulmonary tuberculosis patients has been one of the most important determining factor in recommending adjuvant nutrient therapy to prevent oxidative stress and further complication. Objective: This study was designed to assess the nutritional status and body mass index of pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Patients and methods: During the period 1st of June 2010 to 30th of May 2011, a prospective study was done on 60 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 60 controls. Levels of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB.), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Results: The mean levels of TP (59.5 ± 0.8g/dl), ALB (23.4 ± 1.8g/dl), TC (138.7 ± 4.9mg/dl), HDLC (32.2 ± 4.0mg/dl), LDLC (86.5 ± 1.3mg/dl) and TG (62.4 ± 1.3mg/dl) were significantly lower while the level of globulin (36.2 ± 1.2g/dl) was significantly higher in pulmonary tuberculosis patients when compared with controls (TP=81.2 ± 4.5g/dl; ALB= 50.0 ± 4.0g/dl; TC = 213.5 ± 26.8mg/dl; HDLC = 57.4 ± 8.5mg/dl; LDLC = 161.1 ± 28.3mg/dl; TG= 148.5 ± 37.1mg/dl; globulin = 31.4 ± 1.7g/dl respectively). (P <0.05) The body mass index (16.9 ± 1.1kg/m2) was significantly lower when compared with controls (BMI= 23.5 ± 2.1kg/m2). (P <0.05)20 Conclusion: There is a significant degree of nutritional depletion and weight loss in PTB patients than in general population. BMI is considered to be a useful technique for assessment of nutritional state of PTB. The nutritional derangement could call for prompt nutritional intervention in the management of pulmonary tuberculosis patients

Assessing L2 Argumentation in the UAE Context

In this rapidly changing world, argumentation and critical thinking skills are undeniably crucial for new generations of Emirati students. These skills lay the groundwork for a competitive economy, which is a priority for the UAE in its Vision 2021. Specifically, today’s modern workplaces require workers to evaluate different propositions and develop their own after weighing up these various ideas, and thus the ability to defend arguments in English has become increasingly important for UAE university students in English-medium universities as well as their future professional contexts. Despite this importance, research regarding argumentation and the related critical thinking skills is sorely lacking in the UAE. This chapter delineates how written argumentation was assessed in a timed essay in a mandatory argumentative writing course taken by university freshmen in a government university in the UAE, and how the feedback gleaned from this common assessment was mapped to the teaching curriculum to shed light on the teaching effectiveness and to provide directions for future teaching

The Management of Intangible Assets and Their Role in Improving Financial Performance and Creating Value, Analytical Study of a Sample of Iraqi Private Banks

The study aims to study the role of intangible assets in the banking sector using mixed methods. A quantitative approach was adopted to test the relationships between the various intangible elements and between them and the banking performance and value creation of a sample of seven private sector banks for the period from 2014 to 2016. The research problem focuses on the contribution of intangible assets (Al) in financial performance and value creation, The research is based on the hypothesis that there is no relationship between the variables of intangible assets and the performance and value creation in the sample banks. The empirical results indicate that human capital in senior management has a positive impact on customer relations or financial performance and creation. Value for the bank and A theoretical model based on intangible foundations have been developed, which reveals how intangible materials and physical/financial resources interact in the process of establishing bank value. The study reached a number of recommendations, the most important of which is that banks should draw their attention to the conformity of intangible indicators with the Bank's strategy and performance by offering suggestions to improve the measurement of intangible assets in financial institutions and the need to understand the importance of intangible assets through its various components in influencing activities