A Lightweight Approach to In-Place Authoring for Mobile World Browsers

Achieving the ubiquity of in-place content authoring is essential to the next generation of mobile augmented reality browsers. In-place authoring is expected to be intuitive for end users and lightweight for common smart phones. We propose a solution for in-place world labeling that makes use of the smart phones' camera parameters, its built-in sensors and a little help from the user(s). The extracted data is used to calculate the 3D location of a point of interest in the user's scene and validate its presence within the cameras viewing pyramid. The proposed approach allows for single and multiple authors for the same POI which gives much promise for supporting social and collaborative authoring. We describe multiple techniques for calculating the POI location to accommodate for the different interaction scenarios with the users

Microbial Profile of Imported Carcass under Chilled Storage

            Bacterial contamination has been proven to be common in a variety of foods, especially meats. For this reason, this study was conducted to evaluate the bacteriological quality of imported chilled meat traded in Port-Said markets where 64 random samples of chilled meats represented by 28 imported chilled beef meat samples from lots arrived at Port-Said port (un-marketed) and 36 imported chilled beef meat samples collected from retailed markets at Port-Said governorate (marketed). Samples were analyzed for their total aerobic count., Enterobacteriaceae count, E. coli, total staphylococcus, and S. aureus counts and detection of salmonellae. The total bacterial count recorded an average of 10.73x104 and 2.5x106 in un-marketed and marketed chilled meat respectively. The results showed that 18 out of 64 meat samples were positive for Enterobacteriaceae and 6 samples out of them were unaccepted for human consumption. The incidence of E. coli was in 6 samples from the examined chilled samples, and the 6 were unaccepted. For staphylococcus, there were 24 positive samples, and 13 out of them were unaccepted and for S. aureus, 4 samples out of 64 samples were positive and 4 samples were unaccepted for consumption. Two samples out of 64 were positive for salmonella and considered unfit for human consumption. The obtained results confirmed the poor bacteriological quality of some imported chilled meat that is marketed in Port-Said retailed markets which is related to unhygienic transportation methods until reach the retailed markets

Value added by Spirulina platensis in two different diets on growth performance, gut microbiota, and meat quality of Japanese quails

Aim: The growth promoting effect of the blue-green filamentous alga Spirulina platensis (SP) was observed on meat type Japanese quail with antibiotic growth promoter alternative and immune enhancing power. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 180 Japanese quail chicks for 4 weeks to find out the effect of diet type (vegetarian protein diet [VPD] and fish meal protein diet [FMPD])- Spirulina dose interaction (1 or 2 g/kg diet) on growth perfor-mance, gut microbiota, and sensory meat quality of growing Japanese quails (1-5 weeks old). Results: Data revealed improvement (p<0.05) of weight gain, feed conversion ratio and European efficiency index due to 1, 2 g (SP)/kg VPD, and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD, respectively. There was a significant decrease of ileum mean pH value by 1 g (SP)/kg VPD. Concerning gut microbiota, there was a trend toward an increase in Lactobacilli count in both 1; 2 g (SP)/kg VPD and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD. It was concluded that 1 or 2 g (SP)/kg vegetarian diet may enhance parameters of performance without obvious effect on both meat quality and gut microbiota. Moreover, 1 and/or 2 g (SP) may not be invited to share fish meal based diet for growing Japanese quails. Conclusion: Using of SP will support the profitable production of Japanese quails fed vegetable protein diet

Fucoidan Ameliorates Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, DNA Damage, and Hepatorenal Injuries in Diabetic Rats Intoxicated with Aflatoxin B1

The current study was carried out to evaluate the ameliorative effect of fucoidan against aflatoxicosis-induced hepatorenal toxicity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Sixty-four Wister albino male rats were randomly assigned into eight groups (8 rats each) that received normal saline, fucoidan (FUC) at 100 mg/kg/day orally for 4 weeks, streptozotocin (STZ) at 50 mg/kg/i.p. single dose, STZ plus FUC, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at 50 μg/kg/i.p. after one month of the beginning of the experiment for 2 weeks, AFB1 plus FUC, STZ plus AFB1, or STZ plus AFB1 and FUC. Injection of rats with STZ induced hyperglycemia. Rats with STZ-induced diabetes, with or without AFB1 intoxication, had significantly elevated activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase, and levels of serum urea, creatinine, cholesterol, 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. In addition, these rats exhibited increased lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione concentration and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase enzymes in the hepatic and renal tissues. In contrast, administration of FUC to diabetic rats, with or without AFB1 intoxication, ameliorated the altered serum parameters, reduced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammatory biomarkers, and enhanced the antioxidant defense system in the hepatic and renal tissues. These results indicated that FUC ameliorated diabetes and AFB1-induced hepatorenal injuries through alleviating oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammation

Application of the BRC Sequential Extraction Scheme for Assessing the Leaching of Elements in Wood-Based Ash Fractions from a Large-Sized (115 MW) Industrial Power Plant of a Pulp and Board Mill

Extractions tests are widely used as tools to estimate the potential release of constituents, for example from waste materials, over a range of possible waste management activities, including recycling, reuse and landfill disposal. Sequential extraction procedures offer the advantage of simulating, to a certain extent, the vari ous natural environmental conditions. In this study, the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in wood-based bottom ash and fly ash was evaluated by the three-stage BCR sequential extraction procedure, in which elements in the bottom ash and fly ash were fractionated between acidsoluble (CH3COOH; BCR1), reducible (NH2OH-HCl; BCR2) and oxidisable (H2O2 + CH3COONH4; BCR3) fractions. For the bottom ash, the extractable concentration of Al (88 mg/kg; d.w.) and Ba (82 mg/kg; d.w.) in the BCR1 fraction were moderate, whereas the extractable concentrations of Mn (110 mg/kg; d.w.), S (310 mg/kg; d.w.) and Zn (200 mg/kg; d.w.) were relatively high. In the fly ash, the highest extractable concentrations in the BCR1 fraction were observed for S (14,400 mg/kg; d.w.) and Ba (26 mg/kg; d.w.). Therefore, when these ashes are disposed of in a landfill or utilized, for example, in earth construction, the above-mentioned metals are likely to be released from the bottom ash and from the fly ash since the elements associated with the acid-soluble (CH3COOH) fraction are more mobile and bioavailable than the metals in easily reduced (NH2OH-HCl) and oxidisable (H2O2 + CH3-COONH4) fractions.</p