Use of Convolutional Neural Network and SVM Classifiers for Traffic Signals Detection

Road signals are crucial for preserving a safe and effective flow of traffic. They give directions to cars, warn them of potential dangers, and notify them of the conditions of the road ahead. Road signs make roadways safer for both vehicles and pedestrians by regulating traffic and reducing accidents. Failure to obey traffic signals can be harmful and result in collisions. Drivers must always be conscious of their surroundings and pay attention to traffic signs. If a driver misses a signal, they should proceed with caution and safety to prevent injuring themselves or others, and they should seek assistance to reroute themselves.  Through the use of machine learning techniques, this project will create a traffic signal recognition system that will identify the traffic signals that are present on the road and inform the driver if the system determines that the motorist has missed a traffic signal or is thus violating traffic laws

Pilot study of DNA extraction from archival unstained bone marrow slides: comparison of three rapid methods

DNA can be isolated from a variety of human sample sources including anti-coagulant whole blood, bloodstains, hairs, tissue samples and buccal epithelial cells. The purpose of this study was to compare yield and quality of DNA samples obtained with the use of three different methods. The ability of these procedures to provide DNA for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification from archival unstained bone marrow slides was tested on 35 different patients’ slides. Boiling in distilled water (A), proteinase K/Tween 35 method coupled with simplified phenol/chloroform isoamyl alcohol protocol (B) and modified commercial nucleon extraction and purification protocol (C, Amersham Life Science) gave extraction efficiencies of 57, 74 and 100% respectively. Our results demonstrate that rough DNA extraction methods have decreased efficiencies compared to complete DNA extraction protocols and that the latter are required to ensure highly reproducible results from archival unstained bone marrow slides.Key words: DNA, polymerase chain reaction, bone marrow slides, reagent ki

Comparison of biocrude oil production from self-settling and non-settling microalgae biomass produced in the Qatari desert environment

The present study investigated the growth, harvesting, biocrude conversion, and recycling of the HTL aqueous phase for one self-settling (i.e., Chlorocystis sp.) and another non-settling (i.e., Picochlorum sp.) marine microalgae. Both the strains were grown simultaneously in 2 identical 25,000-L raceway ponds in the Qatari desert. The cell size of Picochlorum sp. was small (2–3 µm), and its biomass was harvested using a centrifuge. Cells of Chlorocystis sp. (6–9 µm) formed flocs that settled spontaneously in a sedimentation chamber. Harvested biomass of these two strains was then converted to biocrude oil, using a 500-mL Parr reactor. The biocrude yield of Picochlorum sp. and Chlorocystis sp. was 39.6 ± 1.15% and 34.8 ± 1.65%, respectively. The energy content of the biocrude oil was 32.78 and 33.38 MJ/kg for Chlorocystis sp. and Picochlorum sp., respectively. Both the strains were capable of efficiently utilizing more than 95% nitrogen of the HTL aqueous phase. Although lower biocrude yield was obtained from Chlorocystis sp., compared to Picochlorum sp., harvesting of Chlorocystis sp. would require much lower energy compared to Picochlorum sp. Therefore, a self-settling microalgae (e.g., Chlorocystis sp.) could potentially be a better candidate, over non-settling microalgae, for producing biofuel feedstock.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF, a member of Qatar Foundation) for providing the funding (under Grant NPRP8-646-2-272) for this study. The authors appreciate the assistance of Ms. Noora (from ESE labs) and Dr. Ahmed (from CLU) for GC?MS and CHN analyses, respectively.Scopu

Effect of Berberine on in vitro metabolism of Sulfonylureas: a herb-drug interactions study

Rationale: Patients with type 2 diabetes may co-ingest herbal and prescription medicine to control their blood sugar levels. Competitive binding of drug and herb may mutually affect their metabolism. This can alter the level of drug and its kinetics in the body, potentially causing toxicities or loss of efficacy. Understanding how metabolism of sulfonylureas like glyburide and gliclazide can be affected by the presence of berberine and vice versa can provide valuable information on the possible risk of toxicities caused by co-ingestion of drugs. Methods: Berberine and sulfonylureas (glyburide and gliclazide) were co-incubated with rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH regenerating system. The metabolites of berberine and sulfonylureas were analysed using liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode. The role of individual isozymes in the metabolism of berberine, glyburide and gliclazide was investigated by using specific inhibitors. Results: In vitro metabolism of berberine lead to the formation of demethyleneberberine (B1a) and B1b through demethylenation. Berberrubine (B2a) and its isomer (B2b) was formed through demethylation. The isozymes CYP3A and CYP2D were found to be involved in the metabolism of berberine. In vitro metabolism of glyburide and gliclazide lead to the formation of hydroxylated metabolites. The isozymes CYP3A and CYP2C were found to be involved in the metabolism of glyburide. Gliclazide was metabolised by CYP2C. In vitro co-incubation of glyburide or gliclazide with berberine showed that each drugs metabolism was compromised as both share a common isozymes. A strong negative linear correlation of glyburide or gliclazide metabolites levels and the concentration of berberine confirmed the effect of berberine on the metabolism of sulfonylurea

CO2 wettability of caprocks: Implications for structural storage capacity and containment security

© 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Structural trapping, the most important CO2 geostorage mechanism during the first decades of a sequestration project, hinges on the traditional assumption that the caprock is strongly water wet. However, this assumption has not yet been verified; and it is indeed not generally true as we demonstrate here. Instead, caprock can be weakly water wet or intermediate wet at typical storage conditions; and water wettability decreases with increasing pressure or temperature. Consequently, a lower storage capacity can be inferred for structural trapping in such cases

Dependence of quartz wettability on fluid density

Wettability is one of the most important parameters in multiphase flow through porous rocks. However, experimental measurements or theoretical predictions are difficult and open to large uncertainty. In this work we demonstrate that gas densities (which are much simpler to determine than wettability and typically well known) correlate remarkably well with wettability. This insight can significantly improve wettability predictions, thus derisking subsurface operations (e.g., CO2 geostorage or hydrocarbon recovery), and significantly enhance fundamental understanding of natural geological processes

Angiogenesis in urinary bladder carcinoma as defined by microvessel density (MVD) after immunohistochemical staining for Factor VIII and CD31

Background: Among the patients with bladder cancer, a group is still at risk of disease recurrence, progression, and death from their cancer after curative treatment. Angiogenesis is a crucial pathogenic mechanism for this type of urothelial carcinoma and is a potential therapeutic target. Objectives: To quantify tumor angiogenesis in bladder cancer and determine whether it correlates with tumor stage and grade. Patients and methods: A series of 42 archival samples from carcinomas of the urinary bladder were graded, staged, and analyzed for microvessel density (MVD) by a double immunohistochemical technique using Factor VIII (FVIII) and CD31 antibodies. The correlation between MVD and histopathological grade and tumor stage was evaluated. Results: FVIII and CD31 immunoreactivity was observed in 100% of cases and more intensely with CD31. Significantly higher MVD was determined in invasive tumors than in superficial tumors (p<0.05). MVD increased with tumor grade and stage (p<0.05); MVD was not affected by age or sex of the patients. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that MVD in bladder carcinoma correlates with the tumor grade and stage. Quantification of tumor angiogenesis may allow selection of the type of treatment for bladder cancer patients