A Survey on Soft Biometrics for Human Identification

The focus has been changed to multi-biometrics due to the security demands. The ancillary information extracted from primary biometric (face and body) traits such as facial measurements, gender, color of the skin, ethnicity, and height is called soft biometrics and can be integrated to improve the speed and overall system performance of a primary biometric system (e.g., fuse face with facial marks) or to generate human semantic interpretation description (qualitative) of a person and limit the search in the whole dataset when using gender and ethnicity (e.g., old African male with blue eyes) in a fusion framework. This chapter provides a holistic survey on soft biometrics that show major works while focusing on facial soft biometrics and discusses some of the features of extraction and classification techniques that have been proposed and show their strengths and limitations

A NEW HYBRID MODEL BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SUPPLIER SELECTION PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM PURCHASING DEPARTMENT, UTP

Decision making process is a huge and crucial activity that must be given high attention by decision makers and managers as it affects all business strategies in organizations. Computer Based Decision Support System (DSS) is built and developed to assist decision makers in the activity of decision making process. DSS includes different components that integrate together out of which the most important part is the model based system. As a result of the rapidly increasing and sustainable needs of organizations, suppliers have become essential to any business. On the other hand, decision makers and managers face challenges when they are about to select suppliers due to the strong competitiveness among suppliers, obstacles that they will face when poor decisions are made, and many other reasons. Evaluating and selecting suppliers has been considered as the most critical and important process among the whole purchasing processes. However most of the existing models that have been proposed to support supplier selection decisions have various shortcomings. All the drawbacks of these models will be discussed during this research in details which indicates the urgent need for new suitable model. This research intends to develop a new hybrid model base DSS for supplier selection process that can guarantee better decision making. The new proposed model provides a suitable tool for assisting decision makers and managers to make the right decisions and select the most suitable supplier. The proposed model depends upon linear weightage model and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The proposed hybrid model will be applied using a real life case study to assess its effectiveness. In addition, What-if analysis technique will be used for model validation purpose. Finally, DSS software will be developed to utilize the proposed model to assist supplier selection decisions

The Relationship between the Education of Forensic Accounting & Accounting Students Competence in Sudanese Universities.

Forensic accountant plays a significant role in decreasing risk of financial & managerial misstatement in companies. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the education of (FA) & accounting students competence with reference to Sudanese universities. In order to achieve this aim, Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to generalize the results and conclude the findings. The data has been collected through a well-structured questionnaire is designed and will be distributed to a randomly chosen sample of business & economic staff members in some Sudanese universities. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data and test hypotheses. The results of the study suggest that the inclusion of forensic accounting topics within the curriculum of the accounting department in Sudanese universities developed the characteristics and skills required for a forensic accountant.Also, the study concludes thatthe studying of (FA) increase the ability detect the financial misstatement disputes in the future. The study recommends that there is a necessity for the Coordination between the academic & professional bodies on how to develop the (FA) in the Sudanese environment

Effect of Supplementation of Anise (Pimpinella ansium) to Raw Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) as Feed Additive on Broiler's Chicks Performane

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of supplementation of Anise as feed additive on broiler chicks performance. A total of one hundred and twenty eight unsexed one day old broiler chicks (hubbered) were used. The birds were randomly divided into four equal groups, of 32 birds with four replicates (8birds/replicate) in completely randomize design, four isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets A, B, C and D were formulated to meet the nutrient requirement for broiler chicks. Diet A contains a conventional feed ingredient as control, diet B contains (20% raw cowpea + 0.25% anise), diet C contains (20% raw cowpea + 0.50% anise) and diet D contains (20% raw cowpea + 0.75 anise). Parameters measured were weekly feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio(FCR). At the end of experimental period (6 weeks), birds were randomly selected (5 birds/replicate), weighed and slaughtered. The carcass weight were obtained and dressing percentage were calculated. The result showed that inclusion of Anise had no effect on feed intake up to the fifth week, whereas in the sixth week Anise significantly (P<0.05) increased feed intake, moreover, the treatments had significant (P<0.05) effect on total feed intake, the highest value observed in birds fed Anise at 0.75%. The dietary treatment had significant effect (P<0.05) on weekly weight gain up to the fourth week, weekly (FCR) showed significant difference during first and second week, whereas there was no significant effect on the final weight, total weight gain, total FCR and dressing percentage, carcass weight increased significantly by anise supplementation. In conclusion, the best performances and return value was observed in those birds fed (0.75%), Anise can be use as natural feed additive in broiler chicks die

DETECTION OF CHRONIC TYPHOID CARRIERS AMONG FOOD HANDLERS IN WAD MEDANI , GEZIRA STATE , SUDAN

Typhoid fever remains a disease of major public health importance in the tropics. This cross sectional prospective descriptive study was carried out between July 2005 to July 2008 in Wad Medani Town. The objective of the study was to identify chronic typhoid carriers among food handlers in Wad Medani. To achieve this objective, Vi agglutination test was used to determine suggested typhoid carriers among food handlers then stool culture was performed on those with a positive Vi agglutination test. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from suggested typhoid carriers about hygienic practices during food handling and processing .&nbsp; The collected data were reviewed and coded. Data were analyzed using SPSS versions 10.0 software for tabulation and statistical analysis. The results showed that, ten percent of the examined food handlers were found positive typhoid carriers by Vi agglutination test, 48.5% of the suspected of typhoid carriers were found positive by stool culture, street vendors were more common among suspected typhoid carriers, all of whom had not received any health education about typhoid disease. The study suggested the following recommendations: Regular health authority inspection visitor food handling personnel specially street vendors to exclude typhoid carriers among them, education and training course in good hygienic practices should be provided to all food handlers specially typhoid carriers by Food Control Department, Ministry of Health, Gezira State

The importance of agricultural infrastructure to transformation to organic farming in Libya.

The importance of agricultural infrastructure to the development of organic farming in Libya is receiving considerable attention from policy makers in view of its potential in contributing to economic development. There is a vital role for agricultural infrastructure in promoting organic farming development in Libya. This would increase employment, enhance general economic development and stimulate growth in other sectors. Agricultural infrastructure already contributes to the general development of Libyan agriculture, and it may be vital to improving sustainability.Despite growing research interest in agriculture in Libya, there is still work to be done to bring the relationship of infrastructure and organic farming development into focus. In order to understand better the role that infrastructure plays in the development of agriculture and transformation to organic farming. This research draws on agricultural development theory to enhance understanding on the relationship between agricultural infrastructure and transformation to organic farming in Libya. Particular attention is paid to the historical development of agriculture in Libya and the role politics played in shaping agricultural development and resultant policy initiatives. The empirical focus of the research is on three main agricultural regions in Libya. This study argues that despite the fact that organic farming is in its embryonic stages in Libya, there is the potential to transform agricultural practices to facilitate organic farming if the constraints of availability and accessibility associated with current agricultural infrastructure especially at the regional and farm levels are given adequate attention with the involvement of all stakeholders including farmers. Interviews with ten agricultural experts provide a range of insights into the issues associated with infrastructure and agricultural development. A variety of issues and constraints which serve as barriers to agricultural development in Libya were identified from data collected from 277 farmers through questionnaires. The research highlights the importance of availability and accessibility of agricultural infrastructure to the transformation to organic farming in Libya. There is inadequate and inappropriate infrastructure especially at the farm level to promote the development of organicfarming practices. A variety of suggestions is presented on ways to improve the development of agriculture in Libya. This includes a suggestion for closer collaboration among all stakeholders in the agricultural sector so that the provision of agricultural infrastructure will be at the preferred areas to maximize their utilisation. This will require improved communication among all stakeholders in the planning and implementation of agricultural policies. The research highlights the importance of availability and accessibility of financial assistance to farmers as well as the provision of food processing plant. The research shows that there is potential to enhance organic farming development in Libya and has demonstrated the importance of agricultural infrastructure to this process

A NEW HYBRID MODEL BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SUPPLIER SELECTION PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM PURCHASING DEPARTMENT, UTP

Decision making process is a huge and crucial activity that must be given high attention by decision makers and managers as it affects all business strategies in organizations. Computer Based Decision Support System (DSS) is built and developed to assist decision makers in the activity of decision making process. DSS includes different components that integrate together out of which the most important part is the model based system. As a result of the rapidly increasing and sustainable needs of organizations, suppliers have become essential to any business. On the other hand, decision makers and managers face challenges when they are about to select suppliers due to the strong competitiveness among suppliers, obstacles that they will face when poor decisions are made, and many other reasons. Evaluating and selecting suppliers has been considered as the most critical and important process among the whole purchasing processes. However most of the existing models that have been proposed to support supplier selection decisions have various shortcomings. All the drawbacks of these models will be discussed during this research in details which indicates the urgent need for new suitable model. This research intends to develop a new hybrid model base DSS for supplier selection process that can guarantee better decision making. The new proposed model provides a suitable tool for assisting decision makers and managers to make the right decisions and select the most suitable supplier. The proposed model depends upon linear weightage model and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The proposed hybrid model will be applied using a real life case study to assess its effectiveness. In addition, What-if analysis technique will be used for model validation purpose. Finally, DSS software will be developed to utilize the proposed model to assist supplier selection decisions

Mucin1 expression and gustatory function in postmenopausal females : a case-control observational study

Investigating possible relationship between Mucin1 expression levels in saliva, gustatory function, and taste perception in postmenopausal females. Using whole mouth taste test, twenty-five post-menopausal females (51.35 ± 5.22 years) and twenty-five p

Evaluación sérica y salival del factor de crecimiento transformante beta, factor de crecimiento endotelial vascular y factor de necrosis tumoral alfa en liquen plano oral.

Introduction: Lichen planus is one of the most common oral mucosal lesions. Transforming growth factor-? (TGF- ?) has a marked effect on epithelial–mesenchymal transition and immune cells function. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) mediates T-lymphocyte homing and apoptosis of epithelial cells. Objetive: The present study was conducted in order to compare the expression of serum and salivary TGF- ?, VEGF, TNF-? between OLP patients and control individuals to investigate if saliva can be used as an alternative to serum for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring disease. Materials and Methods: 23 OLP patients and 23 control individuals were included to evaluate serum and salivary TGF-?, VEGF, TNF-? using ELISA kits. Five milliliters of venous blood was collected and unstimulated saliva was collected by the spitting method. Results: Serum and salivary levels of TGF- ?, VEGF, TNF-? are higher in OLP patients compared to normal controls. Mean difference is higher in saliva than serum. Moreover, there was a significant difference in serum and salivary VEGF and TNF-? between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups. Conclusions: Saliva can be a used as a substitute for serum to evaluate levels of the assessed biomarkers.Introducción: El liquen plano oral es una de las lesiones de la mucosa oral más comunes. El factor de crecimiento transformante ? (TGF-?) tiene un efecto marcado sobre la transición epitelial-mesenquimal y la función de las células inmunes. El factor de crecimiento endotelial vascular (VEGF) es un regulador clave de la vasculogénesis y la angiogénesis. El factor de necrosis tumoral ? (TNF-?) media la localización de los linfocitos T y la apoptosis de las células epiteliales. Objetivo: El presente estudio se realizó con el fin de comparar la expresión en suero y saliva de TGF-?, VEGF, TNF-? entre pacientes con OLP y personas de control para investigar si la saliva se puede utilizar como alternativa al suero para fines de diagnóstico y monitoreo de la enfermedad. Material y Métodos: Se incluyeron 23 pacientes con OLP y 23 individuos control para evaluar los niéveles en suero y en saliva de TGF-?, VEGF, TNF-? utilizando kits ELISA. Se recogieron cinco mililitros de sangre venosa y se recogió saliva no estimulada por el método de escupir. Resultado: Los niveles séricos y salivales de TGF-?, VEGF, TNF-? son más altos en pacientes con OLP en comparación con los controles normales. La diferencia media es mayor en saliva que en suero. Además, hubo una diferencia significativa de VEGF y TNF-? en suero y saliva entre los grupos sintomáticos y asintomáticos. Conclusion: La saliva puede usarse como un sustituto del suero para evaluar los niveles de los biomarcadores estudiados

Molecular diagnosis and characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in turkeys and chickens in Germany reveals evidence for previously undetected parasite species

A total of 256 fecal specimens were randomly collected from farmed poultry in Germany and screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. by PCR and further characterized by direct automated DNA sequencing. Using a nested PCR amplifying approximately 830 bp 18S rDNA fragment, 7.03% (n = 18) of the samples were Cryptosporidium-positive. In detail, Cryptosporidium was detected in 9.3% (8/86) of turkeys, 5.7% (9/158) of broilers and 8.3% (1/12) of layers. After DNA sequencing, Cryptosporidium parvum the most frequently observed species was identified in 5.1% (13/256) of all poultry species, including 8.1% (7/86) of turkeys, 3.2% (5/158) of broilers and 8.3% (1/12) of layers. Cryptosporidium baileyi was detected in 1.3% (2/256) of the broilers only. Three novel unclassified Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 1.2% (1/86) of turkeys and 1.3% (2/158) of broilers. The infection rate was high in 13–20 week old turkeys, 1–6 weeks old broilers and >20 weeks old layers but differences between age groups were not significant. This is the first study in Germany uses molecular methods for the detection of Cryptosporidium in poultry. The results indicate that Cryptosporidium parasites are common among broilers and turkeys in Germany. Considering the large size of the poultry industry, the large amount of poultry meat that is consumed and the fact that C. parvum is also the most common Cryptosporidium parasite in humans, poultry might also be a source of human infections