Compressing Presentation-Dominated Video Files

A technique is proposed for efficiently compressing presentation-dominated video files. Processing logic may receive, from a video conferencing platform, a video file including multiple frames and audio. The processing logic further may identify multiple presentation slides associated with the video file. In some instances, to identify the multiple presentation slides, the processing logic may receive the presentation slides from one of the video conferencing platform or a user of the video conferencing platform (e.g., via a client device). The processing logic may further generate a mapping of each of the multiple presentation slides to one or more of the multiple frames based on a similarity level between a given presentation slide and a given frame and organize the mapping in a data structure (frame-slide mapping data structure). This similarity level may be determined using one or more machine learning models. The processing logic may further compress the multiple presentation slides, the audio, and the frame-slide mapping data structure to obtain a compressed file. The video can be recreated/uncompressed by inserting the presentation slides into the video frames as determined by frame-slide mapping data structure and adding the audio (e.g., the audio channel) to the generated video. This results in less storage cost compared to conventional compression algorithms and better video quality for static contents (e.g. text, diagrams, sheets, etc.) of the recreated video

A Study Assessing Gender Distribution Using Maxillary Sinus

INTRODUCTION: Corpse recognition is a difficult procedure. Comparison of both ante mortem and post-mortem records is essential and assists in identification of corpses. Typical methods of identification however sometimes may be inconclusive. Gender determination is an important aspect in identification of corpses. Previously skull, pelvis and the long bones have been used in gender determination. It has been reported earlier that maxillary sinus remains intact even when skull and long bones may be badly disfigured in incarnated victims.AIM: The aim of this study was to examine whether the measurements of the maxillary sinuses may possibly be used for gender determination.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Computed tomography scans of total of 50 Adults patients within the age range of 25 to 65 years from the previous dental records were taken. Sample comprised of 25 (50%) males and 25 (50%) females. The width, height and length was measured in all cases using CT images.RESULTS: Maxillary sinus exhibits anatomic variability between genders. A significant difference in the length and height of maxillary sinus was observed with respect to males and females. (p<0.005)CONCLUSION: We conclude from the present study that the height and length of maxillary sinuses together with other bones can be used for gender determination when skeleton is not available

Derivation of process control strategy for biosimilar: Is it different from the way a control strategy is derived for a novel biologic?

Quality based development (QbD) has become the preferred choice for developing manufacturing process for any biologic drug. A proponent for this approach has been the US Food and Drug Association (FDA). Recently, the first QbD applications have been successfully filed with FDA. Biosimilars have also gained popularity in the recent past. Development of these drugs are very different from the way a novel biologic is developed. In the last five years, many companies around the world have started working on Biosimilars of which some companies have been able to successfully develop and get approvals for Biosimilars in both FDA and European Medicenes agency (EMA). Application of QbD for a Novel and a Biosimilar drug is quite different. By nature of the requirement for developing a Biosimilar, quality of the ‘reference product’ against which the biosimilar is being developed is considered while making decisions during process development. Though the same concepts applies for a novel drug, the target quality profile is not as defined as one can write for a Biosimilar. This is because product quality information regarding the reference product is well-known and can be thoroughly analyzed and characterized. While the targets can be easily derived for a Biosimilar, deriving a process control strategy is tough. Critical Process Parameter (CPP) is defined as a process parameter that has significant impact on the safety and efficacy of the drug. While this definition for CPP is applicable for a Bisomilar also, another aspect which requires consideration for a Biosimilar drug is the impact of process parameters on ‘fingerprint biosimilarity’. Hence the classification of process parameters as those that are critical and those that are not is not as straight forward like for a Novel drug. Derivation of acceptance range for these parameters also is different – The acceptance range for CPPs when compared to that for a novel biologic is generally found to be narrow. This is because the desired range for the outputs (such as aggregates, glycan, charge, size variants etc.) is narrow owing to the product quality ranges observed for the reference product and not just the levels of the outputs which has an effect on safety and efficacy. These subtle differences make deriving the process control strategy for a Bisomilar different from a novel biologic. In this presentation, a detailed overview of scale down model qualification, process characterization experiments, and the control strategy for Biosimilar manufacturing processes is provided. A case study will be presented which showcases some of these concepts of deriving control strategy as how it is applied for a Biosimilar process

Identification and characterization of miRNAome in root, stem, leaf and tuber developmental stages of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) by high-throughput sequencing

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitous components of endogenous plant transcriptome. miRNAs are small, single-stranded and ~21 nt long RNAs which regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and are known to play essential roles in various aspects of plant development and growth. Previously, a number of miRNAs have been identified in potato through in silico analysis and deep sequencing approach. However, identification of miRNAs through deep sequencing approach was limited to a few tissue types and developmental stages. This study reports the identification and characterization of potato miRNAs in three different vegetative tissues and four stages of tuber development by high throughput sequencing. RESULTS: Small RNA libraries were constructed from leaf, stem, root and four early developmental stages of tuberization and subjected to deep sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis. A total of 89 conserved miRNAs (belonging to 33 families), 147 potato-specific miRNAs (with star sequence) and 112 candidate potato-specific miRNAs (without star sequence) were identified. The digital expression profiling based on TPM (Transcripts Per Million) and qRT-PCR analysis of conserved and potato-specific miRNAs revealed that some of the miRNAs showed tissue specific expression (leaf, stem and root) while a few demonstrated tuberization stage-specific expressions. Targets were predicted for identified conserved and potato-specific miRNAs, and predicted targets of four conserved miRNAs, miR160, miR164, miR172 and miR171, which are ARF16 (Auxin Response Factor 16), NAM (NO APICAL MERISTEM), RAP1 (Relative to APETALA2 1) and HAM (HAIRY MERISTEM) respectively, were experimentally validated using 5′ RLM-RACE (RNA ligase mediated rapid amplification of cDNA ends). Gene ontology (GO) analysis for potato-specific miRNAs was also performed to predict their potential biological functions. CONCLUSIONS: We report a comprehensive study of potato miRNAs at genome-wide level by high-throughput sequencing and demonstrate that these miRNAs have tissue and/or developmental stage-specific expression profile. Also, predicted targets of conserved miRNAs were experimentally confirmed for the first time in potato. Our findings indicate the existence of extensive and complex small RNA population in this crop and suggest their important role in pathways involved in diverse biological processes, including tuber development

PCM-assisted energy storage systems for solar-thermal applications: Review of the associated problems and their mitigation strategies

Latent heat energy storage (LHES) system is identified as one of the major research areas in recent years to be used in various solar-thermal applications. However, there are various challenges associated i.e., low thermal conductivity, leakage issues, stabilization concerns, etc. In this work, a comprehensive review of studies dealing with these problems and their mitigation strategies. Various design parameters influencing the performance of PCM-assisted systems are also discussed. This article further presents a detailed review of several mathematical models, based on system enthalpy and heat capacity-based modeling schemes along with the techno-economic analysis. The review results reflect the application of porous foams increasing thermal conductivity values of PCM composites relative to pure PCM working mediums. Moreover, the use of extended surfaces with appropriate geometries reduces the phase transition durations for the working medium significantly which enhances the thermal performance. Additionally, PCM encapsulations are identified as one of the widely accepted procedures intensifying the thermal performance of energy storage systems. However, the selection of appropriate encapsulation shell material and shell geometries are some of the important factors to be considered to ensure optimum system performance. This review focuses on the significant aspects of PCM encapsulation design parameters for several solar-thermal systems