Hand Movement Detection in Collaborative Learning Environment Videos

Human activity detection in digital videos is currently attracting significant research interest. This problem is especially challenging for video datasets that have a lot of human activity, illumination noise, and structural noise. The video dataset associated with the Advancing Out of School Learning in Mathematics and Engineering (AOLME) project has these challenges. ALOME videos have been used in the study of human activities “in the wild”. This thesis explores detection of hand movement using color and optical flow. Exploratory analysis considered the problem component wise on components created from thresholds applied to motion and color. The proposed approach uses patch color classification, space-time patches of video, and histogram of optical flow. The approach was validated on video patches extracted from 15 AOLME video clips. The approach achieved an average accuracy of 84% and an average receiver operating characteristic area under curve (ROC AUC) of 89%

Studies of Helix Formation in Model Chains, Poly(l-Proline) and Somatostatin (Polyproline).

The studies presented in this work relate to conformational studies of polymers and biopolymers. Polyethylene is used as a model chain to develop a general formalism to characterize helical molecules with varying degrees of flexibility. The average projection of a unit vector along the last bond onto a unit vector along the first bond is the principal quantity calculated for modeling purposes. Behavior of this average projection has been examined for helical chains in which flexibility is introduced by either of two devices: random occurrence of a configuration much different from that required for helix propagation and use of a square well potential centered at the dihedral angle utilized in a rigid helix. Essential features are modeled by coupled damped harmonic oscillators. Representative poly(L-proline) chains containing peptide bonds in the trans configuration have been generated using a conformational energy surface which successfully reproduced the unperturbed dimensions in dilute solution. Representative chains have also been generated using selected portions of that surface in order to assess the influence of various features on the local conformation. Approach of the X component of the end-to-end vector to its asymptotic limit has been characterized for these same cases. Somatostatin, a hypothalamic tetradecapeptide, possesses a disulfide bond between the two cystein residues at position three and fourteen. Experimental studies obtained the molar extinction coefficient to be equal to 6300 l/m-cm at 280.5 nm. Optical rotatory dispersion studies found that somatostatin possesses no helical content in water for both the reduced and nonreduced form. In SDS the total helical content for the nonreduced form was measured to be about 10% and the reduced form about 40%. Monte Carlo calculations were performed in which elements from rotational isomeric state theory and Zimm-Bragg theory were incorporated. In water, calculation found that somatostatin contained virtually no helical structure regardless of whether the disulfide bond was intact. Additionally, it was found that the reduced somatostatin in SDS possessed a maximum f(,h) = 0.33 and the nonreduced form yielded f(,h) = 0.22. These numbers agree qualitatively with experimental results

SCF-MO and Monte Carlo Calculations of Poly (Dimethylsiloxane)

Self-consistent-field molecular orbital calculations are being used more and more extensively in determining the energies and properties of various confirmations of polymers. We are using the semi-quantum mechanical procedure MNDO (moderate neglect of differential overlap) to obtain various rotational conformations states of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Before calculation of these states, the molecule is geometrically optimized by using the ab initio procedure Guassian 86 at the 3-21G basis set level. Generations of 144 rotational states by rotating about two bonds simultaneously in increments of 30° were created. A potential energy surface was created from which Monte Carlo generated several polymer characteristics including characteristic ratio and radial distributions

SCF-MO Conformational Analysis of Polycroconaine

Abinitio calculations at the STO-3G basis set level using GAUSSIAN 92 were conducted on the monomer unit of polycroconaine, a conducting polymer with conductive properties similar to several metals, in order to determine the most probable conformation of the monomer. We also compared the energy difference between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals. Successive calculations were performed at dihedral angle intervals of 30° around the central bond of the monomer. Minimum energy was observed at 0° bond rotation, consistent with a theory that the polymer owes many of its conductive properties to a planar configuration in combination with extensive conjugation of the CC double bonds in the structure

Artificial Neural Networks Used to Predict Electrical Properties of Polymers

The ability to predict properties of molecules prior to their synthesis can be of great importance in optimizing their design. Substantial savings in time as well as cost can be achieved if some desired properties can be predicted prior to the synthesis of the molecule. The outer orbitals of a molecule are primarily responsible for many different properties of the molecules. These outer orbital parameters can be utilized by an intelligent computing system like an Artificial Neural Network to extract necessary knowledge about the properties of the molecule. An Artificial Neural Network was trained to extract electrical parameters of several polymers. The former was then tested using a number of molecules set aside (not used in training) solely for this purpose

Prediction of Potential Antimigraine Activity Using Artificial Neural Networks

More than 10 million Americans, three quarters of them women, suffer some degree of recurrent migraine headaches. Feverfew [Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz-Bip.) is a member of the Asteraceae family that is native to Europe. This plant is a perennial flowering aromatic plant common in gardens. It has been widely used as a self-medication of arthritis, fever, and migraine headaches for over 2000 years. Sesquiterpene lactones (SL) are the components responsible for the antimigraine activity of feverfew. In this research, the relationship between SL structural information and their biological activity was studied by using Gaussian 92 program in conjunction with artificial neural networks (ANNs).The molecular orbital parameters of SL were obtained by using Gaussian 92 program. A set of 39 SL molecules was divided into two groups, a training set containing 33 molecules and a testing set containing six molecules. An ANN was trained and tested by using training sets and testing sets on SL\u27s antimigraine activities. The results showed that ANNs successfully predicted the antimigraine activities of SL based on their different structural information

Optimal Dosage and Administration Practices for Vitamin K Antagonist Reversal With 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate

Expert consensus and international guidelines recommend urgent co-administration of vitamin K and 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrates (4F-PCCs) to rapidly reverse VKA-related bleeding. This narrative review examined real-world evidence and strategies to optimize international normalized ratio (INR) reversal, hemostasis, and outcomes in patients receiving 4F-PCC in this setting. Key determinants for success include the appropriate use of alternative dosing and administration strategies, such as fixed dosing and increased infusion speed, adherence to institutional guidelines, and removing significant institutional barriers to reduce time to treatment. In the opinion of authors, minimizing the time to treatment with 4F-PCCs is of paramount importance when treating patients with VKA-related bleeding. Practices that safely and feasibly shorten the time to administration should be included in guidelines for institutions responsible for anticoagulant care, and adhered to in centers that perform invasive procedures on patients receiving VKA therapy. Further studies are required to optimize use of 4F-PCC, particularly in relation to the ideal dosing strategy and the role of INR

Conformational Studies of Ortho- and Meto-Isomers and Methyl, Dimethyl, and Chloro Ortho-Substituted Analogues of Dantrolene Using Ab Initio SCF-MO Procedures

The conformation of the nitro group of nitroaromatic compounds relative to the aromatic ringsystem is suggested to affect their metabolic activation and mutagenicity. We have recently showed the nitrophenylfuran skeletal muscle relaxant, dantrolene, tobe a potent mutagen inSalmonella. Synthesis of or^o-substituted analogues of dantrolene was achieved in an effort to alter the conformation of the nitro group ina manner that willdecrease the mutagenicity. Using ab initio techniques we investigated the minimum energy conformation of the nitro group of dantrolene (/mitro) and its o-and mnitro isomers as well as the nitro group conformation of dantrolene\u27s ortho- mono- and di- substituted analogues. The most stable conformer for each isomer and analogue was found by optimizing the bond lengths and bond angles for each molecule and rotating about bonds ofinterest using the STO-3G basis set in the Gaussian-92 program at the Hartree-Fock level

“Dolls or teddies?”: constructing lesbian identity through community-specific practice.

The concept of ‘community’ often presents a problem for queer linguists. ‘The gay community’ is often viewed as an impossible site for research due to its imagined status, whilst local communities of gay people have been considered too heterogeneous and idiosyncratic to draw conclusions from. In this article, however, it is argued that both of these aspects of community can, and should, be a central focus of an investigation into language and sexual identity. Through the analysis of a conversation emerging from a lesbian group, using a sociocultural linguistics framework, it is argued here that the community of practice approach can play a crucial role in understanding how ideologies from ‘the gay community’ are used to construct a coherent sexual identity on a local level. The analysis reveals how the group engages in practices that enable them to construct micro-level personas in direct response to broader, ideological structures of heteronormativity