A statistical multiresolution approach for face recognition using structural hidden Markov models

This paper introduces a novel methodology that combines the multiresolution feature of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with the local interactions of the facial structures expressed through the structural hidden Markov model (SHMM). A range of wavelet filters such as Haar, biorthogonal 9/7, and Coiflet, as well as Gabor, have been implemented in order to search for the best performance. SHMMs perform a thorough probabilistic analysis of any sequential pattern by revealing both its inner and outer structures simultaneously. Unlike traditional HMMs, the SHMMs do not perform the state conditional independence of the visible observation sequence assumption. This is achieved via the concept of local structures introduced by the SHMMs. Therefore, the long-range dependency problem inherent to traditional HMMs has been drastically reduced. SHMMs have not previously been applied to the problem of face identification. The results reported in this application have shown that SHMM outperforms the traditional hidden Markov model with a 73% increase in accuracy

Sleep disorders in children with chronic kidney disease

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesThis case-control study assessed the prevalence of sleep disorders among Egyptian children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), either maintained or not maintained on hemodialysis (HD), and compared them with healthy age and sex-matched children.Patients and methodsThe total study population included 95 children, 54 of whom were CKD patients, 22 maintained on HD and 32 not maintained on HD; 41 healthy children of matched age and sex composed the control group.Subjective impairment of sleep quality was assessed using the Arabic version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Daytime sleepiness and restless leg syndrome (RLS) were assessed using a pediatric modification of the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and RLS Questionnaire, respectively.ResultsSleep disturbances were detected in 75.9% of the studied children with CKD: 81.8% in children with CKD undergoing dialysis, and 71.8% in children with CKD not on dialysis. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and RLS symptoms were reported in 22% and 20.4% of the studied children with CKD, respectively.ConclusionsSleep disturbances are very common among children with CKD. Sleep disturbances in patients with CKD include restless legs syndrome (RLS), excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), behavioral insomnias, and parasomnias

Tanggung Jawab Pengiriman Barang Ekspedisi Atas Kehilangan dan/ atau Kerusakan Barang Berdasarkan Undang-undang Nomor 38 Tahun 2009 Tentang Pos (Studi Kasus di Kantor Pos Solo)

This research is aimed to study the appropriation of Logistic Courier Services Company's responsibility based on the postal legislation billnumber 38 on 2009. This reasearch is an empirical law and applied with descriptive method. Data or legal material used is primary data obtained directly from PT. POS Indonesia, Solo Bramch. Secondary data were obtained from the materials library, books, journals, as well as the results of previous studies. The data collection technique is by interview and study documents or library materials and analyzed using qualitative analysis with interactive models. Based on the studies and discussions PT. POS Indonesia, specifically Solo branch related to the company's responsibility on lost and damaged items. The company has compensated for any damaged and missing contents which compensation values are already decided by the company. However, PT. POS Indonesia will not take any responsibilities for lost and missing items due to force majeure reasons. Legal remedy may be taken by the claimers due to loss and damage items is non-lawsuit path (non-litigations); which means the settlements done directly by PT. POS Indonesia and the customer. The court legal action (litigation) is used when a conflict of claims or complains cannot be settled by both parties. Based on the research done by the researcher at PT. POS Indonesia, Solo branch there has not been any lost and damaged items cases of filed complaint by the customers using these kinds of legal actions

Efecto de dos técnicas diferentes de terapia manual para el tratamiento de la postura de la cabeza adelantada: Un estudio comparativo

Antecedentes: La postura de la cabeza hacia adelante (FHP, por sus siglas en inglés) es una desalineación de la cabeza sobre el tronco que prolonga el momento externo al desplazar el centro gravitacional frente al eje que soporta la carga, causando estrés en los músculos suboccipitales con limitaciones de movimiento funcional y formación de puntos gatillo miofasciales (PGM). Objetivos: Comparar entre la técnica de inhibición del músculo suboccipital (SMIT) y la técnica de liberación progresiva de presión (PPRT) en el ángulo craneovertebral (CVA) y el rango de movimiento del cuello (ROM) en individuos con FHP y PGM suboccipitales activos. Métodos: Cuarenta y cinco sujetos fueron asignados aleatoriamente en tres grupos. El grupo A recibió ejercicio de corrección postural, el grupo B recibió SMIT y ejercicio de corrección postural, y el grupo C recibió PPRT suboccipital y ejercicio de corrección postural. Resultados: Se encontró significación estadística dentro y entre los grupos con respecto al ROM en todas las direcciones (P <0,05) excepto para la flexión del lado derecho e izquierdo entre los grupos A y B, que fue P = 0,54 y P = 0,67, respectivamente. CVA había mostrado resultados significativos dentro y entre los grupos (P <0,05), excepto para el grupo A versus el grupo B (P = 0,41). Conclusión: Ambas técnicas funcionan para aumentar el CVA y mejorar el ROM en individuos con FHP. Sin embargo, la PPRT suboccipital ha demostrado ser más eficaz.Background: Forward head posture (FHP) is a misalignment of the head on trunk that makes the external moment longer by shifting the gravitational center in front of the load bearing axis causing stress on the suboccipital muscles with functional movement limitationsand formation of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs).Objectives:To compare between suboccipital muscle inhibition technique (SMIT) and progressive pressure release technique (PPRT) on craniovertebral angle (CVA) and neck range of motion (ROM) in individuals with FHP and active suboccipital MTrPs.Methods: Forty-five subjects were randomly assigned in three groups. Group A was given postural correction exercise, group B received SMIT and postural correction exercise,and group C received suboccipital PPRT and postural correction exercise. Results: Statistical significance was found within and between groups in respect to ROM in all directions (P < 0.05)except for right and left side bending between groups A and B, which was P = 0.54 and P = 0.67, respectively. CVA had shown significant results for within and between groups (P < 0.05)except for group A versus group B(P = 0.41). Conclusion: Both techniques work to increase CVA and improve ROM in individuals with FHP. However, suboccipitalPPRT has shown to be more effective

Characterization of a Truncated Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor in a Primitive Metazoan, the Parasitic Flatworm Schistosoma mansoni

A novel glutamate-binding protein was identified in Schistosoma mansoni. The protein (SmGBP) is related to metabotropic glutamate receptors from other species and has a predicted glutamate binding site located within a Venus Flytrap module but it lacks the heptahelical transmembrane segment that normally characterizes these receptors. The SmGBP cDNA was cloned, verified by 5′ and 3′ Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE) and shown to be polyadenylated at the 3′end, suggesting the transcript is full-length. The cloned cDNA was subsequently expressed in bacteria and shown to encode a functional glutamate-binding protein. Other studies, using a specific peptide antibody, determined that SmGBP exists in two forms, a monomer of the expected size and a stable but non-covalent dimer. The monomer and dimer are both present in the membrane fraction of S. mansoni and are resistant to extraction with high-salt, alkaline pH and urea, suggesting SmGBP is either an integral membrane protein or a peripheral protein that is tightly associated with the membrane. Surface biotinylation experiments combined with western blot analyses and confocal immunolocalization revealed that SmGBP localized to the surface membranes of adult male schistosomes, especially the dorsal tubercles. In contrast, we detected little or no expression of SmGBP either in the females or larval stages. A comparative quantitative PCR analysis confirmed that the level of SmGBP expression is several-fold higher in male worms than cercariae, and it is barely detectable in adult females. Together, the results identify SmGBP as a new type of schistosome glutamate receptor that is both gender- and stage-specific. The high-level expression of this protein in the male tubercles suggests a possible role in host-parasite interaction

Pembuatan Aplikasi Pendukung Keputusan Untuk Peramalan Persediaan Bahan Baku Produksi Plastik Blowing Dan Inject Menggunakan Metode ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) Di CV. Asia

Persediaan bahan baku memiliki peranan penting bagi Perusahaan karena akan berpengaruh pada kemampuan Perusahaan untuk memenuhi permintaan pelanggan. Berbagai kendala dapat muncul akibat kurangnya bahan baku untuk produksi, seperti kekurangan bahan baku untuk produksi sehingga menimbulkan keterlambatan terhadap pemenuhan permintaan pelanggannya. Akibat keterlambatan tersebut akhirnya Perusahaan mengalami beberapa kerugian. Untuk mengatasi hal tersebut, Perusahaan memerlukan perencanaan di berbagai hal, khususnya perencanaan yang berhubungan dengan persediaan. Salah satu bentuk perencanaan persediaan yaitu meramalkan persediaan bahan baku untuk setiap waktu. Metode ARIMA merupakan metode yang disarankan untuk kasus CV. Asia karena memiliki sifat yang fleksibel, yaitu mengikuti pola data yang ada. Metode ARIMA memiliki tingkat akurasi yang tinggi dan cenderung memiliki nilai error yang kecil karena prosesnya yang terperinci. Model ARIMA yang diperoleh nantinya akan diimplementasikan dalam Microsoft Excel menggunakan Visual Basic for Application, dengan mempertimbangkan kondisi kekinian Perusahaan yang menggunakan Microsoft Excel untuk proses bisnis kesehariannya, sehingga dapat membantu CV. Asia untuk meramalkan persediaan bahan bakunya dan melakukan pengambilan keputusan

Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Potential of Citrus reticulata Collected in the Thanjavur District, South India

This study was designed to investigate the phytochemical and the antioxidant activities of fruits, peels and leaves extracts of Citrus reticulata. The total alkaloids, saponin, phenolic acid and flavonoids were determined spectrophotometrically while antioxidant potentials were evaluated with 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) protocols. The fruit extract shows the highest phenolic acid content of 33.94 mg/GAE/g. Flavonoids content was highest in the peels extract 14.30 mg/QE/g. All the extracts showed significant antioxidant activities H2O2, DPPH along a concentration gradient. Antioxidant capacity is also high in the test plant suggesting its biomedicinal value to human health