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%

Jimmy Swaggart's Secular Confession

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version is available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02773940902766748 .Following the exposure of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart’s illicit rendezvous with a New Orleans prostitute, the Assemblies of God simultaneously orchestrated a massive attempt to silence those who would discuss the tryst and arranged the most widely publicized confession in American history theretofore. The coincidence of a “silence campaign” with the vast distribution of a public confession invites us to reconsider the nature of the public confession. For what place has a public confession, the discourse of disclosure par excellence, in a silence campaign? This question is best answered, I argue, if we understand public confession not as a stable a-historical form, but as a practice that is informed by multiple, competing traditions. I argue that by situating Swaggart’s performance in a philosophically modern and secular tradition of public confession we can understand both its complicity in a silence campaign and, more generally, the political logic of the modern public confession

Modeling computational studies of modified drug molecules binding to the LRRK2 protein in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative and progressive disease of the central nervous system. It affects more than 10 million patients worldwide and the symptoms allow for little to no control for movement. These symptoms appear because the chemical messenger dopamine is being made in small quantities from impaired cells. However, the disease often forms when there is a mutation in the LRRK2 gene, as the functions of the protein become abnormal. The IC50 value is essential information about molecules because it measures their effectiveness. The goal of this research was to design molecules with a lower IC50 value. This was first done by modeling molecules on the molecular modeling program, Gaussian 09. Modifications were made to molecules that were said to bind to the LRRK2 protein. Modifications ranged from adding a single atom or replacing atoms with groups. After running these molecules on the program, the total energy was found. Using the equation found from the correlation between 1/IC50 and the total energy, the IC50 value was predicted for each of the modified molecules. Many of the modified molecules portrayed a positive percent difference between the original IC50 value and the new one. This saves both time and money because the molecules with lower IC50 values can be made, preserving the resources. After creating the molecule with a low IC50 value, further experimental procedures can be taken; this is a large step in assisting researchers to reach a potential treatment because it is more efficient

Methylphenidate extended-release oral suspension for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a practical guide for pharmacists

Joshua Caballero,1 Edress H Darsey,2 Faith Walters,2 Heidi W Belden2 1Department of Clinical and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Larkin Health Sciences Institute, Miami, FL, 2Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA Abstract: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects children, adolescents, and adults worldwide. The purpose of this review was to inform pharmacists of the numerous options to treat ADHD, with a focus on one of the more recently approved formulations, methylphenidate extended-release oral suspension (MEROS). Symptoms of ADHD can negatively impact an individual’s health and quality of life and impair function in multiple settings. Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate- and amphetamine-based agents are first-line pharmacologic treatments for ADHD. However, there are multiple formulations, including immediate release (administered two to three times/day), solid extended release (ER), or transdermal patch. MEROS is a once daily, long-acting liquid preparation that has demonstrated favorable safety and efficacy in patients with ADHD. MEROS may improve treatment adherence in patients who cannot tolerate or have difficulties administering pill or transdermal patch formulations. Keywords: drug formulation, administration, adherenc

Solar Thermal Test Facility experiment manual

Information is provided on administrative procedures, capabilities, and requirements of experimenters using the Solar Thermal Test Facility. (MHR