Automatic adaptation decision making in the MPEG-21 framework: mechanisms and complementary description tools

This paper explains an effective mechanism to make automatic multimedia adaptation decisions within the MPEG-21 framework. The paper analyzes some difficulties for the implementation of automatic decision with the current MPEG-21 description schema. Subsequently, the paper proposes some improvements to the MPEG-21 description schema to address these difficulties. To demonstrate these improvements, the current implementation of the CAIN-21 framework is explained and several experiments are reporte

Silver nanocluster-based colorimetric/fluorimetric dual-mode sensor for the detection of bromide and sulfite in waters and wastewaters

In this work, the development of a fluorimetric/colorimetric dual-mode nanosensor for the determination of sulfite and fluorimetric determination of bromide involving silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) is reported. SO2 and Br2 were found to significantly modify the optical properties of AgNCs. Particularly, both volatiles weakened the fluorescence of AgNCs, whereas a color change from nearly colorless to yellowish/brown occurred upon exposure of AgNCs to SO2. Accordingly, three smartphone-based optical assays were devised for sulfite and bromide determination, involving in situ volatile generation and enrichment/trapping of the selectively formed volatiles by AgNCs confined in a droplet and exposed to the headspace above the sample. A hydrophobized cellulose substrate acting as drop holder enabled integrating both the enrichment and the subsequent smartphone-based optical detection in a straightforward manner. Smartphone-based digitization of the enriched AgNCs microdrops and subsequent image processing using a smartphone and its integrated App, respectively, were used for quantitative purposes. Under optimal conditions, limits of detection (LODs) of 1.1 μM and 1.5 μM were achieved for the fluorimetric determination of sulfite and bromide, respectively, whereas sulfite was alternatively determined by colorimetric readout, yielding a LOD of 37.0 μM. The repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation, was found to be in the range of 5.1–5.9 % in all cases (N = 8). The applicability of the method was demonstrated in aqueous samples of increasing complexity, with recoveries in the range 91–109 %. In addition, the responsiveness of AgNCs to SO2 and Br2 rendered them suitable for the monitoring of bromide and sulfite in increasingly relevant advanced reduction processes such as the UV/sulfite system, as demonstrated in this work.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2022-136337OB-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Harmonic index and harmonic polynomial on graph operations

Some years ago, the harmonic polynomial was introduced to study the harmonic topological index. Here, using this polynomial, we obtain several properties of the harmonic index of many classical symmetric operations of graphs: Cartesian product, corona product, join, Cartesian sum and lexicographic product. Some upper and lower bounds for the harmonic indices of these operations of graphs, in terms of related indices, are derived from known bounds on the integral of a product on nonnegative convex functions. Besides, we provide an algorithm that computes the harmonic polynomial with complexity O(n 2 ).This work was supported in part by two grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competititvidad, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (MTM2016-78227-C2-1-P and MTM2017-90584-REDT), Spain

Droplet-based luminescent sensor supported onto hydrophobic cellulose substrate for assessing fish freshness following smartphone readout

In this work, two sensitive droplet-based luminescent assays with smartphone readout for the determination of trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) are reported. Both assays exploit the luminescence quenching of copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) produced when exposed to volatile nitrogen bases. In addition, hydrophobic-based cellulose substrates demonstrated their suitability as holders for both in-drop volatile enrichment and subsequent smartphone-based digitization of the enriched colloidal solution of CuNCs. Under optimal conditions, enrichment factors of 181 and 153 were obtained with the reported assays for TMA-N and TVB-N, respectively, leading to methodological LODs of 0.11 mg/100 g and 0.27 mg/100 g for TMA-N and TVB-N, respectively. The repeatability, expressed as RSD, was 5.2% and 5.6% for TMA-N and TVB-N, respectively (N = 8). The reported luminescent assays were successfully applied to the analysis of fish samples, showing statistically comparable results to those obtained with the reference methods of analysis.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018-093697-B-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Improving scalable video adaptation in a knowledge-based framework

In a knowledge-based content adaptation framework, video adaptation can be performed in a series of steps, named conversions. The high-level decision phase in such a framework occasionally encounters several feasible parameter values of a specific conversion. This paper proposes to transfer further decisions to a low-level phase that decides which parameters maximise the quality of the adaptation. Particularly when more than one solution are available, an innovative quality measure is used for selecting the best values for the parameters among the set of values that fulfil the adaptation constraints in the case of scalable vide

Characterization and analysis of thionin genes

The general designation of thionins has been proposed for a family of homologous proteins that have been isolated from different tissues in a wide range of plant taxa and have been variously named purothionins, viscotoxins, crambins, etc. (see Garcia-Olmedo et al., 1989). The possible involvement of thionins in plant defense was first suggested, on the basis of their in vitro toxicity to plant pathogens, by Fernandez de Caleya et al., (1972). Those observations had been prompted by earlier reports concerning the antimicrobial properties of these polypeptides (Stuart and Harris, 1942; Balls and Harris, 1944). Work on the thionins, which has been actively pursued over the past half-century, has been recently reviewed in detail (Garcia-Olmedo et al., 1989). For this reason, earlier work will only be partially summarized in the present chapter, which will focus on recent developments concerning thionin genes and their potential role in plant defense mechanisms

The thionins: a protein family that includes purothionins, viscotoxins and crambins

Almost half a century ago, a crystalline protein material was obtained from lipid extracts of wheat endosperm and designated "purothionin" (Trvpwo, wheat; 9 e i w v , sulphur) on account of its high sulphur content (Balls et al., 1942a,b). This material, which was thought to be the oxidized form of a powerful oxidation-reduction system, was found to have baetericidal and fungicidal properties (Stuart and Harris, 1942), to inhibit fermentation of wheat mashes (Balls and Harris, 1944), and to be toxic to laboratory animáis (Coulson et al., 1942)

A prevalent mutation with founder effect in Spanish recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa families

Background: Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) is a genodermatosis caused by more than 500 different mutations in the COL7A1 gene and characterized by blistering of the skin following a minimal friction or mechanical trauma. The identification of a cluster of RDEB pedigrees carrying the c.6527insC mutation in a specific area raises the question of the origin of this mutation from a common ancestor or as a result of a hotspot mutation. The aim of this study was to investigate the origin of the c.6527insC mutation. Methods: Haplotypes were constructed by genotyping nine single nucleotides polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the COL7A1 gene. Haplotypes were determined in RDEB patients and control samples, both of Spanish origin. Results: Sixteen different haplotypes were identified in our study. A single haplotype cosegregated with the c.6527insC mutation. Conclusion: Haplotype analysis showed that all alleles carrying the c.6527insC mutation shared the same haplotype cosegregating with this mutation (CCGCTCAAA_6527insC), thus suggesting the presence of a common ancestor.This work was supported in part by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF2007-61019 and SAF2010-16976) and INTRA/08/714 from Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER)

Trypsin/α-amylase inhibitors and thionins: possible defence proteins from barley

This chapter reviews recent work on the trypsin/α-amylase inhibitor and thionin protein families. The genomic distribution of protein genes in barley and related species, gene expression and in vitro activities are considered. Some of the evidence of a possible defence role against stored products pests for inhibitors and thionins is briefly discusse

X-linked ichthyosis along with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in the same patient

X-linked ichthyosis (XLI) is a relatively common keratinization disorder which is caused, in the vast majority of cases, by a total deletion of the sulfatase steroid (STS) gene. Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a scarring form of epidermolysis bullosa of either autosomal recessive or dominant inheritance secondary to collagen VII gene mutations. We report the first case of a patient with both XLI and DEB in whom a partial deletion of the STS gene and a recessive point mutation in COL7A1 were demonstrated