Computer vision application proposal for smart inventory systems in convenience store reach-in refrigerators

Inventory systems in reach-in refrigerators employ manual or smart inventory outdated methods, although efficient, new methods like computer vision could render better results in less time, with less human intervention. The objective of this work proposes a computer vision system to acquire an inventory of products placed in reach-in convenience store refrigerators. A comparative of different computer vision object recognition models was performed to select the most appropriate model for the application. Then, based on the model characteristics and the application requirements, a YOLOv4 object recognition model was selected. Along with a 2-dimension camera positioning rig to capture a live video feed of the products to count for the inventory. Future works could include a real size prototype and further development into a commercial product.ITESO, A. C

Comparative genomic analysis uncovers 3 novel loci encoding type six secretion systems differentially distributed in Salmonella serotypes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The recently described Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) represents a new paradigm of protein secretion in bacteria. A number of bioinformatic studies have been conducted to identify T6SS gene clusters in the available bacterial genome sequences. According to these studies, <it>Salmonella </it>harbors a unique T6SS encoded in the <it>Salmonella </it>Pathogenicity Island 6 (SPI-6). Since these studies only considered few <it>Salmonella </it>genomes, the present work aimed to identify novel T6SS loci by <it>in silico </it>analysis of every genome sequence of <it>Salmonella </it>available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis of sequencing data from 44 completed or in progress <it>Salmonella </it>genome projects allowed the identification of 3 novel T6SS loci. These clusters are located in differentially-distributed genomic islands we designated SPI-19, SPI-20 and SPI-21, respectively. SPI-19 was identified in a subset of <it>S. enterica </it>serotypes including Dublin, Weltevreden, Agona, Gallinarum and Enteritidis. In the later, an internal deletion eliminated most of the island. On the other hand, SPI-20 and SPI-21 were restricted to <it>S. enterica </it>subspecies <it>arizonae </it>(IIIa) serotype 62:z4,z23:-. Remarkably, SPI-21 encodes a VgrG protein containing a C-terminal extension similar to S-type pyocins of <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</it>. This is not only the first evolved VgrG described in <it>Salmonella</it>, but also the first evolved VgrG including a pyocin domain described so far in the literature. In addition, the data indicate that SPI-6 T6SS is widely distributed in <it>S. enterica </it>and absent in serotypes Enteritidis, Gallinarum, Agona, Javiana, Paratyphi B, Virchow, IIIa 62:z4,z23:- and IIIb 61:1,v:1,5,(7). Interestingly, while some serotypes harbor multiple T6SS (Dublin, Weltvreden and IIIa 62:z4,z23:-) others do not encode for any (Enteritidis, Paratyphi B, Javiana, Virchow and IIIb 61:1,v:1,5,(7)). Comparative and phylogenetic analyses indicate that the 4 T6SS loci in <it>Salmonella </it>have a distinct evolutionary history. Finally, we identified an orphan Hcp-like protein containing the Hcp/COG3157 domain linked to a C-terminal extension. We propose to designate this and related proteins as "evolved Hcps".</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Altogether, our data suggest that (i) the <it>Salmonella </it>T6SS loci were acquired by independent lateral transfer events and (ii) evolved to contribute in the adaptation of the serotypes to different lifestyles and environments, including animal hosts. Notably, the presence of an evolved VgrG protein related to pyocins suggests a novel role for T6SS in bacterial killing. Future studies on the roles of the identified T6SS loci will expand our knowledge on <it>Salmonella </it>pathogenesis and host specificity.</p

SAgric-IoT: an IoT-based platform and deep learning for greenhouse monitoring

The Internet of Things (IoT) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) integration is a growing topic of interest for researchers as a technology that will contribute to transforming agriculture. IoT will enable farmers to decide and act based on data collected from sensor nodes regarding field conditions and not purely based on experience, thus minimizing the wastage of supplies (seeds, water, pesticide, and fumigants). On the other hand, CNN complements monitoring systems with tasks such as the early detection of crop diseases or predicting the number of consumable resources and supplies (water, fertilizers) needed to increase productivity. This paper proposes SAgric-IoT, a technology platform based on IoT and CNN for precision agriculture, to monitor environmental and physical variables and provide early disease detection while automatically controlling the irrigation and fertilization in greenhouses. The results show SAgric-IoT is a reliable IoT platform with a low packet loss level that considerably reduces energy consumption and has a disease identification detection accuracy and classification process of over 90%

Combination of DROOL rules and Protégé knowledge bases in the ONTO-H annotation tool

ONTO-H is a semi-automatic collaborative tool for the semantic annotation of documents, built as a Protégé 3.0 tab plug-in. Among its multiple functionalities aimed at easing the document annotation process, ONTO-H uses a rule-based system to create cascading annotations out from a single drag and drop operation from a part of a document into an already existing concept or instance of the domain ontology being used for annotation. It also gives support to the detection of name conflicts and instance duplications in the creation of the annotations. The rule system runs on top of the open source rule engine DROOLS and is connected to the domain ontology used for annotation by means of an ad-hoc programmed Java proxy

Influence of the Synthesis Method on the Preparation Composites Derived from TiO2-LDH for Phenol Photodegradation

Three different TiO2 catalysts are prepared using different methods. MgAl-CO32− layered double hydroxides (LDH) were obtained by the sol-gel method. In the preparation of the composites, the three photocatalysts were combined with LDH following different methodologies. The composites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area (SA), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The influence of the synthesis method on the preparation of the composites was evaluated by analyzing their photocatalytic activity against phenol as a model organic pollutant under UV irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the composites improves when the chemical interaction, determined by XPS, between the TiO2 and the LDH decreases. The same happens when the ratio of the anatase-rutile phases, determined by XRD, approaches optimum (80:20%). The effect of the composite concentration in the solution (0.5–2.0 g/L) was investigated, and the light-shielding phenomenon due to high composite concentration decreases the phenol photodegradation. The reduction of photocatalytic activity in reuse cycles is due to loss and partial deactivation of the material. The elimination of phenol is attributed primarily to the photocatalytic process due to the generation of ●OH radicals and to a lesser extent the adsorption process also present in the samples

Typical Mexican agroindustrial residues as supports for solid-state fermentation

Biological wastes contain several reusable substances of high value such as soluble sugars and fiber. Direct disposal of such wastes to soil or landfill causes serious environmental problems. Thus, the development of potential value-added processes for these wastes is highly attractive. These biological wastes can be used as support-substrates in Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) to produce industrially relevant metabolites with great economical advantage. In addition, it is an environment friendly method of waste management. In this study were analyzed six different Mexican agro industrial residues to evaluate their suitability as support-substrate in SSF, between physicochemical properties that have included Water Absorption Index (WAI), Critical Moisture Point (CHP) and Packing Density (PD). The selection of an appropriate solid substrate plays an important role in the development of an efficient SSF process. The results provided important knowledge about the characteristics of these materials revealing their potential for use in fermentation processes.(undefined

Catalytical Properties of Free and Immobilized Aspergillus niger Tannase

A fungal tannase was produced, recovered, and immobilized by entrapment in calcium alginate beads. Catalytical properties of the immobilized enzyme were compared with those of the free one. Tannase was produced intracellularly by the xerophilic fungus Aspergillus niger GH1 in a submerged fermentation system. Enzyme was recovered by cell disruption and the crude extract was partially purified. The catalytical properties of free and immobilized tannase were evaluated using tannic acid and methyl gallate as substrates. KM and Vmax values for free enzyme were very similar for both substrates. But, after immobilization, KM and Vmax values increased drastically using tannic acid as substrate. These results indicated that immobilized tannase is a better biocatalyst than free enzyme for applications on liquid systems with high tannin content, such as bioremediation of tannery or olive-mill wastewater

Novel Strategies for Upstream and Downstream Processing of Tannin Acyl Hydrolase

Tannin acyl hydrolase also referred as tannase is an enzyme with important applications in several science and technology fields. Due to its hydrolytic and synthetic properties, tannase could be used to reduce the negative effects of tannins in beverages, food, feed, and tannery effluents, for the production of gallic acid from tannin-rich materials, the elucidation of tannin structure, and the synthesis of gallic acid esters in nonaqueous media. However, industrial applications of tannase are still very limited due to its high production cost. Thus, there is a growing interest in the production, recovery, and purification of this enzyme. Recently, there have been published a number of papers on the improvement of upstream and downstream processing of the enzyme. These papers dealt with the search for new tannase producing microorganisms, the application of novel fermentation systems, optimization of culture conditions, the production of the enzyme by recombinant microorganism, and the design of efficient protocols for tannase recovery and purification. The present work reviews the state of the art of basic and biotechnological aspects of tannin acyl hydrolase, focusing on the recent advances in the upstream and downstream processing of the enzyme

Entrepreneurial intentions of Colombian business students: planned behaviour, leadership skills and social capital

Purpose: This paper reconceptualizes the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in the light of social cognitive theory to investigate the role of social capital, and specifically leadership skill as a social capital generating influence in formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Methodology: A new conceptualization of TPB is proposed to allow the impact of bonding and bridging cognitive social capital to be mediated by TPB constructs of perceived desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurship. Hypotheses are developed related to leadership skills, family background and social norms as external and internal indicators of social capital, and tested on primary data from 322 student respondents in a Colombian business school. Findings: Leadership skills, indicative of bridging cognitive social capital, are found to be strongly and significantly associated with entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating role of the core TPB constructs. Evidence for the role of bonding social capital through measures of the social acceptability of entrepreneurship and family background is mixed, and in the case of family background no indirect association with intentions is found. Research limitations/implications: Although the Latin American context would suggest significant population variation in personal and background resource, there is relatively little variation across this sample, particularly in terms of family background. Thus rates of graduate entrepreneurship may relate more closely to constraints acting on entry into higher education than on other background characteristics, and therefore that future work in similar contexts ought to be conducted across a wider socio-economic sample. Practical implications: Opportunities to develop and enhance student perception of leadership ability through either education or experience might improve levels of graduate entrepreneurship, alongside traditional activities to raise self-efficacy and perceived salience of entrepreneurship. Originality/value: Student leadership skills have rarely been addressed in the context of entrepreneurship development. This paper highlights the relevance of this in a developing economy context