Conjunctival Vasculature (CV) as a unique modality for authentication, using Steady Illumination Colour Local Ternary Pattern (SIcLTP)

it has been proved that a new biometric modality based on the patterns of conjunctival vasculature performs well in visible spectrum. The vessels of the conjunctiva could be seen on the visible part of the sclera; these vessels are very rich and contain unique details in the visible spectrum of light. In this paper we have explored the feature extraction technique for conjunctival vasculature using Steady Illumination colour Local Ternary Patterns(SIcLTP). The concept of LTP as argued in various earlier published papers is that, it is very robust to noise and gives rich information at the pixel level. In this paper before feature extraction the images are converted into YIQ colour space from RGB colour space to do away with the redundant information demonstrated by RGB colour space. Further the image similarity and dissimilarity is found out using zero-mean sum of squared differences between the two equally sized images. The results received with AUC (Area Under ROC Curve) being 0.947, demonstrates the richness of the texture pattern of conjunctival vasculature and robustness of the method being used. It is concluded that this texture pattern is a very promising biometric modality which could be used for identification

Low cost spectro photometric determination of paraquat in environmental and biological sample

An extractive, sensitive spectrophotometer method has been developed for the detection and determination of paraquat using glucose ( as easily available reducing agent ). Paraquat is reduced with glucose in alkaline medium to give a blue colored ion with an absorbance maxima at 610 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the range 0.5-5.0 µg of paraquat in 10ml of the final solution (ppm). The important analytical parameters and the optimum reaction conditions were evaluated. The method was applied successfully to the determination of paraquat in water, grain, plant material and biological sample

On the character degree graph of solvable groups

Let G be a finite solvable group, and let 06(G) denote the prime graph built on the set of degrees of the irreducible complex characters of G. A fundamental result by P. P. P\ue1lfy asserts that the complement 06(G) of the graph 06(G) does not contain any cycle of length 3. In this paper we generalize P\ue1lfy\u2019s result, showing that 06(G) does not contain any cycle of odd length, whence it is a bipartite graph. As an immediate consequence, the set of vertices of 06(G) can be covered by two subsets, each inducing a complete subgraph. The latter property yields in turn that if n is the clique number of 06(G), then 06(G) has at most 2n vertices. This confirms a conjecture by Z. Akhlaghi and H. P. Tong-Viet, and provides some evidence for the famous \u3c1-\u3c3 conjecture by B. Huppert

Enhanced Arabic disaster data classification using domain adaptation

Natural disasters, like pandemics and earthquakes, are some of the main causes of distress and casualties. Governmental crisis management processes are crucial when dealing with these types of problems. Social media platforms are among the main sources of information regarding current events and public opinion. So, they have been used extensively to aid disaster detection and prevention efforts. Therefore, there is always a need for better automatic systems that can detect and classify disaster data of social media. In this work, we propose enhanced Arabic disaster data classification models. The suggested models utilize domain adaptation to provide state-of-the-art accuracy. We used a standard dataset of Arabic disaster data collected from Twitter for testing the proposed models. Experimental results show that the provided models significantly outperform the previous state-of-the-art results

Quantification of classical swine fever virus load by one-step TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay

315-322A fluorogenic-probe hydrolysis (TaqMan) real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay based on amplification of a 93 bp fragment from 5’un-translated region (5’UTR) of classical swine fever virus was used for detection and absolute quantification of the virus in clinical and tissue samples. For determining analytical sensitivity, an in vitro transcript RNA containing 5’UTR of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) strain Alfort187 from plasmid pCRXLV324-6 was used as a positive control and a standard for quantification of CSFV genomic RNA copies. The real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was used to assess the CSFV shedding from naturally infected pigs in whole blood, nasal swab and also in tissue samples. Used qRT-PCR was specific and sensitive as it could detect as low as 16.3 copies of CSFV genomic RNA. The assay was also reproducible as shown by satisfactory low intra-assay (0.80 % to 1.87 %) and inter-assay (1.00% to 3.80%) coefficient of variation with an efficiency of 102.3% and R2 of 0.993. Thus, the real-time qRT-PCR assay described here allows rapid, specific and sensitive laboratory detection and quantification of CSFV genomic RNA copies

Decreasing Physical Activity Levels across Religious Sikh Male South Asian Migrant Population in Kent, UK: A Public Health Concern

Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We investigated intergenerational physical activity level (PAL) among first and second generation Sikh Punjabi male subjects (n = 137), recruited from two Sikh temples in Medway, UK. Employing a crosssectional survey PA was quantified using the validated Global PA Questionnaire (GPAQ). Data were analysed using SPSS 20 and Epi Info software. Ninety-one per cent of the subjects were classified as overweight. Mean PAL range was sedentary to low levels of PA (1.45–1.60). Comparisons between first and second generation Punjabi male subjects showed that the two groups are equally culpable in not engaging in work-related or recreational PA, but for the second generation this is significantly lower. Low PAL is a contributory factor to increased risk and prevalence of NCDs among this population and a public health concern. Efforts to increase PA in this group should continue

Menstrual Cycle Effects on Mental Health Outcomes: An Ethnographic Study

Menstruation causes the body to go through a cycle of changes each month. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is the term used to describe the variety of symptoms that many women experience in the weeks before and during their periods. Some women do not at all suffer from PMS symptoms. However, some women’s symptoms may be crippling. We, therefore, examined the relationship between menstruation and mental health in this study and how one person can help the other. According to the current study based on a qualitative approach, 9% to 17% of women experience irritability, upset, or anxiety during their periods. Women report sleeping issues of 6% to 11%, mood swings of 9% to 16%, and bloating and pain of 9% to 16%. Between 8% and 15% of women get headaches around menstruation. Depression and period anxiety are both very typical. Premenstrual syndrome frequently includes these symptoms (PMS). Physical, emotional, and behavioural symptoms known as PMS are present during the premenstrual stage of the cycle and disappear once the period starts. In addition to food cravings, headaches, Mood swings, social withdrawal, exhaustion, and sore breasts, PMS can also cause sadness before and during periods. However, premenstrual dysphoric disorder may be to blame for significant depression before or during periods (PMDD)

A prospective study of consecutive emergency medical admissions to compare a novel automated computer-aided mortality risk score and clinical judgement of patient mortality risk

YesObjectives: To compare the performance of a validated automatic computer-aided risk of mortality (CARM) score versus medical judgement in predicting the risk of in-hospital mortality for patients following emergency medical admission. Design: A prospective study. Setting: Consecutive emergency medical admissions in York hospital. Participants: Elderly medical admissions in one ward were assigned a risk of death at the first post-take ward round by consultant staff over a 2-week period. The consultant medical staff used the same variables to assign a risk of death to the patient as the CARM (age, sex, National Early Warning Score and blood test results) but also had access to the clinical history, examination findings and any immediately available investigations such as ECGs. The performance of the CARM versus consultant medical judgement was compared using the c-statistic and the positive predictive value (PPV). Results: The in-hospital mortality was 31.8% (130/409). For patients with complete blood test results, the c-statistic for CARM was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.69 to 0.81) versus 0.72 (95% CI: 0.66 to 0.78) for medical judgements (p=0.28). For patients with at least one missing blood test result, the c-statistics were similar (medical judgements 0.70 (95% CI: 0.60 to 0.81) vs CARM 0.70 (95% CI: 0.59 to 0.80)). At a 10% mortality risk, the PPV for CARM was higher than medical judgements in patients with complete blood test results, 62.0% (95% CI: 51.2 to 71.9) versus 49.2% (95% CI: 39.8 to 58.5) but not when blood test results were missing, 50.0% (95% CI: 24.7 to 75.3) versus 53.3% (95% CI: 34.3 to 71.7). Conclusions: CARM is comparable with medical judgements in discriminating in-hospital mortality following emergency admission to an elderly care ward. CARM may have a promising role in supporting medical judgements in determining the patient's risk of death in hospital. Further evaluation of CARM in routine practice is required.Supported by the Health Foundation, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humberside Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR YHPSTRC)

Approaches to improving breast screening uptake: evidence and experience from Tower Hamlets

This paper reports on an innovative whole-systems approach to improving uptake of breast screening in Tower Hamlets, a deprived borough in the East End of London with a large minority ethnic population. The approach, developed by the public health team at NHS Tower Hamlets, draws on analysis of needs and existing literature about effective interventions to promote breast screening. Social marketing research led to a campaign targeted at Bangladeshi women, together with a range of initiatives to promote breast screening through primary care services and community outreach through local well-known organisations. The breast screening service itself was upgraded and a new service specification is being introduced from April 2009

Referrals from community optometrists to the hospital eye service in Scotland and England

OBJECTIVES: This audit assesses communication between community optometrists (COs) and hospital eye service (HES) in Scotland and England. METHODS: Optometric referrals and replies were extracted from six practices in Scotland and England. If no reply was found, replies/records were copied from HES records. De-identified referrals, replies and records were audited against established standards, evaluating whether referrals were necessary, accurate and directed to the appropriate professional. The referral rate (RR) and referral reply rate (RRR) were calculated. RESULTS: From 905 de-identified referrals, RR ranged from 2.6 to 8.7%. From COs' perspective, the proportion of referrals for which they received replies ranged from 37 to 84% (Scotland) and 26 to 49% (England). A total of 88-96% of referrals (Scotland) and 63-76% (England) were seen in the HES. Adjusting for cases when it is reasonable to expect replies, RRR becomes 45-92% (Scotland) and 38-62% (England) with RRR significantly greater in Scotland (P = 0.015). Replies were copied to patients in 0-21% of cases. Referrals were to the appropriate service and judged necessary in ≥90% of cases in both jurisdictions. Accuracy of referral ranged from 89 to 97% (Scotland) and 81 to 98% (England). The reply addressed the reason for referral in 94-100% of cases (Scotland) and 93-97% (England) and was meaningful in 95-100% (Scotland) and 94-99% (England). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the interdisciplinary joint statement on sharing patient information, this audit highlights variable standard of referrals and deficits in replies to the referring COs, with one exception in Scotland. Replies from HES to COs are important for patient care, benefitting patients and clinicians and minimising unnecessary HES appointments