Comparitive Study on Face Recognition Using HGPP, PCA, LDA, ICA and SVM

We are comparing the performance of five algorithms of the face recognition i e HGPP PCA LDA ICA and SVM The basis of the comparison is the rate of accuracy of face recognition These algorithms are employed on the ATT database and IFD database We find that HGPP has the highest rate of accuracy of recognition when it is applied on the ATT database whereas LDA outperforms the all other algorithms when it is applied to IFD databas

The effect of interfacial compositions on the dispersed phase-induced gelation and controlled digestion of mono and bilayer nanoemulsions

This thesis examines the role of the interfacial thickness (δ) in controlling the gelation and digestion behaviour of oil-in-water emulsions (oil volume fraction, φ = 0.2 to 0.4)-stabilized by food-grade emulsifiers and polysaccharides. Importance was given to addressing the increase in effective volume fraction (φeff) of oil droplets beyond maximum random jamming (φMRJ) by reducing droplet size, removing excess emulsifier and changing the interfacial composition. In the first study, the gelation in 40 wt% canola oil-in-water nanoemulsions was investigated as a function of excess emulsifier Citrem (citric acid esters of mono and di-glycerides) removal from the aqueous phase. The removal of excess Citrem increased the viscosity, yield stress and storage moduli of nanoemulsions, more significantly at smaller droplet sizes. It was attributed to a change in inter-droplet interaction from non-DLVO oscillatory structural forces to DLVO dominated repulsive forces after removing excess Citrem. This also increased the δ and φeff beyond φMRJ, leading to a self-standing repulsively jammed nanoemulsion gel. Next, the droplet velocity and packing behaviour of Citrem-stabilized nanoemulsions were tracked using an analytical photo-centrifuge to predict their stability and shelf-life. The reduction of droplet size and removal of excess micelles improved the accelerated stability and shelf-life of the nanoemulsions. The droplets’ packing density (φp) was decreased under the applied RCF after removing excess micelles, which we related to strong repulsive forces between nanodroplets. To further increase the δ, a second layer of polysaccharide (chitosan and pectin) with different magnitude of charge was deposited on Citrem and whey protein isolate (WPI)-stabilized nanodroplets, respectively. Two different layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic deposition techniques, namely one-step versus two-step, were utilized for Citrem-chitosan and WPI-pectin systems, respectively. It was found that the rheology of bilayer emulsions was affected by the droplet size, presence and absence of excess emulsifier, polysaccharide concentration and charge, and the type of LbL method used. In the one-step LbL method, a liquid-like behaviour of Citrem-stabilized monolayer emulsions transformed into repulsive bilayer weak emulsions gel above a critical chitosan concentration, where electrostatic and steric repulsive forces had a significant contribution in elevating δ and φeff. However, the two-step LbL method and removal of excess emulsifier were more effective in creating well-distributed bilayer nanodroplets with increased interfacial thickness leading to an increase in gel strength compared to the monolayer emulsions at a lower φ. The deposition of the second layer also controlled the lipase action during in vitro digestion leading to lowering of lipid digestibility. Overall, the study showed that the random jamming amongst the nanodroplets could be induced by increasing δand φeff beyond φMRJ where emulsions behave like a viscoelastic gel. The fundamental knowledge developed from this research can be used to develop food-grade low-fat emulsion gels with controlled digestion

Evaluation of Stability of Complexes of Inner Transition Metal Ions with 2-Oxo-1-pyrrolidine Acetamide and Role of Systematic Errors

BEST FIT models were used to study the complexation of inner transition metal ions like Y(III), La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III), Nd(III), Sm(III), Gd(III), Dy(III) and Th(IV) with 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide at 30 °C in 10%, 20, 30, 40, 50% and 60% v/v dioxane-water mixture at 0.2 M ionic strength. Irving Rossotti titration method was used to get titration data. Calculations were carried out with PKAS and BEST Fortran IV computer programs. The expected species like L, LH+, ML, ML2 and ML(OH)3, were obtained with SPEPLOT. Stability of complexes has increased with increasing the dioxane content. The observed change in stability can be explained on the basis of electrostatic effects, non electrostatic effects, solvating power of solvent mixture, interaction between ions and interaction of ions with solvents. Effect of systematic errors like effect of dissolved carbon dioxide, concentration of alkali, concentration of acid, concentration of ligand and concentration of metal have also been explained here

Compounded Disturbance Chronology Modulates the Resilience of Soil Microbial Communities and N-Cycle Related Functions

There is a growing interest of overcoming the uncertainty related to the cumulative impacts of multiple disturbances of different nature in all ecosystems. With global change leading to acute environmental disturbances, recent studies demonstrated a significant increase in the possible number of interactions between disturbances that can generate complex, non-additive effects on ecosystems functioning. However, how the chronology of disturbances can affect ecosystems functioning is unknown even though there is increasing evidence that community assembly history dictates ecosystems functioning. Here, we experimentally examined the importance of the disturbances chronology in modulating the resilience of soil microbial communities and N-cycle related functions. We studied the impact of 3-way combinations of global change related disturbances on total bacterial diversity and composition, on the abundance of N-cycle related guilds and on N-cycle related activities in soil microcosms. The model pulse disturbances, i.e., short-term ceasing disturbances studied were heat, freeze-thaw and anaerobic cycles. We determined that repeated disturbances of the same nature can either lead to the resilience or to shifts in N-cycle related functions concomitant with diversity loss. When considering disturbances of different nature, we demonstrated that the chronology of compounded disturbances impacting an ecosystem determines the aggregated impact on ecosystem properties and functions. Thus, after 3 weeks the impact of the ‘anoxia/heat/freeze-thaw’ sequence was almost two times stronger than that of the ‘heat/anoxia/freeze-thaw’ sequence. Finally, we showed that about 29% of the observed variance in ecosystem aggregated impact caused by series of disturbances could be attributed to changes in the microbial community composition measured by weighted UniFrac distances. This indicates that surveying changes in bacterial community composition can help predict the strength of the impact of compounded disturbances on N-related functions and properties

Corrosion Study of Metals in Marine Environment

Atmospheric corrosion rate of Al, Zn and mild steel (MS) as well as salinity and sulphation rate have been determined under outdoor exposure at Tithal (Dist. Valsad) situated in South Gujarat, India. MS samples exposed vertically suffer less corrosion than those exposed at an angle of 45°. Monthly corrosion rate was in the decreasing order of Al <Zn <Ms; whereas yearly rate also follow the same trend

Tecnología de Bioflóculos: Un camino hacia la acuacultura sustentable

La acuacultura se ha convertido en el sector alimentario con la más alta tasa de crecimientos en los últimos años. Sin embargo, esta actividad tiene un importante impacto ambiental principalmente por el uso de grandes cantidades de agua y la alta cantidad de efluentes contaminados. La tecnología de bioflóculos (BFT) ofrece una alternativa sustentable que, a través de la actividad metabólica de una comunidad de microorganismos, puede ayudar a mantener la calidad del agua, permite ser utilizada como alimento por los organismos de cultivo y beneficia el sistema inmune de los organismos acuáticos. En este artículo se presenta a la BFT como una potencial herramienta que permita obtener alimentos de calidad y dirija la acuacultura hacia un camino sustentable

Enhanced mycorrhization in four species of columnar cacti under the Sonoran Desert tree <em>Olneya tesota</em>

Background: Columnar cacti survival in deserts occurs mainly under nurse plants, due to better conditions for germination and establishment, as greater humidity, and nutrient concentration. However, interactions like the association between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and roots remain relatively unexplored. We evaluated the mycorrhizal status and soil rhizosphere properties of four  columnar cacti species growing both under and outside their nurse plant. Hypotheses: Soil properties improvement under nurse plants has been correlated with the abundance of AMF.  Therefore, a greater number of AMF structures and roots mycorrhization would be in facilitated plants, compared to the same species growing outside the nurse. Studied species: Nurse plant: Olneya tesota, facilitated species: Carnegiea gigantea, Pachycereus pringlei, Pachycereus schottii, and Stenocereus thurberi. Study site and dates: Central Gulf Coast subdivision of the Sonoran Desert, Sonora, Mexico; October 2020. Methods: Cacti roots and soil rhizosphere were collected under and outside the nurse plant. Roots were stained, and mycorrhizal colonization (MC), hairy roots (HR), visual density (VD), and number of spores were determined. Physicochemical soil properties were analyzed. Results: Values of MC, VD, spore number, organic matter (OM), nitrate, and total and assimilable phosphorous were higher under the nurse compared to bare areas. Conclusions: The hypothesis that mycorrhization parameters are greater in roots of cacti growing under the nurse was confirmed, besides previous knowledge about soil quality under nurse plants, suggesting that AMF play a significant role in the cacti facilitation process under nurses plants, and that nurse plant plays a significant role in AMF formation

Associations between anthropometric indicators and refraction in school-age children during the post-COVID-19 era

PurposeTo explore the associations between anthropometric indicators and refraction in school-aged children in the post-COVID-19 era.MethodsData were collected from 25,644 children aged 7 to 12 years in 48 elementary schools in Tianjin. The comprehensive examination included height, weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), refraction, and calculation of BMI, with a follow-up visit after 6 months. Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction (SER) ≤-0.50 diopter (D). Bivariate correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression models were used to explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between anthropometric indicators (height, weight, BMI, SBP, and DBP) and refraction.ResultsThe mean changes in height, weight, BMI, SBP, DBP, and SER of the participants were 4.03 ± 2.18 cm, 3.10 ± 2.39 kg, 0.45 ± 1.16 kg/m2, 2.26 ± 14.74 mmHg, 2.18 ± 11.79 mmHg and −0.17 ± 0.51 D, respectively. Overall, height, weight, BMI, SBP, and DBP were all correlated with SER (r = −0.324, r = −0.234, r = −0.121, r = −0.112, r = −0.066, both p &lt; 0.001), and changes in height and weight were correlated with changes in SER (r = −0.034, −0.031, both p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the association of BMI, SBP, and DBP with SER was significant in myopic children but not in non-myopic children. The association between changes in weight and changes in SER was only present in non-myopic children but not in myopic children.ConclusionHeight and weight were negatively correlated with SER in both cross-sectional analysis and longitudinal changes, indicating that children's height, weight and growth rate may be used as a reference indicator for myopia risk prediction and myopia progression monitoring