A Novel Method for Color Measurement of Cotton Fiber

Měření barevnosti bavlněných vláken je velmi zajímavou vlastností těchto vláken a hraje důležitou roli v klasifikování bavlny. Obecně užívané parametry barevnosti bavlněných vláken jsou Rd (odrazivost) a +b (žlutost). Tyto parametry jsou měřeny pomocí HVI (High Volume Instrument). Bavlněné barevné standardy jsou keramické dlaždice a bavlněné vzorky produkované USDA. Cílem výzkumu je využití LED světelných zdrojů při měření barevnosti bavlny. Běžně používané světelné zdroje pro měření barevnosti jsou xenony a žárovky. LED zdroje mají potenciální výhody oproti běžně užívaným světelným zdrojům, protože jsou energeticky účinnější, umožňují delší pracovní dobu, jsou bezpečnější a šetrnější k životnímu prostředí. Bezkontaktní metoda měření se používá ze specifické měřící vzdálenosti. Tato metoda umožňuje měření barevnosti bavlny s velkou přesností vůči minimální ploše měřeného povrchu. Hodnoty barevnosti a jasu měřené bezkontaktní metodou měření jsou hypoteticky uspořádané jako vizuální hodnocení. Bezkontaktní metoda se také využívá pro hodnocení barevných změn. Barevnost bavlny je navíc ovlivněna i tím, vyskytují-li se na jeho povrchu odpadové částice. Tyto částice ovlivňují i instrumentální měření bavlněných vzorků. V bavlnářském průmyslu se k hodnocení bavlny používá vizuální technika zahrnující vizuální posudky. Toto hodnocení je spolehlivější v tom smyslu, že lidský zrak nebere v potaz částice na povrchu vláken a dává tak barevnost pouze v oblasti bavlny. Další užívanou možností pro hodnocení barevnosti bavlny je obrazová analýza, která umožňuje odstranit zbytky částic na povrchu a poskytuje tak barevnost čisté bavlny. Podle průmyslového hlediska jsou však vizuální posudky a přístrojové hodnocení v poměrně vysoké neshodě. Nicméně bylo vynaloženo značné úsilí pro snížení této neshody mezi způsoby hodnocení. Přesto je konečné hodnocení prováděno na základě vizuálního hodnocení. Pro techniku prahování v rámci obrazové analýzy se používají tři hodnoty, a to hodnoty světlosti L*, čistoty C* a odstínu H* bavlny. Vizuální hodnocení se provádí vůči standardům USDA pro barevné třídění bavlny. Standardy USDA se používají pro hodnocení barevnosti bavlny. Vizuální hodnocení je porovnáváno technikou prahování. Bylo dosaženo uspokojivých výsledků s jasným snížením neshody mezi vizuálním a instrumentálním hodnocením. Cíle výzkumu je dosaženo vytvořením zlepšeného systému pro měření barevnosti pro třídění bavlny.The color measurement of the cotton fiber is very important property of the cotton fiber and it plays important role in grading of the cotton. Globally used color parameters of the cotton fiber are Rd and +b. These parameters are measured by HVI (High volume instrument). Cotton color standards are ceramic tiles and cotton samples which are provided by USDA. The focus of the research is the utilization of the LEDs as a light source in the cotton color measurement system. Conventional lighting used for cotton color measurement is xenon and incandescent. LEDs have potential benefits over the conventional lighting system as these are more energy efficient, offers more working hours, safer and environment friendly. Non-contact method is used from a specific distance. This method enables to measure the cotton color with immense precision due to the minimum area of the surface used for the measurement. The chromaticity and luminance values measured through the no-contact method are hypothetically arrangement of visual assessment. Non-contact method is also used for the evaluation of the color variation. Cotton color representation can be misleading in a way that the surface of the cotton sample contains the trash particles. As far as the instrumental measurement of cotton color is concerned the presence of these trash particles is a big obstacle in the way of exact measurement of cotton sample. But, cotton industry also uses visual inspection technique for the color measurement of cotton. This technique involves the human assessment. It is more reliable in a sense that the human assessment does not take into consideration the trash particles and gives the color values only of the cotton region. Image processing technique is used in my research work which enables us to eliminate the trash particles from the surface of the cotton and gives only the color of the cotton region. According to the industrial point of view the disagreement between the visual assessment of cotton color and instrumental assessment of the cotton color measurement is quite high. Although, lots of efforts have been made to minimize this disagreement but still, the final grading is performed on the basis of visual assessment. Thresholding technique is used for the trash segmentation. Three regions L* (Lightness), C*(Chroma), H* (Hue) is used for the thresholding technique. This Visual assessment is performed according to the USDA standards for the cotton color grading. USDA cotton samples are also used for the assessment of the cotton color. And the visual assessment is compared with the thresholding technique. Satisfactory results are obtained with a clear reduction of the disagreement between visual assessment and instrumental measurement. The objective of the research is achieved by developing an improved color measurement system for cotton grading

SPIDER FAUNA PREVAILING IN PAKISTAN

Current study was conducted at University of Balochistan during 2018. The data involving check list of spider fauna of Pakistan was reviewed and compiled as a review paper from published articles. Spider act as biological control in every agro-ecosystem. The occurrence of spider Fauna in Pakistan as well as a brief summary is presented in this research, revealed 249 species belonging to 32 families, 80 genera from different regions of Pakistan, from Sindh 132 species, Punjab 111 species, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 90 species and from Gilgit Baltistan 29 species were recorded. The most dominant families were Arachnida, Lycosidae, and Salticidae. Keywords: Spider fauna, Arthropods

Synthesis, characterization and urease inhibitory activities of Zn(II) complexes bearing C1-symmetric ligands derived from (R)-phenylethanamine

ABSTRACT. A series of Zn(II) complexes, supported with N-substituted phenylethanamine derivatives, [LnZnCl2] (where Ln = LA ((R)-1-phenyl-N-(thiophene-2-ylmethyl)ethanamine; LB (R)-N-(5-meyhylthiophene-2-yl)methyl-1-phenylethanamine; LC ((R)-N-(furan-2-ylmeththyl)-1-phenylethanamine and LD (R)-N-((5-methylfuran-2-yl)methyl)-1-phenylethanamine) were synthesized and characterized. The urease inhibitory activities of these complexes were determined against selected urease inhibitors where [LBZnCl2] was found to be the most prominent inhibitor of Jack bean urease (J. B. urease) (IC50 = 10.39±0.78 μM), whereas the activity of Bacillus pasteurii urease (B. P. urease) was predominantly inhibited by [LAZnCl2] (IC50 = 8.68±0.7 μM). Additionally, MOE-Dock program was used to affirm the probable binding modes of these complexes into the crystal structure of J. B. urease which certainly verified the inhibitory mechanism of these novel complexes.                     KEY WORDS: Zn(II) complexes, (R)-Phenylethanamine, Urease inhibition, Molecular docking   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(2), 301-314. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i2.

Do I Talk Too Much in Class? A Quantitative Analysis of ESL Classroom Interaction

Teacher-learner interaction in the classroom is dictated by how well the teacher manages classroom talk-time which has a direct influence on learner achievement in an ESL Classroom. Teachers often perceive that they allocate enough time for student talk time; however, the past literature suggests that teacher talk-time takes around 70-75% of overall time in the class. The purpose of this study is to analyze the TTT (Teacher Talk-Time) in the context of ESL classroom in Pakistan. Convenience based sampling was used to assess the Teacher Talk-Time through observational method. Findings of 12 sessions (30-hours) showed that average Teacher Talk-Time was 65% of the total classroom time. The study highlights that ESL teachers need to improve the Learner Talk-Time (LTT) as the analysis showed that on average each student only gets 22 seconds of talk-time in an ESL class. A blended learning model can help ESL teachers to eliminate some of the talk-time and engage learners with meaningful activities that encourage classroom interaction in the target language

Displacement: Placemaking for the Uprooted

Increasing migration to cities in developed countries is an inevitable part of present day’s globalizing society. For those migrating, the process is often a byproduct of war or absence of opportunities in migrants’ native homelands. It is a privilege, a manner of freedom, and a chance at a higher quality of life. As waves of migrants enter foreign countries, various problems arise, exacerbated by rising impressions of detachment from the loss of everything native. Migrants also experience feelings of displacement both physical and psychological. This thesis analyzes how architecture can mediate the process of assimilation into a new geography by creating a sense of place. The argument will assert that idiosyncrasies within the population are catalysts for an enlightened culture. This thesis does not intend to solve the problem of migration, but rather open a conversation about belonging, memory, and hybridity as it applies to the migrant and the built environment. Currently, there is a lack of architectural precedent successfully accommodating migrating populations. To fill this gap, this thesis will propose both a dwelling and a gallery to raise awareness, memorialize the remaining fragments of homelands and construe immigrants’ feelings of deracination to evoke a sense of empathy. The proposal will be situated in Washington D.C. so that it may serve as a model for creating similar forums in this age of mass migration

ESBL determination and antibacterial drug resistance pattern of Klebsiella Pneumoniae amongst patients at PIMS Islamabad

Background: A number of life threatening infections due to various bacterial pathogens are major cause  of death in Pakistan. In a situation like the other developing countries, there is a general increase in the  drug resistance due to the irrational use of the antibiotics. The present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence and development of resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae against commonly used antibiotics.Methods and Materials: A total of 200 samples from different wards of the hospitals were received by the pathology laboratory of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, which comprised of urine  65, blood 50 and other miscellaneous samples from various sources. Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated and characterized using morphological, cultural, and biochemical methods and were further confirmed by using commercially available API 20E kit. The isolates were subjected to culture sensitivity test using  Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method.Results: The organism was found to be the most prevalent Gram-negative bacilli. K. pneumoniae showed  highest resistance against coamoxiclav and cephalosporins.Conclusion: The study revealed that ESBL producing strains were resistant to most of the beta-lactam antibiotics. This trend therefore has become a significant problem and can be controlled with continued surveillance or monitoring for rationally improved antibiotics usage, in order to prevent the drug resistance and re-emergence of infection.Key words: Klebsiella pneumoniae, ESBL (Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase), API (Analytical Profile Index

Detection of error-related potentials in stroke patients from EEG using an artificial neural network

Error-related potentials (ErrPs) have been proposed as a means for improving brain–computer interface (BCI) performance by either correcting an incorrect action performed by the BCI or label data for continuous adaptation of the BCI to improve the performance. The latter approach could be relevant within stroke rehabilitation where BCI calibration time could be minimized by using a generalized classifier that is continuously being individualized throughout the rehabilitation session. This may be achieved if data are correctly labelled. Therefore, the aims of this study were: (1) classify single-trial ErrPs produced by individuals with stroke, (2) investigate test–retest reliability, and (3) compare different classifier calibration schemes with different classification methods (artificial neural network, ANN, and linear discriminant analysis, LDA) with waveform features as input for meaningful physiological interpretability. Twenty-five individuals with stroke operated a sham BCI on two separate days where they attempted to perform a movement after which they received feedback (error/correct) while continuous EEG was recorded. The EEG was divided into epochs: ErrPs and NonErrPs. The epochs were classified with a multi-layer perceptron ANN based on temporal features or the entire epoch. Additionally, the features were classified with shrinkage LDA. The features were waveforms of the ErrPs and NonErrPs from the sensorimotor cortex to improve the explainability and interpretation of the output of the classifiers. Three calibration schemes were tested: within-day, between-day, and across-participant. Using within-day calibration, 90% of the data were correctly classified with the entire epoch as input to the ANN; it decreased to 86% and 69% when using temporal features as input to ANN and LDA, respectively. There was poor test–retest reliability between the two days, and the other calibration schemes led to accuracies in the range of 63–72% with LDA performing the best. There was no association between the individuals’ impairment level and classification accuracies. The results show that ErrPs can be classified in individuals with stroke, but that user- and session-specific calibration is needed for optimal ErrP decoding with this approach. The use of ErrP/NonErrP waveform features makes it possible to have a physiological meaningful interpretation of the output of the classifiers. The results may have implications for labelling data continuously in BCIs for stroke rehabilitation and thus potentially improve the BCI performance

Single-Trial Classification of Error-Related Potentials in People with Motor Disabilities:A Study in Cerebral Palsy, Stroke, and Amputees

Brain-computer interface performance may be reduced over time, but adapting the classifier could reduce this problem. Error-related potentials (ErrPs) could label data for continuous adaptation. However, this has scarcely been investigated in populations with severe motor impairments. The aim of this study was to detect ErrPs from single-trial EEG in offline analysis in participants with cerebral palsy, an amputation, or stroke, and determine how much discriminative information different brain regions hold. Ten participants with cerebral palsy, eight with an amputation, and 25 with a stroke attempted to perform 300–400 wrist and ankle movements while a sham BCI provided feedback on their performance for eliciting ErrPs. Pre-processed EEG epochs were inputted in a multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network. Each brain region was used as input individually (Frontal, Central, Temporal Right, Temporal Left, Parietal, and Occipital), the combination of the Central region with each of the adjacent regions, and all regions combined. The Frontal and Central regions were most important, and adding additional regions only improved performance slightly. The average classification accuracies were 84 ± 4%, 87± 4%, and 85 ± 3% for cerebral palsy, amputation, and stroke participants. In conclusion, ErrPs can be detected in participants with motor impairments; this may have implications for developing adaptive BCIs or automatic error correction

Quantitative Estimation of Protein in Sprouts of

Protein scarcity is the most vital cause of long-lasting diseases and even untimely deaths in some developing nations. The application of protein in food is advantageous from the point of view of non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and dietary benefits. This study aimed to determine the protein contents of the sprouts o