A Survey and Proposed Framework on the Soft Biometrics Technique for Human Identification in Intelligent Video Surveillance System

Biometrics verification can be efficiently used for intrusion detection and intruder identification in video surveillance systems. Biometrics techniques can be largely divided into traditional and the so-called soft biometrics. Whereas traditional biometrics deals with physical characteristics such as face features, eye iris, and fingerprints, soft biometrics is concerned with such information as gender, national origin, and height. Traditional biometrics is versatile and highly accurate. But it is very difficult to get traditional biometric data from a distance and without personal cooperation. Soft biometrics, although featuring less accuracy, can be used much more freely though. Recently, many researchers have been made on human identification using soft biometrics data collected from a distance. In this paper, we use both traditional and soft biometrics for human identification and propose a framework for solving such problems as lighting, occlusion, and shadowing

A Passivity-based Nonlinear Admittance Control with Application to Powered Upper-limb Control under Unknown Environmental Interactions

This paper presents an admittance controller based on the passivity theory for a powered upper-limb exoskeleton robot which is governed by the nonlinear equation of motion. Passivity allows us to include a human operator and environmental interaction in the control loop. The robot interacts with the human operator via F/T sensor and interacts with the environment mainly via end-effectors. Although the environmental interaction cannot be detected by any sensors (hence unknown), passivity allows us to have natural interaction. An analysis shows that the behavior of the actual system mimics that of a nominal model as the control gain goes to infinity, which implies that the proposed approach is an admittance controller. However, because the control gain cannot grow infinitely in practice, the performance limitation according to the achievable control gain is also analyzed. The result of this analysis indicates that the performance in the sense of infinite norm increases linearly with the control gain. In the experiments, the proposed properties were verified using 1 degree-of-freedom testbench, and an actual powered upper-limb exoskeleton was used to lift and maneuver the unknown payload.Comment: Accepted in IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (T-MECH

The intratumoral administration of ferucarbotran conjugated with doxorubicin improved therapeutic effect by magnetic hyperthermia combined with pharmacotherapy in a hepatocellular carcinoma model

BACKGROUND: Local hyperthermia of tumor in conjunction with chemotherapy is a promising strategy for cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intratumoral delivery of clinically approved magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) conjugated with doxorubicin to simultaneously induce magnetic hyperthermia and drug delivery in a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HCC cells expressing luciferase were implanted into the flank of BALB/c-nu mice (n = 19). When the tumor diameter reached 7–8 mm, the animals were divided into four groups according to the injected agents: group A (normal saline, n = 4), group B (doxorubicin, n = 5), group C (MNP, n = 5), and group D (MNP/doxorubicin complex, n = 5). Animals were exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF) to receive magnetic hyperthermia, and intratumoral temperature changes were measured. Bioluminescence imagings (BLIs) were performed before treatment and at 3, 7, and 14 days after treatment to measure the tumoral activities. The relative signal intensity (RSI) of each tumor was calculated by dividing the BLI signal at each time point by the value measured before treatment. At day 14 post-treatment, all tumor tissues were harvested to assess the apoptosis rates by pathological examination. RESULTS: The rise in temperature of the tumors was 1.88 ± 0.21°C in group A, 0.96 ± 1.05°C in B, 7.93 ± 1.99°C in C, and 8.95 ± 1.31°C in D. The RSI of the tumors at day 14 post-treatment was significantly lower in group D (0.31 ± 0.20) than in group A (2.23 ± 1.14), B (0.94 ± 0.47), and C (1.02 ± 0.21). The apoptosis rates of the tumors were 11.52 ± 3.10% in group A, 23.0 ± 7.68% in B, 25.4 ± 3.36% in C, and 39.0 ± 13.2% in D, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The intratumoral injection of ferucarbotran conjugated with doxorubicin shows an improved therapeutic effect compared with doxorubicin or ferucarbotran alone when the complex is injected into HCC tissues exposed to AMF for magnetic hyperthermia. This strategy of combining doxorubicin and MNP-induced magnetic hyperthermia exhibits a synergic effect on inhibiting tumor growth in an HCC model

Proteomic Validation of Multifunctional Molecules in Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Human Bone Marrow, Umbilical Cord Blood and Peripheral Blood

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the most attractive therapeutic resources in clinical application owing to their multipotent capability, which means that cells can differentiate into various mesenchymal tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, tendon, muscle and marrow stroma. Depending on the cellular source, MSCs exhibit different application potentials according to their different in vivo functions, despite similar phenotypic and cytological characteristics. To understand the different molecular conditions that govern the different application or differentiation potential of each MSC according to cellular source, we generated a proteome reference map of MSCs obtained from bone marrow (BM), umbilical cord blood (CB) and peripheral blood (PB). We identified approximately 30 differentially regulated (or expressed) proteins. Most up-regulated proteins show a cytoskeletal and antioxidant or detoxification role according to their functional involvement. Additionally, these proteins are involved in the increase of cell viability, engraftment and migration in pathological conditions in vivo. In summary, we examined differentially expressed key regulatory factors of MSCs obtained from several cellular sources, demonstrated their differentially expressed proteome profiles and discussed their functional role in specific pathological conditions. With respect to the field of cell therapy, it may be particularly crucial to determine the most suitable cell sources according to target disease

Spinal cord compression by B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma in a patient seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Although non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is one of the most common and frequently fatal of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome-defining illnesses, survival has improved significantly since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy. Patients with spinal cord compression resulting from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma present with clinically acute or rapidly progressive neurologic deficits. The purpose of this case report is to present a case of a patient seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus with spinal cord compression due to B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 40-year-old Asian man, who was seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus, presented with progressive neurological deficits. Magnetic resonance images of his thoracic spine showed an epidural mass from T2 to T4, resulting in severe cord compression. Emergent surgical decompression and biopsy were performed, followed by palliative radiation therapy. The pathologic findings showed that the specimen was compatible with B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Palliative radiation therapy was performed; however, leptomeningeal seeding and pulmonary embolism led to his death. CONCLUSIONS: When a patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus presents with a rapidly progressive spinal tumor accompanying paraplegia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma should be considered, and surgical decompression should be weighed with respect to the patient’s general condition and the subtype/prognosis of the lymphoma