Enhanced fingerprint classification through modified PCA with SVD and invariant moments

This research introduces a novel MOMENTS-SVD vector for fingerprint identification, combining invariant moments and SVD (Singular Value Decomposition), enhanced by a modified PCA (Principal Component Analysis). Our method extracts unique fingerprint features using SVD and invariant moments, followed by classification with Euclidean distance and neural networks. The MOMENTS-SVD vector reduces computational complexity by outperforming current models. Using the Equal Error Rate (EER) and ROC curve, a comparative study across databases (CASIA V5, FVC 2002, 2004, 2006) assesses our method against ResNet, VGG19, Neuro Fuzzy, DCT Features, and Invariant Moments, proving enhanced accuracy and robustness

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Intercultural language learning in tunisian textbooks for efl learners (6th, 7th, 8th, 9th form basic education pupils as a case study)

L'objet de cette recherche consiste à étudier le rôle que des manuels d'anglais tunisiens jouent dans l'acquisition d'une Compétence Communicative Interculturelle ('ICC) par les apprenants. On se basant sur des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives ainsi que les modèles de Risager (1991) et de Sercu (2000), l'étude essaie d'évaluer aussi bien quatre manuels d'anglais tunisiens que la connaissance des apprenants et leurs attitudes envers les Britanniques et leur culture. Laquelle étude a tenu compte de deux variables : leurs niveaux d'éducation (6ème et 9ème années de l'enseignement de base) et leur appartenance régionale (zone rurale et zone urbaine ; il s'agit respectivement des deux régions de Bouzguem et de Sfax). L'application du test de corrélation de Pearson sur les données obtenues des élèves et les manuels n'a montré aucun rôle significatif des manuels d'anglais tunisiens évalués dans la formation des attitudes et des connaissances des apprenants dans les deux zones et concernant les deux niveaux d'éducation en question. En effet, l'étude a montré que les élèves ont tendance à être ethnocentriques et n'ont que peu ou une fausse connaissance des Britanniques et de leur culture. Il faut souligner, par ailleurs, que les manuels, ont aussi contribué à présenter une image irréelle et déséquilibrée de la culture britannique. D'autres sources d'informations sur la culture cible semblent être plus influentes dans la formation des attitudes des élèves et leur acquisition des connaissances sur la culture de la langue étrangère qu'ils apprennent. Quelques recommandations sont suggérées pour modifier les manuels évalués afin qu'ils puissent être plus commodes et plus efficaces dans l'enseignement de l'anglais ayant pour objectif la communication interculturelleThe aim of this PhD dissertation is to study the role that Tunisian EFL textbooks play in learners' acquisition of an Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). By means of quantitative and qualitative methods and following Risager's (1991) and Sercu's (2000) models, the study attempts to evaluate four Tunisian EFL textbooks as well as learners' knowledge and attitudes towards the British people and culture in terms of two variables: their level of education (6th and 9th form Basic Education) and their regional belonging (rural and urban areas, respectively Bouzguem and Sfax). The application of Pearson' Correlation Test on pupils' and textbooks' data has shown no significant role of the Tunisian EFL textbooks evaluated in shaping learners' attitudes and knowledge in both areas and levels of education. Pupils tend to be ethnocentric and have little and erroneous knowledge of the British people and culture. Textbooks, fail to present an unreal image of the British culture. Other sources of information about the target culture seem to be more influential in forming pupils' attitudes and informing them about the culture of the foreign language they are learning. Some recommendations are suggested to modify the textbooks evaluated to be more convenient and efficient to teach English for intercultural communicationMETZ-SCD (574632105) / SudocNANCY1-Bib. numérique (543959902) / SudocNANCY2-Bibliotheque electronique (543959901) / SudocNANCY-INPL-Bib. électronique (545479901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Étude de l'écoulement à travers une soupape de décharge de turbocompresseur

Une étude de l'écoulement dans une soupape de décharge de turbocompresseur de suralimentation, est présentée dans ce travail. Une modélisation numérique tridimensionnelle de l'écoulement turbulent à travers la soupape a été entreprise en s'appuyant sur la résolution des équations de Navier-Stokes et d'énergie couplées à un modèle de turbulence de type k−ε. Cette modélisation a permis de fournir une connaissance fine des structures de l'écoulement à travers la soupape, et de prédire ses courbes caractéristiques de fonctionnement. À partir des résultats locaux de l'écoulement, le coefficient de débit de la soupape a été déterminé en fonction de sa levée. De même, à partir des données géométriques de la soupape, une modélisation analytique a été établie, en vue de donner le débit en fonction du taux de détente. Pour valider aussi bien le calcul par voie de simulation numérique que celui fourni par l'approche analytique proposée, nous avons utilisé un banc d'essai équipé d'un turbocompresseur à soupape de décharge pour automobile. La comparaison des courbes caractéristiques de fonctionnement obtenues à partir de notre travail avec celles des travaux expérimentaux antérieurs, a montré une bonne concordance

Pulmonary embolism in intensive care unit: Predictive factors, clinical manifestations and outcome

<b>Objective</b> :<b> </b> To determine predictive factors, clinical and demographics characteristics of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) in ICU, and to identify factors associated with poor outcome in the hospital and in the ICU. <b> Methods</b> :<b> </b> During a four-year prospective study, a medical committee of six ICU physicians prospectively examined all available data for each patient in order to classify patients according to the level of clinical suspicion of pulmonary thromboembolism. During the study periods, all patients admitted to our ICU were classified into four groups. The first group includes all patients with confirmed PE; the second group includes some patients without clinical manifestations of PE; the third group includes patients with suspected and not confirmed PE and the fourth group includes all patients with only deep vein thromboses (DVTs) without suspicion of PE. The diagnosis of PE was confirmed either by a high-probability ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan or by a spiral computed tomography (CT) scan showing one or more filling defects in the pulmonary artery or in its branches. The diagnosis was also confirmed by echocardiography when a thrombus in the pulmonary artery was observed. <b> Results</b> :<b> </b> During the study periods, 4408 patients were admitted in our ICU. The diagnosis of PE was confirmed in 87 patients (1.9&#x0025;). The mean delay of development of PE was 7.8 &#177; 9.5 days.<b> </b> On the day of PE diagnosis, clinical examination showed that 50 patients (57.5&#x0025;) were hypotensive, 63 (72.4&#x0025;) have SIRS, 15 (17.2&#x0025;) have clinical manifestations of DVT and 71 (81.6&#x0025;) have respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation. In our study, intravenous unfractionated heparin was used in 81 cases (93.1&#x0025;) and low molecular weight heparins were used in 4 cases (4.6&#x0025;).<b> </b> The mean ICU stay was 20.2 &#177; 25.3 days and the mean hospital stay was 25.5 &#177; 25 days. The mortality rate in ICU was 47.1&#x0025; and the in-hospital mortality rate was 52.9&#x0025;.<b> </b> Multivariate analysis showed that factors associated with a poor prognosis in ICU are the use of norepinephrine and epinephrine<b> . </b> Furthermore, factors associated with in-hospital poor outcome in multivariate analysis were a number of organ failure associated with PE &#8805; 3. Moreover, comparison between patients with and without pe showed that predictive factors of pe are: acute medical illness, the presence of meningeal hemorrhage, the presence of spine fracture, hypoxemia with PaO₂ /FiO₂ ratio &#60; 300 and the absence of pharmacological prevention of venous thromboembolism. <b>Conclusion</b> :<b> </b> Despite the high frequency of DVT in critically ill patients, symptomatic PE remains not frequently observed, because systematic screening is not performed. Pulmonary embolism is associated with a high ICU and in-hospital mortality rate. Predictive factors of PE are acute medical illness, the presence of meningeal hemorrhage, the presence of spine fracture, hypoxemia with PaO₂ /FiO₂ &lt; 300 and the absence of pharmacological prevention of venous thromboembolism

Post-traumatic pulmonary embolism in the intensive care unit

Objective: To determine the predictive factors, clinical manifestations, and the outcome of patients with post-traumatic pulmonary embolism (PE) admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: During a four-year prospective study, a medical committee of six ICU physicians prospectively examined all available data for each trauma patient in order to classify patients according to the level of clinical suspicion of pulmonary thromboembolism. During the study period, all trauma patients admitted to our ICU were classified into two groups. The first group included all patients with confirmed PE; the second group included patients without clinical manifestations of PE. The diagnosis of PE was confirmed either by a high-probability ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan or by a spiral computed tomography (CT) scan showing one or more filling defects in the pulmonary artery or its branches. Results: During the study period, 1067 trauma patients were admitted in our ICU. The diagnosis of PE was confirmed in 34 patients (3.2%). The mean delay of development of PE was 11.3 ± 9.3 days. Eight patients (24%) developed this complication within five days of ICU admission. On the day of PE diagnosis, the clinical examination showed that 13 patients (38.2%) were hypotensive, 23 (67.7%) had systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), three (8.8%) had clinical manifestations of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and 32 (94%) had respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation. In our study, intravenous unfractionated heparin was used in 32 cases (94%) and low molecular weight heparin was used in two cases (4%). The mean ICU stay was 31.6 ± 35.7 days and the mean hospital stay was 32.7 ± 35.3 days. The mortality rate in the ICU was 38.2% and the in-hospital mortality rate was 41%. The multivariate analysis showed that factors associated with poor prognosis in the ICU were the presence of circulatory failure (Shock) (Odds ratio (OR) = 9.96) and thrombocytopenia (OR = 32.5).Moreover, comparison between patients with and without PE showed that the predictive factors of PE were: Age > 40 years, a SAPS II score > 25, hypoxemia with PaO2 /FiO 2 < 200 mmHg, the presence of spine fracture, and the presence of meningeal hemorrhage. Conclusion: Despite the high frequency of DVT in post-traumatic critically ill patients, symptomatic PE remains, although not frequently observed, because systematic screening is not performed. Factors associated with poor prognosis in the ICU are the presence of circulatory failure (shock) and thrombocytopenia. Predictive factors of PE are: Age > 40 years, a SAPS II score > 25, hypoxemia with PaO2 /FiO 2 < 200, the presence of a spine fracture, and the presence of meningeal hemorrhage. Prevention is highly warranted

Fanconi anemia in Tunisia: high prevalence of group�A and identification of new FANCA mutations

Appeal From the Final Judgment Of The Second Judicial District Court of Davis County, The Honorable Douglas L. Cornaby Presidin

Fouilles tuniso-italiennes du tophet-sanctuaire d’Althiburos. Premiers résultats (campagnes 2007-2008)

We present the first results of the Tunisian-Italian mission at the sanctuary-tophet of Althiburos (Tunisia). The 2007 and 2008 excavations campaigns already allowed to enrich the knowledge about the history of this important site, of the worship of Baal Hammon and Saturn, and of the characteristic rituals of this sacred place

Synthesis, in vitro β-glucuronidase inhibition of benzoxazole bearing thiosemicarbazide derivatives along with in silico molecular docking study

This study was aimed to design and synthesize hybrid analogues of benzoxazole bearing thiosemicarbazide analogues 1–15 as promising β-Glucuronidase inhibitory activity using D-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone as the reference inhibitor. The newly afforded benzoxazole-thiosemicarbazide compounds 1–15 displayed a broad range of inhibitory potential with IC50 values ranging from 20.58 ± 2.46 to 87.89 ± 8.43 μM, as compared to D-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC50 = 59.5 ± 5.36 μM). Among the synthesized series, the compounds 14, 2, and 5 demonstrated outstanding β-Glucuronidase inhibitory potential with IC50 values of 20.58 ± 2.46, 25.24 ± 2.34 and 24.53 ± 2.53 μM respectively. Further, the precise structures of synthesized analogues were confirmed using 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HREIMS. Additionally, the molecular docking approach was employed to correlate the in vitro β-Glucuronidase inhibitory activity well with in silico study and result obtained corroborated that active analogues established several key interactions with the active sites of β-Glucuronidase enzyme