The CORSMAL benchmark for the prediction of the properties of containers

13 pages, 6 tables, 7 figures, Pre-print submitted to IEEE AccessAuthors' post-print accepted for publication in IEEE Access, see https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3166906 . 14 pages, 6 tables, 7 figuresThe contactless estimation of the weight of a container and the amount of its content manipulated by a person are key pre-requisites for safe human-to-robot handovers. However, opaqueness and transparencies of the container and the content, and variability of materials, shapes, and sizes, make this estimation difficult. In this paper, we present a range of methods and an open framework to benchmark acoustic and visual perception for the estimation of the capacity of a container, and the type, mass, and amount of its content. The framework includes a dataset, specific tasks and performance measures. We conduct an in-depth comparative analysis of methods that used this framework and audio-only or vision-only baselines designed from related works. Based on this analysis, we can conclude that audio-only and audio-visual classifiers are suitable for the estimation of the type and amount of the content using different types of convolutional neural networks, combined with either recurrent neural networks or a majority voting strategy, whereas computer vision methods are suitable to determine the capacity of the container using regression and geometric approaches. Classifying the content type and level using only audio achieves a weighted average F1-score up to 81% and 97%, respectively. Estimating the container capacity with vision-only approaches and estimating the filling mass with audio-visual multi-stage approaches reach up to 65% weighted average capacity and mass scores. These results show that there is still room for improvement on the design of new methods. These new methods can be ranked and compared on the individual leaderboards provided by our open framework

Optimisation of Clove Basil and Sweet Basil Seeds Mucilages Extraction for Utilisation as Functional Ingredients

989-999The hydrothermal extraction of clove basil and sweet basil seeds mucilages were optimised using response surface methodology for maximum yield, water absorption, swelling capacities, minimum water solubility and syneresis. The optimum conditions for extraction of clove basil seeds mucilage were 67.34°C, 2.51 h and water-to-seed ratio of 80:1 while of sweet basil seeds mucilage were 57.01°C, 1.31 h and water-to-seed ratio of 70.66:1, which provided yield of 32.53, 26.30% respectively with water absorption capacity of 383.42, 474.34 g/g, water solubility capacity of 0.11, 0.70%, swelling capacity of 16.29, 13.23 mL/mL and syneresis of 0.50, 0.19% respectively. The experimental values of both mucilages extracted under optimum conditions were very close to predicted values indicating models were adequate. These extracted basil seed mucilages can be utilized as fat replacers, gelling agents, texture improvers, stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, prebiotics, laxatives, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic agents to enhance the functionalities of incorporated foods

Underway Hyperspectral Bio-Optical Assessments of Phytoplankton Size Classes in the River-Influenced Northern Gulf of Mexico

High inflows of freshwater from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers into the northern Gulf of Mexico during spring contribute to strong physical and biogeochemical gradients which, in turn, influence phytoplankton community composition across the river plume–ocean mixing zone. Spectral features representative of bio-optical signatures of phytoplankton size classes (PSCs) were retrieved from underway, shipboard hyperspectral measurements of above-water remote sensing reflectance using the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA_v6) and validated against in situ pigment data and spectrophotometric analyses of phytoplankton absorption. The results shed new light on sub-km scale variability in PSCs associated with dynamic and spatially heterogeneous environmental processes in river-influenced oceanic waters. Our findings highlight the existence of localized regions of dominant picophytoplankton communities associated with river plume fronts in both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers in an area of the coastal margin that is otherwise characteristically dominated by larger microphytoplankton. This study demonstrates the applicability of underway hyperspectral observations for providing insights about small-scale physical-biological dynamics in optically complex coastal waters. Fine-scale observations of phytoplankton communities in surface waters as shown here and future satellite retrievals of hyperspectral data will provide a novel means of exploring relationships between physical processes of river plume–ocean mixing and frontal dynamics on phytoplankton community composition

Traditional processing methods for quality enhancement of indigenous basil seeds and formulation of functional flours

The changing food habits and lifestyle led to consumption of faulty diets with increased prevalence of life style diseases in India. This has spurred health consciousness among food consumers and enhanced the demand for functional foods. The indigenous underutilised clove and sweet basil seeds being rich source of fibre (36.23, 28.85%), protein (9.16, 8.55%), polyphenols (17.28, 17.71 mg GAE/g extract) and antioxidants (266.13 and 344.63 mg TE/g extract), exhibited vast potential for formulation of functional flours. Traditional processing methods such as roasting, fermentation and germination have significantly enhanced the nutritional and antioxidant properties of both the seeds. Among them, germination was found to be ideal processing technique with relatively higher fibre, protein, total mineral, phenolic contents, antioxidant capacity and less fat content. Henceforth, processing of basil seeds in a traditional way could significantly enhance their quality and promote their utilisation as functional ingredients for designing healthy foods.

Predilection of chewing side preferences and clinical assessment of its impact on temporomandibular joint

Statement of the Problem: Normal mastication in humans generally favors one side and then the other, but most people chew more on a particular side, which means they have a preferred chewing side (PCS). The relationship between the use of one habitual chewing side and the peripheral factors involved in temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is not understood yet. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the study is to explore the effect of chewing side preference on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in adult population. Methods: One hundred and seventy healthy dentate subjects (148 female and 22 male) were selected and clinically examined for this cross-sectional study. Chewing side preference test and TMJ clinical examination were conducted. Subjects were classified into unilateral and bilateral chewers, signs and symptoms of TMDs were recorded. Results: Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the difference between the subjects regarding preferable chewing side, distribution of subjects with respect to signs and symptoms of TMDs, and frequency of symptoms in habitual chewers using Chi-square test, at 5% significance level. The results showed that among all the subjects, 80% preferred unilateral chewing side and there was a significant correlation with asymmetric factors of TMJ with masticatory side. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, it may be concluded that the presence of a PCS affects the morphology and parameters of TMJ. This signifies that it is not only sufficient enough to maintain anatomic health but also dynamic and functional factors should be considered to avoid TMDs