DeepCough: A Deep Convolutional Neural Network in A Wearable Cough Detection System

In this paper, we present a system that employs a wearable acoustic sensor and a deep convolutional neural network for detecting coughs. We evaluate the performance of our system on 14 healthy volunteers and compare it to that of other cough detection systems that have been reported in the literature. Experimental results show that our system achieves a classification sensitivity of 95.1% and a specificity of 99.5%.Comment: BioCAS-201

Benzoyl isothiocyanates derived ligands as potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors and their reactions with gold ions

The synthesis and evaluation of benzoyl isothiocyanate derivatives as potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors is presented. The ligands were first designed to fit the protease active site using Autodock 4.2. The design was based on the deNOVO method of drug design in which the active site coordinates from the crystal structure of protease bound to ritonavir was used. An attempt to access the scaffolds designed initially led to the formation of 2,2,4-trimethyl 2,3-dihydro-1H-1,5-benzodiazepin-5-ium isophthalate and 2-2-(3-methylphenyl-1Hbenzimidazole which could not be converted to the desired intermediate. A further attempt led to formation of amino acid and amino acid ester derivatives of benzoyl isothiocyanates which have been fully characterized and the reasons why the desired intermediates were not readily accessible explained. Scaffolds based on the benzoyl isothiocyanate derivatives of structurally diverse diamines were then screened. Sixty compounds have been synthesized and fully characterized using elemental analysis, spectroscopy, GC-MS and twenty-six crystal structures have been discussed. The DFT transition state studies of 11-phenyl- 1,8,10,12-tetraazatricyclo[7.4.0.02,7]trideca-2(7),3,5,9,11-pentaene-13-thione (20), N-(1Hbenzimidazol-2-yl)benzamide (21), 3-(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)-1-(benzoyl)thiourea (23), and N-[(9E)-8,10,17-triazatetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.011,16]heptadeca-1(17),2,4,6,11(16),12,14-heptaen-9-ylidene] benzamide (39), have been carried out and their detailed density functional theory reaction mechanism have be computed. The Bernly algorithm was used in the determination of saddle points (transtions states), and the intrinsic reaction coordinates leading to the determination of intermediates were traced and optimized to a global minimum or in some cases a local minimum was obtained. The cell viability tests of diamine derivatives which was done by exposing white blood cells to the compounds (inhibitors) at 37 °C and a pH of 7.4 showed that 1-(4-bromobenzoyl)-3-[2- ({[(4-bromophenyl)formamido]methanethioyl}amino)phenyl]thiourea (46), 1-(3-chloro benzoyl)-3-[2-({[(3-chlorophenyl)formamido]methanethioyl}amino)phenyl]thiourea (48), 1- (3-bromobenzoyl)-3-[2-({[(3-bromophenyl)formamido]methanethioyl}amino)phenyl] thiourea (49) and 3-benzoyl-1-(4-{[(phenylformamido)methanethioyl]amino}butyl)thiourea (54), in that group of compounds were cytotoxic with EC50 values of 17.04 ± 9.75 μM, 69.20± 38.16 μM, 35.90 ± 20.55 μM and 68.37 ± 26.45 μM, respectively. 4-Bromo-N-[(9E)-8,10,17-triazatetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.011,16]heptadeca-1(17),2,4,6,11(16),12,14-heptaen-9-ylidene] benzamide (32), 4-methoxy-N-[(9E)-8,10,17-triazatetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.011,16]heptadeca-1(17),2,4,6,11(16),12,14-heptaen-9-ylidene]benzamide (33) and 3-chloro-N-[(9E)-8,10,17-triazatetracyclo[8.7.0.02,7.011,16]heptadeca-1(17),2,4,6,11(16),12,14-heptaen-9-ylidene] benzamide (37) were also cytotoxic giving EC50 values of 45.47 ± 21.92, 45.09 ±13.79 and 74.94 ± 13.17 μM, respectively. 3-(1,3-Benzothiazol-2-yl)-1-(3-bromobenzoyl)thiourea (31) and 3-(1,3-benzothiazoyl-2-yl)-1-(4-nitrobenzoyl)thiourea (30) derivatives were also found to be cytotoxic with EC50 values of 1.207 ± 0.58 and 24.08 ±13.14 nM, respectively. 11-(4-Chlorophenyl-1,8,10, 12-tetraazatricyclo[7.4.0.02,7]trideca-2(7),3,5,9,11-pentaene-13-thione (12), 11-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,8,10,12-tetraazatricyclo[7.4.0.02,7]trideca-2(7),3,9,1-pentaene-13-thione (14), and 11-phenyl-1,8,10,12-tetraazatricyclo[7.4.0.02,7]trideca-2(7),3,5,9,11-pentaene-13-thione (20), were found to be cytotoxic giving EC50 values of 0.152 ± 0.051, 37.96 ± 21.87 and 5.28 ± 2.95 μM, respectively. In the enzyme inhibition studies compound 49 gave a percentage inhibition of 97.03 ± 10.61% at 100 μM, but the fact that it is cytoxic might make it less useful, whilst compounds 19 and 16 had a percentage inhibition of 59.57 ± 13.59% (4-nitro derivative) and 79.97 ± 11.97% (3-nitro derivative) respectively at 100 μM of inhibitor and 20 μM of enzyme (HIV-1 protease). The results suggests that the presence of the nitro group at position 3 (16) and 4 (19) leads to an increase in activity against HIV-1 protease

Innovation Dynamics and Agricultural Biotechnology in Kenya

__Abstract__ Modern agricultural biotechnology is being flaunted in global policy de-bates as a powerful technology for improving agricultural productivity and food security in Africa. These debates often conveniently lump to-gether the controversial GMOs and the less contentious traditional bio-technology, also known as ‘non-transgenic biotechnology’. The contro-versial debate on GMOs encompasses the influence of biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations, scientists and consumers. The contentious issues on GM food and crops include labelling, health and environment, pesticide resistance; impacts of GM crops on farmers, feeding the world population; and the role of government in all these issues. The overall policy debate is whether and how GMOs can contribute to sustainable agricultural productivity and new inputs for African smallholder farmers. Most African governments are cautious of modern biotechnology and especially about GMOs because the role of this technology in Afri-can agriculture is not well understood. Today, there are few transgenic crops that have been developed and successfully introduced to African smallholder farmers. This situation raises the question: Can agricultural biotechnology be harnessed to improve sustainable agricultural produc-tivity and food security of smallholder farmers in Kenya? This study employed the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) framework as a potentially useful tool for identifying and analysing strengths and weaknesses in harnessing biotechnology for smallholder farmers. This analysis helps understand how the NARS has evolved and to examine whether biotechnology will be useful to the people or not. Empirical research was conducted within selected NARS at the na-tional level, and among the target smallholder farmers in Busia and Nyeri Counties

CREATIVE PROCESSES IN AKAN MUSICAL CULTURES: INNOVATION WITHIN TRADITION

CREATIVE PROCESSES IN AKAN MUSIC: INNOVATIONS WITHIN TRADITIONEric Odame Beeko, Ph.D.University of Pittsburgh, 2005The aim of this dissertation is to explain the creative processes in composition and performance of traditional music, and the subsequent innovations that emerge out of these processes in the musical traditions of the Akan people of Ghana. The study is premised on the fact that traditional musicians in the Akan culture, like most people on the surface of the earth, also have the natural capacity to consciously or unconsciously effect changes in their environments, play significant roles in most human-initiated change processes, and make contributions to both the material and institutional aspects of their culture, as their creative sensibilities or tendencies continue to bring about various forms of innovations from time to time. Based on this fact, the present study is oriented more toward the creative activities of individual composer-performers in the Akan society who are believed to be making profound contributions through their creative activities, consciously or unconsciously and directly or indirectly, to sustain the entire music traditions of Akan. Akan traditional music is transmitted orally and musicians literally compose the music either before or during performance; the music that they produce is either entirely new or a partial re-composition of pre-existing music. Accordingly, the study investigates the processes by which new ideas are generated and added to existing ones. It examines how Akan traditional musicians, working within the constraints imposed by the artistic parameters of the culture, consciously and subconsciously generate new ideas as they reproduce, reconstruct, reorder, and reinterpret the existing musical elements through their creative processes, and as a result bring about innovation in the tradition. These innovations are a necessary factor for sustaining the tradition, and for making it relevant to every period. Although the primary focus of this study is the Akan culture, it, however, highlights several issues—relating to creativity, change and innovation—that may also concern many cultures of Africa. Therefore, by using the Akan culture as a premise, what the study also seeks to establish is that an approach to the study of social change in relation to African art in general cannot focus on institutions without taking into account the human creative activities. The human creative tendencies that reveal both the innate capacity (the personality) and the culturally acquired knowledge are of primary relevance in understanding both change and continuity, particularly in Africa, and generally in any oral tradition

How Safe and Effective Is Tryptophan in Improving Sleep in Healthy Individuals With Mild Sleep Disorders?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not tryptophan is effective in improving sleep in healthy individuals with mild sleep disorders. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of three published, randomized controlled trials (double-blind, placebo-controlled) between 2005-2010, all English language. DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials published between 2005 and 2010 were found using PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane databases. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Improved sleep quality and duration of sleep, which were measured using sleep diaries and sleep study questionnaires. RESULTS: The first study, Cubero et al showed that administration of diet containing high levels of tryptophan reflected more hours of sleep (~7.68 h) as compared to the control (~6.77 h). Hudson et al report a 13.3% increase in total sleep time with pharmaceutical tryptophan added to carbohydrates as compared to 5.5% increase in total sleep time with foods that have naturally high content of tryptophan. The duration of sleep measured in the Shell et al study showed an increase of 6.83 h as compared to 5 h in the control group. No serious adverse events were noted in any of the three studies. CONCLUSIONS: All three studies reported increases in the duration of sleep and improved sleep quality when tryptophan was included in each trial. This suggests that indeed tryptophan is effective in improving sleep in healthy individuals with mild sleep disorders with little adverse reactions from the added tryptophan

Studies of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Surfactants Effects, Singly and in Combinations, on Luminescence Intensity of Some Aromatic Compounds.

Luminescence techniques are sensitive, selective, and widely used in analysis. Luminescence intensity is attenuated by quenchers. This research has focused on the use of surfactants such as CTAB, SDS, and TX-100 singly or together with TiO2 nanoparticles to evaluate their individual and combined effects on some fluorescent aromatic compounds such as pyrene, fluoranthene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and carbazole. Rutile phase TiO2 was synthesized using the low temperature sol-gel method. Carbazole and phenanthrene were severely quenched by all surfactants singly or in combination with TiO2. Anthracene and fluoranthene showed some enhancement in their luminescence intensity. The most dramatic effect was observed on the fluorescence intensity of pyrene. Pyrene showed enhanced fluorescence after degassing the solution alone or with the addition of the surfactants alone or in combination with TiO2 after degassing. These results showed that surfactants and TiO2 nanoparticles either singly or in combination should be useful for analysis employing luminescence techniques

Can Agro?dealers Deliver the Green Revolution in Kenya?

Kenya is in many ways the ‘poster child’ for Africa's new Green Revolution, with numerous public?private partnerships promoting agricultural innovation and rural entrepreneurship through a growing network of agro?dealers. Despite numerous claims that the agro?dealer model offers the best approach for delivering new seeds and other modern technologies to the country's small producers, this article highlights how reality on the ground has yet to match expectations. Drawing on surveys of agro?dealers in two contrasting agricultural districts and interviews with key informants, it shows how, despite considerable investment by a range of public and private actors, agro?dealers remain spread unevenly across the country and are inevitably concentrated in the higher potential agricultural areas. The changing structure of the Kenyan seed industry and the entry of large multinational and philanthropic players – who are focusing mainly on delivery of hybrid maize and fertilisers – are shifting this dynamic further. This approach is acting to narrow the choice of seeds and crop types to farmers in all areas

Learning Networks Matter: Challenges to Developing Learning-Based Competence in Mango Production and Post-Harvest in Andhra Pradesh, India

This discussion paper explores aspects of innovation systems ideas in the analysis of mango production and export by smallscale farmers in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The paper shows how despite favourable agro-ecological conditions and being the largest international mango producer, India still struggles to build momentum in rapidly emerging export markets. An analysis of the sector's recent history combined with an empirical account of inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral linkage patterns among stakeholder groups appears to provide the basis for remedial policy suggestions. Most of these relate to aspects of integrated technology development and innovation management.innovation, innovation systems, mango, high-value, national competence, learning networks, South Asia, India

Nonlinear Circuit Analysis via Perturbation Methods and Hardware Prototyping

Nonlinear signal processing is necessary in many emerging applications where form factor and power are at a premium. In order to make such complex computation feasible under these constraints, it is necessary to implement the signal processors as analog circuits. Since analog circuit design is largely based on a linear systems perspective, new tools are being introduced to circuit designers that allow them to understand and exploit circuit nonlinearity for useful processing. This paper discusses two such tools, which represent nonlinear circuit behavior in a graphical way, making it easy to develop a qualitative appreciation for the circuits under study