Implementation of embedded assistive device for disabled people

In this paper we present an embedded assistive device for disabled people that is intended to be used as both keyboard and mouse replacement. Assistive device consists of two main parts: an Arduino compatible board, preferably an Arduino UNO R3 as used in this paper, or an Arduino Leonardo, and a simple analog thumb-stick joystick. Presented device is connected to a computer trough a USB port trough which it sends its input data. Special software\ud collects the received input data and triggers various events in order to execute various actions. Primary goal of presented assistive device is to simulate mouse movements and a single mouse click and in that manner replace majority of moue functions thus enabling users to perform various mouse based tasks such as navigating through menus, drag and drop actions etc., as well as to enable an input and control over a virtual onscreen keyboard thus enabling users to type

Optimization of the Solid-Liquid Extraction Process of Phenolic Compounds from Mulberry Fruit

The study was designed to examine the influence of solvent concentration (ethanol/water 20-80% by volume), extraction time (15-240 min) and extraction technique on the extraction yield of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and antioxidant activity from Morus nigra L., Morus rubra L. and Morus alba L. fruits. The optimum conditions for the extraction of total phenols, flavonoids and monomeric anthocyanins by the maceration and ultrasonic extraction processes were: 213.6 min with 80% ethanol, and 182.1 min and 71.2% ethanol, respectively (black mulberry), and 216.5 min with 78.3% ethanol and 198.7 min and 70.6% ethanol, respectively (red mulberry). In case of white mulberry for the extraction of total phenols and flavonoids optimum extraction conditions (maceration and ultrasonic) were 232.7 min and 80% ethanol, and 187.2 min and 68.7% ethanol, respectively (white mulberry). Obviously, ultrasonic extraction was less time consuming, and it requires for all performed extractions solvent with less percentage of ethanol

Separation of Players in Teams during Basketball Matches

This paper represents a framework for automatic player separation in teams during basketball matches. Separation is made in images broadcasted via television stations. In them, we have view from only single camera in particular point of time. This makes detection of players and their separation much more difficult. The player detection is based on mixture of non-oriented pictorial structures. After detection we extract image parts that represent player’s jersey. Over that area we calculate histogram on S value from HSV color system. According to top five picks, we cluster players in teams. This approach give us accuracy of 92.38%. Its main advantages are robustness and applicability on the large number of footages from different basketball games without need for additional training and algorithm changes

Development and Application of Ligand-Exchange Reaction Method for the Determination of Clonazepam

Purpose: This paper presents an improved kinetic-spectrophotometric procedure for determining clonazepam (CZP) in pharmaceutical formulations and human serum.Methods: The method is based on ligand-exchange reaction. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of absorbance at 425 nm in ethanolic sodium hydroxide solution.Results: The optimum operating conditions for reagent concentrations and temperature were established. Linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 0.32 - 4.10 μg mL-1. The optimized conditions yielded a theoretical detection limit of 0.24 μg mL-1 based on the 3.3So criterion, where S0 is standard deviation of the calibration line. The interference of certain drugs, foreign ions and amino acids on the reaction rate were studied in order to assess the selectivity of the method.Conclusion: The developed method is sensitive, accurate and reproducible and could be used for routine anlysis of clonazepam in pharmaceutical preparations and serum samples.Keywords: Clonazepam, Ligand-exchange reaction, Kinetic spectrometry, Validation, Pharmaceutical preparation, Human seru

LEAD – A PREANALYTICAL/ANALYTICAL VARIABLE IN CLINICAL CHEMISTRY

Lead is one of the most studied clinically important metals due its high toxicity and a high number of workers exposed to it. The interest toward Pb is elevated by the fact that children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning. Research regarding lead poisoning requires a complex, multi-disciplinary (clinical medical and clinical chemical) approach. Monitoring human exposure to lead (intake, i.e. poisoning) may be achieved by quantification of Pb in tissues and body fluids. For that reason, a number of accurate and reliable analytical methods for the determination of Pb (analytical/preanalytical variable) were developed. An objective of this review paper is to provide key information necessary for proper interpretation of results of lead related clinical/laboratory tests. OLOVO - PREANALITIČKA/ANALITIČKA VARIJABLA U KLINIČKOJ HEMIJI Olovo spada u red najizučavanijih klinički relevantnih metala zbog svoje toksičnosti i broja radnika izloženih ovom metalu. Povećano interesovanje prema ovom metalu je posledica i toga što su deca naročito podložna trovanju njime. Ispitivanja koja se tiču trovanja olovom zahtevaju kompleksan, multidisciplinaran (kliničko-medicinski i kliničko-hemijski) pristup. Monitoring izlaganja olovu (unos, odnosno trovanje) se može ostvariti kvantifikacijom Pb u tkivima i telesnim tečnostima. Iz tog razloga je razvijen veliki broj preciznih i pouzdanih metoda za njegovo određivanje (analitička/preanalitička varijabla). Cilj ovog preglednog članka je da sumira ključne informacije neophodne za valjanu interpretaciju rezultata kliničkih/laboratorijskih testova vezanih za olovo

Determination of Total and Individual Anthocyanins in Raspberries Grown in South Serbia

Raspberry fruits of four cultivars (Willamette, Meeker, Polana and Malling Promise) grown in South Serbia were analyzed for total and individual anthocyanins. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was used to study individual anthocyanins. The major anthocyanin was cyanidin-3-sophoroside, followed by cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-sophoroside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside. The monomeric anthocyanin contents of the acidified 80% methanol extracts were determined using the pH-differential method. The highest total and individual anthocyanins contain raspberries cv. Willamette, followed by cvs. Meeker, Polana and Malling Promise

An approach to ontology-based modelling of state development funds

U ovom radu je predložene pristup izgradnji ontološki modela u domeni državnih razvojnih fondova. Autori opisuju proces stvaranja ontologije Garantnog fonda Autonomne pokrajine Vojvodine (OMGFAPV). Kreirana ontologija definira strukturni položaj Fonda u području javne uprave i opisuje upravne postupke u Garantnom fondu Autonomne pokrajine Vojvodine (APV) u procesu izdavanja garancija. U ovom radu, autori predstavljaju i metodu za kreiranje konceptualnog modela državnih garantnih fondova kao temelja za stvaranje OMGFAPV.This paper proposes an approach to building an ontological model in the domain of the state development funds. Authors describe the process of creating ontology of the Guarantee Fund of Autonomous province of Vojvodina (OMGFAPV). Created ontology defines the structural position of the fund in the domain of public administration and administrative procedures of the Guarantee Fund of Autonomous province of Vojvodina (APV) in the process of issuing the guarantees. In this paper, the authors also present a method for state guarantee funds conceptual model creation as a basis for creating OMGFAPV

Polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of sour cherries from Serbia

The aim of this study is to evaluate the content of phenolics: the total phenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), anthocyanins (TA), as well as the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in three sour cherry cultivars (Prunus cerasus L.) introduced to the southeast Serbia climate conditions. Among the researched sour cherries, ‘Oblacinska’ cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by ‘Cigancica’ > ‘Marela’. A significant difference were observed in the phenolic content among different cultivars and growing seasons (p<0.05), and the phenolic compounds were significantly higher in the growing season 2009. The examined cultivars possess a high antioxidant capacity, and all phenolics of highy correlation with TAC. The following compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 4 anthocyanins, the most abundant of which was cyaniding-3-glucoside in ‘Marela’ and ‘Oblacinska’, and cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside in ‘Cigancica’, and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, the most abundant of which was neochlorogenic acid in all sour cherry cultivars. The growing and ripening process on the tree of sour cherry cv. Oblacinska was evaluated, also. The results showed significant increases in total phenols during the ripening, the total anthocyanins and total antioxidant capacity and 4 quantified anthocyanins, however the neochlorogenic acid decreased during the ripening. The study indicated that the growing and climate conditions in southeast Serbia are convenient for introducing sour cherry cultivars

Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity of Sour Cherries From Serbia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of phenolics: the total phenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), anthocyanins (TA), as well as the total antioxidant\ud capacity (TAC) in three sour cherry cultivars (Prunus cerasus L.) introduced to the southeast Serbia climate conditions. Among the investigated sour cherries,\ud „Oblačinska“ cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by „Cigančica“ > „Marela“. A significant difference were observed in the phenolic content among different cultivars and growing seasons (p  0.05), and the phenolic compounds were significantly higher in the growing season 2009. The examined cultivars possess a high antioxidant capacity, and all phenolics of highy correlation with TAC. The following compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 4 anthocyanins, the most abundant of which was cyanidin-3-glucoside in “Marela” and “Oblačinska”, and cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside in „Cigančica“, and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, the most abundant of which was neochlorogenic acid in all sour cherry cultivars. The growing and ripening process on the tree of sour cherry cv. „Oblačinska“ was evaluated also. The results showed significant increases in total phenols during the ripening, the total anthocyanins and total antioxidant capacity and 4 quantified anthocyanins, however the neochlorogenic acid decreased during the ripening. The study indicated that the growing and climate conditions in southeast Serbia are convenient for introducing sour cherry cultivars.\u

Chemometric and ICP-OES analyses of Forsythia europaea Degen & Bald. and its extracts

Forsythia represents a group of plants originating mainly from China and Japan, but one species is endemic and grows in the Balkans (Balkan forsythia, Forsythia europaea Degen & Bald.). Our previous studies on polyphenols in investigated extracts of Balkan forsythia showed that this plant is a good source of polyphenols. Analysis of the various extracts of Balkan forsythia (Forsythia europaea Degen & Bald.) by the application of ICP-OES method showed that they are rich in different macro and microelements. The abundance order of macroelements is K>Ca>P>Mg>Na in all extracts. Among the transition metals iron, manganese, zinc and copper are particularly important, and the order of abundance is Zn>Fe>Cu>Mn. Heavy metals which are the most frequent contaminants of food are lead, cadmium and arsenic, and the determination of their contents is of special importance on the safe use of plant species. The determination shows that aqueous extracts contain the highest quantity of elements, which is especially important. The contents of toxic elements are significantly lower than the permitted values. Statistical methods (Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC)) are useful tools for the grouping of samples and determining relations between investigated elements. This analysis shows that when higher quantities of Cr and Ba are present, the lower quantities of V are present, and vice versa. Based on our studies on polyphenols and minerals, we can expect the anti-inflammatory effects of extracts of Balkan forsythia