TV News Story Segmentation Based on Semantic Coherence and Content Similarity

In this paper, we introduce and evaluate two novel approaches, one using video stream and the other using close-caption text stream, for segmenting TV news into stories. The segmentation of the video stream into stories is achieved by detecting anchor person shots and the text stream is segmented into stories using a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) based approach. The benefit of the proposed LDA based approach is that along with the story segmentation it also provides the topic distribution associated with each segment. We evaluated our techniques on the TRECVid 2003 benchmark database and found that though the individual systems give comparable results, a combination of the outputs of the two systems gives a significant improvement over the performance of the individual systems

The University of Glasgow at ImageClefPhoto 2009

In this paper we describe the approaches adopted to generate the five runs submitted to ImageClefPhoto 2009 by the University of Glasgow. The aim of our methods is to exploit document diversity in the rankings. All our runs used text statistics extracted from the captions associated to each image in the collection, except one run which combines the textual statistics with visual features extracted from the provided images. The results suggest that our methods based on text captions significantly improve the performance of the respective baselines, while the approach that combines visual features with text statistics shows lower levels of improvements

Effect of local amendments as a partial substitute for phosphorus on soil quality

In a pot culture experiment different organic phosphorus sources (farmyard manure, poultry manure, vermicompost and sewage sludge) were evaluated with standard inorganic source of single superphosphate to improve soil nutrient content, all applied on equal P basis @ 34 kg P2O5 ha-1. The six treatments, including no-P (control) were replicated four times in a CRD. Groundnut was sown in each pot. The experimental results revealed that phosphorus increased the post-harvest soil nutrients availability. Highest availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur was recorded in poultry manure treatment and sewage sludge exhibited a considerable increase in available nitrogen and sulphur content

A comparative assessment of the impact of computer assisted learning of knowledge and skill based competencies among undergraduate students in a medical college in South India

Background: Pharmacology has always been one subject ultimatum and a cornerstone in building up competency, based on applied therapeutics among medical graduates in prescribing and practicing skills. A focus on an integrated strategical approach towards teaching pharmacology for better proficiency in achieving clinical skills is mandatory. Thus, this study has been done to assess the impact and retainment of overall knowledge gained on various domains, based on a revised method of teaching in pharmacology.Methods: An observational, questionnaire based comparative study was done in a medical college, in Chennai. The study included two group of students, one who have completed their pharmacology course based on the revised pattern of teaching with a comparative group of students who have not been exposed to the revised pattern of teaching. A feedback survey was also done.Results: The study results indicated that the average scoring based on the questionnaire was 84% with the students who have been exposed to revised pattern of teaching in comparison to the average scoring of 70% with the students who have not been exposed to the new pattern of teaching. The average scoring of the students who were found to agree to several questions on the new method of teaching was 74% and 22% of the students were found to disagree. 4% of students were non responders.Conclusions: The ultimate improvement in the outcome of health care education can be achieved through appropriate skill building through a simple strategical modification of the regular teaching pattern with an integrated approach involving pharmacologists and clinicians. A refresher course in pharmacology in the final year curriculum and CRRI involving pharmacologists is mandatory

Heavy Metal Resistant Bacteria Isolation from Koodankulam Coast: Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. as Potential Agents for Bioremediation

The present study investigates the heavy metal resistant bacteria were isolated from offshore sea soil of Koodankulam coast, Gulf of Mannar, South East coast of India., Tamil Nadu, India. Bacterial communities in the soil were screened by morphological, biochemical and plasmid analysis and were identified as Bacillus sp., and Pseudomonas sp. High concentrations of toxic metals negatively affect bacterial growth, and therefore, the minimum inhibitory concentration of isolated bacteria was determined against Pb, Hg and Zn by agar dilution technique. The heavy metal polluted soil contains some microorganisms that exhibit tolerance to the metals which in turn helps in the reduction of heavy metals toxicity accumulated in the soil. Isolation, screening and characterization are involved to determine the level of resistance of the bacteria. Here, out of several isolates the Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. has showed increased resistance to Pb, Hg and Zn. Consequently, this microbial isolate can be potentially used in bioremediation of heavy metal polluted environment

Studies on amylase activity of an amylolytic bacterium isolated from estuarine soil

Diverse microscopic, macroscopic and biochemical analysis of a starch degrading amylolytic bacterial strain isolated from the soil sample of Rajakkamangalam estuary, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India, revealed its identity to the genus Bacillus. Maximum growth was observed at 12 h when the bacteria was cultured in  minimal agar media with 2% starch maintained for 12 h, at 37°C and pH 5.5, 7.5 and 8.5. Highest enzyme  action as revealed by glucose production in the media was observed at pH 8.0, temperature 30°C and in the presence of 10 mM calcium (Ca). Enzyme activity gradually got reduced with the addition of increasing  concentrations of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), confirming the need for calcium for enzyme action. The amylase produced in the medium was isolated by centrifugation and partially purified by ammonium sulphate fractionation followed by dialysis.Key words: Amylase, bacteria, amylase activity, pH sensitivity, estuarine soil

Exploring the Antibacterial Potency of Citrus Fruit Peel Extracts Using Various Solvents

The study evaluates the inhibitory effect of different solvent-extracted citrus peel extracts (Citrus lemon, Citrus sinensis, Citrus maxima, Citrus reticulata and Citrus aurantiifolia) on the growth of various bacterial strains (Klebsiella. pneumonia, Staphylococcus. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli). Citrus lemon extract demonstrated the most significant inhibition with methanol and acetone showing the highest zones of inhibition. Citrus sinensis extract showed antibacterial activity, with the choice of solvent influencing the effectiveness. Methanol and acetone generally performed well.  Citrus maxima extract demonstrated antibacterial activity, with methanol and butanol being effective solvents. Citrus reticulata extract's effectiveness varied depending on the solvent and bacterial strain tested. Ethanol and butanol were more effective solvents for inhibiting the growth of some bacteria, while acetone and methanol showed limited effectiveness. The Citrus aurentiifolia peel extract exhibited varying degrees of antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria. The effectiveness of the extract depended on the solvent used and the type of bacteria. For some bacteria, such as E. coli and S. aureus, the extract showed significant inhibitory effects, particularly when using Ethanol as the solvent. Further research and optimization may be necessary to enhance the antibacterial properties of Citrus aurentiifolia peel extract