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

Impaired Protein Tolerance Test as a Marker of Early Renal Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

INTRODUCTION: India is frequently referred to as the diabetic capital of the world. Diabetes mellitus is widely prevalent in our country and its incidence is rising in alarming proportions. The worldwide prevalence1 of diabetes has risen dramatically over the past two decades, from an estimated 30 million cases in 1985 to 177 million in 2000. Based on current trends, >360 million individuals worldwide will have diabetes by the year 2030. Although the prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rising much more rapidly because of increasing obesity and reduced activity levels as countries become more industrialized. Worldwide estimates project that in 2030 the greatest number of individuals with diabetes will be 45–64 years of age. According to the Diabetes Atlas published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), there are an estimated 40 million persons with diabetes in India in 2007, now it has risen to 60 million in 2009 and this number is predicted to rise to almost 120 million people in 2025 by which time every fifth diabetic subject in the world would be an Indian. Diabetes is a major cause of mortality, but several studies indicate that diabetes is likely under reported as a cause of death. A recent estimate suggested that diabetes was the fifth leading cause of death worldwide and was responsible for almost 3 million deaths annually (1.7–5.2% of deaths worldwide). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were ; 1. To identify individuals with impaired protein tolerance test as a marker of early renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. 2. To compare individuals with impaired protein tolerance with normal population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on patients attending the out patient department of Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. Approval from the hospital ethical committee was obtained. Study Design: The study was a case control study conducted for a period of one year between October 2008 - September 2009. Inclusion Criteria: • Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study. • Fifty healthy, age and sex matched controls without diabetes or its complications were also included in the study for comparison. Exclusion Criteria: • Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with proteinuria. • Systemic hypertension. • Renal Failure. Diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus was made by clinical details and routine blood investigations including fasting and postprandial blood sugar values. The WHO criteria were employed for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The presence of absence of renal dysfunction was made on the basis of the following: 1. Clinical details, 2. Routine Blood investigations, 3. Measurment of baseline creatinine clearance and. creatinine clearance after a protein meal (100 gm of protein as cottage cheese). 4. Spot urinary protein estimation at baseline and after a protein meal. METHODS: After the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, All the selected patients were subjected to a high protein meal. To detect renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus, blood samples were collected after 8 hours of fasting for fasting blood sugar and after two hours of postprandial state. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60 and 120 minutes for serum creatinine after giving high protein meal. Serum was separated and stored in the refrigerator. Serum creatinine was measured from this serum. RESULTS: Majority of the patients were from in and around Madurai city. The total number of patients included in the study was 52. Fifty controls were also included in the study for comparative analysis. Among the total of 52 Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients [Female (F)-24; Male (M)-28], 32 diabetic patients [Female (F)-16; Male (M)-16] had no evidence of Renal Dysfunction (Group-I), whereas 9 diabetic patients (F-4; M-5) had evidence of Renal injury(Group-II) and 11 diabetic patients (F-4; M-7) had evidence of incipient Renal Failure (Group-III) Out of the 50 controls, 24 were female and 26 were male, 2 diabetic patients (F-1; M-1) had evidence of renal injury (Group-II) The age of the controls ranged from 32 to 67 years with a mean age of 52.1 years. The age of the patients in the study group ranged from 32-67 years with a mean of 54.11 years. In the study group, 9 patients were in the age group of upto 40 years (18%) , 15 patients in 41-50 age group (30%), 22 patients in 51-60 age group (44%), 4 patients (8%) were in the age group of >60years. The age groups of the cases and controls were comparable and there was no statistical difference (p=0.3594). SUMMARY: The study “impaired protein tolerance test as a marker of early renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus” was undertaken to find out the usefulness of protein tolerance test in detecting patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were at risk of developing renal dysfunction. The present study was a case control study done at Govt. Rajaji Hospital Madurai. After institutional Ethical Committee clearance, 52 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 50 healthy controls were selected according to the inclusion criteria. There were almost equal males and females in the study. A baseline fasting and post prandial blood sugar, serum creatine and baseline GFR was calculated. This was followed by a protein challenge with 100 grams of protein food. Serum creatinine and GFR were measured at 30, 60 and 120 minutes after protein challenge. Using statistical data, correlation was analyzed between pre/post protein challenge serum creatinine in cases and controls in relation to GFR and renal function. It was found that patients with renal failure had more persistent elevation of serum creatinine and sustained decrease in GFR as compared to patients with normal renal function or those with mild renal dysfunction. There was also an age related decline in renal function. Proteinuria was found to be an independent risk factor for renal failure. It was also found that patients with long duration of diabetes and poor glycemic control have more chance of early renal injury and dysfunction than those with short duration of diabetes and good glycemic control. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Kidney damage starts in Diabetic patients even before microalbuminuria and clinical nephropathy starts. 2. It was found that longer the Duration of diabetes ,more the chance of early renal injury and dysfunction. 3. Renal injury and dysfunction directly correlates with poor metabolic control. 4. Protein tolerance test can be a very useful test to detect such incipient renal failure in patients with normal GFR and normal serum creatinine values. 5. Identifying those patients with subnormal renal function may enable us to initiate an early aggressive intervention. 6. This Protein Tolerance Test may be very much useful in high risk patients like Diabetics, Hypertensive patients. 7. Patients with diseases like solitary kidney, polycystic kidney disease, post renal transplants can also be subjected to this test to identify incipient renal failure. 8. Protein Tolerance Test can also be used to check the borderline renal donor in order to give accurate prognostication in a progressive renal disease

Diversity, Assortment, Dissimilarity, Variety: A Study of Diversity Measures Using Low Level Features for Video Retrieval

In this paper we present a number of methods for re-ranking video search results in order to introduce diversity into the set of search results. The usefulness of these approaches is evaluated in comparison with similarity based measures, for the TRECVID 2007 collection and tasks [11]. For the MAP of the search results we find that some of our approaches perform as well as similarity based methods. We also find that some of these results can improve the P@N values for some of the lower N values. The most successful of these approaches was then implemented in an interactive search system for the TRECVID 2008 interactive search tasks. The responses from the users indicate that they find the more diverse search results extremely useful

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Usage of Folk Bio-Medicines among Rongmei Tribe of Tamenglong District of Manipur, India

Background: Rongmei tribe (Kooki), are inhabitant of the Charoi Chagotlong village, Tupul, Tamenglong district of Manipur have the traditional knowledge of folk bio-medicine based on diverse plant species for the prevention and cure of certain chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to document and preserve the indigenous knowledge of the Rongmei tribe on folk medicines.Material and methods: The present work was based on methodical field survey conducted between 2010, to 2013. Local people of within 30-70 age groups of both sexes were interviewed and a group discussion (using a structured interview schedule), was held to know about the type of plant parts used in folk bio-medicines, and their mode of use. The interviewers were drawn from a wide array of disciplines (Vendors, Farmers club, NGO’s, scientific societies, etc.), to obtain maximum information in relation to folk bio-medicine.Results: A total of 60 species belonging to 36 different families (ranging from gymnosperm to angiosperm with medicinal benefits), were discussed briefly with significant emphasis on their local name, scientific name, family, parts used; they claimed to cure various ailments from these plants in this mode of folk bio-medicine. The different plant parts used were leaves, fruits, bulbs, bark, roots, seeds, tuber, trunk, flower, shoot, whole plant, rhizome, stem, wood and berries. Based on a life form of the reported plants comprise herbs, shrubs, trees, grasses, bulb, vine, climber, tuber and succulent.Conclusion: Efforts should be made to promote the use of traditional biomedicines within rural communities to preserve the traditional knowledge.Keywords: Biomedicinal plants, Manipur, Rongmei trib

Genetic transformation of cry1EC gene into cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for resistance against Spodoptera litura

Cotton is the chief fibre crop of global importance. It plays a significant role in the national economy. Cotton crop is vulnerable to a number of insect species, especially to the larvae of lepidopteron pests. 60% insecticides sprayed on cotton are meant to control the damage caused by bollworm complex. Transgenic technology has become a popular option for the development of bollworm resistant cotton. Spodoptera litura is one of the notorious emerging pests in cotton. Introduction of cry1EC gene into commercial variety have very significant importance. This research work was carried out to transform chimeric δ-endotoxin Cry1EC into cotton. The tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura) is a polyphagous foliage insect which is susceptible to the chimeric δ-endotoxin Cry1EC. Six month-old highly friable embryogenic calli derived from cotyledonary explants of Coker 310 were used for transformation using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring plasmid pBI101.1 carrying the marker gene neomycin phosphotransferase II (npt II) and a synthetic cry 1EC gene under a constitutive 35 S promoter. Agrobacterium treated calli were selected on MS medium containing, 50 mg/L kanamycin, 500 mg/L cefotaxime, 30 g/L maltose and 0.4% phytagel. Embryos developed on kanamycin resistant calli were maintained on the same medium till somatic embryos matured. The cotyledonary stage embryos (3 to 5 mm size) were germinated on MS basal slat with 0.1 mg/L GA3 + 1.0 mg/L IAA, 30 g/L sucrose and solidified with 0.4% phytagel. The regenerated putative transgenic plants were hardened and transferred to the transgenic green house. Transgenic plants were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 800 bp npt II fragment, and 578 bp amplification of cry1Ec gene. Transgenic plant with single copy insertion of cry1EC was selected in T0 by southern blot hybridization. Insect bioassay using Spodoptera litura larvae of first instar stages on T0 plants showed 70% mortality. Not much data has been published on the toxicity of the endotoxins to S. litura, which is a common pest in warm and humid climates. Efforts are aimed at recovering more efficient transgenic plants through efficient transformation system and developing high resistant transgenic cotton against S. litura and will paved a way for promising future in cotton production.Keywords: Agrobacterium transformation, cry 1EC, molecular analysis, insect bioassayAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(15), pp. 1820-182

Risk factors for relapse in childhood steroid sensitive nephrotic syndrome

Background: Nephrotic syndrome (NS) generally tends to follow a benign and chronic relapsing course. Relapses are a major problem in children with steroid sensitive NS (SSNS). Objective: To identify the risk factors for frequent relapse (FR) in the first episode childhood SSNS. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the Government Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital, Tamil Nadu, between July 2013 and January 2016. Children aged 9 months - 12 years with a diagnosis of SSNS (first episode) who came for follow-up for at least 12 months in the pediatric nephrology clinic were included. The enrolled cases were divided into 2 groups: (1) frequent relapser (FR) and (2) infrequent relapser (IFR). 9 factors were studied as possible risk factorsfor relapse. The data collected were analyzed using Chi-square test and Student’s t-test. Results: Of 160 SSNS children, there were 92 (57.5%) cases of IFR and 68 (42.5%) cases of FR. There were 97 males (60.6%) and 63 females (39.4%) with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. The mean age of presentation was 4.37±2.32 years. The mean time taken to achieve remission during the first episode was 1.94±1.04 weeks. The interval between remission and first relapse was 5.56±4.51 months. Incidence of infection and hypertension was 31.9% and 37.5%, respectively. Risk factors significantly associated with FR were: Time taken to achieveremission during the first episode (>14 days) (p<0.0001), mean duration of interval between remission and first relapse (within 6 months) (p<0.0001), associated infections (p<0.0001) and hypertension (p<0.0001). Age at onset, sex, serum albumin, 24 h urine protein, and azotemia did not influence the FR in our study. Conclusion: More than 14 days to achieve remission during the first episode, relapse within first 6 months, associated infections and hypertension were the factors associated with FRs

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