WILDFIRE DETECTION SYSTEM BASED ON PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND IMAGE PROCESSING OF REMOTE-SENSED VIDEO

Early detection and mitigation of wildfires can reduce devastating property damage, firefighting costs, pollution, and loss of life. This thesis proposes the method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of images in the temporal domain to identify a smoke plume in wildfires. Temporal PCA is an effective motion detector, and spatial filtering of the output Principal Component images can segment the smoke plume region. The effective use of other image processing techniques to identify smoke plumes and heat plumes are compared. The best attributes of smoke plume detectors and heat plume detectors are evaluated for combination in an improved wildfire detection system. PCA of visible blue images at an image sampling rate of 2 seconds per image effectively exploits a smoke plume signal. PCA of infrared images is the fundamental technique for exploiting a heat plume signal. A system architecture is proposed for the implementation of image processing techniques. The real-world deployment and usability are described for this system

Let-7 Expression Defines Two Differentiation Stages of Cancer

The early phases of carcinogenesis resemble embryonic development, often involving the reexpression of embryonic mesenchymal genes. The NCI60 panel of human tumor cell lines can genetically be subdivided into two superclusters (SCs) that correspond to CD95 Type I and II cells. SC1 cells are characterized by a mesenchymal and SC2 cells by an epithelial gene signature, suggesting that SC1 cells represent less differentiated, advanced stages of cancer. miRNAs are small 20- to 22-nucleotide-long noncoding RNAs that inhibit gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. By performing miRNA expression analysis on 10 Type I and 10 Type II cells, we have determined that SC1 cells express low and SC2 cells high levels of the miRNA let-7, respectively, suggesting that let-7 is a marker for less advanced cancers. Expression of the let-7 target high-mobility group A2 (HMGA2), an early embryonic gene, but not of classical epithelial or mesenchymal markers such as E-cadherin or vimentin, inversely correlated with let-7 expression in SC1 and SC2 cells. Using ovarian cancer as a model, we demonstrate that expression of let-7 and HMGA2 is a better predictor of prognosis than classical markers such as E-cadherin, vimentin, and Snail. These data identify loss of let-7 expression as a marker for less differentiated cancer

Aloe barbadensis: how a miraculous plant becomes reality

Aloe barbadensis Miller is a plant that is native to North and East Africa and has accompanied man for over 5,000 years. The aloe vera plant has been endowed with digestive, dermatological, culinary and cosmetic virtues. On this basis, aloe provides a range of possibilities for fascinating studies from several points of view, including the analysis of chemical composition, the biochemistry involved in various activities and its application in pharmacology, as well as from horticultural and economic standpoints. The use of aloe vera as a medicinal plant is mentioned in numerous ancient texts such as the Bible. This multitude of medicinal uses has been described and discussed for centuries, thus transforming this miracle plant into reality. A summary of the historical uses, chemical composition and biological activities of this species is presented in this review. The latest clinical studies involved in vivo and in vitro assays conducted with aloe vera gel or its metabolites and the results of these studies are reviewed

Human matrix metalloproteinases: An ubiquitarian class of enzymes involved in several pathological processes

Human matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to the M10 family of the MA clan of endopeptidases. They are ubiquitarian enzymes, structurally characterized by an active site where a Zn(2+) atom, coordinated by three histidines, plays the catalytic role, assisted by a glutamic acid as a general base. Various MMPs display different domain composition, which is very important for macromolecular substrates recognition. Substrate specificity is very different among MMPs, being often associated to their cellular compartmentalization and/or cellular type where they are expressed. An extensive review of the different MMPs structural and functional features is integrated with their pathological role in several types of diseases, spanning from cancer to cardiovascular diseases and to neurodegeneration. It emerges a very complex and crucial role played by these enzymes in many physiological and pathological processes

Life tables for sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in northern Iran.

Citation: Iranipour, S., A. Kharrazi Pakdel, G. Radjabi, and J.P. Michaud. 2011. “Life Tables for Sunn Pest, Eurygaster Integriceps (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in Northern Iran.” Bulletin of Entomological Research 101 (1): 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485310000155.Iranipour, S., A. Kharrazi Pakdel, G. Radjabi, and J.P. Michaud. 2011. “Life Tables for Sunn Pest, Eurygaster Integriceps (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in Northern Iran.” Bulletin of Entomological Research 101 (1): 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485310000155.Life table studies of sunn pest were carried out in Varamin, Iran, from 1998–2001 in order to determine stage-specific ortalities and the impact of specific natural enemies on population dynamics. Populations were sampled 2–3 times weekly in agricultural fields during the growing season and monthly during the period of dormancy at resting sites in nearby mountains some 30km away from cereal fields. Adults spend a period of 9–10 months in diapause and suffered overcompensatory, density-dependent mortality during this period. Variation in adult overwintering survival was inferred to be largely a function of the physiological condition of bugs that is reduced in a density-dependent manner by intraspecific competition for food among newly molted adults prior to migration to resting sites. Adult mortality emerged as the primary factor in key factor analysis, contributing 73% of the total variance in mortality. Other important factors were egg parasitism by Trissolcus vassilievi Mayr and adult parasitism by several species of Tachinidae. Although T. vassilievi made only a minor contribution to overall variance in total mortality, it had a significant effect on the number of newly molted adults, the life stage that is most damaging to cereal crops. The equilibrium level of the pest population in wheat fields was inferred to be ca. 72.6 adults m[superscript -2], a number that substantially exceeds the economic threshold that ranges from 3–5 adults m[superscript -2]

The challenges to women's empowerment within the context of menstrual seclusion : A minor field study in Nepal

This research paper examines how an empowerment perspective can provide insight into women’s citizenship in the context of menstrual seclusion. Within the field of development, the goal of many civil society actors is to empower women through their intervention efforts. This objective frequently makes empowerment seem like a straightforward process. However, there are numerous factors to consider when investigating women’s status in the complex environment of menstrual seclusion in Nepal. By incorporating evidence from 17 semi-structured interviews, four documents, and one focus group discussion with intervention actors and women practising menstrual seclusion, this study demonstrates how women can become empowered in this setting. The material is evaluated through a thematic analysis within the empowerment framework and contextualised through feminist theory. The findings indicate that actors solely focus on certain components of empowerment although holistic and context-driven efforts are needed. This research paper concludes that in order to generate development outcomes, empowerment efforts need to target all aspects of women’s participation to have a larger effect on their active citizenship in this setting.

The Effect of some Factors on the Efficacy of Pheromone Traps for Capturing Leopard Moth in Walnut Orchards

Introduction: The leopard moth, Zeuzera pyrina (L.) (Lepidoptera, Cossidae), is an important xylophagous pest on different trees such as walnut, Juglans regia (L.), which weaken the host trees by canalling in the trunks. Regarding type of damage and host range of the pest, it is so difficult to control. Catching of the male moths by traps containing sex pheromone lures is a promising method to control the pest. There are many factors influencing potential of pheromone traps. Some of these factors, such as trap shape, trap color and height of trap placement, can be manipulated by the user or grower. One of the components of the pheromone blend of leopard moth is (E, Z)-2, 13-octadecadien-1-ol acetate, which seems to be the pheromone compound of the current clearwing moth Synanthedon tipuliformis (Clerck) (Sesiidae). Materials and Methods: Separate experiments were conducted in walnut orchards (each having more than 10 years of damage history and area of 0.5-3.5 ha) of Najaf-Abad County (Isfahan, Iran). Pheromone traps were placed on the trees in late April. The traps were inspected at 5-day intervals until late July. The number of catched lthe moth males was recorded and also, during the growth season average of the capturing per trap per night was calculated. Lures were replaced monthly. In the present study the effects of four factors (pheromone type, trap shape, trap color and height of trap placement) on the number of catched leopard moth males were evaluated. The experiments for different factors were conducted as follows: 1. Pheromone type and lures of pheromones of S. tipuliformis and Z. pyrina, both of which were provided from Agriscense Company, were compared. 2. Trap shape, four shapes (cylindrical or standard, delta, wing and funnel) were compared. The experiment was conducted using white-colored traps placed at the height of 1.5m above the ground and had S. tipuliformis lures. 3. Trap color, three separate experiments were conducted as follows: delta traps with 3 colors (white, yellow and green), delta traps with 6 colors (white, yellow, green, glossy gray, normal gray and red), cylindrical traps with 4 colors (green, yellow, with and normal gray). In the experiments, traps with height of 2m above the ground had S. tipuliformis lures. 4. Height of trap placement, two separate experiments with delta and cylindrical traps were conducted for comparison of three placement heights of 1.5, 3 and more than 6 meters above the ground. The experiment was conducted using white - colored traps which had S. tipuliformis lures. All above experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design with three or four replications. Analysis of variance was performed after data transformation, using log (x+1). In all experiments means were compared using Tukey̕s test, except for the experiment of pheromone type, which compared using t-student test. Results and Discussion: In the present study the catching was started on 4th of May and lasted till 26 July. During 105 nights of trapping, traps, which were continuing lures of S. tipuliformis and Z. pyrina, were captured in total 77 and 7 leopard moth males, respectively. Means of capturing per trap per night were 0.18 and 0.01, respectively. Results showed that catching of male moths were significantly higher on traps containing lures of S. tipuliformis than those containing lures of Z. pyrina. In comparison to shape of traps, significantly the highest catches belonged to funnel trap. The superiority of the funnel traps could be related to its specific structure. Comparison of 6 colors with delta traps showed that green and yellow colors had the highest and the lowest catching, respectively. However, in comparison of 4 colors with cylindrical trap, the highest and the lowest catching belonged to normal gray and yellow, respectively. In the present study, ranking of trap colors changed by trap shape. The phenomenon might be related to the interactions between the factors of traps̕ shape and color. In the experiments of height of trap placement, the highest catching was obtained at the height more than 6 m with both delta and wing traps. It shows that the amount of catching is increasing by increasing in the height of trap placement. Conclusion: Pheromone traps could be used as a useful method for catching leopard moths males. However efficacy of the pheromone traps was influenced by several factors, including type of pheromone, trap shape, trap color and height of trap placement