Local Entropy and Standard Deviation for Facial Expressions Recognition in Thermal Imaging

Emotional reactions are the best way to express human attitude and thermal imaging mainly used to utilize detection of temperature variations as in detecting spatial and temporal variation in the water status of grapevine. By merging the two facts this paper presents the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) with Local Entropy (LE) and Local Standard Deviation (LSD) features as an efficient filters for investigating human emotional state in thermal images. Two well known classifiers, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were combined with the earlier features and applied over a database with variant illumination, as well as occlusion by glasses and poses to generate a recognition model of facial expressions in thermal images. KNN based on DCT and LE gives the best accuracy compared with other classifier and features results

Molecular identification of adenoviruses associated with respiratory infection in Egypt from 2003 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: Human adenoviruses of species B, C, and E (HAdV-B, -C, -E) are frequent causative agents of acute respiratory infections worldwide. As part of a surveillance program aimed at identifying the etiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Egypt, we characterized 105 adenovirus isolates from clinical samples collected between 2003 and 2010. METHODS: Identification of the isolates as HAdV was accomplished by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and confirmed by a set of species and type specific polymerase chain reactions (PCR). RESULTS: Of the 105 isolates, 42% were identified as belonging to HAdV-B, 60% as HAdV-C, and 1% as HAdV-E. We identified a total of six co-infections by PCR, of which five were HAdV-B/HAdV-C co-infections, and one was a co-infection of two HAdV-C types: HAdV-5/HAdV-6. Molecular typing by PCR enabled the identification of eight genotypes of human adenoviruses; HAdV-3 (n = 22), HAdV-7 (n = 14), HAdV-11 (n = 8), HAdV-1 (n = 22), HAdV-2 (20), HAdV-5 (n = 15), HAdV-6 (n = 3) and HAdV-4 (n = 1). The most abundant species in the characterized collection of isolates was HAdV-C, which is concordant with existing data for worldwide epidemiology of HAdV respiratory infections. CONCLUSIONS: We identified three species, HAdV-B, -C and -E, among patients with ILI over the course of 7 years in Egypt, with at least eight diverse types circulating

Core Microbial Functional Activities in Ocean Environments Revealed by Global Metagenomic Profiling Analyses

Metagenomics-based functional profiling analysis is an effective means of gaining deeper insight into the composition of marine microbial populations and developing a better understanding of the interplay between the functional genome content of microbial communities and abiotic factors. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of 24 datasets covering surface and depth-related environments at 11 sites around the world's oceans. The complete datasets comprises approximately 12 million sequences, totaling 5,358 Mb. Based on profiling patterns of Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) of proteins, a core set of reference photic and aphotic depth-related COGs, and a collection of COGs that are associated with extreme oxygen limitation were defined. Their inferred functions were utilized as indicators to characterize the distribution of light- and oxygen-related biological activities in marine environments. The results reveal that, while light level in the water column is a major determinant of phenotypic adaptation in marine microorganisms, oxygen concentration in the aphotic zone has a significant impact only in extremely hypoxic waters. Phylogenetic profiling of the reference photic/aphotic gene sets revealed a greater variety of source organisms in the aphotic zone, although the majority of individual photic and aphotic depth-related COGs are assigned to the same taxa across the different sites. This increase in phylogenetic and functional diversity of the core aphotic related COGs most probably reflects selection for the utilization of a broad range of alternate energy sources in the absence of light.This work was supported by King Abdullah University for Science and Technology Global Collaborative Partners (GCR) program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

New spectrophotometric and conductometric methods for macrolide antibiotics determination in pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms using rose Bengal

Two Simple, accurate, precise, and rapid spectrophotometric and conductometric methods were developed for the estimation of erythromycin thiocyanate (I), clarithromycin (II), and azithromycin dihydrate (III) in both pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms. e spectrophotometric procedure depends on the reaction of rose bengal and copper with the cited drugs to form stable ternary complexes which are extractable with methylene chloride, and the absorbances were measured at 558, 557, and 560 nm for (I), (II), and (III), respectively. e conductometric method depends on the formation of an ion-pair complex between the studied drug and rose bengal. For the spectrophotometric method, Beer's law was obeyed. e correlation coefficient ( 2 ) for the studied drugs was found to be 0.9999. e molar absorptivity ( ), Sandell's sensitivity, limit of detection (L�D), and limit of quanti�cation (L��) were also calculated. e proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of certain pharmaceutical dosage forms containing the studied drug

Local Entropy and Standard Deviation for Facial Expressions Recognition in Thermal Imaging

Emotional reactions are the best way to express human attitude and thermal imaging mainly used to utilize detection of temperature variations as in detecting spatial and temporal variation in the water status of grapevine. By merging the two facts this paper presents the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) with Local Entropy (LE) and Local Standard Deviation (LSD) features as an efficient filters for investigating human emotional state in thermal images. Two well known classifiers, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were combined with the earlier features and applied over a database with variant illumination, as well as occlusion by glasses and poses to generate a recognition model of facial expressions in thermal images. KNN based on DCT and LE gives the best accuracy compared with other classifier and features results

Global sperm DNA methylation and intra cytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes

Routine semen analysis is a poor predictor of pregnancy rates after intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). There is an assumption that embryos’ quality and fertilization rates could be influenced by epigenetic factors. We aimed at comparing global sperm DNA methylation level (GSDML) between normal and abnormal semen, investigating its relationship with sperm parameters and assessing its effect on ICSI outcomes; fertilization, good embryo and pregnancy rates. Ejaculates were obtained from 104 infertile and 60 fertile males undergoing ICSI at Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS software package, 20. Inter-group differences in semen parameters were assessed by t-test. GSDML, measured by ELISA, showed significant positive correlation with sperm count, concentration and motility. It correlated positively but insignificantly with morphology and fertilization rate. High levels were significantly associated with embryos having good quality and positivepregnancy rates. GSDML could predict good embryo rate and pregnancy occurrence after ICSI. Keywords: Sperm, Methylation, Infertility, ICSI L'analyse systématique du sperme est un mauvais prédicteur des taux de grossesse après injection intra-cytoplasmique de sperme (ICSI). On suppose que la qualité des embryons et les taux de fécondation pourraient être influencés par des facteurs épigénétiques. Nous visions à comparer le niveau global de méthylation de l'ADN du sperme (GSDML) entre le sperme normal et anormal, en étudiant sa relation avec les paramètres du sperme et en évaluant son effet sur les résultats de l'ICSI; fécondation, bons taux d'embryons et de grossesses. Des éjaculats ont été obtenus à partir de 104 hommes stériles et 60 fertiles subissant une ICSI à la Faculté de médecine d'Alexandrie, en Egypte. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide du progiciel IBM SPSS, 20. Les différences inter-groupes dans les paramètres du sperme ont été évaluées par test t. Le GSDML, mesuré par ELISA, a montré une corrélation positive significative avec le nombre de spermatozoïdes, la concentration et la motilité. Il était en corrélation positive mais insignifiante avec la morphologie et le taux de fécondation. Des niveaux élevés étaient significativement associés à des embryonsde bonne qualité et des taux de grossesse positifs. Le GSDML pourrait prédire un bon taux d'embryons et la survenue de grossesses après ICSI. Mots-clés: Sperme, méthylation, infertilité, ICS