Search Tracker: Human-derived object tracking in-the-wild through large-scale search and retrieval

Humans use context and scene knowledge to easily localize moving objects in conditions of complex illumination changes, scene clutter and occlusions. In this paper, we present a method to leverage human knowledge in the form of annotated video libraries in a novel search and retrieval based setting to track objects in unseen video sequences. For every video sequence, a document that represents motion information is generated. Documents of the unseen video are queried against the library at multiple scales to find videos with similar motion characteristics. This provides us with coarse localization of objects in the unseen video. We further adapt these retrieved object locations to the new video using an efficient warping scheme. The proposed method is validated on in-the-wild video surveillance datasets where we outperform state-of-the-art appearance-based trackers. We also introduce a new challenging dataset with complex object appearance changes.Comment: Under review with the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technolog

ACUTE TOXICITY STUDY AND THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF MODIFIED ARJUNARISHTA ON ISOPROTERENOL-INDUCED MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN RATS

Objective: Ayurvedic formulation derived phytomedicine could bring a specific remedy against myocardial infarction (MI) without any side effects. Arjunarishta is a cardio tonic that nourishes and strengthens the myocardial muscle and promotes cardiac function. The preparation of Arjunarishta is modified and it does not involve fermentation. So it is alcohol-free and safe to all age groups. The study of acute toxicity and therapeutic activity of Modified Arjunarishta (MA) in isoproterenol (IPN) induced MI in rats was conducted to bring scientific evidence. Methods: Acute toxicity study: Mice are divided into three groups. Group I-control group; Group II and group III were test groups and they received an oral dose of 1000 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg of MA, respectively. The experimental mice were observed for behaviour changes and clinical signs. Their body weight was also recorded. At the end of the experiment, blood sample was collected and glucose, liver function test (LFT), renal function test (RFT) and haematology parameters were analysed. Then they also subjected to gross pathological examination of all the major internal organs. Therapeutic study: Rats were divided into six groups. Group 1-normal control; Group 2 (induced)-IPN 85 mg/kg for the first two days; Group 3 (MA low dose)-received IPN as per group 2 followed by MA 200 mg/kg from the 3rd day to the end of the experiment; Group 4 (MA medium dose)-400 mg/kg; Group 5 (MA high dose)-600 mg/kg; Group 6 (Standard)-IPN as per group 2 followed by Arjunarishta 2 ml/kg body weight from the 3rd day to the end of the experiment. The collected serum sample was used for the estimation of myocardium-expressed proinflammatory cytokines. Heart tissue was homogenized for the estimation of calcium and lipid profile. Results: Acute toxicity: There were no signs of toxicity and no significant change in body weight. The value of glucose, RFT, LFT and haematological parameters are remained normal. Histopathological report showed normal architecture. Therapeutic activity: In the heart samples, significantly (p<0.001) increased cholesterol, Triglyceride (TGL), Free Fatty acids (FFA) and calcium in IPN induced groups was noted. They are all significantly (p<0.001) decreased in MA administrated groups of three different groups. In serum sample, a significantly (p<0.001) increased cytokines of Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), Interlukins (IL-6, IL-1α and IL-1β) in IPN induced rats was recorded were as they get significantly (p<0.001) decreased in MA administrated groups of three different doses. Conclusion: The results obtained from the acute toxicity experiment concluded that MA was found to be safe for oral administration. The therapeutic experiment results clearly emphasize the beneficial action of MA against IPN induced MI in rats

Marker-Assisted Breeding as Next-Generation Strategy for Genetic Improvement of Productivity and Quality: Can It Be Realized in Cotton?

The dawdling development in genetic improvement of cotton with conventional breeding program is chiefly due to lack of complete knowledge on and precise manipulation of fiber productivity and quality. Naturally available cotton continues to be a resource for the upcoming breeding program, and contemporary technologies to exploit the available natural variation are outlined in this paper for further improvement of fiber. Particularly emphasis is given to application, obstacles, and perspectives of marker-assisted breeding since it appears to be more promising in manipulating novel genes that are available in the cotton germplasm. Deployment of system quantitative genetics in marker-assisted breeding program would be essential to realize its role in cotton. At the same time, role of genetic engineering and in vitro mutagenesis cannot be ruled out in genetic improvement of cotton

Occurrence of Oratosquilla oratoria (De Haan, 1844) and Oratosquillina gravieri (Manning, 1978) from the trawl bycatches of Nagapattinam region, Tamil Nadu

1029-1036Six species of mantis shrimps were recorded in the trawl catches of Nagapattinam region during January – December, 2018. The occurrence of two species namely Oratosquilla oratoria (De Haan, 1844) and Oratosquillina gravieri (Manning, 1978) were reported for the first time in the trawl bycatches of Nagapattinam region. The morphometrics of these two species is reported in this paper. Presence of inferodistal spine in the merus of the raptorial claw, rostral plate short and trapezoid to square in shape, 5th abdominal segment without submedian patch, 4th abdominal segment submedian carinae unarmed in Oratosquilla oratoria and rostral plate elongate and rectangle, lateral process of 6th thoracic somite with slender, triangular anterior lobe and dactylus of the raptorial claw with 6 teeth in Oratosquillina gravieri are chief characters to differentiate from other species

Topology Driven And Soft Phonon Mode Enabled Na-ion Diffusion In Quaternary Chalcogenides, Na3ZnGaX4 (X = S, And Se)

The compounds Na3ZnGaX4 (X = S, Se) are potential solid electrolyte materials in sodium-based batteries, which have certain advantages over oxide materials and have shown significant ionic conductivity at ambient temperature. In this paper, we bring out atomic-level features of the diffusion process in these new materials using the microscopic techniques of inelastic neutron scattering (INS), Quasi elastic neutron scattering (QENS), and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The insights obtained from these techniques are unique and not available from other macroscopic experiments. Neutron scattering experiments have been performed at temperatures from 100 to 700 K. The simulations have been carried out up to 900 K. We have calculated the phonon spectra and the space-time correlation functions and found good agreement with the results of the neutron scattering experiments. The simulations enable detailed analysis of the atomic-site dependent dynamical information. We observe low-energy phonon modes of ∼6 meV involving the vibrations of certain Na atoms in the lattice. This reveals that the Na at 32g Wyckoff sites (Na2) has sufficiently shallow potential among the two available crystallographic sites. This shallow potential facilitates diffusion. Furthermore, the specific structural topology of the network of interconnected zig-zag chains of the Na2 atomic sites provides the low-barrier energy pathways for diffusion. A small fraction of vacancy defects appears essential for diffusion. We further observe that the Na2 atoms undergo jump-like diffusion to the vacant next or the 2nd next Neighbour sites at ∼4 Å. While the QENS experiments reveal the jump-like diffusion and its time scale, detailed analysis of the AIMD simulations shows that the jumps appear mostly along zig-zag chains of the Na2 sites in the tetragonal ab-plane, as well as between the chains along the c-axis. The net diffusion is essentially 3-dimensional, with little anisotropy despite the anisotropy of the tetragonal crystal structure

WIRELESS WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND DETERIORATION PREDICTION SYSTEM

Water is an essential resource in day-to-day life. Pollution and urbanization have led to higher susceptibility of source water to contamination. There is a pressing need to develop a water quality monitoring system to preserve the quality of source water and ultimately safeguard human health. This proposes a low cost, wireless water quality monitoring system, wherein the quality of water stored in overhead tanks is continuously monitored. The quality of water is measured by parameters that are critical quality indicators. The data encompassing these parameters are stored in a Cloud database (in realtime) along with its timestamp. The quality of water is ascertained based on the comparison of the monitored data to standard well-established thresholds. The data, annotated with its timestamp is treated as a time-series. A univariate non-seasonal Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model is employed to forecast individual water quality parameters. The results of forecasting are used to predict water quality deterioration. The model used is found to have mean square errors of 0.001 for pH, 0.076 for temperature and 0.001 for turbidity between the actual and forecasted values

Assesment of Water Contamination Due to Industry Effluents on Noyyal River Basin

The purpose of this study was to assess the water quality of Noyyal river and to understand the impact of anthropogenic activities on the water quality. Water samples were collected from different sites along the river and analyzed for various physical and chemical parameters. The results of the analysis showed that the water quality of Noyyal river was poor, with levels of certain parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids above the limits set. The results of the analysis also showed that the river was polluted due to the discharge of untreated effluents from various industries located in and around the river. The study also showed that the water quality of Noyyal river was deteriorating due to the anthropogenic activities in the catchment area. The results of this study can be used to develop strategies to improve the water quality of Noyyal river and to protect the catchment area from further degradation

Template-Assisted Synthesis and Characterization of Passivated Nickel Nanoparticles

Potential applications of nickel nanoparticles demand the synthesis of self-protected nickel nanoparticles by different synthesis techniques. A novel and simple technique for the synthesis of self-protected nickel nanoparticles is realized by the inter-matrix synthesis of nickel nanoparticles by cation exchange reduction in two types of resins. Two different polymer templates namely strongly acidic cation exchange resins and weakly acidic cation exchange resins provided with cation exchange sites which can anchor metal cations by the ion exchange process are used. The nickel ions which are held at the cation exchange sites by ion fixation can be subsequently reduced to metal nanoparticles by using sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. The composites are cycled repeating the loading reduction cycle involved in the synthesis procedure. X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectrum, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Analysis are effectively utilized to investigate the different structural characteristics of the nanocomposites. The hysteresis loop parameters namely saturation magnetization and coercivity are measured using Vibrating Sample Magnetometer. The thermomagnetization study is also conducted to evaluate the Curie temperature values of the composites. The effect of cycling on the structural and magnetic characteristics of the two composites are dealt in detail. A comparison between the different characteristics of the two nanocomposites is also provided

High Throughput Ratio Imaging to Profile Caspase Activity: Potential Application in Multiparameter High Content Apoptosis Analysis and Drug Screening

Recent advancement in the area of green fluorescent protein techniques coupled with microscopic imaging has significantly contributed in defining and dissecting subcellular changes of apoptosis with high spatio-temporal resolution. Although single cell based studies using EGFP and associated techniques have provided valuable information of initiation and hierarchical changes of apoptosis, they are yet to be exploited for multiparameter cell based real time analysis for possible drug screening or pathway defining in a high throughput manner. Here we have developed multiple cancer cell lines expressing FRET sensors for active caspases and adapted them for high throughput live cell ratio imaging, enabling high content image based multiparameter analysis. Sensitivity of the system to detect live cell caspase activation was substantiated by confocal acceptor bleaching as well as wide field FRET imaging. Multiple caspase-specific activities of DEVDase, IETDase and LEHDase were analysed simultaneously with other decisive events of cell death. Through simultaneous analysis of caspase activation by FRET ratio change coupled with detection of mitochondrial membrane potential loss or superoxide generation, we identified several antitumor agents that induced caspase activation with or without membrane potential loss or superoxide generation. Also, cells that escaped the initial drug-induced caspase activation could be easily followed up for defining long term fate. Employing such a revisit imaging strategy of the same area, we have tracked the caspase surviving fractions with multiple drugs and its subsequent response to retreatment, revealing drug-dependent diverging fate of surviving cells. This thereby indicates towards a complex control of drug induced tumor resistance. The technique described here has wider application in both screening of compound libraries as well as in defining apoptotic pathways by linking multiple signaling to identify non-classical apoptosis inducing agents, the greatest advantage being that the high content information obtained are from individual cells rather than being population based

Hydroimidazolone Modification of the Conserved Arg12 in Small Heat Shock Proteins: Studies on the Structure and Chaperone Function Using Mutant Mimics

Methylglyoxal (MGO) is an α-dicarbonyl compound present ubiquitously in the human body. MGO reacts with arginine residues in proteins and forms adducts such as hydroimidazolone and argpyrimidine in vivo. Previously, we showed that MGO-mediated modification of αA-crystallin increased its chaperone function. We identified MGO-modified arginine residues in αA-crystallin and found that replacing such arginine residues with alanine residues mimicked the effects of MGO on the chaperone function. Arginine 12 (R12) is a conserved amino acid residue in Hsp27 as well as αA- and αB-crystallin. When treated with MGO at or near physiological concentrations (2–10 µM), R12 was modified to hydroimidazolone in all three small heat shock proteins. In this study, we determined the effect of arginine substitution with alanine at position 12 (R12A to mimic MGO modification) on the structure and chaperone function of these proteins. Among the three proteins, the R12A mutation improved the chaperone function of only αA-crystallin. This enhancement in the chaperone function was accompanied by subtle changes in the tertiary structure, which increased the thermodynamic stability of αA-crystallin. This mutation induced the exposure of additional client protein binding sites on αA-crystallin. Altogether, our data suggest that MGO-modification of the conserved R12 in αA-crystallin to hydroimidazolone may play an important role in reducing protein aggregation in the lens during aging and cataract formation