Predictive models for multibiometric systems

Recognizing a subject given a set of biometrics is a fundamental pattern recognition problem. This paper builds novel statistical models for multibiometric systems using geometric and multinomial distributions. These models are generic as they are only based on the similarity scores produced by a recognition system. They predict the bounds on the range of indices within which a test subject is likely to be present in a sorted set of similarity scores. These bounds are then used in the multibiometric recognition system to predict a smaller subset of subjects from the database as probable candidates for a given test subject. Experimental results show that the proposed models enhance the recognition rate beyond the underlying matching algorithms for multiple face views, fingerprints, palm prints, irises and their combinations

Spiking Neural Network for Augmenting Electroencephalographic Data for Brain Computer Interfaces

With the advent of advanced machine learning methods, the performance of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) has improved unprecedentedly. However, electroencephalography (EEG), a commonly used brain imaging method for BCI, is characterized by a tedious experimental setup, frequent data loss due to artifacts, and is time consuming for bulk trial recordings to take advantage of the capabilities of deep learning classifiers. Some studies have tried to address this issue by generating artificial EEG signals. However, a few of these methods are limited in retaining the prominent features or biomarker of the signal. And, other deep learning-based generative methods require a huge number of samples for training, and a majority of these models can handle data augmentation of one category or class of data at any training session. Therefore, there exists a necessity for a generative model that can generate synthetic EEG samples with as few available trials as possible and generate multi-class while retaining the biomarker of the signal. Since EEG signal represents an accumulation of action potentials from neuronal populations beneath the scalp surface and as spiking neural network (SNN), a biologically closer artificial neural network, communicates via spiking behavior, we propose an SNN-based approach using surrogate-gradient descent learning to reconstruct and generate multi-class artificial EEG signals from just a few original samples. The network was employed for augmenting motor imagery (MI) and steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) data. These artificial data are further validated through classification and correlation metrics to assess its resemblance with original data and in-turn enhanced the MI classification performance

Compatibility of entomopathogenic fungi with extracts of plants and commercial botanicals

The compatibility of some commercial botanicals (Biospark, Phytophrate, Exodos, Biodos and Neemgold) and of solvent extracts of Syndrella nodiflora, Premna tomentosa, Vitex negundo, Ipomea carnea, Pteridium aquilinum (leaves) and Annona squomosa (seeds) with Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuil., Isaria (Paecilomyces) fumosorosea (Wize) Brown et Smith and Lecanicillium (Verticillium) lecanii Humber in vitro was studied using dual plate and liquid bioassays. The results showed that Biospark. Phytophrate and Exodos highly reduced the mycelial growth of B. bassiana, P. fumosorosea and V. lecanii, respectively. Irrespective of the fungi tested, A. squomosa ethanol and I. cornea water extracts had maximum and minimum growth inhibiting activity against three fungi, respectively. Hence, these extracts can be integrated along with these fungi in the biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) programme.Key words: Compatibility, entomopathogenic fungi, plant-based biopesticides, plant extracts

KINERJA PENGAWAS DALAM PENINGKATAN MUTU PENDIDIKAN PADA MADRASAH ALIYAH NEGERI DI KOTA BANDAR LAMPUNG

ABSTRAK Kinerja Pengawas dalam Peningkatan Mutu Pendidikan pada Madrasah Aliyah Negeri di Kota Bandar Lampung Oleh : Sukron Pengawas madrasah bertugas membantu dan membina guru meningkatkan profesionalismenya agar dapat meningkatkan kualitas proses dan hasil belajar siswa. Pengawas madrasah juga bertugas membantu kepala madrasah dan seluruh staf madrasah agar dapat meningkatkan mutu penyelengaraan pendidikan pada madrasah yang dibinanya.Penelitian ini merupakan jenis penelitian field research (penelitian lapangan) dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Sedangkan Teknik pengumpulan data dengan cara observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi. Lokasi penelitian adalah MAN 1 dan MAN 2 Kota Bandar Lampung. Perencanaan pengawasan pada Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Kota Bandar Lampung disusun berdasarkan analisis Program Tahunan, Program Semester, rencana kepengawasan manajerial (RKM) dan rencana kepengawasan akademik (RKA). Pelaksanaan kinerja pengawas pada Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Kota Bandar Lampung dilaksanakan dengan mengadakan kunjungan kelas dan observasi langsung terhadap proses pelaksanaan pembelajaran di kelas serta pembimbingan dan pelatihan melalui workshop, seminar, observasi, individual, Kelompok Kerja Guru (KKG), Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran (MGMP) dan group conference. Evaluasi kinerja pengawas pada Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Kota Bandar Lampung bertujuan untuk pembinaan dan pemantauan kegiatan dan kinerja guru sekaligus membantu guru dalam mengembangkan kemampuan mengelola proses pembelajaran. Kata kunci : Kinerja, Pengawas, Madrasah Aliyah viiABSTRACT Supervisors Performance in Improving the Quality of Education at State Islamic high school in Bandar Lampung City By: Sukron supervisor Islamic high school are tasked with helping and fostering teachers to improve their professionalism in order to enhance the quality of the process and student learning outcomes. The Islamic high school supervisor is in charge of assisting the head of Islamic high school and all staff in order to improve the quality of education in the Islamic high school under his supervision. This research is a type of field research (field research) using a qualitative approach. While the technique of collecting data by means of observation, interviews, and documentation. The research locations are MAN 1 and MAN 2 Bandar Lampung City. Supervision planning at State Islamic high school Bandar Lampung City is compiled based on the analysis of the Annual Program, Semester Program, managerial supervision plan (RKM) and academic supervision plan (RKA). The performance of supervisors at State Islamic high school Bandar Lampung City is carried out by conducting class visits and direct observation of the process of implementing learning in class as well as mentoring and training through workshops, seminars, observations, individuals, Teacher Working Groups (KKG), Subject Teacher Deliberations (MGMP) and group conferences. Evaluation of the performance of supervisors at State Islamic high school Bandar Lampung City aims to guide and monitor teacher activities and performance as well as to assist teachers in developing the ability to manage the learning process. Keywords: Performance, Supervisor, Islamic high school viiiصخلم ايلعلا ةيموكلحا ةسردلما في ميلعتلا ةدوج نيسحت يف فيارشلإا ءادلأا جنوبملا ردنب ةنيدم في ركس ةدعاسبم نوفلكم ةسردلما فيرشمو ، ميلعتلا ىلع ينفرشم وأ ميلعتلا ىلع ينفرشمكةسردم لوؤسلما وه ةسردلما ىلع فرشلما . بلاطلا ملعت جئاتنو ةيلمعلا ةدوج زيزعت لجأ نم مهتينهم ينسحتلنيملعلما . هفارشإ تتح ةسردلما في ميلعتلا ةدوج ينستح لجأ نم ةسردلما يفظوم عيجمو ةسردلما سيئر ةدعاسم نع عجم ةينقت امنيب .يعون جهنم مادختسبا )نياديم ثبح( نياديلما ثحبلا نم عون وه ثحبلا اذه ةسردلما و 1 ايلعلا ةيموكلحا ةسردلما يه ثحبلا عقاوم .قيثوتلاو تلاباقلماو ةظحلالما قيرط نع تناايبلا 2 ايلعلا ةيموكلحا جمنابرلا ليلتح ىلع ًءانب جنوبملا ردنب ةنيدم في ايلعلا ةيموكلحا ةسردلما في في فارشلإا طيطتخ عيمتج تم (RKA). ييمداكلأا فارشلإا ةطخو (RKM) يرادلإا فارشلإا ةطخو يساردلا لصفلا جمناربو يونسلا ةيفص تارياز ءارجإ للاخ نم جنوبملا ردنب ةنيدم يرجين ايلع ةسردم في ينفرشلما ءادأ ذيفنت متي تاودنلاو لمعلا شرو للاخ نم بيردتلاو هيجوتلا لىإ ةفاضلإبا لصفلا في ملعتلا ذيفنت ةيلمعل ةرشابم ةبقارمو عوضولما سردم تلاوادم ، (KKG) ملعلما لمع تاعوممجو دارفلأاو تاظحلالماو . ةيعاملجا تارتدؤلماو (MGMP). ملعلما ةطشنأ ةبقارمو هيجوت لىإ جنوبملا ردنب ةنيدم يرجين ايلعلا ةسردلما في ينفرشلما ءادأ مييقت فدهي ملعتلا ةيلمع ةرادإ ىلع ةردقلا ريوطت في ينملعلما ةدعاسلم كلذكو هئادأو ةيلاع ةسردم ، فرشم ، ءادأ: ةيحاتفلما تاملكل

Field Evaluation of Three Entomopathogenic fungi on Groundnut Pest

Entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes), Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes), Verticillium lecani Viegas (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes) were tested against groundnut pests, Aphis craccivora (Koch) (Homoptera: Aphididae), Aproarema modicella (Deventer) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Mylabris pustulata Faust (Coleoptera: Meloidae) and Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in field conditions. Among the tested fungi, V. lecanii suppressed 62% of A. craccivora population at 39 Days After Seedling Emergence (DASE). During the same period, B. bassiana reduced 72% of S. litura larval population (0.73 larvae). The infestation of S. litura and A. modicella were greatly reduced after the treatment of B. bassiana; subsequently the yield (1721.31 kg/ha-1) and cost benefit ratio (1: 1.93) were increased. P. fumosoroseus and V. lecanii were less effective than B. bassiana. The persistence of fungal pathogens was found to be higher in soil than the phyllosphere indicating that they can be naturally favored for the control of pests in groundnut

HPLC Method for Determination of Rifaximin in Human Plasma Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry Detection

The present study was aimed at developing a simple, sensitive, and specific liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of rifaximin in human plasma using rifaximin D6 as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on Zorbax SB C18, 4.6 x 75 mm, 3.5 μm column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 4.0) and acetonitrile in the ratio of (20:80 v/v), at a flow-rate of 0.3 mL/min. Rifaximin and rifaximin D6 were detected with proton adducts at m/z 786.4 → 754.4 and 792.5 → 760.5 in multiple reaction monitoring positive mode respectively. The acidified samples were subjected to liquid–liquid extraction using a mixture of methyl t-butyl ether - dichloromethane (75: 25) followed by centrifugation, nitrogen-aided evaporation and reconstitution. The method was validated over a linear concentration range of 20 - 20000 pg/mL with correlation coefficient of more than 0.9995. This method demonstrated intra and inter-day precision within 0.6 - 2.6% and 2.2 - 5.6%, and accuracy within 95.7 - 104.2% and 95.8 - 105.0% for rifaximin, respectively. Rifaximin was found to be stable throughout freeze–thawing cycles, bench top and postoperative stability studies. This method was applied successfully for the analysis of blood samples following oral administration of rifaximin (200 mg) in 17 healthy Indian male human volunteers under fasting conditions.Keywords: Bioequivalence, mass spectrometry, rifaximinEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 13 (2010) 78-8

Reward Based Hebbian Learning in Direct Feedback Alignment (Student Abstract)

Imparting biological realism during the learning process is gaining attention towards producing computationally efficient algorithms without compromising the performance. Feedback alignment and mirror neuron concept are two such approaches where the feedback weight remains static in the former and update via Hebbian learning in the later. Though these approaches have proven to work efficiently for supervised learning, it remained unknown if the same can be applicable to reinforcement learning applications. Therefore, this study introduces RHebb-DFA where the reward-based Hebbian learning is used to update feedback weights in direct feedback alignment mode. This approach is validated on various Atari games and obtained equivalent performance in comparison with DDQN

Thyroid hormones in relation to toxic metal exposure in pregnancy, and potential interactions with iodine and selenium

Background: Several endocrine-disrupting metals may affect thyroid function, but the few available studies of exposure during pregnancy and thyroid hormones are inconclusive. Objective: To explore if environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and methylmercury (MeHg) impacts thyroid function in pregnancy, and interacts with iodine and selenium status. Methods: Women in a Swedish birth cohort provided blood and urine samples in early third trimester. Concentrations of erythrocyte Cd, Pb, and Hg (n = 544), urinary Cd and iodine (n = 542) and plasma selenium (n = 548) were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Free and total thyroxine (fT4, tT4) and triiodothyronine (fT3, tT3), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), were measured in plasma (n = 548) with electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Metal-hormone associations were assessed in regression models, and metal mixture effects and metal-nutrient interactions were explored in Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). Results: In multivariable-adjusted regression models, a doubling of urinary Cd was associated with a mean increase in tT4 of 2.7 nmol/L (95% CI: 0.78, 4.6), and in fT3 and tT3 of 0.06 pmol/L (0.02, 0.10) and 0.09 nmol/L (0.05, 0.13), respectively. A doubling of urinary Cd was associated with a −0.002 (−0.003, −0.001) and −0.03 (−0.05, −0.02) decrease in the fT4:tT4 and fT3:tT3 ratio, respectively. A doubling of erythrocyte Hg (>1 \ub5g/kg) was associated with a decrease in fT3 and tT3 by −0.11 pmol/L (−0.16, −0.05) and −0.11 nmol/L (−0.16, −0.06), respectively, and a −0.013 (−0.02, −0.01) decrease in the fT3:fT4 ratio. BKMR did not indicate any mixture effect of toxic metals or interactions between metals and iodine or selenium in relation to the hormones. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that exposure to Cd and Hg, at levels globally prevalent through the diet, may affect thyroid function during pregnancy, independently of iodine and selenium levels. Further studies on potential implications for maternal and child health are warranted

Herbs and Rehabilitation after Stroke Study: A Multi-center, Double-blinded, Randomized Trial in Hong Kong

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Visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure variability predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after lacunar infarct

Background: Both blood pressure (BP) and its variability (BPV) are established risk factors for development of atherosclerotic disease and are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. The prognostic implications of out-patient clinic visit-to-visit BPV among patients with lacunar infarction are nevertheless unknown. Methods: We prospectively followed up the clinical outcome of 281 patients with lacunar infarction. The mean BP and BPV, as determined by the standard deviation of the systolic and diastolic BP, were recorded during a mean of 13 ± 6 out-patient clinic visits. Results: The mean age of the population was 70 ± 10 years. After a mean of 78 ± 18 month’s follow-up, 65 (23%) patients died, 31% (20/65) were due to cardiovascular causes. 14% and 7% developed recurrent stroke and acute coronary syndrome, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, mean systolic and diastolic BP, cardiovascular risk factors and co-morbidities, patients with a systolic BPV of the third tertile had significantly higher risk of all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-3.80; P = 0.04) and cardiovascular mortality (HR = 7.64; 95% CI, 1.65-35.41; P < 0.01) compared to those with systolic BPV of the first tertile. Nevertheless, systolic BPV did not predict recurrent stroke or acute coronary syndrome. Diastolic BPV did not predict various adverse clinical outcomes. Conclusions: Visit-to-visit systolic BPV predicts long-term all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after lacunar infarct, independent of conventional risk factors including average BP control.published_or_final_versio