Robust Facial Alignment for Face Recognition

© 2017, Springer International Publishing AG. This paper proposes a robust real-time face recognition system that utilizes regression tree based method to locate the facial feature points. The proposed system finds the face region which is suitable to perform the recognition task by geometrically analyses of the facial expression of the target face image. In real-world facial recognition systems, the face is often cropped based on the face detection techniques. The misalignment is inevitably occurred due to facial pose, noise, occlusion, and so on. However misalignment affects the recognition rate due to sensitive nature of the face classifier. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated with four benchmark databases. The experiment results show the robustness of the proposed approach with significant improvement in the facial recognition system on the various size and resolution of given face images

Population genomics of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.): Comparative analysis of global accessions and Senegalese landraces

Citation: Hu, Z., Mbacké, B., Perumal, R., Guèye, M. C., Sy, O., Bouchet, S., . . . Morris, G. P. (2015). Population genomics of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.): Comparative analysis of global accessions and Senegalese landraces. Bmc Genomics. doi:10.1186/s12864-015-2255-0Background: Pearl millet is a staple food for people in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and South Asia due to its high drought tolerance and nutritional qualities. A better understanding of the genomic diversity and population structure of pearl millet germplasm is needed to support germplasm conservation and genetic improvement of this crop. Here we characterized two pearl millet diversity panels, (i) a set of global accessions from Africa, Asia, and the America, and (ii) a collection of landraces from multiple agro-ecological zones in Senegal. Results: We identified 83,875 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 500 pearl millet accessions, comprised of 252 global accessions and 248 Senegalese landraces, using genotyping by sequencing (GBS) of PstI-MspI reduced representation libraries. We used these SNPs to characterize genomic diversity and population structure among the accessions. The Senegalese landraces had the highest levels of genetic diversity (?), while accessions from southern Africa and Asia showed lower diversity levels. Principal component analyses and ancestry estimation indicated clear population structure between the Senegalese landraces and the global accessions, and among countries in the global accessions. In contrast, little population structure was observed across in the Senegalese landraces collections. We ordered SNPs on the pearl millet genetic map and observed much faster linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay in Senegalese landraces compared to global accessions. A comparison of pearl millet GBS linkage map with the foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genomes indicated extensive regions of synteny, as well as some large-scale rearrangements in the pearl millet lineage. Conclusions: We identified 83,875 SNPs as a genomic resource for pearl millet improvement. The high genetic diversity in Senegal relative to other regions of Africa and Asia supports a West African origin of this crop, followed by wide diffusion. The rapid LD decay and lack of confounding population structure along agro-ecological zones in Senegalese pearl millet will facilitate future association mapping studies. Comparative population genomics will provide insights into panicoid crop evolution and support improvement of these climate-resilient crops. © 2015 Hu et al

A robust real-time facial alignment system with facial landmarks detection and rectification for multimedia applications

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Face detection often plays the first step in various visual applications. Large variants of facial deformations due to head movements and facial expression make it difficult to identify appropriate face region. In this paper, a robust real-time face alignment system, including facial landmarks detection and face rectification, is proposed. A facial landmarks detection model based on regression tree is utilized in the proposed system. In face rectification framework, 2-D geometrical analysis based on pitch, yaw and roll movements is designed to solve the misalignment problem in face detection. The experiments on the two datasets verify the performance significantly improved by the proposed method in the facial recognition task and outperform than those obtained by other alignment methods. Furthermore, the proposed method can achieve robust recognition results even if the amount of training images is not large

A gossypiboma (foreign body granuloma) mimicking a residual odontogenic cyst in the mandible: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gossypiboma (foreign body granuloma) in the tooth socket as a complication of tooth removal is rare. Several cases of gossypiboma have been reported after orthopedic, abdominal, otorhinolaryngology, or plastic surgery, but there has been only one reported case after oral surgery.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 42-year-old Caucasian German-speaking Swiss woman applied to our clinic for removal of her right mandibular first molar. Her right mandibular third molar had been removed seven years ago. Post-operatively, she complained of pain and foreign body sensation for six months in the area of the removed tooth. A panoramic radiograph of our patient showed a defined and oval radiolucent area in the socket of the right mandibular third molar evoking a residual cyst. An operation was planned to remove the cyst-like lesion. During surgery, a foreign body composed of gauze was found in the right mandibular third molar region. The histological findings were compatible with a foreign body reaction around gauze.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Retained gauze must be considered if patients complain of pain and foreign body sensation after tooth removal. The use of gauze with radio-opaque markers and extensive irrigation of the socket with saline to remove gauze fragments can avoid this mishap.</p

Rare coding SNP in DZIP1 gene associated with late-onset sporadic Parkinson's disease

We present the first application of the hypothesis-rich mathematical theory to genome-wide association data. The Hamza et al. late-onset sporadic Parkinson's disease genome-wide association study dataset was analyzed. We found a rare, coding, non-synonymous SNP variant in the gene DZIP1 that confers increased susceptibility to Parkinson's disease. The association of DZIP1 with Parkinson's disease is consistent with a Parkinson's disease stem-cell ageing theory.Comment: 14 page

Selection of the solvent and extraction conditions for maximum recovery of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin

The extraction of antioxidant phenolic compounds from coffee silverskin (CS) was studied. Firstly, the effect of different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and distilled water) on the production of antioxidant extracts was evaluated. All the extracts showed antioxidant activity (FRAP and DPPH assays), but those obtained with methanol and ethanol had significantly higher (p < 0.05) DPPH inhibition than the remaining ones. Due to the lower toxicity, ethanol was selected as extraction solvent, and further experiments were performed in order to define the solvent concentration, solvent/solid ratio, and time to maximize the extraction results. The best condition to produce an extract with high content of phenolic compounds (13 mg gallic acid equivalents/g CS) and antioxidant activity [DPPH = 18.24 μmol Trolox equivalents/g CS and FRAP = 0.83 mmol Fe(II)/g CS] was achieved when using 60 % ethanol in a ratio of 35 ml/g CS, during 30 min at 60–65 °C.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The authors gratefully acknowledge Teresa Conde, student of Biological Engineering, for the help and interest in this work

Expression analysis of E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer progression is linked to a partially dedifferentiated epithelial cell phenotype. The signaling pathways Wnt, Hedgehog, TGF-β and Notch have been implicated in experimental and developmental epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Recent findings from our laboratory confirm that active Wnt/β-catenin signaling is critically involved in invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of breast.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, we analyzed the expression patterns and relationships between the key Wnt/β-catenin signaling components- E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β in IDCs of breast.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 98 IDCs analyzed, 53 (54%) showed loss/or reduced membranous staining of E-cadherin in tumor cells. Nuclear accumulation of Slug was observed in 33 (34%) IDCs examined. Loss or reduced level of cytoplasmic GSK3β expression was observed in 52/98 (53%) cases; while 34/98 (35%) tumors showed nuclear accumulation of GSK3β. Statistical analysis revealed associations of nuclear Slug expression with loss of membranous E-cadherin (p = 0.001); nuclear β-catenin (p = 0.001), and cytoplasmic β-catenin (p = 0.005), suggesting Slug mediated E-cadherin suppression via the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in IDCs. Our study also demonstrated significant correlation between GSK3β nuclear localization and tumor grade (p = 0.02), suggesting its association with tumor progression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study for the first time provided the clinical evidence in support of Wnt/β-catenin signaling upregulation in IDCs and key components of this pathway - E-cadherin, Slug and GSK3β with β-catenin in implementing EMT in these cells.</p

Expression of Dickkopf-1 and Beta-Catenin Related to the Prognosis of Breast Cancer Patients with Triple Negative Phenotype

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We investigated the prognostic importance of dickkopf-1(DKK1) and beta-catenin expression in triple negative breast cancers. METHODS: The expression of DKK1 and beta-catenin was evaluated in breast cell lines using RT-PCR and western blot. Immunohistochemistry was used to characterize the expression pattern of DKK1 and beta-catenin in 85 triple negative breast cancers and prognostic significance was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. RESULTS: The expression of DKK1 was confirmed in hormone-resistant breast cell lines MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-231-HM and MDA-MB-435. Expression of DKK1 in triple negative breast cancers correlated with cytoplasmic/nuclear beta-catenin (p = 0.000). Elevated expression of DKK1 and cytoplasmic/nuclear beta-catenin in triple negative cancers indicate poor outcome of patients. DKK1 was also a prognostic factor for patients with earlier stage or no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: DKK1 together with beta-catenin might be important prognostic factors in triple negative breast carcinoma. DKK1 might be a valuable biomarker in predicting the prognosis of patients with earlier stage or no lymph node metastasis. It is possible that through further understanding of the role of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway activation, beta-catenin would be a potential therapeutic target for the triple negative breast cancer

Dopamine D2 receptor polymorphisms and susceptibility to alcohol dependence in Indian males: a preliminary study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter involved in reward mechanism in the brain and thereby influences development and relapse of alcohol dependence. The dopamine D2 receptor (<it>DRD2</it>) gene on chromosome 11 (q22-q23) has been found to be associated with increased alcohol consumption through mechanisms involving incentive salience attributions and craving in alcoholic patients. Therefore, we investigated the association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in <it>DRD2 </it>gene with alcohol dependence in the north Indian subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a retrospective analysis, genetic association of three polymorphisms from <it>DRD2 </it>gene with alcohol dependence was investigated using a case-control approach. Alcohol dependence was determined by DSM-IV criteria and a total of 90 alcoholics and 60 healthy unrelated age-matched control subjects were recruited. Odds ratio and confidence interval was calculated to determine risk conferred by a predisposing allele/genotype/haplotype. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to correlate various clinical parameters with genotypes, and to study pair-wise interactions between SNPs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study showed a significant association of -141C Ins allele and a trend of association of TaqI A1 allele of <it>DRD2 </it>with alcohol dependence. Haplotype with the predisposing -141C Ins and TaqI A1 alleles (-141C Ins-A-A1) seems to confer ≈ 2.5 times more risk to develop alcohol dependence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study provides preliminary insight into genetic risk to alcohol dependence in Indian males. Two polymorphisms namely, -141C Ins/Del and TaqI A in <it>DRD2 </it>gene may have clinical implications among Indian alcoholic subjects.</p