Phase and TV Based Convex Sets for Blind Deconvolution of Microscopic Images

In this article, two closed and convex sets for blind deconvolution problem are proposed. Most blurring functions in microscopy are symmetric with respect to the origin. Therefore, they do not modify the phase of the Fourier transform (FT) of the original image. As a result blurred image and the original image have the same FT phase. Therefore, the set of images with a prescribed FT phase can be used as a constraint set in blind deconvolution problems. Another convex set that can be used during the image reconstruction process is the epigraph set of Total Variation (TV) function. This set does not need a prescribed upper bound on the total variation of the image. The upper bound is automatically adjusted according to the current image of the restoration process. Both of these two closed and convex sets can be used as a part of any blind deconvolution algorithm. Simulation examples are presented.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Selected Topics in Signal Processin

Influencia del tostado por microondas en los componentes bioactivos y los parámetros químicos del aceite de semilla de higo prensado en frío

The effect of microwave roasting process on the compositional parameters and bioactive contents of fig seed oil were investigated. Fig seeds were ground and roasted in a microwave oven at 350, 460 and 600 Watt for 5 and 10 minutes and the roasted seeds were processed to obtain oil. The results showed that peroxide, K232 and K270 values were adversely affected by roasting. Fig seed oil was a prosperous source of γ-tocopherol and significant losses were observed due to microwave pre-treatment. The major fatty acids in fig seed oil were linolenic, linoleic and oleic acids; whereas the major triacylglycerols were LnLO, LnLnL, LnLnLn and LnLnO, according to fatty acid profile. The most abundant sterol in the fig seed oil samples was β-sitosterol with 3235.90 to 3625.62 mg/kg, followed by Δ5- and Δ7-avenasterols. The principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchial clustering served to differentiate between intense and mild microwave-treated oils as well as the unroasted samples.Se investigó el efecto del proceso de tostado por microondas sobre los parámetros de composición y contenido bioactivo del aceite de semilla de higo. Las semillas de higo se molieron y tostaron en un horno de microondas a 350, 460 y 600 vatios durante 5 y 10 minutos a continuación se obtuvo el aceite. Los resultados han demostrado que los valores de peróxido, K232 y K270 se vieron afectados negativamente por el tostado. El aceite de semilla de higo es una buena fuente de γ-tocoferol y se observaron pérdidas significativas mediante el pretratamiento con microondas. Los principales ácidos grasos del aceite de semilla de higo fueron los ácidos linolénico, linoleico y oleico; mientras que los principales triacilgliceroles fueron LnLO, LnLnL, LnLnLn y LnLnO que ratificaron el perfil de ácidos grasos. El esterol más abundante de las muestras de aceite de semilla de higo fue el β-sitosterol que varió de 3235,90 a 3625,62 mg/kg, acompañado de Δ5-avenasterol y Δ7-avenasterol. El análisis de componentes principales y la agrupación jerárquica aglomerativa permitieron la diferenciación de aceites tratados con microondas intensos y suaves, así como las muestras sin tostar

Efecto de extractos de romero sobre 3-MCPD y ésteres de glicidol durante frituras

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of rosemary extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) on the 3-MCPD and glycidyl ester contents during deep-fat frying. Firstly, the potato samples were soaked in different concentrations of NaCl and they were fried in sunflower oils containing different concentrations of rosemary extract. Subsequently, repeated frying was carried out with sunflower oil enriched with rosemary extract. The frying oil and the oil extracted from potato samples were analyzed in terms of the contents of 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters according to DGF C VI 18 (10) method. The results demonstrated that the content of 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters in frying oil was not significantly affected by different NaCl and rosemary extract concentrations during short term frying; however, the amount of 3-MCPD esters was found to be lower for the potato crisps enriched with rosemary extract during repeated frying cycles.El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar el efecto del extracto de romero (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) sobre los contenidos de 3-MCPD y ésteres de glicidol durante la fritura. En primer lugar, muestras de patatas se remojaron en diferentes concentraciones de NaCl y se frieron en aceites de girasol que contienen diferentes concentraciones de extracto de romero. Posteriormente, se realizaron frituras repetidas con aceite de girasol enriquecido con extracto de romero. El aceite de fritura y el aceite extraído de las muestras de patatas se analizaron en términos de los contenidos de 3-MCPD y ésteres de glicidol de acuerdo con el método DGF C VI 18. Los resultados demostraron que el contenido de 3-MCPD y ésteres de glicidol en el aceite de fritura no se vieron afectados significativamente por las diferentes concentraciones de NaCl a corto plazo, sin embargo, la cantidad de ésteres de 3-MCPD fue menor para las patatas fritas enriquecidas con extracto de romero durante los ciclos de fritura repetidas

Detection of fungal damaged popcorn using image property covariance features

Covariance-matrix-based features were applied to the detection of popcorn infected by a fungus that causes a symptom called " blue-eye" . This infection of popcorn kernels causes economic losses due to the kernels' poor appearance and the frequently disagreeable flavor of the popped kernels. Images of kernels were obtained to distinguish damaged from undamaged kernels using image-processing techniques. Features for distinguishing blue-eye-damaged from undamaged popcorn kernel images were extracted from covariance matrices computed using various image pixel properties. The covariance matrices were formed using different property vectors that consisted of the image coordinate values, their intensity values and the first and second derivatives of the vertical and horizontal directions of different color channels. Support Vector Machines (SVM) were used for classification purposes. An overall recognition rate of 96.5% was achieved using these covariance based features. Relatively low false positive values of 2.4% were obtained which is important to reduce economic loss due to healthy kernels being discarded as fungal damaged. The image processing method is not computationally expensive so that it could be implemented in real-time sorting systems to separate damaged popcorn or other grains that have textural differences. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Peningkatan Nilai Kalori pada Batubara Lignit dengan Metode Aglomerasi Air dan Minyak Sawit pada PT. Indonesia Power Ujp Pltu Barru

Penggunaan batubara di PLTU sangat bergantung kepada kualitas batubara yang digunakan, karena semakin tinggi kualitas batubara maka akan memaksimalkan pembakaran dan secara langsung akan berdampak pada produksi listrik yang dihasilkan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui peningkatan nilai kalori pada batubara lignit. Pada penelitian ini digunakan metode aglomerasi dengan media air dan minyak sawit yang pada setiap sampel diberi perlakukan yang sama namun mengalami peningkatan yang berbeda. Ada tiga sampel yang digunakan pada penelitian ini dimana pada setiap sampel memiliki komposisi batubara lignit seberat 1 gram, minyak sawit sebanyak 10,20,30 ml dan air sebanyak 100 ml. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa semakin banyak konsentrasi minyak maka semakin tinggi kadar karbon yang diikat, sehingga dapat meningkatkan nilai kalori batubara. Dilihat dari konsentrasi 30% pada setiap sampel batubara mengalami peningkatan nilai kalori yang sebelumnya 3.765,23 cal/gr menjadi 5.279,46 cal/gr pada sampel pertama, 3.567,44 cal/gr menjadi 4.989,07 cal/gr pada sampel kedua dan 4.026,07 cal/gr menjadi 5.166,98 cal/gr pada sampel ketiga. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa batubara lignit yang digunakan di PLTU dapat ditingkatkan nilai kalorinya menggunakan metode aglomerasi air dan minyak sawit

Unexplored olive cultivars from the Valencian Community (Spain): some chemical characteristics as a valorization strategy

[EN] The olive processing industry has till date been dominated by a small group of cultivars, leading to the possibility of some olive cultivars becoming extinct in the near future. In this study, we determined the composition of some chemical components in the olive oils from 31 minor olive cultivars of the Valencian Community. Our main aim was to identify suitable cultivars, which could produce differentiated olive oils, thus aiming towards their valorization. The average oil content of minor olive cultivars was found to be good, with some of them reporting approximately 60% (dry basis). On average, the total phenolic content was 229mg kg(-1), with cv. Mas Blanc reporting the highest content (570mg kg(-1)). Among the various tocopherols found in olives, -tocopherol was the main constituent, with a maximum concentration of 290.6mg kg(-1). Linoleic acid was the main polyunsaturated fatty acid and varied between 3.4% (cv. Del Pomet) and 16.9% (cv. Blanqueta Enguera). Special attention needs to be paid to the composition of sterols, since some olive oils exceeded the limits established for some sterols by the current European legislation. Some of the cultivars studied were highly productive, and originated differentiated olive oils with a rich composition of antioxidants and essential fatty acids. In some cases, these beneficial compounds were higher than those of commercial oils obtained from the most common cultivars worldwide. These results could contribute to the commercial exploitation of some of the studied cultivars.Salazar-García, DC.; Malheiro, R.; Pereira, JA.; López- Cortés, I. (2019). Unexplored olive cultivars from the Valencian Community (Spain): some chemical characteristics as a valorization strategy. European Food Research and Technology. 245(2):325-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-018-3164-7S3253342452Avidan B, Birger R, Abed-El-Hadi F, Salmon O, Hekster O, Friedman Y, Lavee S (2011) Adopting vigorous olive cultivars to high density hedgerow cultivation by soil applications of uniconazole, a gibberellin synthesis inhibitor. Span J Agric Res 9:821–830Barranco D, Rallo L (2000) Olive cultivars in Spain. HortTechnology 10:107–110Navero DB (2000) World catalogue of olive varieties. International Olive Oil Council, MadridBorges TH, Pereira JA, Cabrera-Vique C, Lara L, Oliveira AF, Seiquer I (2017) Characterization of Arbequina virgin olive oils produced in different regions of Brazil and Spain: physicochemical properties, oxidative stability and fatty acid profile. Food Chem 215:454–462Laroussi-Mezghani S, Le Dréau Y, Molinet J, Hammami M, Grati-Kamoun N, Artaud J (2016) Biodiversity of Tunisian virgin olive oils: varietal origin classification according to their minor compounds. Eur Food Res Technol 242:1087–1099Kosma I, Vavoura M, Kontakos S, Karabagias I, Kontominas M, Apostolos K, Badeka A (2016) Characterization and classification of extra virgin olive oil from five less well-known Greek olive cultivars. J Am Oil Chem Soc 93:837–848Reboredo-Rodríguez P, González-Barreiro C, Cancho-Grande B, Valli E, Bendini A, Toschi TG, Simal-Gandara J (2016) Characterization of virgin olive oils produced with autochthonous Galician varieties. Food Chem 212:162–171Kyçyk O, Aguillera MP, Gaforio JJ, Jiménez A, Beltrán G (2016) Sterol composition of virgin olive oil of forty-three olive cultivars from the World Collection Olive Germplasm Bank of Cordoba. J Sci Food Agric 96:4143–4150Ruiz-Domínguez ML, Raigón MD, Prohens J (2013) Diversity for olive oil composition in a collection of varieties from the region of Valencia (Spain). 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Academic student satisfaction and perceived performance in the e-learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence across ten countries

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shaped higher education and seen the distinct rise of e-learning as a compulsory element of the modern educational landscape. Accordingly, this study highlights the factors which have influenced how students perceive their academic performance during this emergency changeover to e-learning. The empirical analysis is performed on a sample of 10,092 higher education students from 10 countries across 4 continents during the pandemic’s first wave through an online survey. A structural equation model revealed the quality of e-learning was mainly derived from service quality, the teacher’s active role in the process of online education, and the overall system quality, while the students’ digital competencies and online interactions with their colleagues and teachers were considered to be slightly less important factors. The impact of e-learning quality on the students’ performance was strongly mediated by their satisfaction with e-learning. In general, the model gave quite consistent results across countries, gender, study fields, and levels of study. The findings provide a basis for policy recommendations to support decision-makers incorporate e-learning issues in the current and any new similar circumstances.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio