Video-based Estimation of Activity Level for Assisted Living

The continual increase in the population of older adults in the next 50 years envisages an increase of dependants on the family and the Government. Assisted Living technologies are information and communication technologies to assist, improve and monitor the daily living of the old and vulnerable population by promoting greater independence and providing a safe and secure environment at a reduced cost. Most of the assisted living technologies are passive sensor-based solutions where a number of embedded or body-worn sensors are employed or connected over a network to recognize activities. Often the sensors are obtrusive and are extremely sensitive to the performance of the sensors. Visual data is contextually richer than sensor triggered firings. Visual data along with being contextual is also extremely sensitive. Since visual data is intrusive, a qualitative study among older adults within the community was carried out to get a context of the privacy concerns of having a camera within an assisted living environment. Building on the outcomes of the focus group discussions, a novel monitoring framework is proposed. Following the framework, Activity Level, as an effective metric to measure the amount of activity undertaken by an individual is proposed. Activity Level is estimated by extracting and classifying pixel-based and phase-based motion features. Experiments reveal that phase-based features perform better than pixel-based features. Experiments are carried out using the novel Sheffield Activities of Daily Living Dataset, which has been developed and made available for further computer vision research for assisted living

On the Discrimination Power of Dynamic Features for Online Signature

The mobile market has taken huge leap in the last two decades, re-defining the rules of communication, networking, socializing and transactions among individuals and organizations. Authentication based on verification of signature on mobile devices, is slowly gaining popularity. Most online signature verification algorithms focus on computing the global Equal Error Rate across all users for a dataset. In this work, contrary to such a representation, it is shown that there are user-specific differences on the combined features and user-specific differences on each feature of the Equal Error Rate(EER) values. The experiments to test the hypothesis is carried out on the two publicly available dataset using the dynamic time warping algorithm. From the experiments, it is observed that for the MCYT-100 dataset, which yields an overall EER of 0.08, the range of user-specific EER is between 0 and 0.27

Dopamine Regulates Angiogenesis in Normal Dermal Wound Tissues

Cutaneous wound healing is a normal physiological process and comprises different phases. Among these phases, angiogenesis or new blood vessel formation in wound tissue plays an important role. Skin is richly supplied by sympathetic nerves and evidences indicate the significant role of the sympathetic nervous system in cutaneous wound healing. Dopamine (DA) is an important catecholamine neurotransmitter released by the sympathetic nerve endings and recent studies have demonstrated the potent anti-angiogenic action of DA, which is mediated through its D2 DA receptors. We therefore postulate that this endogenous catecholamine neurotransmitter may have a role in the neovascularization of dermal wound tissues and subsequently in the process of wound healing. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of D2 DA receptor antagonist has been investigated for faster wound healing in a murine model of full thickness dermal wound. Our results indicate that treatment with specific D2 DA receptor antagonist significantly expedites the process of full thickness normal dermal wound healing in mice by inducing angiogenesis in wound tissues. The underlined mechanisms have been attributed to the up-regulation of homeobox transcription factor HoxD3 and its target α5β1 integrin, which play a pivotal role in wound angiogenesis. Since D2 DA receptor antagonists are already in clinical use for other disorders, these results have significant translational value from the bench to the bedside for efficient wound management along with other conventional treatment modalities

Ensuring generalized fairness in batch classification

Abstract In this paper, we consider the problem of batch classification and propose a novel framework for achieving fairness in such settings. The problem of batch classification involves selection of a set of individuals, often encountered in real-world scenarios such as job recruitment, college admissions etc. This is in contrast to a typical classification problem, where each candidate in the test set is considered separately and independently. In such scenarios, achieving the same acceptance rate (i.e., probability of the classifier assigning positive class) for each group (membership determined by the value of sensitive attributes such as gender, race etc.) is often not desirable, and the regulatory body specifies a different acceptance rate for each group. The existing fairness enhancing methods do not allow for such specifications and hence are unsuited for such scenarios. In this paper, we define a configuration model whereby the acceptance rate of each group can be regulated and further introduce a novel batch-wise fairness post-processing framework using the classifier confidence-scores. We deploy our framework across four real-world datasets and two popular notions of fairness, namely demographic parity and equalized odds. In addition to consistent performance improvements over the competing baselines, the proposed framework allows flexibility and significant speed-up. It can also seamlessly incorporate multiple overlapping sensitive attributes. To further demonstrate the generalizability of our framework, we deploy it to the problem of fair gerrymandering where it achieves a better fairness-accuracy trade-off than the existing baseline method

RP-HPLC METHOD DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION, AND QUANTIFICATION OF LORNOXICAM IN LIPID NANOPARTICLE FORMULATIONS

Objective: A simple, reliable, sensitive and validated reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for quantification of lornoxicam (LX) in rat plasma.Methods: Solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) gel formulations containing lornoxicam were prepared using high-speed homogenization followed by ultra-sonication. Pharmacokinetic study of formulated LX loaded SLN and NLC were performed on Wister albino rats.Results: The chromatographic separation was performed on hypersil octadecylsilane (ODS)-18 column using a mobile phase of 10 mmol. Phosphate buffer (pH, 4.5) and acetonitrile (65:35 v/v). Elute was monitored at 377 nm with a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 25.38–2046.45 ng/ml. Retention times of LX and internal standard (piroxicam) were 9.3 and 10.2 min, respectively. Maximum plasma drug concentration, the area under the plasma drug concentration versus time curve and elimination half-life for LX loaded SLN gel were found 6381.51±971.27ng/ml, 19917.21±7111.24 ng h/ml and 7.27±1.21h and 8558.13±1564.08 ng/ml, 21317.99±4568.71 ng/ml and 6.22±2.16 h. respectively. In vivo in vitro correlation study, the fraction of drug dissolved from nanoparticle in pH 7.4 was plotted against the fraction of drug absorbed and a linear correlation (R2= 0.9987) was obtained.Conclusion: A novel simple, simple, sensitive, precise, rapid, accurate, and economical and reliable RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for the estimation of LX in rat plasma

Evaluation of Metabolic Enzymes in Response to Excel Mera 71, a Glyphosate-Based Herbicide, and Recovery Pattern in Freshwater Teleostean Fishes

Metabolic enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were evaluated in Indian teleostean fishes, namely, Anabas testudineus (Bloch) and Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch), for an exposure to 30 days of Excel Mera 71 (17.2 mg/L), a glyphosate formulation, and subsequent depuration under Liv.52, a plant extract at a dose of 187.5 mg/d/250 L for the same period in the same tissues under laboratory condition. ALT activity was significantly increased (P<0.05) in all the tissues and raised up to 229.19% in liver of A. testudineus (229.19%) and 128.61% in liver of H. fossilis. AST also increased significantly (P<0.05) and was maximum in liver of H. fossilis (526.19%) and minimum in gill of A. testudineus (124.38%). ALP activity was also raised highly in intestine of H. fossilis (490.61%) but was less in kidney of H. fossilis (149.48%). The results indicated that Excel Mera 71 caused alterations in the metabolic enzymatic activities in fish tissues and AST showed the highest alteration in both the fishes, while lowest in ALP and ALT in A. testudineus and H. fossilis, respectively. During depuration under Liv.52, all the enzyme activities came down towards the control condition which indicated the compensatory response by the fish against this herbicidal stress and it was in the following order: AST > ALT > ALP, in A. testudineus, while H. fossilis showed the following trend: ALT > AST > ALP. Therefore, these parameters could be used as indicators of herbicidal pollution in aquatic organisms and were recommended for environmental monitoring for investigating the mechanism involved in the recovery pattern

Bullous Henoch–Schonlein purpura with involvement of face

Henoch–Schonlein purpura (HSP) with facial involvement with bullous rashes are extremely rare. A 12-year-old boy presented with abdominal pain and features of arthritis. He also had multiple purpuric rashes over his lower limbs. Gradually, he developed bullous rashes which were seen on his legs and hands and progressed to involve the face. He was confirmed to be suffering from HSP from clinical presentation and skin biopsy. The child responded well to oral steroids. Bullous lesions may be seen in HSP. However, there is neither prognostic significance of this nor does it alter the management. Other causes of bullous lesions should be ruled out. As facial involvement is associated with renal and gastrointestinal involvement, these children should be monitored for sequelae

DRESS SYNDROME WITH SEPSIS, ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME AND PNEUMOMEDIASTINUM

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome reflects a serious hypersensitivity reaction to drugs, and is characterized by skin rash, fever, lymph node enlargement, and internal organ involvement. So far, numerous drugs such as sulfonamides, phenobarbital, sulfasalazine, carbamazepine, and phenytoin have been reported to cause DRESS syndrome. We report a case of a 10-year-old girl who developed clinical manifestations of fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, hypereosinophilia, and visceral involvement (hepatitis and pneumonitis) after taking phenobarbital for seizures, with subsequent development of sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and spontaneous air leak syndrome (pnemothorax and pneumomediastinum). She was put on steroids and various antibiotics and was ventilated, but ultimately succumbed to sepsis and pulmonary complications

Molecular Factors of Ice Growth Inhibition for Hyperactive and Globular Antifreeze Proteins: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The molecular mechanism behind the ice growth inhibition by antifreeze proteins (AFPs) is yet to be understood completely. Also, what physical parameters differentiate between the AFP and non-AFP are largely unknown. Thus, to get an atomistic overview of the differential antifreeze activities of different classes of AFPs, we have studied ice growth from different ice surfaces in the presence of a moderately active globular type III AFP and a hyperactive spruce budworm (sbw) AFP. Results are compared with the observations of ice growth simulations in the presence of topologically similar non-AFPs using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Simulation data suggest that the ice surface coverage is a critical factor in ice growth inhibition. Due to the presence of an ice binding surface (IBS), AFPs form a high affinity complex with ice, accompanied by a transition of hydration water around the IBS from clathrate-like to ice-like. Several residues around the periphery of the IBS anchor the AFP to the curved ice surface mediated by multiple strong hydrogen bonds, stabilizing the complex immensely. In the high surface coverage regime, the slow unbinding kinetics dominates over the ice growth kinetics and thus facilitates the ice growth inhibition. Due to the non-availability of a proper IBS, non-AFPs form a low-affinity complex with the growing ice surface. As a result, the non-AFPs are continuously repelled by the surface. If the concentration of AFPs is low, then the effective surface coverage is reduced significantly. In this low surface coverage regime, AFPs can also behave like impurities and are engulfed by the growing ice crystal

Integrative assessment of biomarker responses in teleostean fishes exposed to glyphosate-based herbicide (Excel Mera 71)

Present study deals with the effects of glyphosate-based herbicide, Excel Mera 71 on Anabas testudineus, Heteropnestes fossilis and Oreochromis niloticus in field conditions (1.85 kg/ha) based on anti-oxidative, metabolic and digestive responses. For this study following biomarkers viz., acetylcholinesterase (AChE), lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), amylase, lipase and protease were investigated in gill, stomach, intestine, liver, kidney, brain, muscle and spinal cord of the concerned fish species. Enzyme activities were significantly altered by glyphosate exposure after 30 days, these activities were tissue as well as species specific. The results suggested that these biomarkers could be used to assess the ecological risks of glyphosate on fish. Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) studied in different aquatic natural macrophytes showed order of Alternanthera philoxeroides > Azolla pinnata > Lemna sp. (Minor) > Lemna sp. (Major) > Pistia stratiotes, while transfer factor (TF) showed the order of Pistia stratiotes > Alternanthera philoxeroides > Lemna sp. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) study showed maximum accumulation of glyphosate in liver, kidney or intestine, and minimum either in bone or stomach irrespective of fish species. An integrated biomarker response (IBR), which uses a battery of biomarkers to calculate the standardized scores for each biomarker responses ranging from physiological to biochemical/molecular responses, was evaluated by combining the multiple biomarkers into a single value to evaluate quantitatively the toxicological effects of glyphosate. In general, the multiple indices exhibited variations and A. testudineus was more affected than other fish species; maximum IBR value was observed for LPO and minimum in case of ALT. The order of integrated biomarkers caused by glyphosate treatment was recorded as follows: LPO > Amylase > CAT > AST > Protease > Lipase > ALP > GST > AChE > ALT for A. testudineus, LPO > AChE > AST > Protease > CAT > Amylase > Lipase > GST > ALP > ALT for H. fossilis and AChE > CAT > LPO > AST > Amylase > GST > Protease > ALP > Lipase > ALT for O. niloticus. Finally, IBR analysis is able to distinguish the variations between different parameters and might be a useful tool for the quantification of integrated responses induced by glyphosate toward fish