Dynamic fast local Laplacian completed local ternary pattern (dynamic FLapCLTP) for face recognition

Today, face recognition has become one of the typical biometric authentication systems used for high security. Some systems may use face recognition to enhance their security and provide high protection level. Feature extraction is considered to be one of the most important steps in face recognition systems. The important and interesting parts of the image in feature extraction are represented as a compact feature vector. Many features, such as texture, colour and shape, have been proposed in the image processing fields. These features can also be classified globally or locally depending on the image extraction area. Texture descriptors have recently played a crucial role as local descriptors. Different types of texture descriptors, such as local binary pattern (LBP), local ternary pattern (LTP), completed local binary pattern (CLBP) and completed local ternary pattern (CLTP), have been proposed and utilised for face recognition tasks. All these texture features have achieved good performance in terms of recognition accuracy. Although the LBP performed well in different tasks, it has two limitations. LBP is sensitive to noise and occasionally fails to clearly distinguish between two different texture patterns with the same LBP encoding code. Most of the texture descriptors inherited these limitations from LBP. CLTP is proposed to overcome the limitations of LBP. CLTP performed well with different image processing tasks, such as image classification and face recognition. However, CLTP suffers from two limitations that may affect its performance in these tasks: the fixed value of the threshold value that is used during the CLTP extraction process regardless of the type of dataset or system and the longer length of the CLTP histogram than that of previous descriptors. This study focused on handling the first limitation, which is the threshold selection. Firstly, a new texture descriptor is proposed by integrating the fast-local Laplacian filter and the CLTP descriptor, namely, fast-local Laplacian CLTP (FLapCLTP). The fast-local Laplacian filter can help in increasing the performance of the CLTP due to its extensive detail enhancements and tone mapping; this contribution is handled by the constant threshold value used in CLTP. A dynamic FLapCLTP is then proposed to address the aforementioned issue. Instead of using a fixed threshold value with all datasets, a dynamic value is selected based on the image pixel values. Therefore, each different texture pattern has different threshold values to extract FLapCLTP from the pattern. This dynamic value is automatically selected according to the centre value of the texture pattern. Therefore, a dynamic FLapCLTP is proposed in this study. Finally, the proposed FLapCLTP and dynamic FLapCLTP are evaluated for facial recognition systems using ORL Faces, Sheffield Face, Collection Facial Images, Georgia Tech Face, Caltech Pedestrian Faces 1999, JAFFE, FEI Face and YALE datasets. The results showed the priority of the proposed texture compared with previous texture descriptors. The dynamic FLapCLTP achieved the highest recognition accuracy rates with values of 100%, 99.96%, 99.75%, 99.69%, 94.86%, 90.33%, 86.86% and 82.43% using UMIST, Collection Facial Images, JAFFE, ORL, Georgia Tech, YALE, Caltech 1999 and FEI datasets, respectively

Face Recognition Using Completed Local Ternary Pattern (CLTP) Texture Descriptor

Nowadays, face recognition becomes one of the important topics in the computer vision and image processing area. This is due to its importance where can be used in many applications. The main key in the face recognition is how to extract distinguishable features from the image to perform high recognition accuracy.  Local binary pattern (LBP) and many of its variants used as texture features in many of face recognition systems. Although LBP performed well in many fields, it is sensitive to noise, and different patterns of LBP may classify into the same class that reduces its discriminating property. Completed Local Ternary Pattern (CLTP) is one of the new proposed texture features to overcome the drawbacks of the LBP. The CLTP outperformed LBP and some of its variants in many fields such as texture, scene, and event image classification.  In this study, we study and investigate the performance of CLTP operator for face recognition task. The Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE), and FEI face databases are used in the experiments. In the experimental results, CLTP outperformed some previous texture descriptors and achieves higher classification rate for face recognition task which has reached up 99.38% and 85.22% in JAFFE and FEI, respectively

Immunological observations and transcriptomic analysis of trimester-specific full-term placentas from three Zika virus-infected women.

OBJECTIVES: Effects of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection on placental development during pregnancy are unclear. METHODS: Full-term placentas from three women, each infected with ZIKV during specific pregnancy trimesters, were harvested for anatomic, immunologic and transcriptomic analysis. RESULTS: In this study, each woman exhibited a unique immune response with raised IL-1RA, IP-10, EGF and RANTES expression and neutrophil numbers during the acute infection phase. Although ZIKV NS3 antigens co-localised to placental Hofbauer cells, the placentas showed no anatomic defects. Transcriptomic analysis of samples from the placentas revealed that infection during trimester 1 caused a disparate cellular response centred on differential eIF2 signalling, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative phosphorylation. Despite these, the babies were delivered without any congenital anomalies. CONCLUSION: These findings should translate to improve clinical prenatal screening procedures for virus-infected pregnant patients

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Face recognition using laplacian completed local ternary pattern (LapCLTP)

Nowadays, the face is one of the typical biometrics that has high-security technology in the biometrics field. In face recognition systems, feature extraction is considered as one of the important steps. In feature extraction, the important and interesting parts of the image are represented as a compact feature vector. Many features had been proposed in the image processing fields such as texture, colour, and shape. Recently, texture descriptors are playing an important and significant role as a local descriptor. Different types of texture descriptors had been proposed and used for face recognition task, such as Local Binary Pattern (LBP), Local Ternary Pattern (LTP), and Completed Local Ternary Pattern (CLTP). All these texture features have achieved good performances in terms of recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose to improve the performance of the CLTP and use it for face recognition. A Laplacian Completed Local Ternary Pattern (LapCLTP) is proposed in this paper. The image is enhanced using a Laplacian filter for pre-processing image process before extracting the CLTP. JAFFR and YALE standard face datasets are used to investigate the performance of the LapCLTP. The experiment results showed that the LapCLTP outperformed the original CLTP in both datasets and achieved higher recognition accuracy. The LapCLTP achieved 99.24%, while CLTP achieved 98.78% with JAFFE dataset. IN YALE, the LapCLTP achieved 85.13%, while CLTP, only 84.46%