Review of Face Detection Systems Based Artificial Neural Networks Algorithms

Face detection is one of the most relevant applications of image processing and biometric systems. Artificial neural networks (ANN) have been used in the field of image processing and pattern recognition. There is lack of literature surveys which give overview about the studies and researches related to the using of ANN in face detection. Therefore, this research includes a general review of face detection studies and systems which based on different ANN approaches and algorithms. The strengths and limitations of these literature studies and systems were included also.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, IJMA Journa

Assessing The Impact Of Economies Of Scale And Uncontrollable Factors On The Performance Of U.S. Cities.

Despite the increased interest among local governments in collecting data on performance measurement, empirical evidence is still limited regarding the extent to which these data are utilized to assess the impact on efficiency of economies of scale and uncontrollable factors. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a linear programming method designed to estimate the relative efficiency of decision-making units. In addition to assessing relative efficiency, DEA can estimate scale efficiency and incorporate the impact of uncontrollable factors. Using data from the International City/County Association (ICMA), this study utilized DEA to evaluate the impact of economies of scale and uncontrollable factors on the relative efficiency of municipal service delivery in the United States. The findings from this doctoral dissertation show that uncontrollable variables such as population density, unemployment, and household income suppress the relative efficiency of local governments. Moreover, the findings imply that the prevalence of economies of scale in city governments depends on the types of services these governments provide

MAHASISTRI (Identifikasi Relasi Gender dalam Akses Pendidikan Tinggi)

Abstrak Keadaan dilematis dirasakan beberapa mahasiswi yang sedang mengakses pendidikan jenjang sarjana, di Prodi S1 Pendidikan Agama Islam Unipdu Jombang. Keadaan dilematis ini terkait keputusan mereka untuk menikah, sebelum proses pendidikannya berakhir. Hal ini berdampak pada relasi gender yang terbangun di antara keduanya.  Sehingga penelitian ini akan berfokus pada identifikasi relasi gender di antara mahasistri dan suaminya. Penelitian ini menggunakan proposisi teoritik mengenai relasi hierarkis dan kemitra-sejajaran dari Maria E Pandu, sebagai acuan untuk mengidentifikasi relasi gender yang ada. Metode yang digunakan yakni penelitian model kualitatif dengan pendekatan Gender And Development (GAD), yang memberikan perhatian pada keseluruhan aspek kehidupan perempuan, khususnya relasinya terhadap laki-laki. Subyeknya lebih berkonsentrasi pada mahasiswi yang telah menikah beserta suami, di Prodi S1 PAI Unipdu Jombang. Sedangkan teknik analisisnya menggunakan analisis gender model Harvard sebagai bentuk dari Gender Framework Analyze (GFA) yang mengacu pada akses, peran, kontrol dan manfaat. Hasilnya terdapat tiga bentuk relasi gender antara mahasistri dengan suami. Yakni relasi hierarki-patriarki; relasi hierarki-gender; dan relasi kemitrasejajaran. Ketiga bentuk relasi tersebut memberikan pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap keberlanjutan akses mahasistri. Kata Kunci : Mahasistri, Relasi Gender, Pendidikan tinggi, Unipdu Jombang   Abstract The dilemmatic condition are felt by some of woman college student access scholar education level in Progamme Study of Islamic Religious Education in Unipdu Jombang. Related to marry, their decision before the process ends. That condition impact to gender awakened on relation between both. So this research will focus on gender identification relation between “Mahasistri”(Collage Student with wife status) and her husband. This research using a proposition theory about relation hierarchical and equal-partner by Pandu as a reference to identify gender relationships. The method used that is research model qualitative with the approach of Gender and Development (GAD), give attention to all the aspects of women life especially relations with mens. The subject is more concentrated on a woman college student who has been married and husband, in Progamme Study of Islamic Religious Education in Unipdu Jombang. While the analysis technique using Harvard Gender Model as a form of Gender Framework Analyze (GFA) referring to access, a role, control and benefits. As a result there are three the form of a relation between a Mahasistri and the husband. Namely relation hierarki-patriarki; a relation hierarki-gender; and relation equal-partner. The third form of a mutual relation to exert an influence that significantly to continued access to a mahasistri. Keywords: Mahasistri, Relation of gender, Collage, Unipdu Jombang &nbsp

Antegrade coeliac axis reconstruction for Chronic Mesenteric Ischaemia : a case series

The management of chronic mesenteric ischaemia remains a compelling challenge for many vascular surgeons. Over the past four decades, several reports have demonstrated encouraging results following revascularisation of the splanchnic arteries. To this date, due to limited numbers, there have been no randomized trials on which we can base our current practise. In this series, we have demonstrated the benefits of a left thoracoabdominal approach for performing an antegrade bypass graft to the coeliac axis, in patients with severe mesenteric angina. Its low complication rate and excellent aortic vessel exposure make it a procedure of choice in expert centres.peer-reviewe

The effect of multiple environmental stressors on the growth and toxicity of the red tide alga Heterosigma akashiwo

Heterosigma akashiwo (Y.Hada) Y.Hada ex Y.Hara & M.Chihara is a golden-brown phytoflagellate with high potential to kill fish. These cells create large, nearly mono-specific blooms that persist from weeks to months. Although bloom persistence and frequency remain a mystery, environmental factors such as light, temperature, salinity and CO2 level are proposed as drivers for both bloom initiation and toxicity. As timing and locations of nature blooms are difficult to predict, most of the information on this species comes from laboratory experiments on isolated cells. In this age, when multiple stressors occur simultaneously the traditional “One-factor-at-a-time” (OFAT) approach limits our understanding of how the cells respond to environmental change. Here, I consider the simultaneous effect of multiple parameters and their interaction by employing a design-of-experiment (DOE) approach. The results suggested that the DOE approach is an appropriate method to determine the impact of multi-environmental factors on both bloom formation and toxicity of H. akashiwo. Similarly, the measurement of “fish killing” activities requires the use of an experimental proxy when cells are grown in the laboratory. There is a critical need to understand toxicity in “fish-kill” species. Two commonly employed assays, the rainbow trout cell line RTgill-W1 cytotoxicity assay (RCA) and the erythrocyte lysis assay (ELA) were evaluated against combinatorial environmental conditions (temperature, pCO2, salinity). Increased temperature and pCO2 reduced the expression of toxicicty based on these two assays. With regards to the future conditions of warmer temperatures, and elevated levels of CO2, which impact the salinity, water temperature, and the absorbance of CO2, in many coastal regions worldwide, it is expected these abiotic changes will likely increase the potential growth rate and biomass yield but reduce the toxicity of fish-killing flagellate H. akashiwo in North America

Effect of plant hormones on the production of biomass and lipid in microalgae

Limited fossil fuel reserves, increasing demand for energy in all parts of the world are some driving forces to look for new sources of transportation fuels. Among different options available, microalgae are currently attracting wide interests as an alternative and renewable fuel source. Microalgae are single cell photosynthetic organisms that are known for rapid growth and high energy content and as a part of photosynthesis; they produce oil that can be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Some algae strains could contain lipid up to 80% of the dry biomass. The amount of lipid production is in direct relation with the medium composition and growth conditions of algae. For biodiesel production from microalgae, increasing the growth rate and lipid content are the main goals. It has been suggested by some researchers that there are plant hormones capable of improving growth rate and biomass. Plant hormones are chemicals produced by plants and play a crucial role in controlling the way in which plants grow and develop. In this research, the effect of different plant hormones from Brassinosteroids (BRs), Auxin and cytokinin families on biomass, growth kinetic and lipid content of chlorella vulgaris was investigated, and it was found that of the tested hormones only Epibrassinolide has a positive effect on the growth of microalgae. At initial concentrations between 10-12M and 10-10M the total amount of biomass produced was doubled. The lipid content of the algae remained unchanged, resulting in an overall increase of lipid production. Additionally an ionic liquid mediated process for the extraction of lipids was investigated and a one-pot process combining lipid extraction and trans-esterification was proposed

Decontamination of Solid and Powder Foodstuffs using DIC Technology

International audienc

Remarkable stability of an instability-prone lentiviral vector plasmid in Escherichia coli Stbl3

Large-scale production of plasmid DNA to prepare therapeutic gene vectors or DNA-based vaccines requires a suitable bacterial host, which can stably maintain the plasmid DNA during industrial cultivation. Plasmid loss during bacterial cell divisions and structural changes in the plasmid DNA can dramatically reduce the yield of the desired recombinant plasmid DNA. While generating an HIV-based gene vector containing a bicistronic expression cassette 5′-Olig2cDNA-IRES-dsRed2-3′, we encountered plasmid DNA instability, which occurred in homologous recombination deficient recA1 Escherichia coli strain Stbl2 specifically during large-scale bacterial cultivation. Unexpectedly, the new recombinant plasmid was structurally changed or completely lost in 0.5 L liquid cultures but not in the preceding 5 mL cultures. Neither the employment of an array of alternative recA1 E. coli plasmid hosts, nor the lowering of the culture incubation temperature prevented the instability. However, after the introduction of this instability-prone plasmid into the recA13E. coli strain Stbl3, the transformed bacteria grew without being overrun by plasmid-free cells, reduction in the plasmid DNA yield or structural changes in plasmid DNA. Thus, E. coli strain Stbl3 conferred structural and maintenance stability to the otherwise instability-prone lentivirus-based recombinant plasmid, suggesting that this strain can be used for the faithful maintenance of similar stability-compromised plasmids in large-scale bacterial cultivations. In contrast to Stbl2, which is derived wholly from the wild type isolate E. coli K12, E. coli Stbl3 is a hybrid strain of mixed E. coli K12 and E. coli B parentage. Therefore, we speculate that genetic determinants for the benevolent properties of E. coli Stbl3 for safe plasmid propagation originate from its E. coli B ancestor

LDLR-Gene therapy for familial hypercholesterolaemia: Problems, progress, and perspectives

Coronary artery diseases (CAD) inflict a heavy economical and social burden on most populations and contribute significantly to their morbidity and mortality rates. Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) associated familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most frequent Mendelian disorder and is a major risk factor for the development of CAD. To date there is no cure for FH. The primary goal of clinical management is to control hypercholesterolaemia in order to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis and to prevent CAD. Permanent phenotypic correction with single administration of a gene therapeutic vector is a goal still needing to be achieved. The first ex vivo clinical trial of gene therapy in FH was conducted nearly 18 years ago. Patients who had inherited LDLR gene mutations were subjected to an aggressive surgical intervention involving partial hepatectomy to obtain the patient's own hepatocytes for ex vivo gene transfer with a replication deficient LDLR-retroviral vector. After successful re-infusion of transduced cells through a catheter placed in the inferior mesenteric vein at the time of liver resection, only low-level expression of the transferred LDLR gene was observed in the five patients enrolled in the trial. In contrast, full reversal of hypercholesterolaemia was later demonstrated in in vivo preclinical studies using LDLR-adenovirus mediated gene transfer. However, the high efficiency of cell division independent gene transfer by adenovirus vectors is limited by their short-term persistence due to episomal maintenance and the cytotoxicity of these highly immunogenic viruses. Novel long-term persisting vectors derived from adeno-associated viruses and lentiviruses, are now available and investigations are underway to determine their safety and efficiency in preparation for clinical application for a variety of diseases. Several novel non-viral based therapies have also been developed recently to lower LDL-C serum levels in FH patients. This article reviews the progress made in the 18 years since the first clinical trial for gene therapy of FH, with emphasis on the development, design, performance and limitations of viral based gene transfer vectors used in studies to ameliorate the effects of LDLR deficiency

Optimización de tostado y cinética de granos de café pretratados con caída de presión cruda e instantánea

Introduction: Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. The desired aroma and flavour of coffee are developed duringroasting which is the most important step in coffee processing. Instant Controlled Pressure Drop Process (DIC) technology is controlled hightemperature and short time process which been used successfully to improving the kinetics of drying, extraction, and decontamination of fresh and dried natural products. The main advantages of DIC are that it is a master controlled temperature and time process, the dwell times are short, reducing the chemical degradation, so new products with superior quality attributes may be developed. Materials and Methods: Two coffee beans varieties were investigated by Brazilian and Ethiopian sources. The raw beans were pre-treated using the DIC process under adopted conditions prior to roasting. A two-factor central composite design was used to optimize the settings of roasting time and roasting temperature on response variables of bulk, true and normalized density, and roasting degree. Also, microscopic analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and kinetics of the roasting processes are included. Results and Discussion: The obtained results confirmed that the roasted DIC treated beans for both varieties have lower densities, higher roasting degree and lower activation energy needed for roasting compared to the raw beans. The physical properties’ magnitude is highly relevant to coffee origin. Roasting time and the temperature seemed to be of significant regarding all the physical characteristics of the beans, however, time was of topmost significance. Besides, treating coffee been by DIC prior to roasting leads to texture modification and conservation of time and energy needed for roasting. Conclusions: The physical properties of the roasted coffee beans are highly affected and changed with the coffee origin, roasting conditions and pre-treatment of coffee beans prior to roasting using the DIC process. The incorporation of the DIC process prior to roasting seemed to achieve more conservation of time and energy needed for roasting compared to the raw untreated beans. The higher degree of roasting and the competitive roasting activation energy of Brazilian coffee beans give aconclusion that more economic roasting process could be achieved with the Brazilian coffee. The pre-treatment by DIC enhances the remarkable reduction in coffee beans density and increasing in the roasting degrees that are in line with the industrial needs of coffee beverages. Response Surface Methodology is an efficient tool for optimization and mathematical modeling of the coffee roasting process