A prototype for cartographic human body analysis

A cartographic-oriented model uses algebraic map operations to perform spatial analysis of medical data relative to the human body. A prototype system uses 3D visualization techniques to deliver analysis results. A prototype implementation suggests the model might provide the basis for a medical application tool that introduces new information insight.     

New empirical correlation for estimation of vaporization enthalpy of algerian saharan blend petroleum fractions

A Real-coded Genetic Algorithm has been used to develop a new correlation to estimate the enthalpy of vaporization for pure compounds and petroleum fractions as a function of the normal boiling point and specific gravity. In developing the correlation 80% of the data was used and the remaining are used for validation. The results of the proposed correlations are compared to others in literature. The comparison indicates that the proposed model is simple to use and more accurate than the most common correlations for predicting the enthalpy of vaporization of pure compounds and petroleum fractions.     

Combined effects of lactic acid and nisin solution in reducing levels of microbiological contamination in red meat carcasses

Changes in bacterial counts on beef carcasses at specific points during slaughter and fabrication were determined, and the effectiveness of nisin, lactic acid, and a combination of the lactic acid and nisin in reducing levels of microbiological contamination was assessed. Swab samples were obtained from the surfaces of randomly selected beef carcasses. Carcasses were swabbed from the neck, brisket, and renal site after skinning, splitting, and washing. Treatments involving lactic acid (1.5%), nisin (500 IU/ml), or a mixture of nisin and lactic acid were applied after the neck area was washed. A control group was not sprayed. Results indicated that the highest prevalence of aerobic plate counts (APCs), total coliforms, and Escherichia coli was found in the neck site after splitting, and the lowest level of microbial contamination was found after skinning. Washing with water did not significantly reduce the bacterial load. The largest reduction in APCs, total coliforms, and E. coli occurred on carcasses treated with a mixture of nisin and lactic acid. A mixture of nisin and lactic acid can be applied to beef carcasses through spray washing and can reduce bacterial populations by 2 log units.     

Exploring deep insights into the interaction mechanism of a quinazoline derivative with mild steel in HCl: electrochemical,DFT, and molecular dynamic simulation studies

A novel quinazoline derivative, 3-cyclopropyl-3,4-dihydroquinoline-2(1H)-One (CPHQ), was successfully designed and synthesized. Then, its corrosion inhibition behavior on carbon steel (CS) surface in 1.0?M HCl at different temperatures was investigated using chemical, electrochemical and theoretical techniques. The experiments confirmed that the studied inhibitor shows inhibition efficiency as high as 95% even at very low concentration of 5?×?10^?3 M. To ascertain the nature of adsorption of CPHQ molecules on CS surface, Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was best fitted. From potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) calculations, it was concluded that the CPHQ acted as a mixed type corrosion inhibitor. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies revealed that increase in CPHQ concentration, resulted in an increase in the polarization resistance with a simultaneous decrease in the double-layer capacitance values. PDP tests were also performed to understand the corrosion behavior of CS as a function of temperature without and with varying concentrations of CPHQ, at temperatures 303, 313, 323, and 333?K. It can be concluded that the corrosion inhibition effect was dependent on the concentration of the inhibitor and the solution temperature. In order to understand the basic insights of the action mode of CPHQ molecules, Density Functional Theory (DFT) method, and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations were also employed on the optimized structure of CPHQ.     

The effect of maturity and tissue on the ability of mid infrared spectroscopy to predict the geographical origin of banana (Musa Cavendish)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sample presentation (tissue type) and maturity (ripe and unripe) on the classification of banana (Musa Cavendish) samples sourced from two different geographical regions and analysed using mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. The coefficient of determination (R²) and the standard error of cross-validation (SECV) obtained using partial least squares discriminant analysis were 0.83 (0.33), 0.75 (0.25) and 0.94 (0.19) for the prediction of maturity, geographical origin and tissue type, respectively. No effect of either of type of tissue (e.g. pulp or peel) or maturity was observed. The results of this study demonstrated that MIR spectroscopy might be used to classify the origin of the banana samples at different degrees of ripeness. However, one of the limitations of this study is on the number of samples analysed and further validation must be recommended using samples from other sources, regions and harvest seasons.     

Face gender classification: A statistical study when neutral and distorted faces are combined for training and testing purposes

This paper presents a thorough study of gender classification methodologies performing on neutral, expressive and partially occluded faces, when they are used in all possible arrangements of training and testing roles. A comprehensive comparison of two representation approaches (global and local), three types of features (grey levels, PCA and LBP), three classifiers (1-NN, PCA + LDA and SVM) and two performance measures (CCR and d′) is provided over single- and cross-database experiments. Experiments revealed some interesting findings, which were supported by three non-parametric statistical tests: when training and test sets contain different types of faces, local models using the 1-NN rule outperform global approaches, even those using SVM classifiers; however, with the same type of faces, even if the acquisition conditions are diverse, the statistical tests could not reject the null hypothesis of equal performance of global SVMs and local 1-NNs.     

Single machine scheduling with delivery dates and cumulative payoffs

We address a single machine scheduling problem with a new optimization criterion and unequal release dates. This new criterion results from a practical situation in the domain of book digitization. Given a set of job-independent delivery dates, the goal is to maximize the cumulative number of jobs processed before each delivery date. We establish the complexity of the general problem. In addition, we discuss some polynomial cases and provide a pseudopolynomial time algorithm for the two-delivery-dates problem based on dynamic programming and some dominance properties. Experimental results are also reported.     

Bimodal Detection of Proteins by 129Xe NMR and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

A full understanding of biological phenomena involves sensitive and noninvasive detection. Herein, we report the optimization of a probe for intracellular proteins that combines the advantages of fluorescence and hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy detection. The fluorescence detection part is composed of six residues containing a tetracysteine tag (−CCXXCC−) genetically incorporated into the protein of interest and of a small organic molecule, CrAsH. CrAsH becomes fluorescent if it binds to the tetracysteine tag. The part of the biosensor that enables detection by means of ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy, which is linked to the CrAsH moiety by a spacer, is based on a cryptophane core that is fully suited to reversibly host xenon. Three different peptides, containing the tetracysteine tag and four organic biosensors of different stereochemistry, are benchmarked to propose the best couple that is fully suited for the in vitro detection of proteins.