Digital image analysis of gunshot residue dimensional dispersion by computer vision method

Detection and identification of gunshot residues (GSR) have been used as base evidence in elucidating forensic cases. GSR particles consist of burnt and partially unburned material and contaminate the hands, face, hair, and clothes of the shooter when coming out of the gun. Nowadays, GSR samples are collected from the hands of the suspect and are analyzed routinely in forensic laboratories by the scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) method. GSR particles are comprised of a morphological and specific structure (generally spherical and have a diameter between 0 and 100 μm [occasionally even larger]). In addition, the present studies in the field have claimed that GSR particles during formation are formed under equilibrium surface distribution and are unrelated to morphological dimensional classification. Our contribution to this study is two-folded. First, this study offers a new approach to identify images of GSR particles by computer vision gathered by SEM/EDS method from the hand of the shooter. Second, it presents open access to the SEM/EDS image data set of the analyzed GSR. During the study, a new data set consisting of 22,408 samples from three different types of MKEK (Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation) brand ammunition has been used. It is seen in the results that the computer vision method has been successful in the dimensional classification of GSR.     

The fatty acid and tocopherol constituents of the seed oil extracted from 21 grape varieties (Vitis spp.)

BACKGROUND: Fatty acids and tocopherols in appropriate quantities are invaluable attributes that are desirable in seeds of agricultural products. Studies have generally focused on the evaluation of the oil and tocopherol components of oil crops. Recently, investigations revealed that the grape seed has robust potential in the production of healthy fatty acids as well as tocopherols. This study was thus conducted to determine the oil and tocopherol components of grape seeds, obtained from various grape cultivars of different species, including two rootstock varieties. RESULTS: The grape seed oil concentration of the studied varieties ranged from 7.3 to 22.4%. The determined fatty acid profiles of the genotypes conformed to the pattern described in the literature for grapes. Linoleic acid is the major component comprising 53.6–69.6% of the total, followed by oleic (16.2–31.2%), palmitic (6.9–12.9%) and stearic (1.44–4.69%). The oils of all the seeds analysed showed a preponderance of α‐tocopherol (ranging from 260.5 to 153.1 mg kg^?1 oil extract). β‐Tocopherol, γ‐tocopherol and δ‐tocopherol were also detected with the general means of 0.98, 22.2 and 0.92 mg kg^?1, respectively. Linoleic acid showed a significantly negative correlation with all the fatty acids analysed. The strongest negative correlation existed between linoleic and oleic acids (r = ? 0.834, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Present investigations indicated that oil content, fatty acid composition and tocopherol constituents of grape seed show great variation among the genotypes. Markedly higher proportions of linoleic acid with considerable amounts of tocopherols found in the oil samples suggest that grape seed is a good source for culinary, pharmaceutical and cosmetic uses. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

RAFALE: Rethinking the provisioning of virtuAl network services using a Fast and scAlable machine LEarning approach

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has been identified to revamp the provisioning of next-generation network services. This new paradigm allows cloud and network/service providers to compose their network services, also known as service function chains (SFCs), in an agile way since the software of the network function is decoupled from the legacy hardware. To reap the benefits of this new technology, there is a need for novel mechanisms that help cloud and network/service providers deploy the increasingly complex virtual network services seamlessly, efficiently, and in a time-efficient way. Existing state-of-the-art techniques often rely on the Integer Linear Programming framework, heuristics/metaheuristics, and greedy methods to deploy the services function chains. However, these techniques although reasonable and acceptable, still suffer from several key limitations: convergence time and scalability. To this end, we propose RAFALE, a suite of solution techniques, to tame this complexity by leveraging the concept of similarity from machine learning and skip-gram modeling framework. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to tackle these key limitations and propose a suite of solutions to them. RAFALE, a novel approach proposed to find the similarity between the new incoming virtual network service request and all the already-deployed services to learn from the previous experience of deploying techniques and use the same or close similar provisioning techniques. RAFALE is the first and the only method that develops the idea of detecting the similarity between virtual network services. Experimental results show that RAFALE reduces greatly the convergence time needed for provisioning virtual network services and can scale to 100 virtual network functions per virtual network service compared to the state-of-the-art. The Experimental results prove that RAFALE accomplished the NFV promises; decreasing the time and complexity of managing and deploying the virtual services, and providing a solution that is agile, faster, and scalable to deploy the new service requests by skipping one or more service provisioning steps (i.e., detecting and resolving the conflicts among policies, placement, and chaining) while satisfying the validated NFV policies.

     

Effects of different dwell-times under low pelletization pressure on the physical properties of the Bi-2212 ceramics

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - We reported the evaluation of superconducting properties of Bi-2212 ceramics prepared under different dwell times between 12 and...     

Susceptor-assisted fast microwave sintering of TiN reinforced SiAlON composites in a single mode cavity

In the present study, 17 wt % TiN reinforced α-β SiAlON composites were sintered at low temperature by susceptor-assisted microwave heating. The effect of TiN addition on dielectrical properties of starting powders, as well as the influence of sintering temperature on phase evolution, microstructure development and mechanical properties of α/β-SiAlON-TiN composites were investigated. The obtained results showed that TiN addition increased the microwave absorbing properties which is reflected in the peak sintering temperature. Thus, the α:β ratio decreased and mechanical properties were improved, especially the fracture toughness of the composites. Furthermore, an estimate of energy consumption during microwave assisted sintering at the laboratory scale is presented. As a result, the highest values for relative density (97.1%), Vickers hardness (13.35 ± 0.47 GPa), and fracture toughness (7.52 ± 0.54 MPa m^1/2) were obtained by microwave sintering for 30 min at 1300 °C.     

E7766, a Macrocycle-Bridged Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) Agonist with Potent Pan-Genotypic Activity

A strategy for creating potent and pan-genotypic stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonists is described. Locking a bioactive U-shaped conformation of cyclic dinucleotides by introducing a transannular macrocyclic bridge between the nucleic acid bases leads to a topologically novel macrocycle-bridged STING agonist (MBSA). In addition to substantially enhanced potency, the newly designed MBSAs, exemplified by clinical candidate E7766 , exhibit broad pan-genotypic activity in all major human STING variants. E7766 is shown to have potent antitumor activity with long lasting immune memory response in a mouse liver metastatic tumor model. Two complementary stereoselective synthetic routes to E7766 are also described.     

Skeletal Muscle Health and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with advancing age. It involves both complex genetic and modifiable risk factors, such as lack of exercise, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive. Cognitive decline refers to diminished or impaired mental and/or intellectual functioning. Contracting skeletal muscle is a major source of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which regulate synapses in the brain. Furthermore, skeletal muscle activity has important immune and redox effects that modify brain function and reduce muscle catabolism. The identification of common risk factors and underlying mechanisms for sarcopenia and cognition may allow the development of targeted interventions that slow or reverse sarcopenia and also certain forms of cognitive decline. However, the links between cognition and skeletal muscle have not been elucidated fully. This review provides a critical appraisal of the literature on the relationship between skeletal muscle health and cognition. The literature suggests that sarcopenia and cognitive decline share pathophysiological pathways. Ageing plays a role in both skeletal muscle deterioration and cognitive decline. Furthermore, lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking, are common to both disorders, so their potential role in the muscle–brain relationship warrants investigation.     

Silicene Nanoribbons on an Insulating Thin Film

Silicene, a new 2D material has attracted intense research because of the ubiquitous use of silicon in modern technology. However, producing free-standing silicene has proved to be a huge challenge. Until now, silicene could be synthesized only on metal surfaces where it naturally forms strong interactions with the metal substrate that modify its electronic properties. Here, the authors report the first experimental evidence of silicene nanoribbons on an insulating NaCl thin film. This work represents a major breakthrough, for the study of the intrinsic properties of silicene, and by extension to other 2D materials that have so far only been grown on metal surfaces.     

Electrochemical oxidation of the increasingly used disinfectant benzalkonium chloride

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) is a key ingredient in many cleaning and disinfectant products due to it being an effective antiviral and biocidal agent. Because of its prolific use, especially following the recent global COVID pandemic, increased levels of BAC have been found in the environment, in particular, in wastewater, where it has negative impacts due to its toxicity. This necessitates an effective treatment for BAC in wastewater to reduce its toxicity. In this work, electrochemical oxidation of BAC on a boron-doped diamond anode was studied to successfully remove BAC. The electrochemical measurements performed at different current densities confirmed that BAC was completely oxidized within 20 min of treatment at 50 mA/cm². However, chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements showed that around 50% of the initial BAC was completely mineralized after 1 h of degradation at 50 mA/cm², while the remaining electrooxidation of BAC resulted in the production of transformation products.