Motion-compensated DCT temporal filters for efficient spatio-temporal scalable video coding

Although most of the proposals for implementing motion-compensated temporal filtering (MCTF) schemes are based on the wavelet transform, in this paper, we propose an MCTF framework based on the discrete cosine transform (DCT). Using DCT decimation and interpolation, several temporal decomposition structures named motion-compensated DCT temporal filters (MCDCT-TF) are introduced. These structures are able to employ filters of any length with particular emphasis on 5/3 DCT and 7/4 DCT. The proposed MCDCT-TF and the two-dimensional (2D) DCT decimation technique are incorporated into H.264/AVC to provide spatio-temporal scalability. Compared with the current MCTF-based lifting schemes such as Haar, and 5/3 wavelet filters, simulation results show that the proposed MCDCT-TF utilizing longer tap DCT filters achieves a significant improvement in coding gain. The impact of odd/even group of frames, the decimation/interpolation ratios, and motion-compensated connectivity on the MCDCT-TF performance are also analyzed. Moreover, simulation results show that the performance of the presented scalable video coding is close to the single layer H.264/AVC and is slightly inferior to the temporal scalability supported in JSVM, the state-of-the-art scalable video coding standard, that gets its gain from Hierarchical B-pictures. However, our spatio-temporal coding scheme outperforms the spatio-temporal supported in JSVM even if it uses hierarchical B-pictures to improve its gain.     

Statistical Analysis with Dingo Optimizer Enabled Routing for Wireless Sensor Networks

Security is a vital parameter to conserve energy in wireless sensor networks (WSN). Trust management in the WSN is a crucial process as trust is utilized when collaboration is important for accomplishing trustworthy data transmission. But the available routing techniques do not involve security in the design of routing techniques. This study develops a novel statistical analysis with dingo optimizer enabled reliable routing scheme (SADO-RRS) for WSN. The proposed SADO-RRS technique aims to detect the existence of attacks and optimal routes in WSN. In addition, the presented SADO-RRS technique derives a new statistics based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for attack detection, Moreover, a trust based dingo optimizer (TBDO) algorithm is applied for optimal route selection in the WSN and accomplishes secure data transmission in WSN. Besides, the TBDO algorithm involves the derivation of the fitness function involving different input variables of WSN. For demonstrating the enhanced outcomes of the SADO-RRS technique, a wide range of simulations was carried out and the outcomes demonstrated the enhanced outcomes of the SADO-RRS technique.     

Towards probabilistic synchronisation of local controllers

The traditional use of global and centralised control methods fails for large, complex, noisy and highly connected systems, which typify many real-world industrial and commercial systems. This paper provides an efficient bottom-up design of distributed control in which many simple components communicate and cooperate to achieve a joint system goal. Each component acts individually so as to maximise personal utility whilst obtaining probabilistic information on the global system merely through local message-passing. This leads to an implied scalable and collective control strategy for complex dynamical systems, without the problems of global centralised control. Robustness is addressed by employing a fully probabilistic design, which can cope with inherent uncertainties, can be implemented adaptively and opens a systematic rich way to information sharing. This paper opens the foreseen direction and inspects the proposed design on a linearised version of coupled map lattice with spatio-temporal chaos. A version close to linear quadratic design gives an initial insight into possible behaviours of such networks.     

Suitability of simplified methods for monthly and twice-monthly milk recording, and new prediction factors for the alternate a.m./p.m. method in dairy ewes under a low-input production system

Sicilo-Sarde dairy flock test-day data were analysed (1) to check predicting ability of ten milk recording procedures, based on information from a single monthly or bimonthly milking and (2) to look for the best pair of factors for predicting daily milk yield from either morning or afternoon milkings for the alternate testing method (AT). Prior to analyses, data were adjusted for variation factors with known significant effect. Number of test-day observations was 4755 from 458 lactations of 288 ewes. Losses of precision associated with simplified methods were evaluated by comparing estimated lactation yields with those observed both in a reference plan, where the two daily milkings were recorded at 2-weekly intervals and in the official A4 milk recording (monthly recording of the two daily milkings). Ranking of simplified plans based on their accuracy was still the same under either monthly or twice-monthly frequency. Estimates of lactation yields showed more lack of precision when the usual monthly designs were compared with twice-monthly sampling of both a.m. and p.m. milkings. Losses of precision ranged from 5.1%, for the A4 plan, to 14.6%. Thus, milk production should be estimated from both mikings when their measurement is economically feasible. When only one milking is weighed, designs based on-or beginning with-the a.m. milking were more accurate. There was no evidence of improvement in sampling accuracy by adjustment for milking interval or production level. For practical and economic reasons, the design alternating a.m. and p.m. milkings, without adjustment, is suggested for ovine milk recording. In such a case, new factors for estimating daily production from the measured milking (1.7, 2.3) should be used rather than the factors currently in use (2, 2) because they improved the loss of precision by more than 13% in a monthly recording system.     

Nanoparticle-Aided Detection of Colorectal Cancer-Associated Glycoconjugates of Extracellular Vesicles in Human Serum

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are found in all biological fluids, providing potential for the identification of disease biomarkers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). EVs are heavily glycosylated with specific glycoconjugates such as tetraspanins, integrins, and mucins, reflecting the characteristics of the original cell offering valuable targets for detection of CRC. We report here on europium-nanoparticle (EuNP)-based assay to detect and characterize different surface glycoconjugates of EVs without extensive purification steps from five different CRC and the HEK 293 cell lines. The promising EVs candidates from cell culture were clinically evaluated on small panel of serum samples including early-stage (n = 11) and late-stage (n = 11) CRC patients, benign condition (n = 11), and healthy control (n = 10). The majority of CRC cell lines expressed tetraspanin sub-population and glycovariants of integrins and conventional tumor markers. The subpopulation of CD151 having CD63 expression (CD151^CD63) was significantly (p = 0.001) elevated in early-stage CRC (8 out of 11) without detecting any benign and late-stage samples, while conventional CEA detected mostly late-stage CRC (p = 0.045) and with only four early-stage cases. The other glycovariant assays such as CEA^Con-A, CA125^WGA, CA 19.9^Ma696, and CA 19.9^Con-A further provided some complementation to the CD151^CD63 assay. These results indicate the potential application of CD151^CD63 assay for early detection of CRC patients in human serum.     

Microwave nondestructive sensing of moisture content in shelled peanuts independent of bulk density and with temperature compensation

Dielectric methods for rapid and nondestructive sensing of moisture content in shelled peanuts from free-space measurement of attenuation and phase shift, and their corresponding dielectric properties at temperatures ranging from 1 to 38 °C and frequencies ranging from 8 to 14 GHz, are presented. These methods provide moisture content independent of bulk density and compensated for temperature effects. Results of moisture prediction with three density-independent calibration functions (ψ₁, ψ₂, and ψ₃) are compared. For each function, the moisture calibration equation with temperature compensation is given along with corresponding standard errors of performance (SEP). For all three calibration functions, the SEP was less than 1% moisture content. Also, the frequency behavior of each of these calibration functions was examined in the frequency range between 8 and 14 GHz. Among the three density-independent calibration functions, calibration function ψ₃ showed the least variation with frequency.     

Bending effect on the risk for delamination at the reinforcement/matrix interface of 3D woven fabric composite using a shell-like RVE

This paper presents a computational homogenisation-based technique for flexural effects in textile reinforced composite planar shells. An homogenisation procedure is used for the in-plane and the out-of-plane behaviour of three-dimensional woven composite shells, taking the in-plane periodicity of the material into account while relaxing any periodicity tying in the thickness direction. Several types of damage (matrix or reinforcement cracking, delamination, …) can appear in a composite material. In this paper, material non-linear computations are used to assess the importance of bending on the risk for delamination at the reinforcement/matrix interface. The normal and tangential stresses at the interface are computed and a simplified criterion for delamination is used for this purpose. The effect of flexural loading on the stress components responsible for a potential delamination failure mode at the interface is analysed. The values of interface stresses obtained by means of flexural homogenisation are compared with 3D homogenisation results using periodicity constraints along the thickness direction, and compared qualitatively with experimental facts available from the literature. The importance for taking flexural effects into account properly is emphasised.     

High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Flavoxate Hydrochloride and its Hydrolysis Product

Liquid chromatographic method was presented for the determination of flavoxate hydrochloride (FX) and its hydrolysis product. The method was based on high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of FX from its hydrolysis product on CN column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-12 mM ammonium acetate (45:55, vol/vol, pH 4.0) with UV detection at 220 nm and flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1. The proposed HPLC method for the determination of FX was utilized to investigate the kinetics of acidic hydrolytic process at different temperatures and to calculate its activation energy. In addition, the proposed HPLC method was used for pH-rate profile study of hydrolysis of FX in Britton–Robinson buffer solutions. The 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as impurity of flavoxate hydrochloride, can be separated by the proposed HPLC method.