The effect of water and sodium hydrogen carbonate content on flexible polyurethane's microstructure,water, and mechanical properties

It is well known that blowing agents (BAs) and polyol are essential components in polyurethane (PU) composition. Utilizing renewable sources in the material's formulation might reduce its environmental hazards while extending its possible engineering applications. In this study, the samples have been synthesized by using palm kernel oil-based polyol (PKOP). Water and sodium hydrogen carbonate (SHB) have been used as BAs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has shown that adding the mix of BAs is causing the cells' average size to increase up to 227% and have reduced the lamellae width by up to 2% in comparison with the reference sample. The water tests have illustrated that combining two parts per hundred polyol by weight (php) water and 25 php SHB to the sample has increased its water capacity up to 617%. However, the samples are only able to retain 6% of the absorbed water at the 7th day. It has been also found that porosity has affected the water uptake and all the samples are following Fick's diffusion law, and diffusion is correlated to the square root of time. Multivariable power least squares method (MPLSM) and moving least squares method (MLSM) have been applied to find the relation between tear resistance value and BAs ratio. It is found that both methods have a dominant variable compared to the other variables, but MLSM provided optimizable equation with better R².     

A new multidimensional discriminant representation for robust person re-identification

Pattern Analysis and Applications - Person Re-Identification (PRe-ID) or person retrieval is a challenging task of computer vision, aiming to identify a specific person across disjoint cameras...     

Age and Gender Classification Using Backpropagation andBaggingAlgorithms

Voice classification is important in creating more intelligent systems that help with student exams, identifying criminals, and security systems. The main aim of the research is to develop a system able to predicate and classify gender, age, and accent. So, a new system called Classifying Voice Gender, Age, and Accent (CVGAA) is proposed. Backpropagation and bagging algorithms are designed to improve voice recognition systems that incorporate sensory voice features such as rhythm-based features used to train the device to distinguish between the two gender categories. It has high precision compared to other algorithms used in this problem, as the adaptive backpropagation algorithm had an accuracy of 98% and the Bagging algorithm had an accuracy of 98.10% in the gender identification data. Bagging has the best accuracy among all algorithms, with 55.39% accuracy in the voice common dataset and age classification and accent accuracy in a speech accent of 78.94%.     

Assessment of the bioactive lipid profiles of oil extracted from Tunisian table olive cultivars (Barouni,Besbassi, and Marsaline cvs.)

Bioactive compounds are components extracted from biological matrices that may offer physiological health benefits and have nutritive value. The present study characterized bioactive lipid components such as fatty acids, phytosterols, policosanol, and triterpenes from table olives. The table olives were processed according to the green Spanish-style method. The obtained results indicate that phytosterol fraction constitutes the major portion of the total unsaponifiable matter. The analysis of phytosterols showed the presence of 11 compounds, β-sitosterol the predominant one. The policosanol composition indicated that hexacosanol, tetracosanol, octacosanol, and docosanol were the main compounds, accounting for over 85% of total policosanols. Pentacyclic triterpenes (cycloartenol and 24-methylene cycloartenol) were found at a higher level (over 85%) compared to tetracyclic triterpenes (β-amyrin, δ-amyrin). These findings reveal that processed table olives contain an interesting amount of various bioactive compounds compared to marine and other floral biological matrices. Thus, processed table olives represent an interesting natural functional food that presents high stability and bioavailability of their natural bioactive ingredients. Practical Applications: Nowadays, with health food gaining popularity among consumers, the demand for natural bioactive compounds and functional food is expanding considerably all over the world. This study focuses on analyzing bioactive lipid components from processed table olives. Fruits were processed according to the green Spanish-style method. The salt content of the brine was adjusted to the minimum sodium chloride value required by the Codex Alimentarius Comission, which is 5%, taking into consideration people suffering from hypertension. This concentration is considered the minimum amount of salt necessary to exhibit antibacterial activities. Considering the results obtained, processed table olives present one of the most valuable potential resources for bioactive lipid compounds and have a considerable ability to preserve the stability of their lipid components. Thus, the food industry in Mediterranean countries can promote processed table olives as conventional functional food with no need for any enrichment or fortification.     

A relational perspective on the walking activity in urban spaces: Shaping,transformation, and interrelations

New walking studies have been concerned with the multiplicity of pedestrian experiences. Some consider walking as an activity that unfolds as part of social life, allowing people to create relationships with others, where multiple walking types can be identified depending on these relations. Some contributions, inspired by actor-network theory (ANT), suggest understanding this activity through a networked perspective that associates human and non-human actors, with a focus on their various and dynamic relations between them. The focus on stabilized networks, which emphasizes the recurrence of these relations, helps in identifying and extending themultiplicity of walking activity experience and emerging types. Despite this potential, ANT contributions are still limited. This paper aims to present the ANT potential in unpacking the multiplicity of the walking activity. It utilizes the case of Dahiyat Al Hussain park in Jordan and applies an ANT-inspired ethnographic approach to unpackwalking. It uses desk research, in-depth interviews, go-along interviews, and observations to engage with participants’ views and experiences. By tracing the recurring relational patterns, the paper identifies three instances when walking practice can be considered as stabilized during network shaping, transformation, and interrelations. These stabilizations provide a nuanced perspective into the multiplicity of walking practices.