Dempster–Shafer theory-based human activity recognition in smart home environments

Context awareness and activity recognition are becoming a hot research topic in ambient intelligence (AmI) and ubiquitous robotics, due to the latest advances in wireless sensor network research which provides a richer set of context data and allows a wide coverage of AmI environments. However, using raw sensor data for activity recognition is subject to different constraints and makes activity recognition inaccurate and uncertain. The Dempster–Shafer evidence theory, known as belief functions, gives a convenient mathematical framework to handle uncertainty issues in sensor information fusion and facilitates decision making for the activity recognition process. Dempster–Shafer theory is more and more applied to represent and manipulate contextual information under uncertainty in a wide range of activity-aware systems. However, using this theory needs to solve the mapping issue of sensor data into high-level activity knowledge. The present paper contributes new ways to apply the Dempster–Shafer theory using binary discrete sensor information for activity recognition under uncertainty. We propose an efficient mapping technique that allows converting and aggregating the raw data captured, using a wireless senor network, into high-level activity knowledge. In addition, we propose a conflict resolution technique to optimize decision making in the presence of conflicting activities. For the validation of our approach, we have used a real dataset captured using sensors deployed in a smart home. Our results demonstrate that the improvement of activity recognition provided by our approaches is up to of 79 %. These results demonstrate also that the accuracy of activity recognition using the Dempster–Shafer theory with the proposed mappings outperforms both naïve Bayes classifier and J48 decision tree.     

Flotation Process Water Recycling Investigation for the Complex Draa Sfar Sulphide Ore,Morocco

Mine Water and the Environment - The effect of water quality on the flotation of a complex polymetallic sulphide ore was studied using a Doehlert-based experimental design. Flotation tests were...     

Revisiting the conversion of muscle into meat and the underlying mechanisms

The conversion of muscle into meat is a complex process in which all mechanisms responsible for the development of meat qualities are very likely interdependent. Colour and flavour are thus both dependent on oxidative mechanisms. Oxidation and proteolysis are probably two processes involved in the development of meat tenderness. This paper reviewed the consequences of programmed cell death or apoptosis on muscle cells structure and biochemistry and on meat qualities as well. We therefore look at different new hypothesis susceptible to highlight the meat science field and provide new supports for a more dynamic meat research. One of them which would have appeared evident for our purpose since a decade, deals with the fact that, after animal bleeding, muscle cells have no other alternative to only enter the programmed cell death procedure or apoptosis. If we introduce an early phase corresponding to apoptosis, taking place before the rigor onset and overlapping it, we will see that the known consequences of that process bring forward possible answers to still unexplained observations. After an overview of the actual state-of-the-art in meat science, we will introduce the programmed cell death and its underlying mechanisms. We then described the strong analogies between the known consequences of apoptosis and the postmortem changes affecting a set of different muscle characteristics.     

Variations in the phytosterol and tocopherol compositions and the oxidative stability in seed oils from four safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) varieties grown in north‐eastern Morocco

Phytosterol and tocopherol contents and oxidative stability were evaluated from seeds oils of four safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) varieties originating from Spain (Rancho), India (Sharda) and Morocco (Cartamar and Cartafri), which were cultivated at the experimental station in Oujda (a semi‐arid region of eastern Morocco). Total phytosterols ranged from 3640 to 4140 mg kg^?1. GC analysis allowed the identification of nine compounds, of which β‐sitosterol was the major component. Total tocopherols ranged from 461.56 to 499.68 mg kg^?1. HPLC analysis allowed the identification of three compounds, α‐tocopherol (99.45%–98.84%), β‐tocopherol (0.94%–0.5%) and γ‐tocopherol (0.21%–0.01%). Oxidative stability study showed that Sharda had the lowest induction period of 2.3 h compared with 7.18, 7 and 6.67 h for Cartafri, Rancho and Cartamar, respectively. Likewise, we established a positive correlation between the oxidative stability and γ‐tocopherol; however, this difference was not significant.