A coding-guided holistic-based palmprint recognition approach

In the past few years, the need for accuracy and robustness against luminosity variations has drawn a considerable share of the palmprint research toward coding-based approaches. However, on the downside coding-based approaches require a high computational cost. On the contrary, while holistic-based palmprint recognition methods are easy to implement and have low computational burden, they usually do not result in a highly desirable accuracy. As a result, more recently hybridization of the holistic-based and coding-based methods has gained a boost. These hybridization schemes take advantages of both holistic and coding information to achieve a better performance. However, their computational burden due to incorporating the coding approach is still much heavier than the holistic methods. In this paper, we propose a new hybridization scheme based on Anisotropic Filter (AF) coding and the two-phase test sample representation (TPTSR) for the palmprint identification. In our scheme, the coding-based method is only applied on a super narrowed gallery in order to measure the classification confidence for a given test sample. Then, we apply our Guided Holistic (GH)-based method for classifying the test sample if the holistic-based algorithm is not sufficiently confident. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of our method in enhancing both the complexity cost and the accuracy of the results.     

A quick method to fabricate large glass micromodel networks

Microsystem Technologies - The study of multi-phase fluid flow in microfluidic devices provides an opportunity for researchers to characterize effective factors and mechanisms in microscale. The...     

Quantitative filter forensics: Size distribution and particulate matter concentrations in residential buildings

We applied filter forensics, the analysis of dust from the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) filters, to measure particle size distribution in 21 residences in Toronto, Canada over a year. Four filters with different nominal efficiencies (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 8–14 from ASHRAE Standard 52.2) were deployed in each residence each for three months, while the effective filtration volumes (the product of flow rate, runtime, and in-situ filter efficiency) were characterized over each filter lifetime. Using extraction and laser diffraction, we found that approximately 90% of the volumetric distributions were >10 µm and the volume median diameter (VMD) ranged from 23.4 to 75.1 µm. Using quantitative filter forensics (QFF), total suspended particle (TSP) concentrations ranged from 2.9 to 823.7 µg/m³ (median = 89.8 µg/m³) with a moderate correlation with the content of TSP on the filters (in terms of g) and with the TSP effective filtration volume (m³) indicating the importance of both filter forensics and HVAC metadata parameters to QFF concentration estimates. There was no strong correlation between PM₁₀ or PM_2.5 concentrations and hourly airborne particle number concentrations measured by low-cost sensors suggesting an evaluation of QFF is warranted, particularly for the exploration of smaller particles.     

Optimization of extraction process of bioactive compounds from Bene hull using subcritical water

Bene hull contains antioxidant components. Optimum conditions for bioactive compound extraction processes from Bene hull using subcritical water with response surface methodology (RSM) were obtained. Temperature (110–200°C), processing time (30–60 min), and the water to Bene hull ratio (10:1–50:1) were the investigated factors. The optimal conditions for maximizing the antioxidant activity were 196.8°C for 52.6 min and a ratio of 43.6:1 for water to Bene hull. Under these conditions, the amount of polyphenolic compounds, the reduction power (RP) (EC₅₀), and the DPPH free radical scavenging activity (RSA) (EC₅₀) were predicted to be 2,284 mg of gallic acid/100 g of Bene hull, 0.2002 mg/mL, and 0.6284 mg/mL, respectively. HPLC analysis was used to identify the main phenolic compounds. The subcritical water extraction technique could be used as a beneficial method to obtain bioactive compounds from Bene hull.     

Serum selenium levels in healthy women in Tabriz, Iran

BACKGROUND: Selenium is of fundamental importance to human health, and selenium deficiency is associated with disease conditions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the serum level of selenium in women of childbearing age and postmenopausal women living in Tabriz, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 60 healthy women of childbearing age and 60 healthy postmenopausal women were studied with the use of biochemical methods (measurement of serum selenium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry), anthropometric measurements (weight and height), and interviews. RESULTS: The average serum selenium was 76.67 +/- 17.98 microg/L (range, 42.00 to 166.61 microg/L). This level was lower than those reported in other provinces of Iran and some other countries. Sixty-nine women (57.5%) had serum selenium concentrations under 80 microg/L. There was no significant difference in selenium level between the two groups of women. Serum selenium level did not vary with age and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Some Iranian women are of borderline selenium status and as a consequence are more susceptible to selenium-deficiency diseases. There is a need for community-based programs to encourage people to increase consumption of selenium-rich sources, such as marine foods.     

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of burgers with quinoa peptide-loaded nanoliposomes

This study was aimed to examine the antioxidant (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS], peroxide value [PV], and as well as antimicrobial (total bacterial count, Staphylococcus aureus [S. aureus], mold and yeast counts) activities and spoilage indices (total volatile base nitrogen [TVB-N]) of quinoa peptide-loaded liposomes incorporated into burger during 12 days of refrigerated storage. Among four prepared batches, the lowest TBARS, PV, and TVB-N values (0.281 ± 0.05 mg MDA/kg, 3.25 ± 0.34 mEq/kg and 18.65 ± 0.88%, respectively) were correlated with T3 treatment (5 mg/ml peptide). A significant different in the antimicrobial activity among each treatment after 12 days of storage was noted. At the end of refrigerated storage, the highest mean of total bacterial count, S. aureus, mold and yeast (8.36 ± 0.22, 4.19 ± 0.2, and 3.28 ± 0.05 log CFU/g, respectively) were observed in control group, while the lowest corresponded values (3.95 ± 0.2, 2.52 ± 0.25, and 1.52 ± 0.02 log CFU/g, respectively) were noted in T3 treatment. The results showed that the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the examined burgers were improved by incorporation of liposomes quinoa peptides encapsulated.     

An architecture for large scale Internet measurement

Historically, the Internet has been woefully under-measured and under-instrumented. The problem is only getting worse with the network's ever-increasing size. We discuss the goals and requirements for building a “measurement infrastructure” for the Internet, in which a collection of measurement “platforms” cooperatively measure the properties of Internet paths and clouds by exchanging test traffic among themselves. The key emphasis of the architecture, which forms the underpinnings of the National Internet Measurement Infrastructure (NIMI) project, is on tackling problems related to scale. Consequently, the architecture emphasizes decentralized control of measurements; strong authentication and security; mechanisms for both maintaining tight administrative control over who can perform what measurements using which platforms, and delegation of some forms of measurement as a site's measurement policy permits; and simple configuration and maintenance of platforms     

Sound propagation in urban canyons: a case study of simulation reliability

Problems associated with increased urban noise exposure – especially due to road traffic – are well known. However, the acoustic planning of urban areas and the potential of simulation still does not receive sufficient attention. In this context, the present contribution focuses on urban canyons via comparison of measured and simulated sound levels. Toward this end, a room acoustic simulation tool was deployed to model two areas in the city of Vienna. Simulation results were shown to generally agree with the measurements. The contribution includes also a sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of variations in model assumptions on simulation results.     

A drastic hybrid heuristic algorithm to approach to JIT policy considering controllable processing times

Job scheduling has always been a challenging task in modern manufacturing and the most real life scheduling problems which involves multi-criteria, multi-machine environments. In this research, the single-machine scheduling problem is studied in which job processing times are controllable, namely, they may vary within a specified interval. The goal of this research is to minimize total tardiness and earliness on a single machine, simultaneously. In this context, we first propose a mathematical model for the considered problem and then a net benefit compression–net benefit expansion heuristic is presented for obtaining the set of amounts of compression and expansion of jobs processing times in a given sequence. Two meta-heuristic approaches are then employed to solve medium-to-large-sized problems as local search methods. Thereafter, we apply a hybrid method based on our heuristic as well as these two meta-heuristics in order to obtain solutions with higher quality within lesser computational time. The addressed problem is NP-hard since the single machine total tardiness problem is already NP-hard. The computational results show that our proposed heuristics can effectively solve such Just-In-Time problem with a high-quality solution.     

Semi-active vibration control of an eleven degrees of freedom suspension system using neuro inverse model of magnetorheological dampers

A semi-active controller-based neural network for a suspension system with magnetorheological (MR) dampers is presented and evaluated. An inverse neural network model (NIMR) is constructed to replicate the inverse dynamics of the MR damper. The typical control strategies are linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and linear quadratic gaussian (LQG) controllers with a clipped optimal control algorithm, while inherent time-delay and non-linear properties of MR damper lie in these strategies. LQR part of LQG controller is also designed to produce the optimal control force. The LQG controller and the NIMR models are linked to control the system. The effectiveness of the NIMR is illustrated and verified using simulated responses of a full-car model. The results demonstrate that by using the NIMR model, the MR damper force can be commanded to follow closely the desirable optimal control force. The results also show that the control system is effective and achieves better performance and less control effort than the optimal in improving the service life of the suspension system and the ride comfort of a car.