A probabilistic model for state sequence analysis in hidden Markov model for hand gesture recognition

The role of gesture recognition is significant in areas like human‐computer interaction, sign language, virtual reality, machine vision, etc. Among various gestures of the human body, hand gestures play a major role to communicate nonverbally with the computer. As the hand gesture is a continuous pattern with respect to time, the hidden Markov model (HMM) is found to be the most suitable pattern recognition tool, which can be modeled using the hand gesture parameters. The HMM considers the speeded up robust feature features of hand gesture and uses them to train and test the system. Conventionally, the Viterbi algorithm has been used for training process in HMM by discovering the shortest decoded path in the state diagram. The recursiveness of the Viterbi algorithm leads to computational complexity during the execution process. In order to reduce the complexity, the state sequence analysis approach is proposed for training the hand gesture model, which provides a better recognition rate and accuracy than that of the Viterbi algorithm. The performance of the proposed approach is explored in the context of pattern recognition with the Cambridge hand gesture data set.     

Investigating collection 4 versus collection 5 MODIS 250 m NDVI time-series data for crop separability in Kansas,USA

The primary objective of this research was to analyse collection 5 versus collection 4 time-series normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m for the purpose of separating crop types. Using extensive ground reference data from the state of Kansas in the central USA, NDVI value profiles were extracted from different collection versions for 2001 (collections 4 and 5) and 2005 (collection 5 only). Phenological curves for all crops and all data sets were created and visually inspected. Jeffries–Matusita (J-M) distance statistical analysis was performed to assess crop separability. Contrary to expectations, collection 5 time-series MODIS 250 m NDVI data were found to be inferior to collection 4 with respect to crop separability. Specifically, collection 4 data exhibited a greater dynamic range across the growing seasons of the various crop types, and this discriminatory advantage was supported by J-M distance analysis. Though the analysis did not suggest reasons for the outcome, it corroborates the conclusion of the only other similar study in the literature comparing data from collections 4 and 5. Considering the pervasive use of these data for land-cover mapping, it is recommended that MODIS NDVI data from collection 4 should be used where possible for crop type mapping in agricultural regions with climate, geography, and crops similar to Kansas.     

An investigation on specific absorption rate reduction materials with human tissue cube for biomedical applications

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of human exposure due to electromagnetic fields and to reduce the specific absorption rate (SAR). This work focuses on the implementation of different electromagnetic shield materials such as conductive materials, dielectric materials, ferrite materials, and metamaterials that are currently used for SAR reduction. The experimental analysis is performed with the global system for mobile communication (GSM) dipole antenna operating at 900 MHz as its radiation source. The designed dipole is placed in front of a cube with similar dielectric properties of human tissue. The computation, implementation, and evaluation are performed by using the method of moments. Further calculation of SAR reduction factor (SRF), SAR 1 g, gain, directivity, and beamwidth are estimated for 15 different shield materials. There is a need for an ideal shield material that could reduce SAR and does not compromise the performance of the radiation structure. This work investigates and proposes the nanomaterials and composites as suitable shield materials for SAR reduction. This novel approach of implementation of nanomaterials has proved to increase the SRF over 90% than conventional reduction materials. In addition, gain and directivity are also increased by 50% than the existing shield materials. The currently used materials are compared with the proposed nanomaterials, and the results are analyzed. The results indicate that the nanomaterials and its composites are ideal shield material for SAR reduction.     

Trends in Mysis diluviana abundance in the Great Lakes, 2006–2016

With the large Diporeia declines in lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario, there is concern that a similar decline of Mysis diluviana related to oligotrophication and increased fish predation may occur. Mysis density and biomass were assessed from 2006 to 2016 using samples collected by the Great Lakes National Program Office's biomonitoring program in April and August in all five Great Lakes. Summer densities and biomasses were generally greater than spring values and both increased with bottom depth. There were no significant time trends during these 10–11 years in lakes Ontario, Michigan, or Huron, but there was a significant increase in Lake Superior. Density and biomass were highest in lakes Ontario and Superior, somewhat lower in Lake Michigan, and substantially lower in Lake Huron. A few Mysis were collected in eastern Lake Erie, indicating a small population in the deep basin of that lake. On average, mysids contributed 12–18% (spring-summer, Michigan), 18–14% (spring-summer, Superior), 30–13% (spring-summer, Ontario), and 3% (Huron) of the total open-water crustacean biomass. Size distributions consisted of two peaks, indicating a 2-year life cycle in all four of the deep lakes. Mysis were larger in Lake Ontario than in lakes Michigan, Superior, and Huron. Comparisons with available historic data indicated that mysid densities were higher in the 1960s–1990s (5 times higher in Huron, 2 times higher in Ontario, and around 40% higher in Michigan and Superior) than in 2006–2016.     

Densification and characterization of rapid carbothermal synthesized boron carbide

Submicrometer boron carbide powders were synthesized using rapid carbothermal reduction (RCR) method. Synthesized boron carbide powders had smaller particle size, lower free carbon, and high density of twins compared to commercial samples. Powders were sintered using spark plasma sintering at different temperatures and dwell times to compare sintering behavior. Synthesized boron carbide powders reached >99% TD at lower temperature and shorter dwell times compared to commercial powders. Improved microhardness observed in the densified RCR samples was likely caused by the combination of higher purity, better stoichiometry control, finer grain size, and a higher density of twin boundaries.     

Performance‐enhanced modified self‐organising map for iris data classification

Biometric systems are widely used in applications such as forensics and military. Biometric authentication is a challenging and complex task. These biometric systems must be accurate for practical applications. In this era of artificial intelligence, artificial neural network‐based classifiers are widely used in biometric‐based systems. However, most of the artificial neural network‐based classifiers are less accurate and computationally complex. In this work, two modified self‐organising map (SOM) networks are proposed for iris image classification to improve the performance measures. Particle swarm optimization technique is used in the training process of conventional SOM. The experiments are carried out with conventional and modified classifiers. The proposed modified classifiers provide better performance than the conventional SOM classifier.     

Recovery of oil <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> acid-catalyzed transesterification

The process of preparing oil palm seed for planting generates vast quantities of waste pulp. The pulp (ca 80% oil), for which no use has been found, is indiscriminately dumped because either reprocessing it into a useful product or disposing of it properly is expensive. In situ transesterification of the pulp with methanol and ethanol using sulfuric acid as catalyst was carried out on a laboratory scale. Our aim was to develop a process to recover the largely hydrolytically degraded oil (PV, 25–26; FFA, 25–26%) from the pulp. Acid-catalyzed conversions of the oil into alkyl esters were 96–97% for both methanol and ethanol. The accompanying concentrations of FFA, TG, DG, and MG were low. The identities and proportions of FA ester in the alkyl esters reflected the FA content of the palm oil. The values for the esterified products of some fuel properties such as cloud point and viscosity were slightly below the general current specification. However, with optimization of the reaction conditions and simplification of some of the technical aspects, the waste pulp could be a good source of alkyl esters for both oleochemical and fuel applications.     

电凝聚除铁研究

本文对电凝聚除铁机理进行了探讨，在电凝聚器中，Ａｌ＾３＋离子的水解产物吸附Ｆｅ＾２＋离子后，通过沉淀，过滤工艺而除铁，它不需对Ｆｅ＾２＋离子进行充分氧化，并克服了常规除铁工艺初期出水不能满足国家饮用水卫生标准的缺点。试验结果表明；电凝聚聚铁有效果好，操作简便，滤料不需要成熟期等优点。     

Influence of stimulants on electrodermal studies in Fragile X syndrome

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is seen in the majority of children with Fragile X Syndrome (FraX). Previous work has documented an enhanced sweat response to stimuli in children with FraX compared to controls utilizing electrodermal response (EDR) measures. The present study assesses the EDRs both on and off stimulants in 19 children with ADHD and FraX compared to 17 age- and IQ-matched control patients with ADHD and developmental delays. Although the baseline EDRs were comparable between FraX patients and controls, the patients with FraX had a significant decrease in EDR amplitude and number of peaks when treated with stimulants compared to controls. This suggests that patients with FraX are more responsive to the enhancement of inhibitory systems that occur with stimulant use for ADHD. The use of a quantifiable measure, such as EDR, is recommended in future studies of treatment efficacy.