The Shadow Meets the Mask: Pyramid-Based Shadow Removal

In this paper we propose a novel method for detecting and removing shadows from a single image thereby obtaining a high‐quality shadow‐free image. With minimal user assistance, we first identify shadowed and lit areas on the same surface in the scene using an illumination‐invariant distance measure. These areas are used to estimate the parameters of an affine shadow formation model. A novel pyramid‐based restoration process is then applied to produce a shadow‐free image, while avoiding loss of texture contrast and introduction of noise. Unlike previous approaches, we account for varying shadow intensity inside the shadowed region by processing it from the interior towards the boundaries. Finally, to ensure a seamless transition between the original and the recovered regions we apply image inpainting along a thin border. We demonstrate that our approach produces results that are in most cases superior in quality to those of previous shadow removal methods. We also show that it is possible to easily composite the extracted shadow onto a new background or modify its size and direction in the original image.     

“Andromaly”: a behavioral malware detection framework for android devices

This article presents Andromaly—a framework for detecting malware on Android mobile devices. The proposed framework realizes a Host-based Malware Detection System that continuously monitors various features and events obtained from the mobile device and then applies Machine Learning anomaly detectors to classify the collected data as normal (benign) or abnormal (malicious). Since no malicious applications are yet available for Android, we developed four malicious applications, and evaluated Andromaly’s ability to detect new malware based on samples of known malware. We evaluated several combinations of anomaly detection algorithms, feature selection method and the number of top features in order to find the combination that yields the best performance in detecting new malware on Android. Empirical results suggest that the proposed framework is effective in detecting malware on mobile devices in general and on Android in particular.     

Effect of humic acid on pyrene removal from water by polycation-clay mineral composites and activated carbon

Pyrene removal by polycation-montmorillonite (MMT) composites and granulated activated carbon (GAC) in the presence of humic acid (HA) was examined. Pyrene, HA, and sorbent interactions were characterized by FTIR, fluorescence and zeta measurements, adsorption, and column filtration experiments. Pyrene binding coefficients to the macromolecules were in the order of PVPcoS (poly-4-vinylpiridine-co-styrene) > HA > PDADMAC (poly diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium-chloride), correlating to pyrene-macromolecules compatibility. Electrostatic interactions explained the high adsorption of HA to both composites (～100%), whereas HA adsorption by GAC was low. Pyrene removal by the composites, unlike GAC, was enhanced in the presence of HA; removal by PDADMAC-MMT increased from ～50 (k(d) = 2.2 × 10(3) kg/L) to ～70% (k(d) = 2.4 × 10(3) kg/L) in the presence of HA. This improvement was attributed to the adsorption of pyrene-HA complexes. PVPcoS-MMT was most efficient in removing pyrene (k(d) = 1.1 × 10(4) kg/L, >95% removal) which was explained in terms of specific π donor-π acceptor interactions. Pyrene uptake by column filters of GAC reached ～50% and decreased to ～30% in the presence of HA. Pyrene removal by the PVPcoS-MMT filter was significantly higher (100-85% removal), exhibiting only a small decrease in the presence of HA. The utilization of HA as an enhancing agent in pollutant removal is novel and of major importance in water treatment.     

Towards the definition of pathogenic microbe

Identification and typing of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms have become major objectives over the past decade in microbiology. In food, strain typing is necessary to ensure food safety and for linking cases of foodborne infections to suspected items. Recent advances in molecular biology have resulted in the development of numerous DNA-based methods for discrimination among bacterial strains. Here, we present the use of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR, or Microsatellites) for bacterial typing. SSRs are a class of short DNA sequence motifs that are tandemly repeated at a specific locus. Computer-based screen of the complete genomic DNA sequences of various prokaryotes showed the existence of tens of thousands well distributed SSR tracts. Mono Nucleotides Repeats (MNRs) are the majority of SSR tracts in bacteria, therefore selected MNR loci were analyzed for variation among strains belonging to three bacterial species: Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio cholerae. High levels of polymorphism in the number of repeats was observed. The finding that most of the MNR tracts are variable in bacterial genomes, but stable at the strain level, allows the use of MNRs for bacterial strains identification. The variation in MNR tracts enables the separation between virulent and non-virulent strain groups and further discriminates among bacterial isolates, in the three tested bacterial species. The uncovered MNR polymorphism is important as a genome-wide source of variation, both in practical applications (e.g. rapid strain identification) and in evolutionary studies. This multi-locus MNR strategy could be applied for high throughput bacterial typing by assigning an "identity number" for each strain based on MNR variations. The developed typing technology should include the fingerprint database for large bacterial strain collections and a high throughput scanner. This accurate and rapid tool can have a major role in decreasing the incidences of food-related outbreaks and will contribute to limit epidemics.     

Effect of soy addition on microwavable pocket-type flat doughs

Microwavable frozen baked goods are widely used by the food industry. However, the altered heat and mass transfer patterns associated with microwave radiation result in tough and rubbery baked products due to reduced plasticization of the polymers. Ingredients with high water-holding capacity and high content of polar lipids have been shown to enhance gluten plasticization and to improve water retention. Therefore, this study explored the physicochemical changes imparted by microwave baking of pocket-type flat doughs with and without soy added at 10%, 20%, and 26% and compared these to their conventionally baked counterparts. Microwave baking resulted in a soft, rubbery, and tough wheat product with increased "freezable" water. Soy was added to the formulation as a means to improve polymer plasticization. Conventional baking of soy doughs resulted in rubbery and tough products due to changes in water state and mobility (freezable water approximately 15 compared with 7.09 of the control). However, soy reduced the cohesiveness of the microwave baked products reaching the lowest value at 20% soy addition (cohesiveness 0.33 ± 1, comparable to that of the conventionally baked control). These data suggest that reduction of water mobility induced by soy proteins and polar lipids (confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis [TGA] and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance [1H NMR]) possibly plasticized the starch-gluten network of microwave baked soy doughs. Thus, soy was shown to improve the texture of microwave baked pocket-type flat doughs although further formula optimization is warranted. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Microwavable pocket-type flat doughs are used frequently by the food industry to enrobe meat, vegetable, and sweet items for convenient meal delivery. Microwave heating of such doughs induces the development of crustless products compared to conventionally baked products, resulting in a tough and rubbery texture. Partial substitution of wheat flour with soy, in the form of soy flour and soy milk powder, prevented the deleterious textural changes associated with microwave heating. These results suggest that soy is a functional ingredient for the textural improvement of microwavable pocket-type flat doughs.     

Impact of treated wastewater irrigation on antibiotic resistance in agricultural soils

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a global phenomenon with severe epidemiological ramifications. Anthropogenically impacted natural aquatic and terrestrial environments can serve as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG), which can be horizontally transferred to human-associated bacteria through water and food webs, and thus contribute to AR proliferation. Treated-wastewater (TWW) irrigation is becoming increasingly prevalent in arid regions of the world, due to growing demand and decline in freshwater supplies. The release of residual antibiotic compounds, AR bacteria, and ARGs from wastewater effluent may result in proliferation of AR in irrigated soil microcosms. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of TWW-irrigation on soil AR bacterial and ARG reservoirs. Tetracycline, erythromycin, sulfonamide, and ciprofloxacin resistance in soil was assessed using standard culture-based isolation methods and culture-independent molecular analysis using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). High levels of bacterial antibiotic resistance were detected in both freshwater- and TWW-irrigated soils. Nonetheless, in most of the soils analyzed, AR bacteria and ARG levels in TWW-irrigated soils were on the whole identical (or sometimes even lower) than in the freshwater-irrigated soils, indicating that the high number of resistant bacteria that enter the soils from the TWW are not able to compete or survive in the soil environment and that they do not significantly contribute ARG to soil bacteria. This strongly suggests that the impact of the TWW-associated bacteria on the soil microbiome is on the whole negligible, and that the high levels of AR bacteria and ARGs in both the freshwater- and the TWW-irrigated soils are indicative of native AR associated with the natural soil microbiome.     

The relationship among performance of instrumental activities of daily living, self-report of quality of life, and self-awareness of functional status in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between self-awareness of functional status and performance of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and self-reports of quality of life (QOL) in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Design: A between-groups design, using a correlational approach to examine the relationship between self-awareness of functional status, IADL and QOL. Participants: We studied 47 individuals with clinically definite MS and 26 healthy controls (HCs). Measures: The Functional Behavior Profile was completed by both participants and their informants. Participants' scores were subtracted from those of their informants', and the absolute value was used as the self-awareness/concordance score. The Executive Function Performance Test measured IADL performance; QOL was measured with the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis. Results: MS participants showed lower levels of self-awareness relative to HCs. Significant correlations were observed between performance of IADL, reports of QOL and self-awareness levels of functional status. However, reports of QOL were not significantly correlated with performance of IADL. Conclusions: The positive association between self-awareness of functional status with IADL performance and QOL reports provides support for the role of awareness in rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of enhanced milk yield of dairy cows by frequent milking or suckling on intake and digestibility of the diet

The prevalence of osteoporosis and the incidence of fractures are substantially lower in black than in white subjects, a finding generally attributed to racial differences in adult bone mass. Whether these racial differences are present in childhood is the subject of considerable interest, as the amount of bone gained during growth is a major determinant of future susceptibility to fractures. We measured the density and size of the vertebrae and femurs of 80 black and 80 white healthy children, 8-18 yr of age, matched for age, gender, height, weight, and stage of sexual development, using computed tomography. Race had a significant and differential effect on the bones in the axial and appendicular skeletons. In the axial skeleton, black children had greater cancellous bone density, but similar cross-sectional area of the vertebral bodies. In contrast, in the appendicular skeleton, black children had greater femoral cross-sectional area, but similar cortical bone area and cortical bone density. Compared to white children, vertebral bone density and femoral cross-sectional area at sexual maturity were, on the average, 10.75% and 5.7% higher, respectively, in black children. Such significant variations may contribute to the racial differences in the prevalence of osteoporosis between black and white adults.     

Uptake of organic pollutants by silica--polycation-Immobilized micelles for groundwater remediation

Interest has grown in designing new materials for groundwater treatment via "permeable reactive barriers". In the present case, a model siliceous surface, controlled pore glass (CPG), was treated with a polycation (quaternized polyvinyl pyridine, QPVP) which immobilizes anionic/nonionic mixed micelles, in order to solubilize a variety of hydrophobic pollutants. Polymer adsorption on CPG showed atypically slow kinetics and linear adsorption isotherms, which may be a consequence of the substrate porosity. The highest toluene solubilization efficiency was achieved for the silica-polycation-immobilized micelles (SPIM) with the highest polymer loading and lowest micelle binding, a result discussed in terms of the configuration of the bound polymer and the corresponding state of the bound micelles. The ability of SPIM to treat simultaneously a wide range of pollutants and reduce their concentration in solution by 20-90% was demonstrated. Optimization of SPIM systems for remediation calls for a better understanding of both the local environment of the bound micelles and their intrinsic affinities for different hydrophobic pollutants.