Search

Emotions indicate the feelings of the individual which are linked with personal experiences, moods, and affective states. Detection of emotion can be helpful in many fields like maintaining a patient's psychological well-being, surveillance, driver monitoring, etc. In this paper, an effective machine learning approach has been put forth for emotion detection where an ensemble of three out of five best-performing classifiers has been formed to enhance the classification accuracy. Two deep learning models (AlexNet and ResNet) have been optimally combined with k -nearest neighbor (KNN). The optimal weights for ensemble weighted averaging of classifiers have been computed with aid of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. The developed framework has been tested on two publicly available datasets. An overall accuracy of above 95% has been achieved on the testing set for both datasets. The best performance was obtained by training the classifiers with segmented images and combining them by using the weights obtained through PSO. The results depicted the efficiency of the optimized ensemble machine learning approach for all performance measures used in this study in comparison to the performance of individual classifiers and majority voting fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time–frequency representation plays a significant role in the analysis of non-stationary signals. A number of such representations have been reported in the literature with each having its own strengths. In this paper, an alternative time–frequency analysis method, Dual Window Fourier Transform (DWFT) has been suggested which enables compact localization of the signal components in joint time–frequency plane. The method utilizes two windows of optimal length for improving the resolution of the analyzed signal. The main contribution of this work is in the algorithm developed to find the optimal window length. This method, requiring no prior information, is applicable for multi-component and non-stationary signals. Moreover, a smoothed version of DWFT, that uses thresholding for removing interferences or reflections, has also been developed for signals which are closely localized in frequency domain. Both real world and simulated signals have been used to test the efficacy of the given method. Measures such as Hoyer's measure, normalized Renyi entropy, ratio of norm-based measure and modified energy concentration have been used for performance evaluation. A comparative analysis of suggested method with other linear Time–Frequency Distribution methods has also been carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of innumerable benefits of multi-biometry authentication, a couple of imaging sensors are required to capture multi-biometric samples, but that increase the overall cost as well as degree of user cooperation. This work presents a single sensor-based multimodal biometric identification system by fusing major finger knuckle, minor finger knuckle, palm print and handprint features of the human hand for enhancing the security and privacy of any consumer device. A virtual imaging device has been suggested to capture palmer and dorsal view of hand with single-shot multi-trait acquisition mechanism. The hand images captured from digital camera are first preprocessed to get the major knuckle, minor knuckle and palm ROI's. The finger knuckles and palm print ROI's are then enhanced and transformed to illumination invariant representation using robust encoding techniques, over which ray tracing features are emphasized predominantly. A non-rigid multi-scale approach, namely deep matching, has been employed to obtain the matching score between the corresponding correlation maps for finger knuckle or palm print recognition. Apart from that, we present a new scheme to extract shape, and geometrical features of handprint and employ metric learning-based L2-norm for feature matching in 2 D 2 PCA + 2 D 2 LDA space. Five publicly available databases are used to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed approach. Finally, the score-level weighted sum rule fusion has been adopted to combine matching scores of four traits which show that the proposed method outperforms other unimodal and state-of-the-art multimodal identification methods in terms of EER (0.01%), DI (3.64) and CRR (100%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur (Punjab) during kharif 2016-17, to study the effect of split application of potassium on yield and yield attributes of soybean. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with seven treatments applied at sowing and as split application of potassiumT1: Recommended fertilizer dose (12.5 kg N, 32 kg P2O5and no potassium application), T2: 15 kg K2O ha-1(at sowing), T3: 30 kg K2O ha-1(at sowing), T4:60 kg K2O ha-1(at sowing), T5: 7.5 kg K2O ha-1 (at sowing) + 7.5 kg K2O ha-1 (at flowering), T6: 15 kg K2O ha-1(at sowing) +15 kg K2O ha-1(at flowering), T7: 30 kg K2O ha-1(at sowing) +30 kg K2O ha-1(at flowering). Results revealed that significantly higher grain yield (25.2 q ha-1) was obtained in T7 (30 kg K2O ha-1 (at sowing) + 30 kg K2O ha-1 (at flowering) as compared to all other treatments but it was statistically at par with the split application of potassium @ 15 kg K2O ha-1 (at sowing) + 15 kg K2O ha-1 (at flowering) (T6) with grain yield of (22.6 q ha-1). Split application of potassium significantly increased soybean grain yield over the basal application with highest benefit cost ratio (7.1). Among the split application of potassium, grain yield of soybean was increased significantly by 15.6 % in T7 treatment over T5. Split application of potassium was more beneficial than applying full dose of potassium at the time of sowing due to higher number of pods and pod weight plant-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response of Bt cotton to square removal was studied to determine the impact of loss of fruiting forms due to insect pest attack or physiological damage on phenology, growth and yield of cotton at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. Three Bt cotton hybrids were assessed for the removal of floral buds for consecutive four weeks @ 25% and 50% from the day squares start initiation. The vegetative growth (plant height) in 25% and 50% square removal treatments increased significantly (0.0001) over that of undamaged control treatment among all the hybrids. In contrast, the reproductive growth (number of squares, flowers, bolls per plant and seed cotton yield) significantly decreased in 50% simulation treatments over that of undamaged control treatment and 25% square removal treatment in different hybrids. The decrease in seed cotton yield was 8.6 and 10.4% as compared to 0 and 25 % square removal treatments, respectively. The results indicate that Bt cotton can tolerate at least modest levels (25%) of square removal without yield reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted at Regional Research Station (Punjab Agricultural University) Gurdaspur and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pathankot during the spring season of 2016, to determine the performance of kidney bean genotypes at different sowing dates under sub-mountainous conditions of Punjab. The two kidney bean genotypes i.e. red and speckled were evaluated for yield potential at two locations by adopting different sowing dates viz., 20th January, 1st February, 10th February and 20th February, 2016. The treatments were laid out in split plot design with four replications by keeping sowing dates in main plots and genotypes in sub plots. Among different dates of sowing, crop sown on 10th February showed superiority than other dates through higher emergence count per meter row length, plant height, branches per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, length of pod, biological yield and seed yield. The seed yield in February 10 sown crop was 66.4, 33.3 and 21.7 per cent higher than February 20, January 10 and February 1 sown crop, respectively at Gurdaspur. Similarly, at Pathankot, the percent increase in seed yield in February 10 sown crop was 36.0 and 7.2 per cent as compared to February 20 and February 1 sown crop, respectively. The kidney bean genotype speckled produced significantly higher yield attributes (seeds per pod, length of pod and 100 seed weight) and seed yield at both Gurdaspur and Pathankot (935.1 and 823.1 kg per ha, respectively) as compared to red genotype. Therefore, it can be concluded that to attain higher productivity of kidney beans, the speckled genotype could be used for cultivation by adopting February 10 as the optimum time of sowing in the sub-mountainous area of Punjab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protozoan parasite Leishmania has evolved several strategies to undermine host defense mechanisms by inducing Th2-type adaptive immunity and suppressing effector functions of Th1 phenotype. In our earlier studies, using centrin gene-deleted Leishmania (LdCen-/-) parasites as an immunogen, we have shown induction of an effective Th1-type immunity and robust memory responses that mediate protection against virulent challenge. However, role of inhibitory signals in Leishmania vaccine induced immunity in general, and LdCen-/- in particular has not been studied. Herein, we report that immunization with LdCen-/- parasites produces more functional Th1-type CD4+ T cells via downregulation of CD200-CD200R immune inhibitory axis compared to wild-type infection. We found that expression of CD200 and CD200R was significantly reduced in LdCen-/- infection compared to wild-type infection. Diminished CD200-CD200R signaling in LdCen-/- infection enabled proliferation of CD4+ T cells and resulted in the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and suppression of anti-inflammatory response. The effects of diminished CD200-CD200R signaling by LdCen-/- were most evident in the suppression of IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells that helped enhance more Th1 cytokine producing and multi-functional T cells compared to wild-type infection. In vivo blocking of CD200 expression with anti-CD200 treatment in wild-type infected mice limited Th2 response as indicated by reduction of IL-10-producing Tr1 cells and reduced parasite burden. On the other hand, treatment with anti-CD200 improved the LdCen-/- vaccine-induced multifunctional response and reduction in splenic parasite load upon challenge. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the role of CD200-CD200R signals in the protection induced by LdCen-/- parasites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is no vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Toward developing an effective vaccine, we have reported extensively on the immunogenicity of live attenuated LdCentrin-/- mutants in naive animal models. In VL endemic areas, asymptomatic carriers outnumber symptomatic cases of VL and are considered to be a reservoir of infection. Vaccination of asymptomatic cases represents a viable strategy to eliminate VL. Immunological correlates of protection thus derived might have limited applicability in conditions where the immunized host has prior exposure to virulent infection. To examine whether LdCen-/- parasites can induce protective immunity in experimental hosts that have lowlevel parasitemia from a previous exposure mimicking an asymptomatic condition, we infected C57Bl/6 mice with wildtype Leishmania donovani parasites expressing LLO epitope (LdWTLLO 10³, i.v.). After 3 weeks, the mice with low levels of parasitemia were immunized with LdCen-/- parasites expressing 2W epitope (LdCen-/-2W 3 × 106 i.v.) to characterize the immune responses in the same host. Antigen experienced CD+ T cells from the asymptomatic (LdWTLLO infected) LdCen-/-2W immunized, and other control groups were enriched using LLOand 2Wspecific tetramers, followed by Flow cytometric analysis. Our analysis showed that comparable CD+ T cell proliferation and CD+ memory T cell responses (TCM) represented by CD62Lhi, CCR7+, and IL7R+ T cell populations were induced with LdCen-/-2W in both asymptomatic and naive animals that received LdCen-/- immunization. Upon restimulation with peptide, TCM cells differentiated into effector T cells and there was no significant difference in the recall response in animals with asymptomatic infection. Following virulent challenge, comparable reduction in splenic parasite burden was observed in both asymptomatic and naive LdCen-/- immunized animals concomitant with the development of multifunctional CD+ and CD8+ T cells. Further, LdCen-/-2W immunization resulted in complete clearance of the preexisting asymptomatic infection (LdWTLLO). Our results demonstrate that LdCen-/-2W immunization could be efficacious for use in asymptomatic VL individuals. Further, immunization with LdCen-/- could help in reducing the parasite burden in the asymptomatic cases and aid in controlling the VL in endemic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous behavioral or physiological biometric traits, including iris, signature, hand geometry, speech, palm print, face, etc. have been used to discriminate individuals in a number of security applications over the last 30 years. Among these, hand-based biometric systems have come to the attention of researchers worldwide who utilize them for low- to medium-security applications such as financial transactions, access control, law enforcement, border control, computer security, time and attendance systems, dormitory meal plan access, etc. Several approaches for biometric recognition have been summarized in the literature. The survey in this article focuses on the interface between various hand modalities, summary of inner- and dorsal-knuckle print recognition, and fusion techniques. First, an overview of various feature extraction and classification approaches for knuckle print, a new entrant in the hand biometrics family with a higher user acceptance and invariance to emotions, is presented. Next, knuckle print fusion schemes with possible integration scenarios, and traditional capturing devices have been discussed. The economic relevance of various biometric traits, including knuckle print for commercial and forensic applications is debated. Finally, conclusions related to the scope of knuckle print as a biometric trait are drawn and some recommendations for the development of hand-based multimodal biometrics have been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of greenhouse gases has increased as a result of anthropogenic activities, which resulted in the warming of the earth atmosphere. The agriculture sector contributes to emission of greenhouse gases and is also worst affected from the global warming. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide may have fertilization effect on the productivity of rice-wheat system, but this effect will be negated by the simultaneous increase of temperature. The rise in the day-time maximum temperature has positive effect on the rice yield but negatively affected the wheat yield. While rise in the nighttime minimum temperature decreased the yield of rice. Our goal here is to discuss the possible effects of shift in the climatic variables on the productivity of rice-wheat system that will provide important insights for adapting to it. Various options to mitigate the negative impacts of climatic shift on the productivity of rice-wheat system have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field investigation was carried out to characterize the growth and development of Bt cotton hybrids by detopping and use of plant growth retardants during the rainy (kharif) season of 2011 and 2012. The experimental site had loamy sand soils with normal in reaction. The experiment (split plot) involved three Bt cotton hybrids (MRC 7017, MRC 7031 and RCH 314) in main plots and growth regulation treatments (Mepiquat chloride (MC) @ 300 ppm, 2, 3, 5-tri iodo benzoic acid (TIBA) @ 100 ppm and Maelic hydrazide (MH) @ 250 ppm) in sub plots with four replications. Hybrid MRC 7017 produced significantly higher (p<0.01) seed cotton yield which was attributed to the maximum number of sympodial branches plant-1, total number of flowers and picked bolls plant-1. Application of MC @ 300 ppm, TIBA @ 100 ppm and MH @ 250 ppm reduced plant height, leaf area index and total dry matter accumulation than control. Detopping treatment significantly (p<0.01) reduced plant height than control but attained more plant height than all the PGRs. MC @ 300 ppm, TIBA @ 100 ppm and MH @ 250 ppm at 80 days after sowing had beneficial effect on seed cotton yield. Detopping done at 80 days after sowing failed to influence the seed cotton yield during both the years. The results revealed that foliar application of MC @ 300 ppm yielded more seed cotton by improving the setting percentage and therefore, increased number of picked (open) bolls plant-1 without exhibiting any adverse effect on quality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No licensed human vaccines are currently available against any parasitic disease including leishmaniasis. Several antileishmanial vaccine formulations have been tested in various animal models, including genetically modified live-attenuated parasite vaccines. Experimental infection studies have shown that Leishmania parasites utilize a broad range of strategies to undermine effector properties of host phagocytic cells, i.e., dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages (MF). Furthermore, Leishmania parasites have evolved strategies to actively inhibit TH1 polarizing functions of DCs and to condition the infected MF toward anti-inflammatory/alternative/M2 phenotype. The altered phenotype of phagocytic cells is characterized by decreased production of antimicrobial reactive oxygen, nitrogen molecules, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-, IL-12, and TNF-a. These early events limit the activation of TH1-effector cells and set the stage for pathogenesis. Furthermore, this early control of innate immunity by the virulent parasites results in substantial alteration in the adaptive immunity characterized by reduced proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and TH2-biased immunity that results in production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as TGF-β, and IL-10. More recent studies have also documented the induction of coinhibitory ligands, such as CTLA-4, PD-L1, CD200, and Tim-3, that induce exhaustion and/or non-proliferation in antigen-experienced T cells. Most of these studies focus on viral infections in chronic phase, thus limiting the direct application of these results to parasitic infections and much less to parasitic vaccines. However, these studies suggest that vaccine-induced protective immunity can be modulated using strategies that enhance the costimulation that might reduce the threshold necessary for T cell activation and conversely by strategies that reduce or block inhibitory molecules, such as PD-L1 and CD200. In this review, we will focus on the polarization of antigen-presenting cells and subsequent role of costimulatory and coinhibitory molecules in mediating vaccine-induced immunity using live-attenuated Leishmania parasites as specific examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Splenic artery aneurysms (SAA) are a rare entity most commonly diagnosed incidentally. Their association with pregnancy increases the risk of rupture resulting in a disproportionately high maternal and fetal mortality. Accordingly, elective surgical treatment is recommended in asymptomatic patients with aneurysms less than 2 cm. In this case, we present a patient during her third trimester of pregnancy with a SAA who was treated by laparoscopic aneurysm resection and splenectomy. Methods: The patient is a 38-year-old multiparous woman, with an incidental diagnosis of a SAA in 2010. Subsequently, the patient became pregnant and at 27 weeks started to develop abdominal pain. Failed embolization was attempted with worsening of the patient's symptoms. A CT angiogram revealed a 1.6 cm distal third SAA without any evidence of rupture. Due to the localization of the lesion, the patient was offered a laparoscopic aneurysm resection and splenectomy. Results: Operating time was 90 min and estimated blood loss was 5 cc. Postoperative fetal monitoring was normal. No perioperative complications were observed. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 3. Two months after laparoscopic splenectomy, the patient delivered a male infant in perfect health. Conclusions: Although this is a rare disease, the risk of aneurysmal rupture is increased during pregnancy. As a result of high maternal and fetal mortality, elective surgery should be performed. Laparoscopic surgery is the technique of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates a new approach based on combination of Autocorrelation based method and wavelet transform method used in parallel in single system. The proposed approach utilizes the fusion at decision level. This approach has been tested on the normal PTB database and a larger in-house data set of 100 subjects recorded using BIOPAC MP-150 system with a gap of 2 months between training and testing samples. The results obtained have shown improvement in performance in comparison to the system's performance where single approach was used individually. Moreover, the results on in-house database also validate the permanence characteristic of Electrocardiogram (ECG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fixation of mesh is typically performed to minimize risk of recurrence in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Mesh fixation with staples has been implicated as a cause of chronic inguinal pain. Our study aim is to compare mesh fixation using a fibrin sealant versus staple fixation in laparoscopic inguinal hernia and compare outcomes for hernia recurrence and chronic inguinal pain. Methods and procedures: PubMed was searched through December 2010 by use of specific search terms. Inclusion criteria were laparoscopic total extraperitoneal repair inguinal hernia repair, and comparison of both mesh fibrin glue fixation and mesh staple fixation. Primary outcomes were inguinal hernia recurrence and chronic inguinal pain. Secondary outcomes were operative time, seroma formation, hospital stay, and time to return to normal activity. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated assuming random-effects models. Results: Four studies were included in the review. A total of 662 repairs were included, of which 394 were mesh fixed by staples or tacks, versus 268 with mesh fixed by fibrin glue. There was no difference in inguinal hernia recurrence with fixation of mesh by staples/tacks versus fibrin glue [OR 2.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-7.63]. Chronic inguinal pain (at 3 months) incidence was significantly higher with staple/tack fixation (OR 3.25; 95% CI 1.62-6.49). There was no significant difference in operative time, seroma formation, hospital stay, or time to return to normal activities. Conclusions: The meta-analysis does not show an advantage of staple fixation of mesh over fibrin glue fixation in laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair. Because fibrin glue mesh fixation with laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair achieves similar hernia recurrence rates compared with staple/tack fixation, but decreased incidence of chronic inguinal pain, it may be the preferred technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of laparoscopic surgery, and more recently of robotics, has increased the number of living donor kidney transplants. This approach has already improved living donor acceptance rates. Even newer developments in the field have now been introduced with the purpose of further reducing postoperative pain and length of hospital stay, while offering better cosmetic results. In particular, single-incision surgery has gained popularity by improving the well-known benefits of minimally invasive surgery. In this case report, we present the first single-incision robotic-assisted living donor nephrectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]