Search

Image forgery detection is important for sensitive domains such as courts of law. The main challenge is to develop a robust model that is sensitive to tampering traces. Existing techniques perform well on a limited dataset but do not generalize well across the datasets. Moreover, these techniques cannot reliably detect tampering that distorts the texture pattern of the image. The noise patterns remain consistent throughout a digital image if its contents are not altered. Based on this hypothesis, a robust descriptor FFT-DRLBP (Fast Fourier Transformation - Discriminative Robust Local Binary Patterns) is introduced, which first estimates noise patterns using FFT and encodes the discrepancies in noise patterns using DRLBP. Features extracted are passed to Support Vector Machine (SVM) for deciding whether the image is authentic or tampered. Intensive experiments are performed on benchmark datasets to validate the performance of the method. It achieved an accuracy of 99.21% on the combination of two challenging datasets. The comparison shows that it outperforms state-of-the-art methods and is vigorous to image forgery attacks even in the presence of various post-processing operations. The performance of the method is also validated using cross-dataset experiments, which ensures its robustness and generalization.

Now-a-days, videos can be easily recorded and forged with user-friendly editing tools. These videos can be shared on social networks to make false propaganda. During the process of spatial forgery, the texture and micro-patterns of the frames become inconsistent, which can be observed in the difference of two consecutive frames. Based on this observation, a method has been proposed for detection of forged video segments and localization of forged frames. Employing the Chrominance value of Consecutive frame Difference (CCD) and Discriminative Robust Local Binary Pattern (DRLBP), a new descriptor is introduced to model the inconsistency embedded in the frames due to forgery. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to detect whether the pair of consecutive frames is forged. If at least one pair of consecutive frames is detected as forged, the video segment is predicted as forged and the forged frames are localized. Intensive experiments are performed to validate the performance of the method on a combined dataset of videos, which were tampered by copy-move and splicing methods. The detection accuracy on large dataset is 96.68 percent and video accuracy is 98.32 percent. The comparison shows that it outperforms the state-of-the-art methods, even through cross dataset validation.

The ideal temperature range for the optimal growth and development of cotton is 25 °C–32 °C and high temperature adversely affects the metabolic activities of plant cells. This study was aimed to screen heat-tolerant cotton genotypes based on physiological and molecular parameters. Experiments were carried out during 2019–2020 at the MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. The research comprised two parts. In the first experiment, 30 cotton genotypes were sown in a completely randomized design with three replications under laboratory conditions for the determination of cell membrane thermostability. Principal component analysis was performed, and four genotypes, i.e., two heat-tolerant (‘CRIS-5A’ and ‘VH-338’) and two heat-sensitive (‘FH-242’ and ‘VH-281’) genotypes, were selected. In the second experiment, the screened cotton genotypes were sown in pots in a factorial complete randomized design with three replications and two treatments (normal and heat treatment). Heat stress was applied at the seedling stage, and eight leaf samples (one from each experimental unit) were collected. Two genes were used for molecular analysis and were amplified in all eight cDNA samples. Molecular analysis indicated the presence of HSP70 and HSP26 genes in the cotton genotypes, and the expression of these genes was measured by using ImageJ software. The gene expression level of HSP70 was very high (16.41%) in ‘VH-281’, which is a heat-sensitive genotype under heat stress. The sensitive genotype ‘FH-242’ exhibited the highest gene expression level of HSP26 (20.32%) under normal conditions. A similar sequence of HSP70 gene of Agave sisalana was amplified for the first time in cotton. It is a good indicator for screening heat tolerant cotton genotypes at the molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cubic XFeO (X = Sr, Ba) perovskite oxides are studied for their thermodynamic stability in the ferromagnetic phase by using density functional theory calculations. We also explore the elastic properties of these compounds in terms of elastic constants C , bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, anisotropy factor A, Poisson's ratio ν and the B/ G ratio. The electronic properties are examined to elucidate the magnetic order, and the thermoelectric properties of XFeO (X = Sr, Ba) materials are also presented. The modified Becke-Johnson local density approximation scheme has been used to compute the electronic band structure and density of states, which show that these materials are half-metallic ferromagnetic. We study the magnetic properties by computing the crystal field energy (Δ), John-Teller energy (Δ) and the exchange splitting energies Δ( d) and Δ( pd). Our results indicate that strong hybridization causes a decrease in the magnetic moment of Fe, which then produces permanent magnetic moments in the nonmagnetic sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat stress has emerged as a chief problem impeding wheat crop productivity. In several crops, specific HSP90A genes have intensively managed induced fluctuations in temperature. A wheat plant with TaHSP90A transcripts had the potential to cope with temperature stress. It enables plants to survive in transient extremes of temperature and under heat stress. The presented study design enhanced temperature tolerance plasticity with high yield in wheat through a line x tester mating design containing lines (12) and testers (4) having a differential expression of TaHSP90A transcripts (TraesCS2A02G033700.1, TraesCS5B02G258900.3, and TraesCS5D02G268000.2), then hybridized to get the F1 (48) wheat hybrids. For heat treatment, temperature raising was only in the daytime, through the tunnel at anthesis (for two weeks). Data recording for several morphological and physiological parameters went along with the relative expression of TaHSP90A transcripts for hybrid evaluation. After one hour of heat treatment, the relative expression of TaHSP90A transcripts' determination in the flag leaf followed. The manifestation of TaHSP90A transcripts' upregulation was two folds in several hybrids after heat treatment. Best lines, testers, and selected crosses having TaHSP90A transcripts with high yield and heat tolerance compared with parents can further benefit breeding programs aiming toward tolerance against heat stress in changing climate scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinity is the major limiting factor restricting plant growth and development. Little is known about the comparative and combined effects of gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) seed priming and foliar application on maize under salt stress. The current study determined the impact of different application methods of GA 3 on morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of maize seedlings under three salinity stress treatments (no salinity, moderate salinity-6 dS m -1 , and severe salinity-12 dS m -1 ). The GA 3 treatments consisted of control, hydro-priming (HP), water foliar spray (WFS), HP + WFS, seed priming with GA 3 (GA 3 P, 100 mg L -1 ), foliar spray with GA 3 (GA 3 FS, 100ppm) and GA 3 P + GA 3 FS. Salt stress particularly at 12 dS m -1 reduced the length of shoots and roots, fresh and dry weights, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents, K + ion accumulation and activities of antioxidant enzymes, while enhanced the oxidative damage and accumulation of the Na + ion in maize plants. Nevertheless, the application of GA 3 improved maize growth, reduced oxidative stress, and increased the antioxidant enzymes activities, antioxidant genes expression, and K + ion concentration under salt stress. Compared with control, the GA 3 P + GA 3 FS recorded the highest increase in roots and shoots length (19-37%), roots fresh and dry weights (31-43%), shoots fresh and dry weights (31-47%), chlorophyll content (21-70%), antioxidant enzymes activities (73.03-150.74%), total soluble protein (13.05%), K + concentration (13-23%) and antioxidants genes expression levels under different salinity levels. This treatment also reduced the H 2 O 2 content, and Na + ion concentration. These results indicated that GA 3 P + GA 3 FS could be used as an effective tool for improving the maize growth and development, and reducing the oxidative stress in salt-contaminated soils.

Introduction: COVID-19 induces a pro-thrombotic state as evidenced by microvascular thrombi in the renal and pulmonary vasculature. Therapeutic anticoagulation in COVID-19 has been debated and data remain anecdotal. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that therapeutic anticoagulation is associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive care unit, invasive mechanical ventilation, and acute renal failure necessitating dialysis by decreasing the over-all clot burden. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was done to determine the impact of therapeutic anticoagulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Independent t-test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to calculate mean differences and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) respectively. Results: A total of 176 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were divided into two groups, therapeutic anticoagulation and prophylactic anticoagulation. The mean age, baseline comorbidities and other medications used during hospitalization were similar in both groups. The aOR for in-hospital mortality (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.15-8.10, p = 0.04), upgrade to intensive care (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.43-6.64, p = 0.006) and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 4.27, 95% CI 1.95-9.34, p = 0.00) were significantly lower while there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of developing acute renal failure (OR 1.87 95% CI 0.46-7.63, p = 0.64) between two groups. Conclusions: In patients with COVID-19, therapeutic anticoagulation offers a significant reduction in the rate of in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive medical care, and invasive mechanical ventilation. It should be preferred over prophylactic anticoagulation in COVID-19 patients unless randomized controlled trials prove otherwise., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of Greater Baltimore Medical Center.)

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the top 10 causes of death globally. Around 1.7 billion people are infected with mycobacterium TB worldwide, and almost 90% of cases each year are found in 30 high TB burden countries. Due to the influx of a large expatriate population mainly from the high TB burden countries, there is an increased number of pulmonary TB as well as tuberculous pleural effusion cases reported in Qatar. Objectives The demographic, clinical, laboratory, and histopathological parameters of patients with tuberculous pleural effusion were assessed. Methods A single-center study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. Adults diagnosed to have tuberculous pleural effusion were included, and those with clinical suspicion of tuberculous pleural effusion with positive sputum acid-fast bacillus (AFB) but negative AFB in pleural samples were excluded. Results A total of 106 patients were reviewed, of whom 100 were included for the final analysis, with 86% being men. Majority were from the Asian subcontinent, and the mean age was 33.8 years (SD ± 10.3). Main symptoms in decreasing order were cough (77%), fever (56%), and chest pain (54%). Of the patients, 72% had normal BMI, and rest were above the normal range. Anemia and hypoalbuminemia were found in 36.7% and 89.8% of the patients, respectively. Positive AFB culture was observed in pleural biopsy (79%), pleural fluid (13%), and sputum (16%). Positive AFB by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was observed in pleural biopsy (57%), pleural fluid (3%), and sputum (2.2%), whereas AFB smear was positive in 2% of pleural biopsy samples. Caseating granuloma was seen in 80% of patients. All the three Light's criteria were met by 30% of the patients whereas 52% had two criteria fulfilled. No association between the number of Light's criteria and AFB yield was observed. Conclusions TPE was more common in healthy young adults. The AFB yield on pleural biopsy, PCR, and culture was significantly higher than that on all other samples. The number of positive Light's criteria did not have any association with positive AFB yield., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2020, Zahid et al.)

Background: During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unfounded fervor surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and tocilizumab (TCZ); however, evidence on their efficacy and safety have been controversial., Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the overall clinical effectiveness of HCQ and TCZ in patients with COVID-19. We hypothesize that HCQ and TCZ use in these patients will be associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive medical care, invasive mechanical ventilation, or acute renal failure needing dialysis., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the impact of HCQ and TCZ use on hard clinical outcomes during hospitalization. A total of 176 hospitalized patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis was included. Patients were divided into two comparison groups: (1) HCQ (n=144) vs no-HCQ (n=32) and (2) TCZ (n=32) vs no-TCZ (n=144). The mean age, baseline comorbidities, and other medications used during hospitalization were uniformly distributed among all the groups. Independent t tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to calculate mean differences and adjusted odds ratios with 95% CIs, respectively., Results: The unadjusted odds ratio for patients upgraded to a higher level of care (ie, intensive care unit) (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.19-5.69; P=.003) and reductions in C-reactive protein (CRP) level on day 7 of hospitalization (21% vs 56%, OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.08-0.55; P=.002) were significantly higher in the TCZ group compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in the odds of in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive medical care, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, acute kidney failure necessitating dialysis, or discharge from the hospital after recovery in both the HCQ and TCZ groups compared to their respective control groups. Adjusted odds ratios controlled for baseline comorbidities and medications closely followed the unadjusted estimates., Conclusions: In this cohort of patients with COVID-19, neither HCQ nor TCZ offered a significant reduction in in-hospital mortality, upgrade to intensive medical care, invasive mechanical ventilation, or acute renal failure needing dialysis. These results are similar to the recently published preliminary results of the HCQ arm of the Recovery trial, which showed no clinical benefit from the use of HCQ in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (the TCZ arm is ongoing). Double-blinded randomized controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the impact of these drugs in larger patient samples so that data-driven guidelines can be deduced to combat this global pandemic., (©Sohaib Roomi, Waqas Ullah, Faizan Ahmed, Soban Farooq, Usama Sadiq, Asad Chohan, Munnam Jafar, Maryum Saddique, Shristi Khanal, Robert Watson, Margot Boigon. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 01.09.2020.)

Tumor and related abnormalities are a major cause of disability and death worldwide. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a superior modality due to its noninvasiveness and high quality images of both the soft tissues and bones. In this paper we present two hybrid segmentation techniques and their results are compared with well-recognized techniques in this area. The first technique is based on symmetry and we call it a hybrid algorithm using symmetry and active contour (HASA). In HASA, we take refection image, calculate the difference image, and then apply the active contour on the difference image to segment the tumor. To avoid unimportant segmented regions, we improve the results by proposing an enhancement in the form of the second technique, EHASA. In EHASA, we also take reflection of the original image, calculate the difference image, and then change this image into a binary image. This binary image is mapped onto the original image followed by the application of active contouring to segment the tumor region.

Background: Worldwide, patients are the cornerstone of bedside teaching of medical students. In this study, the authors aimed to assess patients' acceptability toward medical students in teaching hospitals of the Faculty of Medicine of Kuwait University., Methods: Ninehundred and ninety five patients were approached in 14 teaching hospitals; 932 patients agreed to participate (refusal rate is 6.3%). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data., Results: In general, higher acceptance of students by patients was found when there is no direct contact between the patient and the student (e.g., reading patients' files, presenting in outpatient clinic, observing doctors performing examination or procedures) compared to other situations (e.g., performing physical examination or procedures). Pediatrics patients showed higher acceptance of students compared to patients in other specialties, while Obstetrics/Gynecology patients showed the highest refusal of students. Gender of patients (especially females) and students appeared to affect the degree of acceptance of medical students by patients. Majority of the patients (436; 46.8%) believed that the presence of medical students in hospitals improves the quality of health care., Conclusion: Patients are an important factor of bedside teaching. Clinical tutors must take advantage of patients who accept medical students. Clinical tutors and medical students should master essential communication skills to convince patients in accepting students, thus improving bedside teaching. Also, using simulation and standardization should be considered to address scenarios that most patients are unwilling to allow students to participate.

Detailed adsorption experiments of Cd from aqueous solution on NiO were conducted under batch process with different concentrations of Cd, time and temperature of the suspension. The solution pH is found to play a decisive role in the metal ions precipitation, surface dissolution and adsorption of metal ions onto the NiO. Preliminary adsorption experiments show that the selectivity of NiO towards different divalent metal ions follows the trend Pb>Zn>Co>Cd, which is related to their first hydrolysis equilibrium constant. The exchange between the proton from the NiO surface and the metal from solution is responsible for the adsorption. The cation/exchange mechanism essentially remains the same for Pb, Zn, Co and Cd ions. The sorption of Cd on NiO particles is described by the modified Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The isosteric heat of adsorption (ΔH) indicates the endothermic nature of the cation exchange process. Spectroscopic analyses provide evidence that Cd is chemisorbed onto the surface of NiO., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Batch adsorption technique was used to study the adsorption of cobalt on NiO. The aim of this work was to examine the effect of pH, concentration and temperature on the ion exchange removal of Co2+ from aqueous solution by the NiO surface. We used Langmuir model to interpret the adsorption data. The Kurbatov-type plots were tested to determine the adsorption mechanism. The kinetics of Co2+ adsorption on NiO was best described by film diffusion model. A well-known thermodynamic equation was used to assess the enthalpy and entropy of the system. The thermodynamic data were indicative of the spontaneous nature of the endothermic sorption process of Co2+ onto the NiO.

This paper reports NiO as a novel and an efficient adsorbent for the removal of Pb from aqueous solutions. In the present investigation, Pb adsorption experiments on NiO were conducted on aqueous solution at different initial Pb concentration, pH of the solution and adsorption temperature. The mechanism of adsorption was observed to be an ion exchange between the surface proton and Pb in aqueous solution. Experimental data were best described by the Langmuir isotherms. The surface structure of the NiO before and after adsorption of Pb was analyzed by using FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analyses (EDX).