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Multimodal expression-invariant face recognition using dual-tree complex wavelet transform
No full textA new multimodal face recognition method which extracts features of rigid and semi-rigid regions of the face using Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (DT-CWT) is proposed. DT-CWT decomposes range and intensity images into eight sub-images consisting of six band-pass sub-images to represent face details and two low-pass sub-images to represent face approximates. In this work, support vector machine (SVM) has been used as the classifier. The proposed method has been evaluated using the face BU-3DFE dataset containing a wide range of expression changes. Findings include the overall identification rate of 98.1% and the overall verification rate of 99.3% at 0.1% false acceptance rate
MXene binder stabilizes pseudocapacitance of conducting polymers
No full textConducting polymers (CPs) are by far the most studied organic materials for supercapacitors. Yet, their structural instability stemming from volumetric expansion/contraction during charge/discharge results in capacitance loss after moderate cycling that limits their applications. Here, we show that the remarkable cycling stability, capacitance, and rate performance can be achieved by replacing conventional electrode additives (carbon black or insulating polymer binder) with titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene. Using polyaniline (PANI) as a model system, an addition of only 15 wt% of Ti3C2Tx MXene binder delivered remarkable capacitance retention of 96% after 10 000 cycles at 50 mV s−1 and high-rate capability with a capacitance of 434 F g−1. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that, unlike insulating polymer binders, surface groups of MXene bond to PANI with a significantly high binding energy (up to −2.11 eV) via a charge transfer mechanism. This is one of the key mechanisms to achieve a high electrochemical performance of the CP-based electrodes when MXene is used as a binder. We expect that a similar approach can be used for stabilizing other organic electrode materials
The Blood Libel in Medieval Antisemitism
No full textThe claim that Jews abducted and murdered Christian children for alleged ritual purposes or in order to consume their blood during Passover is the most extreme of all the libels that have been used to attack Jews and present them as an existential threat to Christians. From the twelfth century to the modern era, it has been a staple of extreme antisemitic discourse seeking to dehumanize Jews and rationalize anti-Jewish violence.In the popular mind, “Ritual Murder” and “Blood Libel” have become synonymous but in medieval times they were different accusations with different origins. Why did the accusations appear in some areas and not others? What local factors contributed to accusations receiving support from some religious or lay authorities despite papal condemnation? How have modern historians and sociologists explained the phenomenon? This book offers a critical survey of the child murder libel in medieval Europe as well as an analysis of its history
Temperate Forest Restoration
No full textEight thousand years ago, temperate and boreal forests covered 3200 million hectares, or a quarter of the earth’s land surface. They have been reduced to approximately half that amount over the last two millennia to make way for agriculture and human settlement. In recent decades, however, this trend has reversed, with net gains in temperate and boreal tree cover of over 3 million ha annually between 1990 and 2015. Because social and economic drivers determine whether forests shrink or expand in the modern era, this chapter profiles three contrasting examples of temperate forest restoration or rehabilitation that are driven by very different motivations. The first, Tiramoana Bush in Te Wai Pounamu South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, is 407 ha of former pasture land, which is being restored to native temperate forest as an offset for a nearby landfill development. The second case study concerns Colorado’s Front Range, which is 1.7 million ha of predominantly wildlands with 2 million residents, who have suffered devastating wildfires over a 30-year period. The Front Range Roundtable, representing multiple agencies, organisations, and community, negotiated the restoration of 13,000 ha of lower montane dense coniferous forest, to emulate pre-settlement grassy old-growth woodlands and reduce the threat of catastrophic fire. The final case study describes the reforestation of ‘Taylors Run’, a 750-ha farm in northern New South Wales, by two generations of the Taylor family, after nearly all of the natural eucalypt cover was lost to ‘New England dieback’ between the 1950s and 1970s. The rehabilitation programme featuring exotic and native trees and shrubs to withstand the dieback caused by defoliating insects has restored shade and shelter for livestock as well as biodiversity and amenity, generated a net positive carbon balance, and created new business opportunities. The long timeframes, high costs, and complex social dynamics associated with temperate forest restoration and rehabilitation require innovative inter-generational policy, funding, and business solutions, together with careful consideration of monitoring and evaluation processes and social understanding to ensure the success of multi-decadal and multi-century projects
3D Face Recognition Using Geodesic PZM Array from a Single Model per Person
No full textFor the 3D face recognition numerous methods have been proposed, but little attention has been given to the local-based representation for the texture map of the 3D models. In this paper, we propose a novel 3D face recognition approach based on locally extracted Geodesic Pseudo Zernike Moment Array (GPZMA) of the texture map when only one exemplar per person is available. In the proposed method, the function of the PZM is controlled by the geodesic deformations to tackle the problem of face recognition under the expression and pose variations. The feasibility and effectiveness investigation for the proposed method is conducted through a wide range of experiments using publicly available BU-3DFE and Bosphorus databases including samples with different expression and pose variations. The performance of the proposed method is compared with the performance of three state-of-the-art benchmark approaches. The encouraging experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves much higher accuracy than the benchmarks in single-model databases
Models of the Relationships between Egg Dimension and Egg Quality of Alabio Duck
No full textThis research aimed to establish the relationship models between the length and width of Alabio duck (Anas platyrhynchos Borneo) eggs and the weight of eggshells, albumen, and yolk. Data were collected from 500 eggs and were further examined using Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that egg length was positively correlated with eggshell, albumen, and yolk weights (r=0.28, 0.53, 0.52, respectively;
White- Collar Crime in Kenyan Agri- Food Markets: Violations of Agri- Food Safety Laws in the Agri- Food Chain
No full textThe Kenyan agricultural sector contributes approximately 34 per cent to Kenya’s GDP annually and accounts for 65 per cent of total exports and more than 75 per cent of rural employment (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics [KNBS], 2020). In terms of agricultural market participation, smallscale farmers account for 63 per cent of marketed farm produce in Kenya (Republic of Kenya, 2019a). In fact, small- scale farmers account for over 80 per cent of milk production, 70 per cent of maize farming, 70 per cent of beef production, 65 per cent of coffee production, and 50 per cent of tea farming (KNBS, 2019). Efforts (for example, development of agri- food safety policies such as the National Food Safety Policy 2021 (Republic of Kenya, 2021b) and the National Livestock Policy 2019 (Republic of Kenya, 2019b) have been made to ensure that Kenyans have access to safe and quality food as specified by Article 43 of the Constitution of Kenya (Republic of Kenya, 2010, p 31). However, creating a culture of compliance with agri-food safety regulations has remained a significant challenge within the Kenyan agricultural sector (Kutto et al, 2011; Odwar et al, 2014). Importantly, compliance with critical food safety regulations, especially in the marketing of contaminated farm produce, still exists (Republic of Kenya, 2019a)
Assessing genetic parameters for first parity reproductive traits for early selection in Saanen × Beetal goats of India
No full textThe present study aimed to evaluate the genetic parameters of first parity reproductive traits. Information on 762 reproductive records on Saanen×Beetal (S × B) goats reared for approximately five decades was collected from ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana (1973–2020). For genetic analysis, single-trait and multiple-trait animal models were used. Gibbs sampler for animal model (GSAM) approach was used for estimating (co)variance components of reproductive traits. Six different single-trait animal models (with or without maternal and environmental effects) were used and the deviance information criterion (DIC) determined the best model. The least squares mean for age at first service (AFS), age at first kidding (AFK), service period (SP), dry period (DP), gestation length (GL), kidding interval (KI), litter weight (LW), number of kids born (NKB) and number of female kids born (NFKB) in first parity were 526.99±4.86, 662.96±5.03, 219.11±6.25, 109.38±6.00, 150.48±0.27, 356.63±4.80days, 3.87±0.05kg, 1.27±0.02 and 0.67±0.03, respectively. Lower heritability estimates for these reproductive traits revealed a sparse scope for genetic improvement. Multivariate analysis using Model 1 was carried out to evaluate the genetic and phenotypic correlation of these nine reproductive traits. The genetic correlation of DP and SP was negatively with LW, NKB and NFKB, which is favourable as reduction in SP and DP can improve these economically important traits through indirect selection. Consistent efforts towards genetic improvement of these goat flock poses a promising future for meat industry owing to high prolificacy and good reproductive potential in this flock
Retinoid X receptor agonist 9CDHRA mitigates retinal ganglion cell apoptosis and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of glaucoma
No full textGlaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness, is characterized by the progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and optic nerve damage, often associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Retinoid X receptors (RXRs) are ligand-activated transcription factors crucial for neuroprotection, as they regulate gene expression to promote neuronal survival via several biochemical networks and reduce neuroinflammation. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of 9-cis-13,14-dihydroretinoic acid (9CDHRA), an endogenous retinoid RXR agonist, in mitigating RGC degeneration in a high-IOP-induced experimental model of glaucoma. We administered 9CDHRA to glaucomatous mice eyes via intravitreal injections and assessed its effects on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, glial cell activation, and RGC survival. Our findings demonstrated that 9CDHRA treatment significantly protected inner retinal function and retinal laminar structure in high-IOP glaucoma. The treatment reduced ER stress markers, increased protein lysine acetylation, and diminished glial cell activation, leading to a significant decrease in apoptotic cells under glaucomatous conditions. These results suggest that 9CDHRA exerts neuroprotective effects by modulating key pathogenic pathways in glaucoma, highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for preserving vision in glaucoma
TrkB Receptor Agonist 7,8 Dihydroxyflavone is Protective Against the Inner Retinal Deficits Induced by Experimental Glaucoma
No full textGlaucoma is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration and excavation of the optic nerve head (ONH). It is associated with an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) and progressive decline in the visual field. Reduction in the retrograde axonal transport of neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from the brain to the neuronal cell bodies in retina, has been suggested as one of the key mechanisms underlying selective degeneration of ganglion cells and optic nerve in glaucoma. Multiple studies have indicated that BDNF and its high affinity receptor Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) play crucial roles in survival of RGCs and that upregulating BDNF/TrkB signalling using gene therapy can protect the ganglion cells against degeneration. This study corroborates previous findings and demonstrates that glaucoma is associated with downregulation of TrkB downstream signalling and enhanced levels of amyloid β (Aβ 1–42) accumulation in the retina. 7,8 dihydroxyflavone (7,8 DHF) is a TrkB agonist and regular administration of this compound imparted significant protection against loss of GCL density and preserved inner retinal function in experimental glaucoma models. 7,8 DHF treatment stimulated activation of TrkB intracellular signalling as well as ameliorated the increase in the levels of soluble Aβ (1–42) in the retinas of rats and mice exposed to high IOP. The protective effects of 7,8 DHF were also evident in BDNF+/− mice indicating that TrkB agonist mediated activation of TrkB signalling was not altered upon BDNF allelic impairment. These data support BDNF/TrkB axis as a promising therapeutic target in glaucoma and highlight that the detrimental effects of high IOP exposure can be compensated by the exogenous administration of a TrkB agonist