Crowd density estimation using deep learning for Hajj pilgrimage video analytics

Background: This paper focuses on advances in crowd control study with an emphasis on high-density crowds, particularly Hajj crowds. Video analysis and visual surveillance have been of increasing importance in order to enhance the safety and security of pilgrimages in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Hajj is considered to be a particularly distinctive event, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering in a small space, which does not allow a precise analysis of video footage using advanced video and computer vision algorithms. This research proposes an algorithm based on a Convolutional Neural Networks model specifically for Hajj applications. Additionally, the work introduces a system for counting and then estimating the crowd density. Methods: The model adopts an architecture which detects each person in the crowd, spots head location with a bounding box and does the counting in our own novel dataset (HAJJ-Crowd). Results: Our algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art method, and attains a remarkable Mean Absolute Error result of 200 (average of 82.0 improvement) and Mean Square Error of 240 (average of 135.54 improvement). Conclusions: In our new HAJJ-Crowd dataset for evaluation and testing, we have a density map and prediction results of some standard methods.

matOptimize: A parallel tree optimization method enables online phylogenetics for SARS-CoV-2

Phylogenetic tree optimization is necessary for precise analysis of evolutionary and transmission dynamics, but existing tools are inadequate for handling the scale and pace of data produced during the COVID-19 pandemic. One transformative approach, online phylogenetics, aims to incrementally add samples to an ever-growing phylogeny, but there are no previously-existing approaches that can efficiently optimize this vast phylogeny under the time constraints of the pandemic. Here, we present matOptimize, a fast and memory-efficient phylogenetic tree optimization tool based on parsimony that can be parallelized across multiple CPU threads and nodes, and provides orders of magnitude improvement in runtime and peak memory usage compared to existing state-of-the-art methods. We have developed this method particularly to address the pressing need during the COVID-19 pandemic for daily maintenance and optimization of a comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 phylogeny. Thus, our approach addresses an important need for daily maintenance and refinement of a comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 phylogeny.

Changes in the feeding behavior and habitat use of the desert hedgehog Paraechinus aethiopicus (Ehrenberg 1832, Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae), in Saudi Arabia

Due to the urbanization and human invasion of the natural environments, great changes have been occurred on the food composition and feeding ecology of several animals especially those are sharing human his habitat in fields, wadis and gardens. The desert hedgehogs Paraechinus aethiopicus populations inhabiting different localities in Saudi Arabia were studied by using stomach contents analysis between February 2015 and October 2019. Precise analysis of stomach contents of 55 hedgehogs showed that the food of P. aethiopicus is highly diverse and highly influenced with effect of human on the environment including cooked rice, insects, plant materials, eggshells, worms, garbage and remnants of mammals and birds. Diet composition showed seasonal variations that are apparently associated with changes in the availability of different food items. The present results clearly showed that P. aethiopicus is an omnivorous mammal, capable of adapting to a great variety of dietary compositions in the study sites.

Detection and Delineation of Potential Areas for Tourism Activities in Coastal Zone of Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra (India)

Tourism is a device of economic development in developed, developing, and even in underdeveloped countries. The AHP based MCDA techniques used for detection and delineation of the tourism potential zones in the coastal area of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra (India). The conventional and satellite data viz. ASTER data has been used for spatial analysis in GIS software. Seacoast, elevation, slope, river, LULC, available amenities, accessibility and connectivity, cultural and historical places, and density of settlements used as the criterions for detection of potential zones for tourism activities. The experts’ opinions, literature survey and fieldwork used as the source of information for the selection of criterions and determination of ranks. The weighted overlay technique used to find the comparative levels of tourism potentials: very high, high, moderate and less potentials for tourism. About 13% of TGA shows comparatively very high tourism potential, 25.80% shows high, 54.62 % shows moderate, and 6.57 % shows less tourism potential. The overall accuracy of the categorized map estimated about 89.60%. The thematic maps viz. amenities and settlement were processed using inverse distance weighted (IWD) interpolation technique. Therefore, some areas from the category, ‘high potential’ merged in the category, ‘moderate potential’ and reduced the producer’s accuracy of the classified map. The sandy beaches, lowland area with a gentle slope, river landscape features, road network, cultural and historical places, ideal size of settlements and number of amenities are attractions of tourists in the region. The technique used in this study can be an effective apparatus for precise analysis of site suitability for tourism activities.

The Significance of Ontic-Cultural Layer for Personal Safety. The Prospect of Being and Having by Gabriel Marcel

Focusing on trading capital is giving up a certain amount of freedom. What is external, added, and managed, engages the subject in terms of itself, and thus limits him/her. In this way, what is owned, in the process of managing it, somehow uses the one who has it. Reducing human life to manage one resource or another is a soft contemporary form of violence that is growing with the proliferation of computerization, mediatization, and medicalization. This, first of all, causes a threat to personal safety. The article presents a personalist point of view on personal safety, based on a precise analysis by Gabriel Marcel work concerning the relation of the holder to the possessed entity.

A panel of KSHV mutants in the polycistronic kaposin locus for precise analysis of individual protein products

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the cause of several human cancers including the endothelial cell (EC) malignancy, Kaposi’s sarcoma. Unique KSHV genes absent from other human herpesvirus genomes, the “K-genes”, are important for KSHV replication and pathogenesis. Among these, the kaposin transcript is highly expressed in all phases of infection, but its complex polycistronic nature has hindered functional analysis to date. At least three proteins are produced from the kaposin transcript: Kaposin A (KapA), B (KapB), and C (KapC). To determine the relative contributions of kaposin proteins during KSHV infection, we created a collection of mutant viruses unable to produce kaposin proteins individually or in combination. In previous work, we showed KapB alone recapitulated the elevated proinflammatory cytokine transcripts associated with KS via the disassembly of RNA granules called processing bodies (PBs). Using the new ΔKapB virus, we showed that KapB was necessary for this effect during latent KSHV infection. Moreover, we observed that despite the ability of all kaposin-deficient latent iSLK cell lines to produce virions, all displayed low viral episome copy number, a defect that became more pronounced after primary infection of naïve ECs. For ΔKapB, provision of KapB in trans failed to complement the defect, suggesting a requirement for the kaposin locus in cis . These findings demonstrate that our panel of kaposin-deficient viruses enables precise analysis of the respective contributions of individual kaposin proteins to KSHV replication. Moreover, our mutagenesis approach serves as a guide for the functional analysis of other complex multicistronic viral loci. Importance Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) expresses high levels of the kaposin transcript during both latent and lytic phases of replication. Due to its repetitive, GC-rich nature and polycistronic coding capacity, until now no reagents existed to permit a methodical analysis of the role of individual kaposin proteins in KSHV replication. We report the creation of a panel of recombinant viruses and matched producer cell lines that delete kaposin proteins individually or in combination. We demonstrate the utility of this panel by confirming the requirement of one kaposin translation product to a key KSHV latency phenotype. This study describes a new panel of molecular tools for the KSHV field to enable precise analysis of the roles of individual kaposin proteins during KSHV infection.

Spectroscopic Estimation of Doxylamine Succinate in Tablets and Human Plasma by Formation of Ion-pair Complex

Aim: To develop a simple spectroscopic method for estimation of doxylamine (DOX) succinate in its tablet dosage form and human plasma with the aid of an ion-pair complex formation. Methods: In this method, methyl orange (0.05 % w/v) dye was used to form an ion-pair complex in acetate buffer (1M; pH: 5.00) at 300 C ± 20C. The ion-pair complex formed was extracted with chloroform. The maximum absorbance for the ion-pair complex was measured at 420 nm. Results and discussion: The method conditions were obeyed Beer's law in the concentrations ranging from 5-25 µg/mL of DOX succinate with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.992. The ion-pair (drug-dye) complex was formed in a 1:1 ratio which was demonstrated by Jobs' method of continuous variation. The method was satisfied the validation criteria as per ICH (Q2R1) guidelines. Accuracy studies showed 99.06-100.9 % recovery of the analyte. The responses of the precision and robustness were found within acceptable limits (<2% RSD). The LOD and LOQ values were found as 0.31 and 0.939 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The developed method was simple, specific, and economical and requires a short analysis time. Therefore it could be considered for precise analysis of DOX succinate in biological matrices.

COMPARACIÓN ENTRE EL MODELO PROBIT Y EL MODELO DE HILL PARA DETERMINAR LA EFICACIA DE IVERMECTINA SOBRE LARVAS DE Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (ACARI, IXODIDA: IXODIDAE) MEDIANTE LA TÉCNICA DE INMERSIÓN.

The aim of this study was to propose an alternative statistic treatment for the results obtained by testing the in vitro efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) against R. microplus using the larval immersion test in order to detect the emergence of resistant strains. The statistical analysis of the results obtained by this technique is standardized by the FAO who proposes the use of the Probit model. However there are alternative mathematical models that allow a more precise analysis of experimental data generating more information as nonlinear logistic equation, also called the Hill model. The results of the IVM efficacy against a sensible strain of R. microplus were analysed whit both model. A comparison between the results obtained with PROBIT and Hill model showed that the last one was able to make a more precise fit of the experimental data, generating more information about small IVM concentrations. The C50 (13.58 ppm) obtained with Probit model result smaller than the obtained with the Hill model (14.24 ppm), however the C90, C99 and the discriminant dose (19.31 ppm, 25.74 ppm, 51.48 ppm) obtained with de Hill model were bigger than the obtained with the Probit model (17.50 ppm, 21.98 ppm, 43.96 ppm).

Crowd density estimation using deep learning for Hajj pilgrimage video analytics

Background: This paper focuses on advances in crowd control study with an emphasis on high-density crowds, particularly Hajj crowds. Video analysis and visual surveillance have been of increasing importance in order to enhance the safety and security of pilgrimages in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Hajj is considered to be a particularly distinctive event, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering in a small space, which does not allow a precise analysis of video footage using advanced video and computer vision algorithms. This paper aims to propose an algorithm based on a Convolutional Neural Networks model specifically for Hajj applications. Additionally, the work introduces a system for counting and then estimating the crowd density. Methods: The model adopts an architecture which detects each person in the crowd, spots head location with a bounding box and does the counting in our own novel dataset (HAJJ-Crowd). Results: Our algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art method, and attains a remarkable Mean Absolute Error result of 200 (average of 82.0 improvement) and Mean Square Error of 240 (average of 135.54 improvement). Conclusions: In our new HAJJ-Crowd dataset for evaluation and testing, we have a density map and prediction results of some standard methods.

Detection of Lung Cancer Cells in Solutions Using a Terahertz Chemical Microscope

Cancer genome analysis has recently attracted attention for personalized cancer treatment. In this treatment, evaluation of the ratio of cancer cells in a specimen tissue is essential for the precise analysis of the genome. Conventionally, the evaluation takes at least two days and depends on the skill of the pathologist. In our group, a terahertz chemical microscope (TCM) was developed to easily and quickly measure the number of cancer cells in a solution. In this study, an antibody was immobilized on a sensing plate using an avidin-biotin reaction to immobilize it for high density and to improve antibody alignment. In addition, as the detected terahertz signals vary depending on the sensitivity of the sensing plate, the sensitivity was evaluated using pH measurement. The result of the cancer cell detection was corrected using the result of pH measurement. These results indicate that a TCM is expected to be an excellent candidate for liquid biopsies in cancer diagnosis.