Identifying of unripe Ambon and Hijau banana fruits using computer vision and extreme learning machine classifier

The unripe Indonesian cultivar bananas of ambon kuning (Ambon) and ambon hijau (Hijau) after harvesting show a very close looking, green colour, similar size and shape, even Ambon one is costly than the Hijau. Hence in this study, identification was conducted using computer vision utilizing banana finger image taken with a mobile phone camera. The feature used as a differentiating feature is the shape feature and the skin texture feature of the fruit. The shape features were then extracted using morphological descriptor and convex hull, while the texture features were extracted using local binary pattern (LBP). The extreme learning machine (ELM) classifier was used to recognize both cultivars. A total of 76 banana finger imagery data were used in 3-fold testing. The test results showed that the combined use of shape and LBP features resulted in the highest accuracy, precision and recall values more than 93%. These results showed that the combination of the two features can effectively be used to distinguish the unripe Ambon and Hijau bananas.

Eye of Devil: Face Recognition in Real World Surveillance Video with Feature Extraction and Pattern Matching

People lost, people missing etc., these are the words we come across whenever there is any mass gathering events going on or in crowded areas. To solve this issue some traditional approaches like announcements are in use. One idea is to identify the person using face recognition and pattern matching techniques. There are several techniques to implement face recognition like extraction of facial features by using the position of eyes, nose, jawbone or skin texture analysis etc., By using these techniques a unique dataset can be created for each human. Here the photograph of the missing person can be used to extract these facial features. After getting the dataset of that individual, by using pattern matching techniques, there is a scope to find the person with same facial features in the crowd images or videos. Keywords: Face-Recognition, Image-Processing, Feature extraction, Video-Processing, Pattern-Matching.

Formula Development of Red Palm (Elaeis guineensis) Fruit Extract Loaded with Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Creams and Its Anti-Aging Efficacy in Healthy Volunteers

Palm fruits (Elaeis guineensis) comprise antioxidants that can be used as skin care agents. This study developed a cosmeceutical cream containing E. guineensis extract, loaded with solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), and assessed its efficacy on female volunteers. The E. guineensis extract exhibited a good antioxidant activity with high levels of vitamin E, β-carotene, and palmitic acid. Day and night creams containing E. guineensis fruit extract, loaded with SLNs, were formulated and exhibited acceptable physical characteristics and good stability. Subsequently, their clinical efficacy and safety were evaluated on female volunteers. Both creams were non-irritating and had good cutaneous compatibility. Skin hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin elasticity, melanin index, and skin texture were measured before and 30 min after the first application, as well as after 7, 14, and 30 days of daily application. A satisfactory survey was implemented using a questionnaire, and volunteer satisfaction scores were high for the product’s performance. Overall, the results showed that skin hydration, TEWL, cutaneous elasticity, and melanin index were improved, compared to the baseline data, after 30 days. Thus, the formulated facial day and night creams made the skin moist, reduced wrinkles, increased elasticity, and cleared the skin to the consumers’ satisfaction.

Oral Intake of Enzymatically Decomposed AP Collagen Peptides Improves Skin Moisture and Ceramide and Natural Moisturizing Factor Contents in the Stratum Corneum

The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost layer of the epidermis and plays an important role in maintaining skin moisture and protecting the skin from the external environment. Ceramide and natural moisturizing factor (NMF) are the major SC components that maintain skin moisture. In this study, we investigated whether the oral intake of enzymatically decomposed AP collagen peptides (APCPs) can improve skin moisture and barrier function by assessing changes in the ceramide and NMF contents in the SC after APCP ingestion with the aim to develop a skin functional food. Fifty participants orally ingested APCP (1000 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks, and then, skin hydration and skin texture were evaluated. SC samples were collected to analyze skin scaling, ceramide, and NMF contents. Participants in the APCP group exhibited improved skin moisture content by 7.33% (p = 0.031) and roughness by −4.09% (p = 0.036) when compared with those in the placebo group. NMF content; the amounts of amino acids (AA), including glycine and proline; and AA derivatives were significantly increased in the APCP group (31.98 μg/mg protein) compared to those in the placebo group (−16.01 μg/mg protein) (p = 0.006). The amounts of total ceramides and ceramide subclasses were significantly higher in the APCP group than in the placebo group (p = 0.014). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that APCP intake improves skin moisture and increase the ceramide and NMF contents in the SC, thereby enhancing the skin barrier function.

How Do Consumers Perceive Sensory Attributes of Apple?

Pomological characteristics and consumer acceptability of four scab-resistant apple cultivars (‘Topaz’, ‘Florina’, ‘Goldstar’ and ‘Golden Orange’) and standard commercial cultivar ‘Golden Delicious’ were investigated. Consumer acceptability consisted of rating fruit samples on Likert scales measuring appearance, flavour, size, sweetness, acidity, crispiness, juiciness, skin texture and general impression. Consumers better evaluated the cultivar ‘Topaz’ sensory characteristics of flavour, juiciness, taste and general impression than other evaluated scab-resistant apple cultivars and the cultivar ‘Golden Delicious’. ‘Golden Delicious’ got good grades for appearance, size and sweetness. ‘Topaz’ also had the best pomological characteristic related to measured fruit firmness, contents of soluble solids and organic acids. It can be concluded that only the cultivar ‘Topaz’ among the scab-resistant apple cultivars achieved a good consumer assessment.

The relationship of the morphological characteristics of some varieties of soybean on the attack itensity of the pod borer (Etiella zinckenella Treitschke) in two different cultivation techniques

Soybean is one of the secondary crops that are often planted by the farmer. One of the most common pests that attack soybeans is the pod borer (Ettiela zinkenella T). One of the ways to control pests is by using varieties that are resistant to pod borer attacks. The research objectives were to examine the relationship between the morphological characteristics of soybean pods and to determine the handling with the lowest attack intensity. The experiment used a split plot design with two factors and three replications. The research material was the seeds of five soybean varieties, namely Detap-1, Dega-1, Anjasmoro, Biosoy, and Dena-1 which were planted in 2 different lands. The highter the trichome pods, the lower the attack intensity with a value of -68.321, if X=0 then Y=64.081 and for the R2 value in the relationship, which is 0.2532. The longer the pod trichomes, the higher the attack intensity with a value of 0.0683, if X=0 then Y=18.208 and for the R2 value in the relationship, which is 0.0007. The thicker the skin of the pod, the lower the attack intensity with a value of -68.321, if X=0 then Y=64.081 and for the R2 value in the relationship, which is 0.2532. The harder the skin texture of the pods, the lower the attack intensity with a value of -0.0308, if X=0 then Y=36.614 and for the R2 value in that relationship, 0.2355. The recommended technology treatment with Anjasmoro variety had the lowest attack intensity compared to other treatments.

Integrative taxonomy reveals a new species of Leptobrachella (Anura: Megophryidae) from the mountains of northern Thailand

The genus Leptobrachella is one of the most speciose and taxonomically troubling groups of Asian anurans. Herein, we describe a new species of Leptobrachella from Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand based on the integration of morphological, acoustic and molecular data. The new species, Leptobrachella murphyi sp. nov., is morphologically distinguished from its congeners on the basis of body size, dorsal skin texture and coloration, ventral coloration and pattern, degree of webbing and fringing on the fingers and toes, iris coloration in life, pattern of markings on flanks and pattern of body macroglands. It also differs from its phylogenetically close congeners by an uncorrected p-distance of >9.6% for a fragment of 16S rRNA. The advertisement call of the new species consists of 4.5–4.7 kHz (at 15 °C) and without a distinct introductory note. Leptobrachella murphyi sp. nov. likely occurs across the Thanon Thong Chai Range and analyses provide evidence of unknown biodiversity and species composition on Doi (mountain) Inthanon. In addition, the congeneric species L. minima was also confirmed in Doi Inthanon. The coexistence pattern of Leptobrachella in Doi Inthanon deserves further study. As Thailand’s highest mountain and biodiversity reservoir, the need for further biological exploration is urgent given ongoing habitat loss and degradation.

Use of Technologies to Improve the Liposuction Outcome Including Skin Texture and Form

Liposuction as the word suggests involves sucking out fat from the subcutaneous layers. In many parts of the world it is used interchangeably with weight loss and non-surgical fat reduction procedures. The gold standard for liposuction for many decades has been the “Suction assisted Liposuction’ also called SAL. Newer technologies have been introduced with varied claims about skin retraction, painless and complete evacuation of fat as well as a faster recovery. This chapter elaborates the personal experience of the Authors with regards to the discussed newer technologies bringing into perspective their indications, mechanism of action as well as clinical outcomes. At the outset the Authors would like to state emphatically that technologies are as good as the surgeon holding them and that somewhat same result can be achieved through a traditional liposuction in most of the cases. A surgeon looking to incorporate these technologies in practice should first achieve a mastery of traditional SAL for the best outcomes.

Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of different dilutions of Mesobotox in Mid and / or lower face rejuvenation: Interventional study

As life expectancy has prolonged nowadays, interest has increased to change patterns of life, which include improving the consequences of skin ageing through slowing the ageing process. There are two main processes of skin ageing either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic ageing reflects genetic background in which skin appears thin with exaggerated expression lines. However, extrinsic ageing is caused by external factors such as smoking, excessive use of alcohol, poor nutrition and sun exposure. Extrinsically aged skin appears predominantly not only by wrinkles, but also by pigmented lesions such as freckles, lentigines and patchy hyperpigmentation, and depigmented lesions such as guttate hypomelanosis. Epidermal and dermal atrophy, rough skin texture, flushing, erythema, telangiectasias, dilated pores and loss of tone and elasticity are also other signs of skin aging. Over the past few years, the use of Mesobotox has broadened and it is now commonly used as rejuvenation procedure with different dilutions. Our work aimed to compare between three commonly used dilutions of Mesobotox regarding its efficacy and safety, as this comparison was not done previously. Aim of the study The aim of this work is to evaluate and compare between different dilutions of Mesobotox in mid and / or lower facial rejuvenation. Patients and methods We included 30 patients complaining of facial wrinkles. Patients were divided into three equal groups to study three different dilutions of Mesobotox 1:5, 1:7 and 1:10. Assessment of treatment response was done using 3D Antera camera. Results Assessment of treatment response using Antera camera in 1:5 dilution revealed statistically significant improvement in all the parameters (periorbital and midface) with more evident improvement after 1 month of treatment compared to after 6 months of treatment. With 1:7 dilution and 1:10 dilution, response revealed statistically significant improvement in most of the parameters (periorbital and midface) with more evident improvement after 1 month of treatment compared to after 6 months of treatment.

Study of Platelet Rich Plasma Injection versus Plasma Gel in Periorbital Rejuvenation

Background Aging of the skin consists of a combination of genetically predisposed factors (intrinsic aging) and environmental factors (photo aging). The resulting clinical manifestations include mottled pigmentation, wrinkles, and change of the superficial texture leading to coarseness of the skin Dermal components such as collagen and elastic fibers gradually decrease, skin loses its elasticity and shows wrinkles. Loss of skin moisture and subcutaneous fat accelerates the process. Objective To evaluate the efficacy, possible side effects, durability and study of platelet rich plasma injection versus Plasma gel injection in periorbital rejuvenation. Methods This comparative split face study included 40 females with periorbital wrinkles and/or dark circles recruited from the Dermatology outpatient clinic of Ain-Shams University Hospitals.Right periorbital wrinkles was injected by platelet rich plasma while left periorbital side was injected by plasma gel. Results Treatment with plasma gel resulted in significant improvement of periorbital wrinkles with minimal complications compared to platelet rich plasma. While, dark haloes and skin texture were minimally affected whether with plasma gel or PRP injection. Conclusion Plasma gel as well as platelet rich plasma injections may play role in treatment of periorbital wrinkles but mostly for short durations. Plasma gel injection is more effective in periorbital rejuvenation than PRP injection although it has relatively higher complications rate. Both plasma gel and PRP injections has only minimal role in treatment of periorbital dark hallows.