the sky is a basic component in outdoor images. Due to the low gradient values of the sky, it has high priority in seam removing for content aware image resizing and the result of enlarging image contributes obvious artificial pixels. The proportion of images which contains sky is over 40% of the daily recent explored images on Flickr (see section V). This paper presents a new technique for annotated outdoor image compression (AOIC) depending on sky replacing. We compress the outdoor images by replacing the sky region with the nearest sky in a predefined sky database to reduce image size.
Our work is composed of two stages: encoding stage and decoding stage. In the encoding stage, we use sky annotation polygon to distinguish sky and non-sky regions. The sky features are extracted from the sky region (e.g. sky type, mean HSV, cloud type, and sun existence/relative position). These features are used to find the nearest sky feature from a predefined database of sky features. The sky ID and the sky polygon vertices are composed with non-sky region image. On the decoding stage, we use the sky ID to load the sky from the predefined sky database and compose the sky with the non-sky region (compressed image). Our method is tested using the standard outdoor images of LabelMe database which contain sky. Our method removes the sky and replaces it instead of shrinking the sky region in content aware image resize. Our AOIC can be used for reducing the file size of any image formats of outdoors that contains sky.

tA novel electrochemical sensor based on the use of boron doped CeO2nanocubes modified glassy carbonmicrospheres paste electrode (B-CeO2NCs/GCPE) was prepared and applied for selective and sensitivedetermination of xanthine (XA) and hypoxanthine (HXA) individually and simultaneously. The mor-phology, composition and structural properties of the undoped and B doped CeO2nanocubes werecharacterized by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersed X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and transmission elec-tron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical activities and the surface analysis of the modified electrodewere investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). From the B-CeO2NCs/GCPE, well oxidation peaks and enhanced peak currents of XA and HXA were observed owingto the excellent catalytic activity of B-CeO2NCs. For individual detection, the linear responses of XAand HXA were in the concentration range of 5.42 × 10−8–1.31 × 10−5M and 3.98 × 10−7–6.01 × 10−5Mwith detection limits of 3.02 and 6.17 nM, respectively. For simultaneous detection by synchronouschange of the concentration of XA and HXA, the linear ranges were 1.98 × 10−7–9.45 × 10−6M and3.98 × 10−7–1.28 × 10−5M with detection limits of 3.65 and 8.17 nM, respectively. The practical appli-cation of the modified electrode was demonstrated by simultaneously determining the concentrationsof XA and HXA in human biological fluids and in fish meat samples with satisfactory results.

tA novel electrochemical sensor based on the use of boron doped CeO2nanocubes modified glassy carbonmicrospheres paste electrode (B-CeO2NCs/GCPE) was prepared and applied for selective and sensitivedetermination of xanthine (XA) and hypoxanthine (HXA) individually and simultaneously. The mor-phology, composition and structural properties of the undoped and B doped CeO2nanocubes werecharacterized by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersed X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and transmission elec-tron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical activities and the surface analysis of the modified electrodewere investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). From the B-CeO2NCs/GCPE, well oxidation peaks and enhanced peak currents of XA and HXA were observed owingto the excellent catalytic activity of B-CeO2NCs. For individual detection, the linear responses of XAand HXA were in the concentration range of 5.42 × 10−8–1.31 × 10−5M and 3.98 × 10−7–6.01 × 10−5Mwith detection limits of 3.02 and 6.17 nM, respectively. For simultaneous detection by synchronouschange of the concentration of XA and HXA, the linear ranges were 1.98 × 10−7–9.45 × 10−6M and3.98 × 10−7–1.28 × 10−5M with detection limits of 3.65 and 8.17 nM, respectively. The practical appli-cation of the modified electrode was demonstrated by simultaneously determining the concentrationsof XA and HXA in human biological fluids and in fish meat samples with satisfactory results.

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate composed of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was synthesized by spark discharge deposition (SDD). The spark-ablated species were directly deposited on a copper substrate at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Sharp and reproducible SERRS signals from the model molecule Rhodamine B (Rh B) were observed from the prepared substrates. Under optimized deposition conditions, the detection limit of Rh B reached the single molecular level (1.0 × 10−16 M) with an enhancement factor of 3.9 × 1012. This substrate also provided excellent SERS activity toward crystal violet molecule and the representative biomolecule adenine. We were further interested to find that the activity of the prepared substrate responded very sensitively when we changed the morphology of the deposited NPs by adjusting the operating parameters. An increase in the spark time to 20 min increased the particle size and filling factor, which induced the particles to grow into self-assembled dendrite-like structures. We observed the highest intensity in an Ag NP film with an average particle size of 45 nm and filling factor of 0.57. We speculate that the high sensitivity of this substrate may have derived from the high electromagnetic field produced by the tuning of the particle size and the formation of nanogaps (hot spots) between adjacent particles. This method offers a simple, cost effective, eco-friendly route to the synthesis of highly sensitive, reproducible SERS substrates.

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate composed of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was synthesized by spark discharge deposition (SDD). The spark-ablated species were directly deposited on a copper substrate at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Sharp and reproducible SERRS signals from the model molecule Rhodamine B (Rh B) were observed from the prepared substrates. Under optimized deposition conditions, the detection limit of Rh B reached the single molecular level (1.0 × 10−16 M) with an enhancement factor of 3.9 × 1012. This substrate also provided excellent SERS activity toward crystal violet molecule and the representative biomolecule adenine. We were further interested to find that the activity of the prepared substrate responded very sensitively when we changed the morphology of the deposited NPs by adjusting the operating parameters. An increase in the spark time to 20 min increased the particle size and filling factor, which induced the particles to grow into self-assembled dendrite-like structures. We observed the highest intensity in an Ag NP film with an average particle size of 45 nm and filling factor of 0.57. We speculate that the high sensitivity of this substrate may have derived from the high electromagnetic field produced by the tuning of the particle size and the formation of nanogaps (hot spots) between adjacent particles. This method offers a simple, cost effective, eco-friendly route to the synthesis of highly sensitive, reproducible SERS substrates.

This study developed a prototype of a wire-plate air bubbling plasma reactor that can be easily scaled up for wastewater treatment. The electrical characteristics, including the discharge current and average power consumed, of the developed reactor were deeply investigated at different operating parameters and solution conductivities. The performance of the reactor was examined on the basis of energy efficiency and methylene blue (MB) decoloration efficiency. Moreover, the removal of the total organic carbon and the changes of the physicochemical properties of solution, including pH, conductivity, and temperature, were evaluated. The analysis of current discharge and average power consumed showed that the discharge mode in the present reactor is a filamentary streamer. Interestingly, the solution conductivity had no effect on the average power consumed at low applied voltages, due to confinement of the discharge in a small area surrounding the discharge electrode in the gas phase. However, at relatively high voltages, the effect of conductivity on the average power consumed was noticeable, yet it had no effect on the decoloration efficiency at the same average power. The present reactor showed a high energy-efficiency value of 42 g/kWh at 50% decoloration of 30 mg/l MB solution, but it dropped to 14 g/kWh at 97% decoloration. A first-order kinetics model described well the decoloration reaction rates and the overall rate constant correlated linearly to the average power.

Experiments are performed using dry and humid air to clarify the effects of water vapour on the characteristics of surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) and investigate its impact on the performance of the SDBD for decomposition of gaseous naphthalene in air stream. The current characteristics, including the discharge and the capacitive currents, are deeply analyzed and the discharge mechanism is explored. The results confirmed that the humidity affected the microdischarge distribution without affecting the discharge mode. Interestingly, it is found that the water vapour had a significant influence on the capacitance of the reactor due to its deposition on the discharge electrode and the dielectric, which, in turn, affects the power loss in the dielectric and the total power consumed in the reactor. Thus, the factor of the humidity effect on the power loss in the dielectric should be considered in addition to its effect on the attachment coefficient. Additionally, there was an optimum level of the humidity for the decomposition of naphthalene in the SDBD, and its value depended on the gas composition, where the maximum naphthalene decomposition efficiency in O2/H2O is achieved at the humidity level 10%, which was lower than that obtained in air/H2O (28%). The results also revealed that the role of the humidity in the decomposition efficiency was not significant in the humidified O2 at high power level. This was attributed to the significant increase in oxygen-derived species (such as O atoms and O3) at high power, which was enough to overcome the negative effects of the humidity.

Orthogonal moments and their invariants to similarity transformations for monochrome and gray-scale images are widely used in many pattern recognition and image processing applications. Quaternion orthogonal moments are used with color images. Recently, the multi-channel framework is proposed as a successful alternative of the quaternion orthogonal moments in representation and recognition of the color images. In this paper, a new set of multi-channel orthogonal moments and their invariants to rotation, scaling and translation (RST) is proposed for color image representation and recognition. The proposed multi-channel moments are based on the orthogonal radial substituted Chebyshev functions. The multi-channel orthogonal radial substituted Chebyshev moments (MORSCMs) are defined in polar coordinates over a unit circle. An accurate kernel-based method is utilized for accurate computation of the MORSCMs. A series of experiments is performed to validate this new set of multi-channel moments and compare its performance with the existing quaternion and multi-channel orthogonal moments. The obtained results ensure the superiority of the proposed MORSCMs over all existing moments in representation and recognition of the color images.

The antioxidant role of the green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (GTE) was examined to remedy the toxic effects of (0.2mgl-1) 4-nonylphenol(4-NP). Biochemical parameters, antioxidant enzymes, liver lipid peroxidation (LPO), DNA fragmentation, and apoptosis as well as histopathology of liver of African catfish Clarias gariepinus were considered. Catfishes were divided into four groups: first group (control), second group (0.2mgl-1 of 4-NP), third group (0.2mgl-1of 4-NP +100mg GTE l-1water), and fourth group (0.2mgl-1 of 4-NP +200mg GTE l-1water). The results showed that significant increments of serum glucose, AST, ALT, total protein, total lipids, cholesterol, G6PDH, and cortisol. Meanwhile, serum acetylcholinesterase, ALP, and LDH were significantly reduced. In addition, antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GST, and TAC) levels were reduced in 4-NP treated fish compared to control. Also, there were significant increments in hepatic LPO, DNA fragmentation, and apoptotic erythrocytes in 4-NP treated fish compared to control. Liver of 4-NP treated fish showed some histopathological alterations such as, vacuolization in hepatocytes, congestion in central vein, infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, and necrosis as well as depletion of glycogen content of liver. Addition of green tea extract into the water restored the alterations in most of those biomarkers induced by 4-NP. We concluded that, GTE has a protective role against hepatic failure, depletion of antioxidant defense, and genotoxicity induced 4-NP in C. gariepinus.

Ultraviolet-A light (UVA)-induced DNA damage and repair in red blood cells to investigate the sensitivity of African catfish to UVA exposure is reported. Fishes were irradiated with various doses of UVA light (15, 30, and 60 min day−1 for 3 days). Morphological and nuclear abnormalities in red blood cells were observed in the fish exposed to UVA compared with controls. Morphological alterations such as acanthocytes, crenated cells, swollen cells, teardrop-like cells, hemolyzed cells, and sickle cells were observed. Those alterations were increased after 24 h exposure to UVA light and decreased at 14 days after exposure. The percentage of apoptosis was higher in red blood cells exposed to higher doses of UVA light. No micronuclei were detected, but small nuclear abnormalities such as deformed and eccentric nuclei were observed in some groups. We concluded that exposure to UVA light induced DNA damage, apoptosis, and morphological alterations in red blood cells in catfish; however, catfish were found to be less sensitive to UVA light than wild-type medaka.