Yehia Badr

Abstract Tomato quality is one of the most important factors that helps ensuring a consistent marketing of tomato fruit. As ripeness is the main indicator for tomato quality from customers perspective, the determination of tomato ripeness stages is a basic industrial concern regarding tomato production in order to get high quality product. Automatic ripeness evaluation of tomato is an essential research topic as it may prove benefits in ensuring optimum yield of high quality product, this will increase the income because tomato is one of the most important crops in the world. This article presents an automated multi-class classification approach for tomato ripeness measurement and evaluation via investigating and classifying the different maturity/ripeness stages. The proposed approach uses color features for classifying tomato ripeness stages. The approach proposed in this article uses Principal Components Analysis (PCA) in addition to Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) algorithms for feature extraction and classification, respectively. Experiments have been conducted on a dataset of total 250 images that has been used for both training and testing datasets with 10-fold cross validation. Experimental results showed that the proposed classification approach has obtained ripeness classification accuracy of 90.80%, using one-against-one (OAO) multi-class \{SVMs\} algorithm with linear kernel function, ripeness classification accuracy of 84.80% using one-against-all (OAA) multi-class \{SVMs\} algorithm with linear kernel function, and ripeness classification accuracy of 84% using \{LDA\} algorithm.

In this paper, we describe research to extend the capability of an existing talking head, Baldi, to be multilingual. We use parsimonious client/server architecture to impose autonomy in the functioning of an auditory speech module and a visual speech synthesis module. This scheme enables the implementation and the joint application of text-to-speech synthesis and facial animation in many languages simultaneously. Additional languages can be added to the system by defining a unique phoneme set and unique phoneme definitions for the visible speech for each language. The accuracy of these definitions is tested in perceptual experiments in which human observers identify auditory speech in noise presented alone or paired with the synthetic versus a comparable natural face. We illustrate the development of an Arabic talking head, Badr, and demonstrate how the empirical evaluation enabled the improvement of the visible speech synthesis from one version to another.

Abstract High-strength nanocrystalline-embedded-alloy was successfully fabricated by the consolidation of melt-spun amorphous ribbons of Al81.8Ni9.2Co4.8Y3.1Zr1.1. The as-melt amorphous spun, the annealed and the fully dense nanocrystalline extruded specimens were investigated using XRD, HRTEM, SAED, \{EDX\} line mapping, microhardness, compression tests, \{SEM\} at fractured surfaces and the crystallization’s kinetics were determined from DSC. XRD, in good accordance with HRTEM, \{SAED\} and the associated \{EDX\} line mapping analysis, revealed the merely amorphous nature of the as-melt spun ribbons and confirmed bearing of nanocrystalline-embedded phases in the annealed and extruded specimens with the remaining of some amorphous phase. \{HRTEM\} and \{SAED\} revealed that annealing at 275 °C resulted in the formation of short-range ordered regions of fcc α-Al nanoparticles and intermetallic nanocrystalline-embedded grains of 5–10 nm that grown to 20–50 nm after extrusion. \{DSC\} showed that the as-melt spun ribbons crystallize at three stages in contrast to one late stage shown by the extruded sample. Crystallization kinetics of the as-spun ribbons yielded crystallization activation energy (Ec) of 143.4 and 36 kJ/mol for the first and second crystallization peaks respectively. The extruded specimen showed improved strength of 550 at a load of 50 g while the as-melt spun ribbons indicated lower hardness of 367 at a similar load. The ultimate compressive stress of the extruded specimen reached 800 MPa with 0.66% strain and Young’s modulus of 1.26 GPa. \{SEM\} micrographs of the fracture surface showed a transgranular failure with a dimpled surface reflecting the microplasticity of the final product. Improved mechanical properties and thermal stability of the nanocrystalline-embedded-specimen are due to the nanoparticle strengthening effect of the very hard and non-deformable nanosized α-aluminum and Al-based intermetallic nanograins that are densely formed during the annealing, extrusion and nano-indentation processes.

Abstract High-strength nanocrystalline-embedded-alloy was successfully fabricated by the consolidation of melt-spun amorphous ribbons of Al81.8Ni9.2Co4.8Y3.1Zr1.1. The as-melt amorphous spun, the annealed and the fully dense nanocrystalline extruded specimens were investigated using XRD, HRTEM, SAED, \{EDX\} line mapping, microhardness, compression tests, \{SEM\} at fractured surfaces and the crystallization’s kinetics were determined from DSC. XRD, in good accordance with HRTEM, \{SAED\} and the associated \{EDX\} line mapping analysis, revealed the merely amorphous nature of the as-melt spun ribbons and confirmed bearing of nanocrystalline-embedded phases in the annealed and extruded specimens with the remaining of some amorphous phase. \{HRTEM\} and \{SAED\} revealed that annealing at 275 °C resulted in the formation of short-range ordered regions of fcc α-Al nanoparticles and intermetallic nanocrystalline-embedded grains of 5–10 nm that grown to 20–50 nm after extrusion. \{DSC\} showed that the as-melt spun ribbons crystallize at three stages in contrast to one late stage shown by the extruded sample. Crystallization kinetics of the as-spun ribbons yielded crystallization activation energy (Ec) of 143.4 and 36 kJ/mol for the first and second crystallization peaks respectively. The extruded specimen showed improved strength of 550 at a load of 50 g while the as-melt spun ribbons indicated lower hardness of 367 at a similar load. The ultimate compressive stress of the extruded specimen reached 800 MPa with 0.66% strain and Young’s modulus of 1.26 GPa. \{SEM\} micrographs of the fracture surface showed a transgranular failure with a dimpled surface reflecting the microplasticity of the final product. Improved mechanical properties and thermal stability of the nanocrystalline-embedded-specimen are due to the nanoparticle strengthening effect of the very hard and non-deformable nanosized α-aluminum and Al-based intermetallic nanograins that are densely formed during the annealing, extrusion and nano-indentation processes.

Abstract The interest in the oxo-enol tautomerism of 1,3-dioxo compounds is justified by their usefulness in many synthetic fields. A series of new 1,3-bis(1-adamantyl)propan-1,3-diones with a variably substituted phenyl ring at the \{C2\} position was prepared either by the reaction of an appropriate Grignard reagent with adamatane-1-carbonyl chloride or by \{SEAr\} on the unsubstituted 1,3-bis(1-adamantyl)-2-phenylpropan-1,3-dione. In addition to the single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of three of the prepared compounds, the experimental 1H and 13C NMR, İR\} and Raman spectroscopic data were assigned and compared to those obtained by \{DFT\} computations. In the solid state, the syn-dioxo forms were exclusively observed, which are shown to also predominate in \{CHCl3\} solutions. The analysis of the Hirshfeld surface revealed that H⋯H and O⋯H contacts dominate the intermolecular interactions in the solid state, whereas π⋯π stacking plays a marginal role.

Abstract Cu (II) complexes, were synthesized with newly derived biologically active 1,2,4-triazole Schiff bases. The Schiff bases were synthesized by condensation of 3-substituted-4-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole with dibenzoylmethane. The synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analysis, magnetic moment, thermal analysis and spectral tools (FT-IR, 1HNMR, ESR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy). All the synthesized complexes are nonelectrolytes in N,N-dimethylformamide. The synthesized Schiff bases and their Cu (II) complexes have been screened for antibacterial (Escherichia coli & Staphylococcus aureus) and antifungal (Aspergillus flavus & Candida albicans) activity using a modified Bauer-Kirby method. Interestingly, the synthesized Cu (II) complexes were used as precursors for CuO nanoparticles which were characterized using XRD, HR-TEM, FT-IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared CuO nanoparticles was studied by performing the degradation of methylene blue dye under \{UV\} illumination in the presence of \{H2O2\} and the results showed that the maximum percent of the degradation of methylene blue dye (MB) was found 96.18% after 360 min.

Abstract Cu (II) complexes, were synthesized with newly derived biologically active 1,2,4-triazole Schiff bases. The Schiff bases were synthesized by condensation of 3-substituted-4-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole with dibenzoylmethane. The synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analysis, magnetic moment, thermal analysis and spectral tools (FT-IR, 1HNMR, ESR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy). All the synthesized complexes are nonelectrolytes in N,N-dimethylformamide. The synthesized Schiff bases and their Cu (II) complexes have been screened for antibacterial (Escherichia coli & Staphylococcus aureus) and antifungal (Aspergillus flavus & Candida albicans) activity using a modified Bauer-Kirby method. Interestingly, the synthesized Cu (II) complexes were used as precursors for CuO nanoparticles which were characterized using XRD, HR-TEM, FT-IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared CuO nanoparticles was studied by performing the degradation of methylene blue dye under \{UV\} illumination in the presence of \{H2O2\} and the results showed that the maximum percent of the degradation of methylene blue dye (MB) was found 96.18% after 360 min.