Facial Recognition Biometrics Essay Example for Free

Facial Recognition Biometrics Essay Traditional personal identification and authentication methods always have the danger of being stolen, duplicated or forgotten. Hence, biometrics was introduced as an identification and authentication technology, where physical features would be used for recognizing a person. This technology uses many features for unique identification like fingerprints, face, irises and voice. Fingerprints are by far the most popular techniques used for i8dentification, because of their traditional use in forensics. However, face recognition is considered to be the more direct, friendly and convenient method for identification as compared to fingerprint identification. This has made face recognition system as the second most widely used biometric technology after fingerprinting with a projected revenue of $429 million in 2007, according to Raicu Strandburg (2005). This growth in the use of this technology is attributed to the sharp rise in the number of digital cameras and camcorders and inconsequence surveillance cameras. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this technology, explain its basic principle, look into the limitations of the technology and the research work being done in this field. Face Recognition Face recognition consists of two steps: face detection and location; features extraction and face recognition. Figure below shows a flowchart of the face recognition system: Fig -1 Flow chart of a basic face recognition system (Zhang, 2000) Face Detection and Location – This step checks if the given image or image sequence includes faces. It yes, then it locates the position of the faces and segments each face from the background Features extraction and face recognition – This step checks the various features that distinguish different individuals. It figures whether the people in the image are the given person or if he / she are in the database. Needless to say, the face recognition system depends upon the input of the system. The importance of the input and picture background is explained by Zhang (2000) by giving the following example. The picture taken during log in on a system and passing custom are controlled. That is to say the background is uniform for the images or image sequences. The pose, orientation etc is also known and well controlled. This makes the process of face recognition is accurate and faster. However, in case of an input environment which is universal for all situations, there might be number of faces and also a complex background. The location of the face and its size is not known, the illumination on the different faces in a picture is different and their expressions might be different too. In such cases, the face detection and location is difficult. Face recognition can be made difficult due to different expressions, orientations and age, making the process of feature extraction and face recognition all the more difficult (Zhang, 2000) One important parameter in the evaluation of a face-processing system is the performance evaluation. The basic measurement parameters are the same as that for pattern recognition system FA i. e. false acceptance or false positive and FR i. e. false rejection or false negative. As in case of a pattern recognition system, an ideal face-recognition system should have very low scores of FA and FR, but a practical system usually makes trade-offs between these two factors. History of Face Processing Systems Development According to Zhao Chellappa (2006), the earliest work on face recognition can be traced to the early 1950s in psychology and 1960s in engineering literature. However, the research on automatic machine recognition of faces started in 1970s after the work of Kanade and Kelly. For over 30 years extensive research has been conducted on various aspects of face recognition by humans and machines. During early and mid 1970s typical pattern-classification techniques using measured attribute of features for instance the distances between important points in faces or profiles were used. In 1980s, the work in this field remained largely dormant. The interest in this field was renewed in 1990s due to an increase in commercial opportunities, availability of real-time hardware and emergence of surveillance related applications. During this time the research was focused on how to make the face-recognition systems fully automatic by tackling various underlying problems like localization of a face in a given image or a video clip and extraction of features such as eyes, mouth etc (Zhao Chellappa, 2006) Applications of Face processing The applications of face processing vary, leading to different features extraction and face recognition. For instance, one application is the face verification, which means that the person is who he claims to be. This is used in places like banks for identity confirmation. Another application is to check if the person exists in the database and if yes than which one. This is known as face recognition and used in surveillance systems in offices. A variation of this is when we wish to have a list of candidates with a specific set of specified features. This is used in the police department (Zhang, 2000) The table below gives some applications of face processing including detection and tracking, recognition of identity and expressions, and also personalized realistic rendering (Zhao Chellappa, 2006).

A Critical Essay on Raimondo Pannikar Essay Example for Free

A Critical Essay on Raimondo Pannikar Essay Raimondo Panikkar is a Roman Catholic Priest who specializes in the study of comparative philosophy of religion. He was born in Barcelona Spain on November 03, 1918. Perhaps, the mixed inter faith marriage of his mother, who was a Catholic from Catalonia Spain, and his father who was a Hindu from a highly situated caste Nair from South India, accounts most for his interest in comparative religious philosophy. His education also contributed much in this. He was educated in a Jesuit school and he took up chemistry and philosophy at universities in Madrid, Barcelona and Bonn. After being ordained as a Roman Catholic Priest in 1946, and holding doctorates in Philosophy and Science (Complutense University, Madrid 1945 and 1958) and theology (Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, 1961), he left for India in 1953 to undertake studies in Indian philosophy and religion at the University of Mysore and at the Banaras Hindu University. He authored 40 books and almost a thousand articles dealing with comparative philosophy and religion and has deliberated on principles and practices of multi-faith, which includes among others, dialogues between Christian-Hindu, Christian-Buddhist and Christian-Secularist. In the book Intrareligious Dialouges, Panikkar said I left as a Christian; found myself a Hindu; and I return as a Buddhist, without having ceased to be a Christian. (Panikkar, Paulist Press; revised edition, July 1999. ISBN 0809137631). Panikkar’s contributions are widely quoted and heavily used to support the theory of (your family name 2) religious pluralism, interfaith and multi-faith studies as well as religious comparative philosophy. THE WEBSITE HTTP://WWW. RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE. ORG No matter how you describe yourself, you should find your beliefs and practices accurately represented in this website. – (ReligiousTolerance. org) This site is a copyrighted side by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. In their Statement of belief the web masters said that they are a multi-faith group. As of 2008-FEB, we consist of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Thus, the OCRT staff lack agreement on almost all theological matters, such as belief in a supreme being, the nature of God, interpretation of the Bible and other holy texts, whether life after death exists, what form the afterlife may take, etc. (ReligiousTolerance. org) They proceed to enumerate key points in their belief system in a bullet style, and among others, said that they In working towards a culture that is relatively free of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, physical disability, age, etc. (ReligiousTolerance. org). On the left hand side of the website there are clickable links of articles and essays that list among others, the major religions of the world, Non-theistic articles such as Agnosticism and Humanism. There are also articles on Spiritual Ethics, Peace and Conflict, â€Å"Hot† Topics as well as Laws and News. Over-all the website is plain and straightforward. The interface is very easy to (your family name 3) use and very user friendly. The website has sponsors ads, but none of the usual annoying pop-ups, and/or annoying background music and other widgets that are found in other websites. The articles in the website presented in a logic way, are easy to use and topics are indexed clearly for easy referencing and retrieval. It is also peppered with nuggets and quotes from religious leaders and other notable personas. One such example is on the bottom part of the web page, from Mahatma Gandhi â€Å"The need of the moment is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of the different religions. (Ghandi). The website is a valuable resource for information in the major religions of the world. It is an excellent source of in depth religious comparative articles as well as current issues affecting faith and practice. WORKS CITED Pannikar, Raimondo. Intrareligious Dialouges: Paulist Press; revised edition, July 1999. ISBN 0809137631). Raimon-Panikkar. org Fundacion Vivarium Raimon Panikkar – Tavertet (Catalunya) Retrieved February 25, 2009. http://www. raimon-panikkar. org/index. html ReligiousTolerance. Org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved February 25, 2009. http://www. religioustolerance. org/

Nonsom Fermented Fish Rice Biology Essay

Nonsom Fermented Fish Rice Biology Essay Fish is classified according to origin such as seawater fish, shellfish, oily and white fish and freshwater fish. Fish is a rich source of protein and it contains other nutrients such as essential fatty acids, fat soluble vitamins and calcium (Barnett, 1998). In fish, it contains fat soluble vitamin such as vitamin A , D and a number of water soluble vitamin B group. Vitamin A and D are mostly found in the visceral fat, though there are amounts in the flesh for a few species such as lamprey and some species of tuna (Pirie and Swaninathan, 1975). Fish is also low in saturated fatty acids and oily fish in particular is an excellent source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with ÃŽÂ ±- linolenic acid( ALA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and cocosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to aid in preventing cardiovascular disease(Brunner, 2008). Fish can be rich source of iodine and some magnesium, calcium and iron are also present. However, fish are more perishable due to the surface slime by a mass of ba cteria covering the fish body and the bacteria resides in the digestive tract. In Malaysia, fish is an important food in the Malaysian diet and besides consuming it as a dish itself it can be used as a condiment in various traditional form such as dried, salted and fermented. 1.2 Fermentation Fermentation is the most conventional method in food processing. It is a desirable process of biochemical modification by microorganisms that bring changes to food and enhance properties such as taste, aroma, shelflife and nutritive value. Through fermentation, the safety of food can be enhanced by removing their natural toxin components or by inhibiting the growth of disease-causing microbes (Adams et. al., 2001). Food fermentation can be classified in several groups which is beverages, cereal products, dairy products, fish products, fruit and vegetable products, legumes and meat products. Fermented foods were developed by many cultures for two main reasons, that is to preserve harvested or slaughtered products which were abundant during those times and are scarce and the other reason is to improve the sensory properties of products that are unappealing. In Southeast Asia, fermentation of fish the most common as fish is a major component in the human diet. Freshwater shellfish ,marine fish and crustaceans are processed with salt to produce various type of fermented fish products. Fish fermentation produces a type of savory flavor from marine products by using both endogenous enzymes in fish and salt tolerant microorganisms in the environment. Fish fermentation is also a method of preserving perishable fish and marine products in a high salt concentration (Lee et al., 1993). Lactic acid fermentation plays a major role in preserving perishable vegetables and fishes, ensuring its safety. The organic acids, mainly lactic acid and acetic acid, produced by lactic acid bacteria are effective antimicrobial agents, and they reduce the pH in the foods to prevent the growth of most hazardous food microorganisms (Lee et al., 1994). 1.3 Nonsom Nonsom or bosou is a traditional fermented fish-rice product made among the among the KadazanDusun-Murut community in Sabah. It is served during festival occasions such as Pesta Keamatan. The ingredients used to make this dish includes fish rice, salt and grinded kernel seed of the Pangium edule. The process of producing nonsom is simple. First the fishes are cleaned thoroughly and salted. Rice is added into the conoction and mixed thoroughly. Dried seed of Pangium edule also known as pangi ,with the content that is scraped out are pounded into a powder form and is then sprinkled onto the conoction to be mixed. The mixture is then transferred into a tightly close jar and kept for one month period before consumption. Nonsom can also be cooked by steaming, fry with onions and chili or be eaten just as it is (Vivienne, 2007). One of the ingredients in nonsom is the seeds of Pangium Edule that are said to be poisonous due to presence of hydrocyanic acid which is toxic Pangi seed can only be consumed after treatments such as boiling and soaking in running water(Davidson and Jaine, 2006 ). These seeds are specialty in Indonesia and have been used as spices. It is claimed that the addition of these seeds into the fermented foods helps in controlling the fermentation process and provide unique flavor to the products. The KadazanDusun community eliminates the poison of pangi by soaking and boiling them in water. They use the powdered seed of pangi as food ingredients in the fermented fish product. This gives a nutty aroma on the fermented fish. The flavor source for spices is due to the dominant amino acids that is present in the fermented seed, which is Glutamic acid (Andarwulan et.al., 1999). 2.0 SIMILAR PRODUCTS WORLDWIDE 2.1 Burong dalag. In the Philippines a fermented rice-fish product which involves lactic acid bacteria is served as appetizer, sauce or main dish (Melchor,2007). Burong isda is a traditional fermented fish product in the phillipines that is similar to narezushi in Japan. Burong isda is produced in white and red form. The red is by addition of angkak which is a culture grown in rice. Burong isda is prepared using freshwater fish that is cleaned thoroughly and mixed with salt overnight before mixing with cooled cooked rice. The mixture is left to ferment for 7 to 10 days in room temperature. There are other kinds of burong isda based on the type of fish used. An example is Burong dalag, a fermented rice-fish mixture using mudfish, Phicephalus striatus (Sanchez, 2008). 2.2 Narezushi Narezushi is a fermented fish product by fermented salted mackerel with boiled rice. It was suggested that narezushi was developed as a mean of fish preservation. In the past half century, marine fishes has been substituted with freshwater fishes due to the drastic decrease of harvest. Aji-no-sushi is another form of Narezushi that is made from horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicas). The mackerel is gutted and put in a barrel that has been salted. It is then drained off and placed in a vat filled with vinegar rice. The salting takes 3 days to 2 months and the desalting phase varied. The fish are stuffed and covered with cooked rice, scattered with a small amount of Japanese pepper leaves or red pepper and pickled in a barrel with the lid that is held closed by stone weights. The fermentation period last from 6 weeks to 1 year, depending on the manufacturer (Kuda et. al., 2009). 2.3 Sikhae Sikhae in Korea is the lactic acid fermentation of seawater fish with cooked millet. The process of producing is similar to other fermented fish-rice products but millet is used instead of rice as it is the common carbohydrate source in the northeastern country. Other ingredients added include minced garlic and red pepper powder. Garlic shows antimicrobial effect on most microorganisms in raw material and the product. It also functions as a selective agent which explains that why lactic acid bacteria is dominant in sikhae fermentation (Lee, 1997). Garlic plays dual role in fermented fish products by inhibiting Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts and providing LAB less sensitive to garlic with a carbohydrate source for growth (Puladan-Muller et.al., 1999) . The fermentation last for 2 to 3 weeks at 20 °C. The pH of Sikhae drops quickly due to the organic acids formed from the millet that provide fermentable sugar for lactobacillus. The product can be stored up to one month at 5 °C after fermentation. The foul fish odor disappears and an acceptable flavor is formed during the fermentation process (Lee et.al, 1993). Leuconostoc mesenteroides   and Lactobacillus plantarum   are the lactic acids involved in the fermentation of Sikhae. The role of these acid forming bacteria for the preservation of fish is apparent, but a more important factor is their ability to produce acceptable flavor during the fermentation process. 2.4 Plaa-som. Plaa-som is a Thai fermented fish produced according to family or local geographic preferences, especially in the central, northeastern and northern parts of Thailand. The fermented fish product is composed of freshwater salt, boiled rice or cooked rice and garlic. In Southern Thailand, another local variety of plaa-som is produced. Palm syrup are used to replace garlic and boiled rice, and from time to time by roasted rice resulting in the resembles of another type of fermented Thai fish known as plaa-uan (Paludan Muller et. al., 2002). In processing of plaa-som, all ingredients are mixed and left to ferment at ambient temperature (25-30  °C) for 3-5 days in a covered-lid cooking pot. The fermentation spontaneously occur due to the presence of microflora , mainly lactic acid bacteria that is found in raw materials. Appropriate conditions are important in order for the complete fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. For example the presence of carbohydrate and antimicrobial substanc es containing ingredients like salt and garlic (Kopermsub and Yunchalard, 2008). Garlic is believed to act as an antimicrobial agent against certain gram negative bacteria and stimulating the growth of lactic acid bacteria(Paludan-Muller et. al, 1999). 2.5 Pekasam Another similar product to nomsom is pekasam that is localized in the state of Kedah, Perak and Kelantan of Peninsular Malaysia. Pekasam is made from fermented freshwater fish that is mixed with ingredients such as roasted rice, tamarind and salt. It is prepard by thorough cleaning of the fish and salted overnight with 20-50 per cent of salt. Then the fish are drained before mixing 50 per cent of roasted rice powder and some tamarind. The mixture is packed into an earthenware container in layers and allowed to ferment for 2 to 4 weeks. After fermentation, the fish is consumed deep fried or made into a side dish( Lee et.al., 1993). The table below shows the composition of pekasam and the composition may vary slightly depending on the type of fish use and method practiced. Table 1. Composition of pekasam. Composition Approximate range pH 4.5 6.1 Lactic acid (%) 0.1-0.4 Salt (%) 10.0-16.0 Moisture (%) 57.0-73.0 Protein(%) 15.0- 25.0 Fat (%) 3.0-8.0 Ash (%) 6.0-14.0 Souce Zaiton (1980) During fermentation process, lactic acid bacteria lowers the pH and preserves the product. The presence of the organic acid also contribute to the flavor of the product. The formation of acid combined with the addition of salt eliminate proteolytic and putrefying microorganisms. The carbohydrate source that supports the growth of lactobacilli comes from the roasted rice powder which also aid in masking the fishy odor and colour development of the final product. There is also some breakdown of the fish protein by autolysis to peptides and amines. These compounds together with acids and products formed by microbial fermentation give rise to typical flavor and odor of the pekasam (Lee et.al., 1993; Kuda et.al., 2009). 3.0 WHAT WERE DONE IN THE PAST. Currently there are hardly any studies on the local indigenous fermented fish-rice products of Malaysia such as nonsom. The only studies made so far are the effect of Pangium edule seed in the production of fermented fish by Ajik (1999) and the nutritional content and physiochemical analysis of fermented fish of different species from different areas in Sabah by Joanis (2002). The study done by Joanis (2002) found that nonsom from Tamparuli using Tilapia mossambica contained the highest nutrient and mineral content. Most of the studies were carried out on the seed extract of Pangium edule whereby antioxidant activity were associated with mobilization of lipids and phenolic compound during fermentation (Andarwulan et.al., 1999). According to (Chye and Sim, 2009) report, there is a strong relationship between the phenolic compound of the seed extracts with the antioxidative and antibacterial activities. It was concluded that the phenolic extracts possess good antioxidant and antimicrob ial activities which could be a promising source of natural preservative and be used in pharmaceutical industry. On the other hand, pekasam which is a similar product of nonsom has already been studied on the fermentation process and fast fermentation method has been introduced whereby the product can be ready in 2 to 3 weeks (Che Rohani Bt.Awang, 2001). In other previous work, there were studies done on the microflora and chemical changes in fermented fish products during fermentation. It is found that lactic acid bacteria are the dominant microorganisms involved in the fermentation of fish-rice products such as Plaa-rom, Narezushi, Burong isda, sikhae and in our local indigenous fermented food of Pekasam and Nonsom. The lactic acid bacteria involved for each type of fermented products are listed in the table below. The role of lactic acid bacteria is to ferment available carbohydrates which lead to a decrease in pH that inhibits pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The combination of low pH and organic acids present is the main factors that preserve fermented fish products (Paludan-Muller et. al., 2002). Table 2 : Type of lactic acid bacteria found in fermented fish-rice product. Country Name of fermented product Findings Journal resource Thailand Plaa-som Parallel growth of yeast and LAB was found. Pediococcus pentosaceus and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii are the predominant lactic acid bacteria and yeast species respectively. Lactic acid bacteria initiates fermentation followed by alcoholic fermentation by Zygosaccharomyces rouxii. Paludan-Muller et.al., 2002 Japan Aji-no-susu It is reported to be a typical traditional lactic acid fermented fish product and the lactic acid concentration was very high as compared to other narezushi products. The predominant bacterial groups were lactobacilli and lactococci. Kuda et.al., 2009 Korea Sikhae Leuconostoc mesenteroides   and Lactobacillus plantarum   are the lactic acids involved in the fermentation of Sikhae Lee et.al.,1997 Phillippines Burong dalag The fermentation is initiated by Leuconostoc mesenteroids and Streptococcus faecalis then followed by Pediococcus cerevisiae and finally Lactobacillus plantarum. Orillo and Pederson, 1968 Besides that, reports on different salt concentrations, presence of amino acids and organic acids and also source of carbohydrates influenced the fermentation process of fermented fish-rice products. In fermentation with salt, the high salt content retards microbial growth, hydrolysis of the fish protein is thought to occur by natural tissue enzymes, cathepsins. For low salt products, halotolerant populations consisting of gram-positive organisms will prevail. I- sushi which is fermented by various strains of lactobacillus has been associated with food poisoning outbreaks from toxin production by C. botulinum type E. (Downes and Ito, 2001). However, different fermented fish products have different salt concentration requirement. The sufficient amount of salt in fermentation is important as it influence the microbial growth and the rate of fermentation which also affects the sensory quality and safety of the product. Padulan-Muller et. al.(2002) studied on the growth of microflora wit h different concentration of salt in Plaa-som, a Thai fermented fish product. It is found that in high salt concentration of plaa-som, the growth of lactic acid bacteria was inhibited and this delayed the fermentation process. This increase the risk of growth for salt-tolerant potentially pathogenic bacteria, example Staphylococcus aureus (Paludan-Muller, 1999).Thus, 6-7% of salt concentration is recommended for Plaa-som to facilitate the growth of LAB and rapid decrease of pH to below 4.5. However, different fermented fish products have different salt concentration requirement. Aside from salt, the taste of fermented fish-rice product is enhanced during fermentation due to the presence of organic acids and amino acids. According to (Itou et. al., 2006) research, it is reported that the marked increase of the extractive components and organic acids is thought to contribute to the umami taste and the sour taste of narezushi. The extractive components such as free amino acids and peptides increased remarkably because of the decomposition of proteins in fish. As for the organic acid, it increased rapidly due to the fermentation of rice and permeation into the fish meat. Same goes the taste of Aji-no-susu where the predominant amino acids of alanine, lysine,leucine,glutamic acid and theronince were found and are important in providing the taste of fermented fish products (Kuda et.al., 2009). Fish contains little carbohydrate and thus rice or millet that is used mainly functions as a carbohydrate source for fermentation by LAB for the reduction of pH in products without indigeneous starter culture. Rice is an important source of carbohydrate to provide fermentable sugar for lactic acid bacteria in the reduction of pH. High buffering capacity of the fish is also reduced by the rice in order to obtain a rapid decrease of pH.The decrease of pH inhibits pathogenic and spoilage bacteria thus preserve the fermented fish. The starch from rice are hydrolyzed by the amylolytic activity found in lactic acid bacteria by which is reported (Olympia et.al., 1995.) that lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from burong isda hydrolyzes soluble starch, amylopectin, glycogen and pullulan. Addition of salt and spices such as garlic or pepper may add to the safety of the product. In another study (Paludan-Muller, 1999) describes the role of garlic that serves as carbohydrate source for lacti c acid bacteria in fermented fish product. In garlic, a garlic fermenting Lb. Plantarum strain was found . This indicated that garlic may be more important than rice starch as a carbohydrate source for fermentation. Moreover, garlic play dual role in fermented fish by inhibiting gram negative bacteria and yeasts and acts as a carbohydrate source for growth of lactic acid bacteria. The traditional method of fermented fish product was based on spontaneous fermentation or by the use of indigenous starter culture. The starter culture serves as a source of a variety of enzyme including amylolytic enzymes. Based on a study (Olympia et. al., 1995) it was found that in strains of L. plantarum contains the L137-amylase enzyme that hydrolyzes both ÃŽÂ ±-1,4 and ÃŽÂ ± -1,6-glucosidic linkages in polysaccharides. The enzyme degrades the starch to fermentable carbohydrates for the growth of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation process. Recently there has been studies that mentioned the fermentation process could be improved by using a mixed starter culture. In the fish sauce fermentation a report from Yongsawatdigul et al. (2007) found that strain of Staphylococcus sp. SK1-1-5 from proteinases and bacterial starter culture has the potential to be utilized as it can accelerate the fermentation without having great effect on the sensory qualities of the fish sauce. Another research by Saithong et.al (2010) examined the use of lactic acid bacteria as potential started cultures of plaa-som. The scientists discovered that plaa-som inoculated with the mixed starter culture were found to contain higher amounts of lactic acid after 24 h than plaa-som inoculated with single starter culture. This indicated the possible advantage of increased product safety and quality in addition to reduction in fermentation time. Moreover, the combination L. plantarum IFRPD P15 and L. reuteri IFRPD P17 starter cultures could also inhibit th e growth of clostridia during plaa-som. As a conclusion, L. plantarum and L. reuteri have great potential to be used as starter cultures in plaa-som and may possibly reduce fermentation time. 4.0 CHALLENGES The indigenous fermented fish-rice products are mostly produced in household or small factory scale with limited processes to control and ensure the safety and quality of the product. Like other fermented products, it is easily contaminated due to the presence of other harmful microorganisms. Contamination can occur due to exposure to microorganisms from the environment during harvesting, processing, storage and distribution. Besides that, improper food handling and lack of good hygiene practices increases the risk of microbial contamination. For example, fish that is not eviscerated prior to fermentation process are prone to spoilage since the raw materials are not cooked. Nearly all fish bourne botulism outbreaks are associated with the consumption of salted-dried or fermented fish that is consumed without further cooking. Clostridium sp has been reported to contaminate izushi, a fermented preserved fish with rice in Japan (Downes and Ito, 2001). Likewise in the Philippines, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium sp. which has been isolated from bakasang indicated that practice of hygiene during production was poor ( Salampessy et.al.,2010).The resultant from pathogenic microflora present in the food include negative effects such as spoilage, where the food is unfit for human consumption or risk of health by infectious or toxigenic microorganisms being present. Proteolytic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum cause microbiological hazards in fermented fish as both of these microorganisms are associated with salt and raw fish used in the processing. Insufficient level of salt concentration also leads to growth of pathogenic m icroorganisms in fermented fish products. At higher salt concentration there is a risk for growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum type A and B. Besides that, the producers of the fermented fish-rice products are not well educated on importance of proper handling and maintaining good hygiene practice to avoid cross-contamination during fermentation process of the product. They are also not well aware of the undesirable changes on the fermented food may occur during processing and repackaging of the product. Knowledge on the microflora which are involved in the fermentation process of the fermented fish-rice products are limited. 5.0 THE EMERGING NEED OF RESEARCH Currently there are no studies done on the nutritional composition of certain indigenous fermented fish-rice products such as nonsom. Moreover, there is no standardization in the addition of salt concentration since nonsom made from different areas of Sabah are based on personal preferences. Thus, the final product of this fermented fish-rice based product may contain excessive addition of salt. In addition, higher percentage of salt concentration was found to have a slow or no decrease in pH, whereas a rapid decrease of pH was found in low salt concentration (Paludan-Muller et al., 2002). However, Pekasam which is a similar product to nonsoom has already been standardized in Malaysian Food Act 1985 whereby it must not contain less than 10% salt. Because of this, more research on this indigenous fermented product needs to be carried out for the standardization and safety of the product produced. Next is the need of improving knowledge base. Other fermented food such as cheese, bread , beer and wine are well known and well developed. However for indigenous fermented fish-rice products, the knowledge is poor. Therefore, to have a broader spectrum of understanding these indigenous fermented products, microbiological, nutritional and technical investigation should be carried out on each process. The isolation and characterization of each organism should be determined and should not narrowed to only the dominant organisms as other organisms in small numbers may contain important function in the process. Understanding the roles of the microorganisms in these fermented products is important as they largely control the qualities of the fermented products. Also, more research needs to be done on various fermented fish-rice products to accelerate the fermentation time by using mixed starter culture instead of depending on traditional spontaneous fermentation to produce the fermented products. Researches on starter cultures by lactic acid bacteria or commercial proteinase with bacterial starter culture showed that there are great potential for the use of these starter cultures in accelerating fermentation of fish products (Yongsawatdigul et. al.,2007; Saithong et.al.,2010). Thus, more research has to be made on the use of these starter cultures to other fermented fish-rice products to accelerate the fermentation time and without adversely affecting the sensory quality. 6.0 STRATEGIC FOR CONTINOUS IMPROVEMENT. The production indigenous fermented fish-rice product of nonsom has the potential to expand and commercialized as more people are consuming the fermented food and the taste is acceptable. However, the process of fermented fish-rice products are done using traditional method so a more organized and specific method is required to upgrade the way of processing the fermented product. For small scale industries that produce fermented fish-rice products, implementation of quality control of the processing and distribution is required based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles. New practices can be added for improvement in Good Manufacturing Practices. Good practices in certain steps and identifying the possible critical control points for example lactic acid bacteria counts, pH and the length of maturation stage, for better production and higher safety standards. Food handlers should also be educated in line with on (HACCP) for controlling safety of the product. Besides that, to combat issues on safety of fermented fish-rice products reseraches on the microbial and chemical changes in these indigenous fermented fish-rice products are necessary in order to ensure the safety and improve the quality of the fermented product produced. Findings from research can be used as an indicator for the producers to understand different stages of fermentation process and precautions to be taken to minimize the risk of contamination and maintain quality consistency of the product. Furthermore, a more safe production can be resulted if starter culture are used. The use of starter culture in the fermentation of fermented fish-rice product could increase product safety and quality as there is a rapid growth of lactic acid bacteria and lower pH to a safe level. In addition, fermentation time is also shorten.

On the Road Essay: The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language

The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language in On the Road  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Henry Glass, a kid fresh out of a penitentiary in Indiana who takes a bus to Denver with Sal Paradise, tells him about his brush with the Bible in jail, and then explains the dangers of the phenomenon of signification (I firmly believe that Kerouac intended no deconstructionist subtext in the passage; nor is it likely to be an neo-Marxist attempt to explicate the class conflict between the signifiers and the signified): Anybody that's leaving jail soon and starts talking about his release date is 'signifying' to the other fellas that have to stay. We will take him by the neck and say, 'Don't signify with me!' Bad thing, to signify--y'hear me? (256) The use of the learned word by an eighteen year old jail-bird is truly funny. The comic effect here is based on the discrepancy between the standard meaning and contextual use of the word "to signify." There is a number of episodes in the novel with the same kind of humor: in the opening chapter of the novel, which describes his first visit to New York, Dean comes up with some absolutely moronic tirades. E.g., talking to Marilou, he mentions the necessity to "postpone all those leftover things concerning our personal lovethings and at once begin thinking of specific workplans. . ." (Kerouac 5). Or, when asked directly by Sal, whether he needed to con him for a place to stay, he starts talking about "Shopenhauer's dichotomy inwardly realized" (ibid.).    Dean's (mis)use of language can be somewhat redeemed by his intellectual virginity and his genuine desire to be like his high-browed friend; indeed, being earnest is important, and can excuse almost anything. But what should one think about the way Carl... ...rist--the heroes of the generation--never published (Krupat 407). Neither did Neil Cassidy, the silent genius behind the movement; but he by the example of his life provided the ideal which made Kerouac's gospel true.       Works Cited Ashida, Margaret E. "Frog's and Frozen Zen." Prairie Schooner 34 (1960): 199-206. Blackburn, William. "Han Shan Gets Drunk with the Butchers: Kerouac's Buddhism in On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and Desolation Angels." Literature East and West 21.1-4 (1977): 9-22. Suzuki, D.T. An introduction to Zen Buddhism. Ed. Christmas Humphreys; fwd. C.G. Jung. London: Rider, 1983. Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. Krupat, Arnold. "Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero." On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed.Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 397-411.      

Changes in Rita and Frank in Acts One and Two Essay -- Educating Rita

Changes in Rita and Frank in Acts One and Two Nicola White The ways in which Russell portrays the changes and developments in the characters of Rita and Frank in Act 1 scene 1 and Act 2 scene 1 of Educating Rita The play ‘Educating Rita’ written by Willy Russell explores the life of Rita, a twenty-six year old woman from a working class background, who is trying to find a new identity by becoming more independent, educated and cultured. Rita goes to the Open University and meets her tutor Frank. She is determined to learn from him and will not let anything step in her way. On closer analysis of Act 1 scene 1 and Act 2 scene 2 of this play and the changes in the relationship between Frank and Rita in these two scenes. When Rita enters Frank’s office at the beginning of Act 1 she is very talkative and excited. Frank is having problems with his life but he makes an obvious connection with Rita. In Act 2 scene 1 Rita returns from her holiday she is more mature and also widely educated and does not have to completely rely on Frank anymore. He does not approve of this and tries to become very controlling over Rita. In ‘Educating Rita’ there are two acts. In the first act there are eight scenes and there are seven scenes in the second, fifteen altogether. This whole book is over a one year period and Frank and Rita are the only two spoken characters in the play. The scene is set at the Open University inside Frank’s office in England. This is effective because it shows you how the characters change but the setting will always stay the same. It shows the change more effectively. Frank’s office is very dark, there are a lot of books against the wall, a large bay window and a large painting Rita describes a... ...en in a dark office for so long. â€Å"It hasn’t been opened for generations,† Frank explains to Rita. At the end of Act 2 scene 1 Rita uses higher vocabulary words and recites a poem by William Blake. She explains the Frank how they covered Blake at summer school and Frank is a bit shocked but also disappointed that he cannot teach her Blake. Frank thinks more of Rita than just her tutor and friend, he has stronger feelings for Rita but she does not notice at all. Rita and Frank have become closer; the audience knows Frank has feelings for Rita although she does not. Rita’s change in Character makes her more exciting and willing, but Frank seemed to like her better in Act 1 scene 1. Rita sees Frank as someone she an share things with in Act 1 but in Act 2 scene 1 she does not tell him she has a new flat mate or some other new things happening in her life.

Remember the titans Informal Roles of Characters Essay -- essays resea

Remember The Titans was a movie that was set in a very hostile time in our country. We were in the middle of what I like to call a civil war. Although there were no battles or gunfights our country was torn in half. There was an issue dealing with race in the United States. The movie, Remember the Titans is based on actual events that occurred in the year 1971. Mainly on the integration of a school called TC Williams High School. When the school was integrated the old football coach, Coach Yoast, was let go and a black coach Herman Boone was hired on. The main plot of this movie is regarding the coaching change in the school and the 1971 football season the TC Williams Titans have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the movie we see that each of the people that we meet establish certain...

What Really Caused the American Revolution

Historians have argued about the many possibilities of why the American Revolution occurred. The reason for this is that the main cause of the revolution caused other supposedly â€Å"causes of the revolution†. The most basic simplest cause of the American Revolution is merely the fact that distance weakens authority; greater distance weakens authority even more greatly. Separation from the â€Å"child† nation (Thirteen Colonies) from its mother country (Great Britain) was inevitable.During the Seven Years’ War Britain thought the colonies were acting obnoxious and were the cause of the Seven Years’ War because the war started in America. Once it tried to regain control Britain was shocked when it saw that they were losing grasp of their thirteen colonies and saw their child was growing up into an adolescent. America wasn’t really looking for independence they sought only to claim the â€Å"rights of Englishmen†, though collisions between two different views of empire came between the American colonies and their mother country; also Americans were steadily moving toward a more self-gover nment.But there were also those other supposedly â€Å"causes of the revolution† that occurred. A way Britain tried to gain back control and the ? 140 million they were in debt for defending the American colonies, imposed Navigation laws which meant that all commerce flowing to and from the colonies would be transported only in British vessels. Then there were the taxes, one which made the American colonists irate was the Stamp Act of 1765.Prime Minister George Grenville was resentful of the colonies and ordered British navy to begin enforcing the navigation laws more strictly and secured from Parliament the Sugar Act of 1764, raised duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies, and was the first law ever passed for raising tax revenue in the colonies for the crown. Then there was the Quartering Act of 1765, required certa in colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops. The Stamp Act of 1765 mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of tax.These stamps were required on bills of sale for about fifty trade items, certain types of commercial and legal documents, including playing cards, pamphlets, newspapers, diplomas, bills of lading, and marriage licenses. Even though the Americans weren’t being taxed as much as British people they were still outraged, they felt Grenville’s noxious legislation jeopardized the basic rights of the colonists as Englishmen. Angry American throats raised the cry â€Å"No taxation without representation! They conceded the right of Parliament to legislate about matters that affected the entire empire; they steadfastly denied the right of Parliament to impose taxes on Americans. Only their own elected colonial legislatures could legally tax them. Grenville dismissed these American protests and asserted in any ca se the Americans were represented in Parliament. He claimed that every member of Parliament represented all British subjects, even those Americans in Boston or Charleston who had never voted for a member of parliament this theory is known as â€Å"virtual representation†.The Americans didn’t like this idea at all, and truthfully didn’t really want any direct representation in Parliament. Colonists clung to no taxation without representation. Benjamin Franklin, then in London as a prominent colonial agent testified before a committee of the House of Commons. He answered varies questions very brilliantly. He pointed out that if a military force would be sent to America nobody would be found in arms â€Å"what are they then to do? They cannot force a man to take stamps who chooses to do without them. They will not find a rebellion: they may indeed make one. Colonial outcries against the detested stamp tax took various forms. The Stamp Act Congress of 1765 it was o ne more halting but significant step toward intercolonial unity. More effective was the Nonimportation Agreements against British goods. Some violence accompanied colonial protests, two groups called Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty took the law into their own hands. They enforced the nonimportation agreements against violators, often they would tar and feather them, and ransacked houses of unpopular officials.About one-half of British shipping was devoted to American trade, merchants, manufacturers, and shippers suffered because of the nonimportation agreements. After a tempestuous debate Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. â€Å"Champagne Charley† Townshend could deliver the most dazzling speeches even while drunk. He persuaded Parliament to pass the Townshend Acts in 1767; most important of these new regulations was a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. He made them an indirect customs duty payable at American ports. But Americans still we ren’t fond of this and found it no different than the Stamp Act.They still were taxes and without representation. Americans found the tax on tea more irksome because an estimated 1 million people drank the beverage twice a day. The colonists once again tried the nonimportation agreements but proved to be less effective than the ones against the Stamp Act. They still took the tax less seriously mainly because it was light and indirect. Moreover they found they could smuggle the tea at a cheap price. British officials sent two regiments of troops to Boston. Many colonists felt resentment against the presence of the soldiers and taunted them unmercifully.On March 5, 1770 a crowd of about 60 townspeople attacked a crew of about ten redcoats. And without any rationalization and without orders opened fire and killed or wounded eleven â€Å"innocent† citizens. Though the redcoats only acted this way because they were under extreme provocation, one of them was hit by a club an d another was knocked down. Rebellion was still inevitable by 1773, nonimportation was weakening, and the colonists were reluctantly paying the tea tax because the legal tea was cheaper than the smuggled tea it was even cheaper than the tea in England.The British East India Company was going bankrupt because of the 17 million pounds of unsold tea. The London government would collapse and lose tax revenue very heavily. So the ministry helped the company by giving it complete control of the American tea business. Americans were outraged and felt as if they were being tricked. In Philadelphia and New York mass demonstrations forced tea-bearing ships to return to England with their cargo holds still full. The most memorable of this doing was in Boston, Massachusetts.Thomas Hutchinson, governor of Massachusetts had already felt the fury of the angry mob, when Stamp Act protestors had destroyed his home. Though he still ordered the tea ships not to leave Boston until all its cargo was unl oaded. Infuriated Bostonians disguised as Indians boarded on the ships and smashed open 342 chests of tea and dumped it into the Boston harbor. Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party immediately. In 1774 series of acts were made. Americans called them â€Å"the massacre of American Liberty† by others as the â€Å"Intolerable Acts†, many of the chartered rights of colonial Massachusetts were swept away.And with the â€Å"Intolerable Acts† came the Quebec Act, both passed at the same time. American saw this act especially noxious, it seemed to set a dangerous precedent in America against jury trials and popular assemblies. Land speculators became alarmed; anti-Catholics became distressed to see a huge trans-Allegheny area snatched from them. All these supposedly â€Å"causes of the revolution† abraded the Americans, they were fed up so they came to a summoning of a Continental Congress in 1774.The congress came up with several dignified papers includi ng the Declaration of Rights, and appeals to other British American colonies to the king and British people. Though they weren’t looking for independence and sought merely to repeal the offensive legislation and return to the happy days before parliamentary taxation, when they were left alone. If these colonial grievances weren’t taken to consideration the Congress was to meet again. And evidently they weren’t, slowly war would creep up behind them. The British and the Americans now teetered on the brink of all-out warfare. Thus the American Revolution.