Real-time marker-less multi-person 3D pose estimation in RGB-Depth camera networks

This paper proposes a novel system to estimate and track the 3D poses of multiple persons in calibrated RGB-Depth camera networks. The multi-view 3D pose of each person is computed by a central node which receives the single-view outcomes from each camera of the network. Each single-view outcome is computed by using a CNN for 2D pose estimation and extending the resulting skeletons to 3D by means of the sensor depth. The proposed system is marker-less, multi-person, independent of background and does not make any assumption on people appearance and initial pose. The system provides real-time outcomes, thus being perfectly suited for applications requiring user interaction. Experimental results show the effectiveness of this work with respect to a baseline multi-view approach in different scenarios. To foster research and applications based on this work, we released the source code in OpenPTrack, an open source project for RGB-D people tracking.Comment: Submitted to the 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automatio

Development, characterization, and use of a fetal skin cell bank for tissue engineering in wound healing.

Wound healing in fetal skin is characterized by the absence of scar tissue formation, which is not dependent on the intrauterine environment and amniotic fluid. Fetal cells have the capacity of extraordinary expansion and we describe herein the development of a fetal skin cell bank where from one organ donation (2-4 cm2) it is possible to produce several hundred million fetal skin constructs of 9 x 12 cm2. Fetal cells grow three to four times more rapidly than older skin cells cultured in the same manner and these banked fetal cells are very resistant against physical and oxidative stress when compared to adult skin cells under the same culture conditions. They are up to three times more resistant to UVA radiation and two times more resistant towards hydrogen peroxide treatment. This mechanism may be of major importance for fetal cells when they are delivered to hostile wound environments. For fetal cell delivery to patients, cells were associated with a collagen matrix to form a three-dimensional construct in order to analyze the capacity of these cells for treating various wounds. We have seen that fetal cells can modify the repair response of skin wounds by accelerating the repair process and reducing scarring in severe bums and wounds of various nature in children. Hundreds of thousands of patients could potentially be treated for acute and chronic wounds from one standardized and controlled cell bank

Assessment of Multiple Dimensions of Psychological Well-Being in Swiss Youth Born with a Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate.

This study examines the psychological well-being of Swiss youths born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), in a multi-dimensional and clinical perspective. Retrospective cross-sectional study. Self-report questionnaires completed by youths born with UCLP, followed at a specialized cleft clinic in Switzerland, and by peers without UCLP, recruited in schools of the Vaud county, Switzerland. Youths aged 7.5 to 16, born with UCLP (clinical group, n = 41, 29.2% female) or without UCLP (control group, n = 56, 49.0% female). Adverse life events (ALE; Adverse Life Events), behavioral and emotional symptoms (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Post-Traumatic Checklist Scale), bodily self-esteem (Body Esteem Scale), quality of life (Kidscreen-27), emotion regulation (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), social support (Sarason's Social Support Questionnaire). Most outcomes showed no significant group-difference. Compared to matched peers, youths with UCLP reported lower psychological quality of life and social support satisfaction, along with positive factors of fewer ALE and lower non-adaptive emotion regulation. In youths with UCLP, higher scores for ALE were associated with higher total scores for behavioral and emotional symptoms. Higher scores for bodily self-esteem were associated with higher scores for satisfaction of social support and adaptive emotion regulation. Youths with UCLP show globally similar psychological well-being as matched peers. We observed some vulnerabilities but also protective factors, which support the need for psychological perspective within multidisciplinary care. The relationships between dimensions suggest specific targets that may have an impact in context of intervention

Evaluation of a candidate breast cancer associated SNP in ERCC4 as a risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Results from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/BRCA2 (CIMBA)

Background: In this study we aimed to evaluate the role of a SNP in intron 1 of the ERCC4 gene (rs744154), previously reported to be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in the general population, as a breast cancer risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Methods: We have genotyped rs744154 in 9408 BRCA1 and 5632 BRCA2 mutation carriers from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) and assessed its association with breast cancer risk using a retrospective weighted cohort approach. Results: We found no evidence of association with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 (per-allele HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.93–1.04, P=0.5) or BRCA2 (per-allele HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.89–1.06, P=0.5) mutation carriers. Conclusion: This SNP is not a significant modifier of breast cancer risk for mutation carriers, though weak associations cannot be ruled out. A Osorio1, R L Milne2, G Pita3, P Peterlongo4,5, T Heikkinen6, J Simard7, G Chenevix-Trench8, A B Spurdle8, J Beesley8, X Chen8, S Healey8, KConFab9, S L Neuhausen10, Y C Ding10, F J Couch11,12, X Wang11, N Lindor13, S Manoukian4, M Barile14, A Viel15, L Tizzoni5,16, C I Szabo17, L Foretova18, M Zikan19, K Claes20, M H Greene21, P Mai21, G Rennert22, F Lejbkowicz22, O Barnett-Griness22, I L Andrulis23,24, H Ozcelik24, N Weerasooriya23, OCGN23, A-M Gerdes25, M Thomassen25, D G Cruger26, M A Caligo27, E Friedman28,29, B Kaufman28,29, Y Laitman28, S Cohen28, T Kontorovich28, R Gershoni-Baruch30, E Dagan31,32, H Jernström33, M S Askmalm34, B Arver35, B Malmer36, SWE-BRCA37, S M Domchek38, K L Nathanson38, J Brunet39, T Ramón y Cajal40, D Yannoukakos41, U Hamann42, HEBON37, F B L Hogervorst43, S Verhoef43, EB Gómez García44,45, J T Wijnen46,47, A van den Ouweland48, EMBRACE37, D F Easton49, S Peock49, M Cook49, C T Oliver49, D Frost49, C Luccarini50, D G Evans51, F Lalloo51, R Eeles52, G Pichert53, J Cook54, S Hodgson55, P J Morrison56, F Douglas57, A K Godwin58, GEMO59,60,61, O M Sinilnikova59,60, L Barjhoux59,60, D Stoppa-Lyonnet61, V Moncoutier61, S Giraud59, C Cassini62,63, L Olivier-Faivre62,63, F Révillion64, J-P Peyrat64, D Muller65, J-P Fricker65, H T Lynch66, E M John67, S Buys68, M Daly69, J L Hopper70, M B Terry71, A Miron72, Y Yassin72, D Goldgar73, Breast Cancer Family Registry37, C F Singer74, D Gschwantler-Kaulich74, G Pfeiler74, A-C Spiess74, Thomas v O Hansen75, O T Johannsson76, T Kirchhoff77, K Offit77, K Kosarin77, M Piedmonte78, G C Rodriguez79, K Wakeley80, J F Boggess81, J Basil82, P E Schwartz83, S V Blank84, A E Toland85, M Montagna86, C Casella87, E N Imyanitov88, A Allavena89, R K Schmutzler90, B Versmold90, C Engel91, A Meindl92, N Ditsch93, N Arnold94, D Niederacher95, H Deißler96, B Fiebig97, R Varon-Mateeva98, D Schaefer99, U G Froster100, T Caldes101, M de la Hoya101, L McGuffog49, A C Antoniou49, H Nevanlinna6, P Radice4,5 and J Benítez1,3 on behalf of CIMB

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection presenting as an ischaemic stroke in a middle-aged man with anti-cardiolipin antibodies: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cerebrovascular disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Ischemic stroke is the most common manifestation, encompassing a wide variety of causative mechanisms. We present the case of a middle-aged male patient with spontaneous coronary artery dissection in the presence of anti-cardiolipin antibodies, leading to left ventricular thrombus and presenting with stroke.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 56-year-old Caucasian man presented with dysarthria and right-sided weakness. There was a history of chest pain with autonomic symptoms four days earlier. Examination revealed right-sided hemiparesis. Electrocardiogram showed sinus rhythm with anterior Q waves. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed large left parietal and smaller multiple cerebral infarcts. Echocardiogram showed anterior wall and apical akinesis with a large mural thrombus. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M were strongly positive. Coronary angiography showed dissection of the mid left anterior descending artery with normal flow down the distal vessel. He was treated conservatively with anticoagulation and secondary prevention. He was in good health when seen in clinic four months later.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach at obtaining the correct diagnosis, input of different specialities and the fact that the presence of anti-cardiolipin antibodies is associated with coronary artery dissection in a middle-aged male patient whose presentation was stroke.</p