Video-based interaction for arts and cultural heritage applications: Presentation held at the International Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies 2003, San Sebastian

Video-based interaction is one of the most intuitive kinds of Human-Computer-Interaction with Mixed-Reality applications. Users are not wired to a computer, as it is necessary e.g. with electromagnetic sensors like data gloves, and maintain mostly unrestricted freedom of interaction. Therefore video-based interaction should be considered as the preferred kind of interaction especially for technically unversed users. In the field of arts and cultural heritage applications, it is important to address diverse kinds of users and therefore the creation of applications that need user specific training phases should be avoided. In this paper we present a combination of different video-based interaction methods using both marker based and marker less tracking techniques to provide a generic framework for Human-Computer-Interaction with Mixed Reality applications for the arts and cultural heritage domain. The approach includes an infrared light based tracking system capable of simultaneously recognizing several rigid bodies consisting of retro reflective markers, surveillance of predefined regions for selection purposes and the recognition of as well a static pointing gesture as a dynamic hand gesture

Rabies in East and Southeast Asia: a mirror of the global situation

Despite the availability of efficacious and safe vaccines for human and animal use, rabies takes tens of thousands of human lives annually worldwide. The vast majority of human rabies cases are due to exposure through a rabid dog and subsequent lack of access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in remote and poor communities around the globe. Therefore, low- and middle-income countries and rural settings are highly affected by this deadly zoonotic disease, while rabies is eliminated from the domestic reservoir in most of the economically strong countries and areas. Although rabies reservoirs in wildlife remain a danger almost all around the world, human cases due to exposure to sylvatic and bat rabies is marginal. Recently momentum, fuelled by the World Health Organization and partners, has been gaining to achieve global elimination of dog-mediated human rabies. Main objectives are increasing efficiency of surveillance, wide scale vaccination of dog population together with dog population management and worldwide coverage for affordable PEP. Advances on the agenda to this global goal vary from country to country. Whereas surveillance and intervention in animals and humans remain patchy and inefficient in some countries, others are focussing on interventions in humans. Those most advanced in the control of rabies have implemented surveillance and prevention measures in the animal reservoir, which is the most cost-effective approach. The South and Southeast Asian region mirrors the described global situation comprising the whole spectrum from rabies-free countries, to countries with only sylvatic rabies and finally the largest group of those with endemic dog rabies. Within the latter, distinctions are made between those that focus on prevention in humans and those with a One Health approach including intervention in animals. Some areas have even adopted an integrative community participation approach including educational programmes. The different sections of this chapter describe the detailed rabies situation in South and Southeast Asian countries grouped by epidemiological context and implemented prevention measures. It highlights the need for holistic control programmes coordinated across the whole region to achieve sustainable elimination of rabies