A vision-based monitoring system for very early automatic detection of forest fires

Trabajo presentado a la "I International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Forest Fires" celebrada en Toledo del 17 al 19 de Septiembre de 2008.International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Forest Fires I This paper describes a system capable of detecting smoke at the very beginning of a forest fire with a precise spatial resolution. The system is based on a wireless vision sensor network. Each sensor monitors a small area of vegetation by running on-site a tailored vision algorithm to detect the presence of smoke. This algorithm examines chromaticity changes and spatio-temporal patterns in the scene that are characteristic of the smoke dynamics at early stages of propagation. Processing takes place at the sensor nodes and, if that is the case, an alarm signal is transmitted through the network along with a reference to the location of the triggered zone - without requiring complex GIS systems. This method improves the spatial resolution on the surveilled area and reduces the rate of false alarms. An energy efficient implementation of the sensor/processor devices is crucial as it determines the autonomy of the network nodes. At this point, we have developed an ad hoc vision algorithm, adapted to the nature of the problem, to be integrated into a single-chip sensor/processor. As a first step to validate the feasibility of the system, we applied the algorithm to smoke sequences recorded with commercial cameras at real-world scenarios that simulate the working conditions of the network nodes. The results obtained point to a very high reliability and robustness in the detection process.This work is funded by Junta de Andalucía (CICE) through project 2006-TIC-2352.Peer Reviewe

Focal-plane generation of multi-resolution and multi-scale image representation for low-power vision applications

Comunicación presentada al "XXXVII Infrared Technology and Applications" celebrado en Orlando (USA) el 25 de Abril del 2011.Early vision stages represent a considerably heavy computational load. A huge amount of data needs to be processed under strict timing and power requirements. Conventional architectures usually fail to adhere to the specifications in many application fields, especially when autonomous vision-enabled devices are to be implemented, like in lightweight UAVs, robotics or wireless sensor networks. A bioinspired architectural approach can be employed consisting of a hierarchical division of the processing chain, conveying the highest computational demand to the focal plane. There, distributed processing elements, concurrent with the photosensitive devices, influence the image capture and generate a pre-processed representation of the scene where only the information of interest for subsequent stages remains. These focal-plane operators are implemented by analog building blocks, which may individually be a little imprecise, but as a whole render the appropriate image processing very efficiently. As a proof of concept, we have developed a 176x144-pixel smart CMOS imager that delivers lighter but enriched representations of the scene. Each pixel of the array contains a photosensor and some switches and weighted paths allowing reconfigurable resolution and spatial filtering. An energy-based image representation is also supported. These functionalities greatly simplify the operation of the subsequent digital processor implementing the high level logic of the vision algorithm. The resulting figures, 5.6m W@30fps, permit the integration of the smart image sensor with a wireless interface module (Imote2 from Memsic Corp.) for the development of vision-enabled WSN applications.This work is partially funded by the Andalusian regional government (Junta de Andalucía-CICE) through project 2006-TIC-2352 and the Spanish Ministry of Science (MICINN) through project TEC 2009-11812, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, and also supported by the Office of Naval Research (USA), through grant N000141110312.Peer Reviewe

HAWAIIAN SKIRT, and F-box gene from Arabidopsis, is a new player in the microRNA pathway

F-box proteins belong to a multi-protein E3 ubiquitin ligase complex (SCF) that target proteins for degradation via the proteasome.We demonstrated that HAWAIIAN SKIRT(HWS), an Arabidopsis ubiquitin protein ligase (SCFHWS), regulates organ growth, flower development and timing of abscission. Mutants of this gene (hws-1) are pleiotropic and the most obvious phenotype is the fusion of its floral organs, a phenotype shared with the cuc1/cuc2 double mutants and over-expressing lines of MIR164B. To understand the molecular mechanisms of HWS during plant development, an ethylmethylsulphonate mutagenized population of hws-1 seeds was generated and screened for mutations suppressing the hws-1 sepal fusion. We isolated shs-1/hws-1, shs-2/hws-1, and shs-3/hws-1, (suppressor of hws-1) mutants. Mapping analyses shown that shs1 is mutated in the miRNA164 binding site of CUPSHAPED COTYLEDON1 (CUC1) mRNA; while shs-2 and shs-3 are novel alleles of the plant homolog of Exporting-5 HASTY (HST), known to be important in miRNA biogenesis, function and transport. Consequently, we renamed them cuc1-1D, hst23 and hst24, respectively. We demonstrated that transcript levels of CUC1 and CUPSHAPED COTYLEDON 2 (CUC2), and MIR164 change in cuc1-1D and in hws-1 mutants; analyses revealed a role for HWS in cell proliferation and control of floral organ number. Additional genetic crosses between hws-1 and mutant lines for genes in the miRNA pathway were performed and double mutants obtained shown restoration of the hws-1 sepal fusion phenotype. Our data propose HWS as a new regulator in miRNA pathway and reveal a role for HWS to control floral organ number and cell proliferation

On-site forest fire smoke detection by low-power autonomous vision sensor

Trabajo presentado a la VI International Conference on Forest Fire Research celebrada en Coimbra (Portugal) del 15 al 18 de noviembre de 2010.Early detection plays a crucial role to prevent forest fires from spreading. Wireless vision sensor networks deployed throughout high-risk areas can perform fine-grained surveillance and thereby very early detection and precise location of forest fires. One of the fundamental requirements that need to be met at the network nodes is reliable low-power on-site image processing. It greatly simplifies the communication infrastructure of the network as only alarm signals instead of complete images are transmitted, anticipating thus a very competitive cost. As a first approximation to fulfill such a requirement, this paper reports the results achieved from field tests carried out in collaboration with the Andalusian Fire-Fighting Service (INFOCA). Two controlled burns of forest debris were realized (www.youtube.com/user/vmoteProject). Smoke was successfully detected on-site by the EyeRISTM v1.2, a general-purpose autonomous vision system, built by AnaFocus Ltd., in which a vision algorithm was programmed. No false alarm was triggered despite the significant motion other than smoke present in the scene. Finally, as a further step, we describe the preliminary laboratory results obtained from a prototype vision chip which implements, at very low energy cost, some image processing primitives oriented to environmental monitoring.This work is funded by CICE/JA and MICINN (Spain) through projects 2006-TIC-2352 and TEC2009-11812 respectively.Peer Reviewe

Retrospective epidemiological analysis of Canine Distemper in Pachuca of Soto city, Hidalgo State

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the causative agent of one of the most spread, highly contagious and lethal viral disease in canines, whose morbidity varies between 25-75% and mortality between 50-90%. The present study aimed to carry out an epidemiological study of CDV from a Veterinary Hospital in the city of Pachuca of Soto, State of Hidalgo. The information was obtained from 7280 medical records of canine patients treated during the 2017-2018 period, of which 65 met the positive case criteria for the CDV. An observational, cross-sectional epidemiological study with a retrospective search of cases was carried out. It was determined that 8 out of every 1000 patients attending the clinic were positive for CDV, observing that a higher frequency of males with 63%, with Relative Risk (RR) of 0.67 and an Odds Ratio (OR) of 0.47, patients under 6 months have the highest frequency of cases with 62% (RR of 8.0 and OR of 19.2); Despite the variability of the breeds within the analysis performed, the highest frequency was found in mongrel dogs with 52% (RR of 1.79 and OR of 2.66), on the other hand, it was determined that seasonality influences the degree of presentation of this disease, being greater in winter with 45% of cases (RR 1.81 and OR 2.47). In conclusion, in the Veterinary Hospitalunderstudy, the CDV affects male Creole dogs less than seven months of age unvaccinated more and the disease occurs most frequently in winter.El virus del distemper canino (VDC) ha sido el causante de la enfermedad vírica multisistémica más difundida, altamente contagiosa y letal de los cánidos, cuya morbilidad varía entre 25-75% y la mortalidad entre 50-90%. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue realizar un estudio epidemiológico de distemper canino de un Hospital Veterinario en la ciudad de Pachuca de Soto, Estado de Hidalgo. Se obtuvo información de 7280 historias clínicas de pacientes caninos atendidos durante el período 2017-2018, de las cuales 65 cumplieron con los criterios de caso positivo al VDC. Se reali-zó un estudio epidemiológico observacional, de tipo trasversal y con una búsqueda retrospectiva de casos. Se determinó que 8 de cada 1000 pacientes que asisten a la clínica fueron positivos al VDC, observándose que una mayor frecuencia de machos con un 63%, con Riesgo Relativo (RR) de 0.67 y una Odds Ration (OR) de 0.47, los pacientes menores de 6 meses tienen la mayor frecuenta de casos con un 62% (RR de 8.0 y OR de 19.2); Pese a la variabilidad de las razas dentro del análisis efectuado, se encontró la mayor frecuencia en los perros mestizos con un 52% ( RR de 1.79 y OR de 2.66), por otra parte, se determinó que la estacionalidad influye en el grado de presentación de esta enfermedad, siendo mayor en invierno con un 45% de los casos (RR 1.81 y OR 2.47). En conclusión en el Hospital Veterinario en estudio el VDC afecta más a los caninos criollos machos menores de siete meses de edad no vacunados y la enfermedad se presenta con mayor frecuencia en invierno

Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical Andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods

We compare eight pollen records reflecting climatic and environmental change from northern and southern sites in the tropical Andes. Our analysis focuses on the last 30ĝ€ 000 years, with particular emphasis on the Pleistocene to Holocene transition. We explore ecological grouping and downcore ordination results as two approaches for extracting environmental variability from pollen records. We also use the records of aquatic and shoreline vegetation as markers for lake level fluctuations and moisture availability. Our analysis focuses on the signature of millennial-scale climate variability in the tropical Andes, in particular Heinrich stadials (HS) and Greenland interstadials (GI). The pollen records show an overall warming trend during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, but the onset of post-glacial warming differs in timing among records. We identify rapid responses of the tropical vegetation to millennial-scale climate variability. The signatures of HS and the Younger Dryas are generally recorded as downslope upper forest line (UFL) migrations in our transect, and are likely linked to air temperature cooling. The GI1 signal is overall comparable between northern and southern records and indicates upslope UFL migrations and warming in the tropical Andes. Our marker for lake level changes indicated a north-To-south difference that could be related to moisture availability. The air temperature signature recorded by the Andean vegetation was consistent with millennial-scale cryosphere and sea surface temperature changes but suggests a potential difference between the magnitude of temperature change in the ocean and the atmosphere. We also show that arboreal pollen percentage (AP %) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) scores are two complementary approaches to extract environmental variability from pollen records

ECOLOGICAL NICHE OF SEMIDOMESTICATED POPULATIONS OF Capsicum pubescens RUIZ & PAV. BASED ON ACCESSIONS FROM VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Para cultivar una especie silvestre es necesario modificar el esquema genético resultante de los procesos de selección natural a uno adaptado a las condiciones manejadas por el hombre, e implica detectar áreas geográficas similares a aquellas donde se originó la especie. En este estudio se analiza un modelo de áreas geográficas potenciales para la adaptación de Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav. con el objetivo de detectar las condiciones de nicho ecológico apropiado, determinar zonas potenciales en México y describir las relaciones entre el medio ambiente y las características morfológicas del fruto. Se utilizó el algoritmo reciente de máxima entropía (MaxEnt) para modelar el nicho de C. pubescens dentro de una región de importancia en el centro de Veracruz, México. Se utilizó un total de 44 sitios de presencia y cuatro variables bioclimáticas para detectar nichos adecuados para la especie; así mismo, se realizó un análisis de regresión por mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) combinando los sitios de presencia, variables bioclimáticas y características morfológicas del fruto. Se construyó un mapa final de idoneidad identificando las áreas adecuadas para el crecimiento de C. pubescens. Las contribuciones de las variables predictoras al modelo fueron preipitación anual (Bio12) 43.9 %, capa de potasio (K) 23 %, altitud (DEM) 22.3 % y temperatura media anual (Bio1) 10.7 %, con valor del área bajo la curva de 99.7 %. Los mínimos cuadrados parciales corroboraron la importancia de las covariables, que intervienen en la expresión de características morfológicas del fruto, ayudando a entender mejor las relaciones entre especies y el medio ambiente. Áreas aún no exploradas arrojaron probabilidades de ocurrencia mayores a 90 %, principalmente en las zonas montañosas de Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León y la Sierra de Santa Martha al sur del estado de Veracruz. Se identificó un grupo de accesiones sobresalientes que podrían servir como base para iniciar un programa de mejoramiento genético en esta especie

Radiographers supporting radiologists in the interpretation of screening mammography: a viable strategy to meet the shortage in the number of radiologists.

BackgroundAn alternative approach to the traditional model of radiologists interpreting screening mammography is necessary due to the shortage of radiologists to interpret screening mammograms in many countries.MethodsWe evaluated the performance of 15 Mexican radiographers, also known as radiologic technologists, in the interpretation of screening mammography after a 6 months training period in a screening setting. Fifteen radiographers received 6 months standardized training with radiologists in the interpretation of screening mammography using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) system. A challenging test set of 110 cases developed by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium was used to evaluate their performance. We estimated sensitivity, specificity, false positive rates, likelihood ratio of a positive test (LR+) and the area under the subject-specific Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for diagnostic accuracy. A mathematical model simulating the consequences in costs and performance of two hypothetical scenarios compared to the status quo in which a radiologist reads all screening mammograms was also performed.ResultsRadiographer's sensitivity was comparable to the sensitivity scores achieved by U.S. radiologists who took the test but their false-positive rate was higher. Median sensitivity was 73.3 % (Interquartile range, IQR: 46.7-86.7 %) and the median false positive rate was 49.5 % (IQR: 34.7-57.9 %). The median LR+ was 1.4 (IQR: 1.3-1.7 %) and the median AUC was 0.6 (IQR: 0.6-0.7). A scenario in which a radiographer reads all mammograms first, and a radiologist reads only those that were difficult for the radiographer, was more cost-effective than a scenario in which either the radiographer or radiologist reads all mammograms.ConclusionsGiven the comparable sensitivity achieved by Mexican radiographers and U.S. radiologists on a test set, screening mammography interpretation by radiographers appears to be a possible adjunct to radiologists in countries with shortages of radiologists. Further studies are required to assess the effectiveness of different training programs in order to obtain acceptable screening accuracy, as well as the best approaches for the use of non-physician readers to interpret screening mammography

Análisis epidemiológico retrospectivo de Distemper Canino en la ciudad de Pachuca de Soto, Estado de Hidalgo

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the causative agent of one of the most spread, highly contagious and lethal viral disease in canines, whose morbidity varies between 25-75% and mortality between 50-90%. The aim of the present study was to carry out an epidemiological study of CDV from a Veterinary Hospital in the city of Pachuca de Soto, State of Hidalgo. The information was obtained from 7280 medical records of canine patients treated during the 2017-2018 period, of which 65 met the positive case criteria for the CDV. An observational, cross-sectional epidemiological study with a retrospective search of cases was carried out. It was determined that 8 out of every 1000 patients attending the clinic were positive for CDV, observing that a higher frequency of males with 63%, with Relative Risk (RR) of 0.67 and an Odds Ratio (OR) of 0.47 , patients under 6 months have the highest frequency of cases with 62% (RR of 8.0 and OR of 19.2); Despite the variability of the breeds within the analysis performed, the highest frequency was found in mongrel dogs with 52% (RR of 1.79 and OR of 2.66), on the other hand, it was determined that seasonality influences the degree of presentation of this disease, being greater in winter with 45% of cases (RR 1.81 and OR 2.47). In conclusion, in the Veterinary Hospital under study, the CDV affects male Creole dogs less than seven months of age unvaccinated more and the disease occurs most frequently in winterEl virus del distemper canino (VDC) ha sido el causante de la enfermedad vírica multisistémica más difundida, altamente contagiosa y letal de los cánidos, cuya morbilidad varía entre 25-75% y la mortalidad entre 50-90%. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue realizar un estudio epidemiológico de distemper canino de un Hospital Veterinario en la ciudad de Pachuca de Soto, Estado de Hidalgo. Se obtuvo información de 7280 historias clínicas de pacientes caninos atendidos durante el período 2017-2018, de las cuales 65 cumplieron con los criterios de caso positivo al VDC. Se reali-zó un estudio epidemiológico observacional, de tipo trasversal y con una búsqueda retrospectiva de casos. Se determinó que 8 de cada 1000 pacientes que asisten a la clínica fueron positivos al VDC, observándose que una mayor frecuencia de machos con un 63%, con Riesgo Relativo (RR) de 0.67 y una Odds Ration (OR) de 0.47, los pacientes menores de 6 meses tienen la mayor frecuenta de casos con un 62% (RR de 8.0 y OR de 19.2); Pese a la variabilidad de las razas dentro del análisis efectuado, se encontró la mayor frecuencia en los perros mestizos con un 52% ( RR de 1.79 y OR de 2.66), por otra parte, se determinó que la estacionalidad influye en el grado de presentación de esta enfermedad, siendo mayor en invierno con un 45% de los casos (RR 1.81 y OR 2.47). En conclusión, en el Hospital Veterinario en estudio el VDC afecta más a los caninos criollos machos menores de siete meses de edad no vacunados y la enfermedad se presenta con mayor frecuencia en invierno