Comparing Adversarial and Supervised Learning for Organs at Risk Segmentation in CT images

Organ at Risk (OAR) segmentation from CT scans is a key component of the radiotherapy treatment workflow. In recent years, deep learning techniques have shown remarkable potential in automating this process. In this paper, we investigate the performance of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) compared to supervised learning approaches for segmenting OARs from CT images. We propose three GAN-based models with identical generator architectures but different discriminator networks. These models are compared with well-established CNN models, such as SE-ResUnet and DeepLabV3, using the StructSeg dataset, which consists of 50 annotated CT scans containing contours of six OARs. Our work aims to provide insight into the advantages and disadvantages of adversarial training in the context of OAR segmentation. The results are very promising and show that the proposed GAN-based approaches are similar or superior to their CNN-based counterparts, particularly when segmenting more challenging target organs

Chest X-Rays Image Classification from beta-Variational Autoencoders Latent Features

Chest X-Ray (CXR) is one of the most common diagnostic techniques used in everyday clinical practice all around the world. We hereby present a work which intends to investigate and analyse the use of Deep Learning (DL) techniques to extract information from such images and allow to classify them, trying to keep our methodology as general as possible and possibly also usable in a real world scenario without much effort, in the future. To move in this direction, we trained several beta-Variational Autoencoder (beta-VAE) models on the CheXpert dataset, one of the largest publicly available collection of labeled CXR images; from these models, latent features have been extracted and used to train other Machine Learning models, able to classify the original images from the features extracted by the beta-VAE. Lastly, tree-based models have been combined together in ensemblings to improve the results without the necessity of further training or models engineering. Expecting some drop in pure performance with the respect to state of the art classification specific models, we obtained encouraging results, which show the viability of our approach and the usability of the high level features extracted by the autoencoders for classification tasks.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Consideraciones psico-socio-lingüísticas en torno a la comunidad sorda uruguaya

En marzo de 2010, el Consejo de la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad de la República resolvió designar como conferencista al Profesor Adjunto Magister Leonardo Peluso que tuvo lugar el 11 de marzo en el Aula Magna de la Facultad de Psicología. Leonardo Peluso Crespi, integrante del Area de Psicología Genética y Psicolingüística, ha publicado innumerables artículos científi cos en revistas arbitradas y capítulos de libro. Co-autor de “Indagaciones en los márgenes. Cuestiones sobre lenguaje, psicología y educación (2000)”, “Los sordos y la lengua oral” (1997) y “Lenguaje, pensamiento y educación: Matrices sociales y desarrollo de las habilidades lingüísticocognitivas (1993).”En marzo de 2010, el Consejo de la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad de la República resolvió designar como conferencista al Profesor Adjunto Magister Leonardo Peluso que tuvo lugar el 11 de marzo en el Aula Magna de la Facultad de Psicología. Leonardo Peluso Crespi, integrante del Area de Psicología Genética y Psicolingüística, ha publicado innumerables artículos científi cos en revistas arbitradas y capítulos de libro. Co-autor de “Indagaciones en los márgenes. Cuestiones sobre lenguaje, psicología y educación (2000)”, “Los sordos y la lengua oral” (1997) y “Lenguaje, pensamiento y educación: Matrices sociales y desarrollo de las habilidades lingüísticocognitivas (1993).”Estudios sobre sordera -- ¿Sordomudos, discapacitados auditivos, personas que no oyen o simplemente sordos? -- La comunidad sorda en uruguay : generalidades -- Lsu, política lingüística y estandarización -- Los sordos y la escritura -- Referencia

A educação de surdos e a inclusão

In this paper I analyze the three paradigms of education of the Deaf that currently exist in Uruguay in the orbit of Public Education: bilingual education, inclusive bilingual education and inclusive education. From the description of these three models, I show the way in which each of them implies a different vision about Deaf students (of their language and their culture), as well as the relationship with disability and with ideology of normality. Finally, I present the plurilingual, pluritechnological and intercultural education model, which can be an alternative proposal for education of the Deaf, as it would mean taking a step beyond bilingualism. The empirical data and the reflection of this work come from two sources: an educational research with funding from the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP), already carried out; and an ethnographic and decolonial research with funding from the Sectoral Commission for Scientific Research (CSIC) of the University of the Republic (CSIC, I + D, 2020), in progress.En este trabajo analizo los tres paradigmas de educación de los sordos que actualmente existen en Uruguay en la órbita de la educación pública: la educación bilingüe, la educación bilingüe inclusiva y la educación inclusiva. A partir de la descripción de estos tres modelos, muestro la forma en que cada uno de ellos implica una visión diferente acerca del estudiantado sordo (de su lengua y de su cultura), así como también de las relaciones con la discapacidad y con la ideología de la normalidad. Finalmente presento el modelo de educación plurilingüe, pluritecnológico e intercultural, que puede ser una propuesta alternativa de educación de los sordos, en la medida en que supondría dar un paso más allá del bilingüismo. Los datos empíricos y la reflexión de este trabajo provienen de dos fuentes: una investigación educativa con financiación de la Administración Nacional de Enseñanza Pública (ANEP), ya realizada; y una investigación etnográfica y decolonial con financiación de la Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica (CSIC) de la Universidad de la República (CSIC, I +D, 2020), en curso.Neste trabalho analiso os três paradigmas de educação de surdos que existem atualmente no Uruguai no âmbito da educação pública: a educação bilíngue, a educação bilíngue inclusiva e a educação inclusiva. A partir dessas análises, discuto as diferentes visões subjacentes a cada um dos modelos educacionais no que diz respeito aos estudantes surdos (sua língua e cultura), às relações que estabelecem com a deficiência e com a ideologia da normalidade. Para finalizar, apresento a educação plurilíngue, pluritecnológica e intercultural como uma proposta alternativa para a educação de surdos e que, entende-se, se constitui um avanço em relação ao modelo bilíngue. Os dados empíricos e a reflexão deste trabalho provem de duas fontes: de uma pesquisa educacional finalizada, que contou com financiamento da Administración Nacional de Enseñanza Pública (ANEP), e de uma pesquisa etnográfica e decolonial em andamento, financiada pela Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica (CSIC) da Universidad de la República (CSIC, I +D, 2020)

Análisis sobre el aumento del ahorro en Chile

Desde mediados de los ochenta, cuando la economía se encontraba sumida en la crisis de la deuda, el ahorro y la inversión en Chile aumentaron dramáticamente. El ahorro lo ha hecho aún más que la inversión, revirtiendo el fuerte uso de recursos externos para financiar los niveles desmedrados de inversión de la primera mitad de la década pasada. Estas características del proceso de ahorro e inversión contrastan con lo acaecido en otros países de la región, donde la tasa de inversión se ha mantenido estancada y la tasa de ahorro nacional ha caído (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, 1996). Algunos de estos países -particularmente Argentina y México- iniciaron hace varios años programas de estabilización y cambio estructural orientados a darle al mercado una mayor importancia en la asignación de recursos con el objetivo de dinamizar la inversión y la tasa de crecimiento. Muchas de estas políticas habían sido puestas en práctica en Chile a partir de mediados de los setenta. Además, tanto Chile como otros países de la región han recibido cuantiosos flujos de capital durante los años noventa, relajando significativamente la restricción externa a la inversión (Calvo, Leiderman y Reinhardt, 1993; Ffrench-Davis y Griffith-Jones, 1995). Sin embargo, sólo en Chile se ha dado un aumento importante en las tasas de ahorro e inversión.

Photonic simulation of entanglement growth and engineering after a spin chain quench

The time evolution of quantum many-body systems is one of the most important processes for benchmarking quantum simulators. The most curious feature of such dynamics is the growth of quantum entanglement to an amount proportional to the system size (volume law) even when interactions are local. This phenomenon has great ramifications for fundamental aspects, while its optimisation clearly has an impact on technology (e.g., for on-chip quantum networking). Here we use an integrated photonic chip with a circuit-based approach to simulate the dynamics of a spin chain and maximise the entanglement generation. The resulting entanglement is certified by constructing a second chip, which measures the entanglement between multiple distant pairs of simulated spins, as well as the block entanglement entropy. This is the first photonic simulation and optimisation of the extensive growth of entanglement in a spin chain, and opens up the use of photonic circuits for optimising quantum devices

HVAC solutions for energy retrofitted hotel in Mediterranean area

To meet the European targets for achieving high-performing buildings, the refurbishment of the existing building stock and, in particular, of historical buildings represents a great challenge. The research aims at identifying the most energy-effective HVAC configuration for retrofitting historical hotels in Mediterranean area, where the objective is to minimize the consumptions for both space heating and cooling. A Reference Building for an historical hotel was simulated in five Mediterranean cities and different HVAC solutions were assessed, using EnergyPlus software coupled with tools specifically set to emulate the energy behaviour of certain HVAC technologies, aiming to highlight the most efficient alternative

Morfología del nombre en Lengua de Señas Uruguaya

In this article we analyze the nominal morphology of Uruguayan Sign Language (LSU), a territory on which there are few published works. For this analysis we focus on the formation of signs, which we divide into simple signs (or base signs) and complex signs (in this work we call complex signs those that are formed from a base sign). The study used a qualitative and introspective methodology as well as a LSU corpus analysis methodology, through which we seek to describe and understand the different mechanisms that are currently productive in LSU for the sign formation. The theoretical framework of the work articulates the structuralist Linguistics of Sign Languages, inspired by the proposal of William Stokoe, with the Linguistics of Sign Languages based on iconicity, proposed by Christian Cuxac.Resumen en LSU En este artículo analizamos la morfología nominal de la lengua de señas uruguaya (LSU), tema sobre el que existen escasos trabajos publicados. Para este análisis nos concentramos en la formación de señas, las que dividimos entre señas simples (o señas base) y señas complejas (en este trabajo denominamos señas complejas a aquellas que se forman a partir de una seña base). En el estudio se utilizó una metodología cualitativa, introspectiva, así como también una metodología de análisis de corpus en LSU, a través de las cuales buscamos describir y entender los diferentes mecanismos que son actualmente productivos en LSU para la formación de las señas. El marco teórico del trabajo articula la lingüística estructuralista de las lenguas de señas, inspirada en la propuesta de William Stokoe, con la lingüística de las lenguas de señas basada en la iconicidad, propuesta por Christian Cuxac

Vulnerability to Psychosis, Ideas of Reference and Evaluation with an Implicit Test

Background: Ideas of reference (IRs) are observed in the general population on the continuum of the psychotic phenotype (as a type of psychotic-like experiences, PLE). The instruments usually used to evaluate IRs show some problems: They depend on the cooperation of the participant, comprehension of items, social desirability, etc. Aims: The Testal emotional counting Stroop (TECS) was developed for the purpose of improving evaluation of individuals vulnerable to psychosis and its relationship with ideas of reference. The TECS (two versions) was applied as an implicit evaluation instrument for IRs and related processes for early identification of persons vulnerable to psychosis and to test the possible influence of emotional symptomatology. Method: A total of 160 participants (67.5% women) from the general population were selected (Mean (M) = 24.12 years, standard deviation (SD) = 5.28), 48 vulnerable and 112 non-vulnerable. Results: Vulnerability to psychosis was related to greater latency in response to referential stimuli. Version 4 of the TECS showed a slight advantage in identifying more latency in response to referential stimuli among participants with vulnerability to psychosis (Cohen's d = 1.08). Emotional symptomatology (especially stress), and IQ (premorbid) mediated the relationship between vulnerability and IR response latency. Conclusions: The application of the implicit Testal emotional counting Stroop test (TECS) is useful for evaluating processes related to vulnerability to psychosis, as demonstrated by the increased latency of response to referential stimuli

Toward NZEB by optimizing HVAC system configuration in different climates

Finding the most appropriate matching between envelope features and HVAC system configurations in function of different climates results fundamental for minimizing buildings’ energy consumptions. The research aims at presenting the most energy-performing HVAC system configurations for high-performing buildings. Different configurations were modeled for new non-residential Reference Buildings in seven European cities, using dynamic simulation software EnergyPlus and some evaluation tools specifically set to emulate the energy performance of some specific HVAC technologies. Finally, the results obtained were compared in order to outline some conclusions, useful as guidelines for optimizing the choice of HVAC systems in function of climate conditions