Seeing the sound: a new multimodal imaging device for computer vision

Audio imaging can play a fundamental role in computer vision, in particular in automated surveillance, boosting the accuracy of current systems based on standard optical cameras. We present here a new hybrid device for acousticoptic imaging, whose characteristics are tailored to automated surveillance. In particular, the device allows realtime, high frame rate generation of an acoustic map, overlaid over a standard optical image using a geometric calibration of audio and video streams. We demonstrate the potentialities of the device for target tracking on three challenging setup showing the advantages of using acoustic images against baseline algorithms on image tracking. In particular, the proposed approach is able to overcome, often dramatically, visual tracking with state-of-art algorithms, dealing efficiently with occlusions, abrupt variations in visual appearence and camouflage. These results pave the way to a widespread use of acoustic imaging in application scenarios such as in surveillance and security

Non-Destructive Characterization of Magnetic Polymeric Scaffolds using Terahertz Time-of-Flight Imaging

Magnetic Scaffolds MagS are 3D composite materials, in which magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used to load a polymeric matrix. Due to their wide use in various medical applications, there is an increasing demand of advanced techniques for non-destructive quality assessment procedures aimed at verifying the absence of defects and, more generally, dedicated to the characterization of MagS. In this framework, the use of TeraHertz (THz) waves for the non-destructive characterization of multifunctional scaffolds represents an open challenge for the scientific community. This paper deals with an approach for the characterization of MagS by means of a THz time-domain system used in reflection mode. THz analyses are performed on poly($\epsilon$ - capprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds magnetized with iron oxide (Fe $_{3}$ O$_{4}$) MNPs through a drop-casting deposition and tuned to obtain different distributions of MNP in the biomaterial. The proposed data processing approach allows a quantitative characterization MagS, in terms of their (estimated) thickness and refractive index. Moreover, the proposed procedure allows to identify the areas of the scaffold wherein MNP are mainly concentrated and thus, it gives us information about MNP spatial distribution

Accuracy and limitations of the growth hormone (GH) releasing hormone-arginine retesting in young adults with childhood-onset GH deficiency

Background: Re-testing for GH secretion is needed to confirm the diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) after adult height achievement in childhood-onset GHD (COGHD). Aim: To define the cut-off of GH peak after retesting with GH-releasing hormone plus arginine (GHRHarg) in the diagnosis of permanent GHD in COGHD of different etiology. Patients and methods: Eighty-eight COGHD (median age 17.2 y), 29 idiopathic GHD (IGHD), 44 cancer survivors (TGHD) and 15 congenital GHD (CGHD) were enrolled in the study; 54 had isolated GHD (iGHD) and 34 had multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). All were tested with insulin tolerance test (ITT) and GHRHarg. IGHD with a GH response to ITT 656\ub5g/L were considered true negatives and served as the control group, and patients with a GH response <6\ub5g/L as true positives. Baseline IGF-I was also measured. The diagnostic accuracy of GHRHarg testing and of IGF-I SDS in patients with GHD of different etiologies was evaluated by ROC analysis. Results: Forty-six subjects with a GH peak to ITT 656\ub5g/L and 42 with GH peak <6 \ub5g/L showed a GH peak after GHRHarg between 8.8\u2013124\ub5g/L and 0.3\u201326.3\ub5g/L, respectively; 29 IGHD were true negatives, 42 were true positives and 17 with a high likelihood GHD showed a GH peak to ITT 656\ub5g/L. ROC analysis based on the etiology indicated the best diagnostic accuracy for peak GH cutoffs after GHRHarg of 25.3 \ub5g/L in CGHD, 15.7 in TGHD, and 13.8 in MPHD, and for IGF-1 SDS at 122.1 in CGHD, 121.5 in TGHD, and 121.9 in MPHD. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the best cut-off for GH peak after retesting with GHRHarg changes according to the etiology of GHD during the transition age. Based on these results the diagnostic accuracy of GHRHarg remains questionable

Cancellation of vorticity in steady-state non-isentropic flows of complex fluids

In steady-state non-isentropic flows of perfect fluids there is always thermodynamic generation of vorticity when the difference between the product of the temperature with the gradient of the entropy and the gradient of total enthalpy is different from zero. We note that this property does not hold in general for complex fluids for which the prominent influence of the material substructure on the gross motion may cancel the thermodynamic vorticity. We indicate the explicit condition for this cancellation (topological transition from vortex sheet to shear flow) for general complex fluids described by coarse-grained order parameters and extended forms of Ginzburg-Landau energies. As a prominent sample case we treat first Korteweg's fluid, used commonly as a model of capillary motion or phase transitions characterized by diffused interfaces. Then we discuss general complex fluids. We show also that, when the entropy and the total enthalpy are constant throughout the flow, vorticity may be generated by the inhomogeneous character of the distribution of material substructures, and indicate the explicit condition for such a generation. We discuss also some aspects of unsteady motion and show that in two-dimensional flows of incompressible perfect complex fluids the vorticity is in general not conserved, due to a mechanism of transfer of energy between different levels.Comment: 12 page

Broadband Electromagnetic Sensing for Food Quality Control: A Preliminary Experimental Study

Quality control is of great importance in food industry, both for the evaluation of product characteristics and to avoid the occurrence of foreign bodies contamination in packaged items. With respect to the inspections against possible contaminants inside the product, different technologies are currently adopted along production chain lines. However, the number of accidents involving low density objects remains very large. To overcome this limitation, the use of electromagnetic technologies has been recently proposed. In this work, the synergic use of terahertz and microwaves technologies is proposed, so to provide high resolution images and in-depth inspections of different scenarios, including low density materials. A focus study on sugar samples is considered, reporting both its broadband characterization at microwaves and preliminary terahertz imaging to evaluate the integrity of the packaging. Ongoing research is devoted to the development and validation of a microwave device for monitoring food products along the production line

Detection violent behaviors: A survey

Violence detection behavior is a particular problem regarding the great problem action recognition. In recent years, the detection and recognition of violence has been studied for several applications, namely in surveillance. In this paper, we conducted a recent systematic review of the literature on this subject, covering a selection of various researched papers. The selected works were classified into three main approaches for violence detection: video, audio, and multimodal audio and video. Our analysis provides a roadmap to guide future research to design automatic violence detection systems. Techniques related to the extraction and description of resources to represent behavior are also reviewed. Classification methods and structures for behavior modelling are also provided.European Structural and Investment Funds in the FEDER component, through the Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (COMPETE 2020) [Project n ∘ 039334; Funding Reference: POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039334]. This work has been supported by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through project UIDB/04728/202

Deweyan tools for inquiry and the epistemological context of critical pedagogy

This article develops the notion of resistance as articulated in the literature of critical pedagogy as being both culturally sponsored and cognitively manifested. To do so, the authors draw upon John Dewey\u27s conception of tools for inquiry. Dewey provides a way to conceptualize student resistance not as a form of willful disputation, but instead as a function of socialization into cultural models of thought that actively truncate inquiry. In other words, resistance can be construed as the cognitive and emotive dimensions of the ongoing failure of institutions to provide ideas that help individuals both recognize social problems and imagine possible solutions. Focusing on Dewey\u27s epistemological framework, specifically tools for inquiry, provides a way to grasp this problem. It also affords some innovative solutions; for instance, it helps conceive of possible links between the regular curriculum and the study of specific social justice issues, a relationship that is often under-examined. The aims of critical pedagogy depend upon students developing dexterity with the conceptual tools they use to make meaning of the evidence they confront; these are background skills that the regular curriculum can be made to serve even outside social justice-focused curricula. Furthermore, the article concludes that because such inquiry involves the exploration and potential revision of students\u27 world-ordering beliefs, developing flexibility in how one thinks may be better achieved within academic subjects and topics that are not so intimately connected to students\u27 current social lives, especially where students may be directly implicated

Approach to diagnosis and pathological examination in bronchial Dieulafoy disease: a case series

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are limited series concerning Dieulafoy disease of the bronchus. We describe the clinical presentation of a series of 7 patients diagnosed with Dieulafoy disease of the bronchus and provide information about the pathological diagnosis approach.</p> <p>Patients and methods</p> <p>A retrospective review of patients who underwent surgery for massive and unexplained recurrent hemoptysis in a referral center during a 11-year period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven heavy smoker (49 pack years) patients (5 males) mean aged 54 years experienced a massive hemoptysis (350–1000 ml) unrelated to a known lung disease and frequently recurrent. Bronchial contrast extravasation was observed in 3 patients, combining both CT scan and bronchial arteriography. Efficacy of bronchial artery embolization was achieved in 40% of cases before surgery. Pathological examination demonstrated a minute defect in 3 cases and a large and dysplasic superficial bronchial artery in the submucosa in all cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Dieulafoy disease should be suspected in patients with massive and unexplained episodes of recurrent hemoptysis, in order to avoid hazardous endoscopic biopsies and to alert the pathologist if surgery is performed.</p