On the Recovery of Superellipsoids

Superellipsoids are parameterized solids which can appear like cubes or spheres or octahedrons or 8-pointed stars or anything in between. They can also be stretched bent tapered and combined with boolean to model a wide range of objects. Columbia's vision group is interested in using superquadrics as model primitives for computer vision applications because they are flexible enough to allow modeling of many objects, yet they can be described by a few (5-14) numbers. This paper discusses research into the recovery of superellipsoids from 3-D information, in particular range data. This research can be divided into two parts, a study of potential error-of-fit measures for recovering superquadrics, and implementation and experimentation with a system which attempts to recover superellipsoids by minimizing an error-of-fit measure. This paper presents an overview of work in both areas. Included are data from an initial comparison of 4 error-of-fit measures in terms of the inter-relationship between each measure and the parameters defining the superellipsoid. Also discussed is an experimental system which employs a nonlinear least square minimization technique to recover the parameters. This paper discusses both the advantages of this technique, and some of its major drawbacks. Examples are presented, using both synthetic and range-data, where the system successfully recovers superlliposids. Including "negative" volumes as would occur if superellipsoids were used in a constructive solid modeling system

Recovery of superquadrics from depth information

Superquadrics are a a class volumetric primitive which can model objects including rectangular solids with rounded corners, ellipsoids, octaheadrons, 8-pointed stars, hyperbolic sheets, and toroids with cross sections ranging from rectangles with rounded corners to elliptical regions. They can be stretched, bent, tapered and combined with boolean operations to model a wide range of objects. This paper discusses our progress at attempting to recover a subclass of superquadrics from 3D depth data. The first section of this paper presents a mathematical definition of superquadrics. Some of the rationale for using superquadrics for object recognition is then discussed. Briefly, superquadrics are flexible enough to represent a wide class of objects, but are simple enough to be recovered from 3d data. Additionally, the surface and its normal surface both have well defined inside-out functions which provide a useful tool for their recovery. The third section examines some of the difficulties to be encountered when modeling objects with superquadrics, or attempting to recover superquadrics from 3D data. These difficulties include the general problems of a non-orthogonal representation, difficulties of dealing with objects which are not exactly representable with CSG operations on the primitives, the need to recognize negative objects. Certain numerical instabilities and some problems caused by using the inside-out function as an approximation of the distance of a point from the superquadric. Our current system employs a nonlinear least square minimization technique on the inside-out function to recover the parameters. After discussing the details of the current system, the paper presents examples, using noisy synthetic data, where the system succe88fully uses multiple views to recover underlying superquadrics. Also presented are examples using range data, including the recovery of a negative superellipsiod. Some pros and cons of our approach as well as few conclusions, and a discussion of our planned future work appear in the final section. The main result is that least square minimization using the inside-out function allows both positive and negative instances of superellipsoids to be recovered from depth data. A second preliminary result is that a single view of a superquadric may not be sufficient for reconstruction without additional assumption

An Algorithm to Recover Generalized Cylinders from a Single Intensity View

Understanding a scene involves the ability to recover the shape of objects in an environment. Generalized cylinders are a flexible, loosely defined class of parametric shapes capable of modeling many real-world objects. Straight homogeneous generalized cylinders are an important subclass of generalized cylinders whose cross sections are scaled versions of a reference curve. In this paper, a general method is presented for recovering straight homogeneous generalized cylinders from monocular intensity images. The algorithm is much more general in scope than any other developed to date. combining constraints derived from both contour and intensity information. We first demonstrate that contour information alone is insufficient to recover a straight homogeneous generalized cylinder uniquely. Next, we show that the sign and magnitude of the Gaussian curvature at a point varies among members of a contour-equivalent class. The image contour fails to constrain two parameters required to recover the shape of a generalized cylinder, the 3D axis location and the object tilt. Next, a method for "ruling" straight homogeneous generalized cylinder images is developed. Once the rulings of the image have been recovered, we show that all parameters derivable from contour alone can be recovered. To recover the two remaining parameters (modulo scale) not constrained by image contour requires incorporating additional information into the recovery process, e.g. intensity information. We derive a method for recovering the tilt of the object using the ruled contour image and intensity values along cross-sectional geodesics. In addition, we derive a method for recovering the location of the object's 3D axis from intensity values along meridians of the surface. Using the different methods outlined in this paper constitutes an algorithm for recovering all the shape parameters (modulo scale) of a straight homogeneous generalized cylinder

Energy-Based Segmentation of Very Sparse Range Surfaces

This paper describes a new segmentation technique for very sparse surfaces which is based on minimizing the energy of the surfaces in the scene. While it could be used in almost any system as part of surface reconstruction/model recovery, the algorithm is designed to be usable when the depth information is scattered and very sparse, as is generally the case with depth generated by stereo algorithms. We show results from a sequential algorithm that processes laser range-finder data or synthetic data. We then discuss a parallel implementation running on the parallel Connection Machine. The idea of segmentation by energy minimization is not new. However, prior techniques have relied on discrete regularization or Markov random fields to model the surfaces to build smooth surfaces and detect depth edges. Both of the aforementioned techniques are ineffective at energy minimization for very sparse data. In addition, this method does not require edge detection and is thus also applicable when edge information is unreliable or unavailable. Our model is extremely general; it does not depend on a model of the surface shape but only on the energy for bending a surface. Thus the surfaces can grow in a more data-directed manner. The technique presented herein models the surfaces with reproducing kernel-based splines, which can be shown to solve a regularized surface reconstruction problem. From the functional form of these splines we derive computable bounds on the energy of a surface over a given finite region. The computation of the spline, and the corresponding surface representation are quite efficient for very sparse data. An interesting property of the algorithm is that it makes no attempt to determine segmentation boundaries; the algorithm can be viewed as a classification scheme which segments the data into collections of points which are "from" the same surface. Among the significant advantages of the method is the capacity to process overlapping transparent surfaces, as well as surfaces with large occluded areas

Hunger among Inuit children in Canada

Background and objectives. Inuit populations may be at increased risk for experiencing poor nutrition or hunger due to limited access and availability to food. The prevalence and correlates of parental perceptions of hunger among a nationally representative sample of Inuit children in Canada have not yet been reported. Design. Data are from the 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS). Sociodemographic information, dietary behaviours and hunger status were parent-reported via a household interview for Inuit children aged 2–5 years (n=1,234). Prevalence of hunger was calculated among Inuit children by sociodemographic factors and by dietary behaviours. In addition, a multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to determine factors associated with parental perception of ever experiencing hunger. Results. The prevalence of Inuit children in Canada aged 2–5 years ever experiencing hunger was 24.4%. Children who were reported to have experienced hunger consumed milk and milk products (p<0.001); fish, eggs and meat (p<0.05); fruits (p<0.001); and vegetables (p<0.001) significantly less often than never-hungry children. Fast food and processed foods, soft drinks and juice, and salty snacks, sweets and desserts were consumed as often as never-hungry children (all p>0.05). The majority (81%) of Inuit parents/guardians of ever-hungry children sought help from family or friends. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing hunger include sociodemographic characteristics (such as income and household size), living in an Inuit region and living in a community with cultural activities. Conclusion. About 1 in 4 Inuit children were reported by their parents to have experienced hunger, and hunger was associated with region, sociodemographic and community factors. Future research could further examine the impact of ever experiencing hunger on the health status of Inuit children and their families in Canada

Wittgensteinian Anti-Scepticism and Epistemic Vertigo

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The effects of integrated care: a systematic review of UK and international evidence

BACKGROUND: Healthcare systems around the world have been responding to the demand for better integrated models of service delivery. However, there is a need for further clarity regarding the effects of these new models of integration, and exploration regarding whether models introduced in other care systems may achieve similar outcomes in a UK national health service context. METHODS: The study aimed to carry out a systematic review of the effects of integration or co-ordination between healthcare services, or between health and social care on service delivery outcomes including effectiveness, efficiency and quality of care. Electronic databases including MEDLINE; Embase; PsycINFO; CINAHL; Science and Social Science Citation Indices; and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant literature published between 2006 to March 2017. Online sources were searched for UK grey literature, and citation searching, and manual reference list screening were also carried out. Quantitative primary studies and systematic reviews, reporting actual or perceived effects on service delivery following the introduction of models of integration or co-ordination, in healthcare or health and social care settings in developed countries were eligible for inclusion. Strength of evidence for each outcome reported was analysed and synthesised using a four point comparative rating system of stronger, weaker, inconsistent or limited evidence. RESULTS: One hundred sixty seven studies were eligible for inclusion. Analysis indicated evidence of perceived improved quality of care, evidence of increased patient satisfaction, and evidence of improved access to care. Evidence was rated as either inconsistent or limited regarding all other outcomes reported, including system-wide impacts on primary care, secondary care, and health care costs. There were limited differences between outcomes reported by UK and international studies, and overall the literature had a limited consideration of effects on service users. CONCLUSIONS: Models of integrated care may enhance patient satisfaction, increase perceived quality of care, and enable access to services, although the evidence for other outcomes including service costs remains unclear. Indications of improved access may have important implications for services struggling to cope with increasing demand. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Prospero registration number: 42016037725

Using Cognitive Pre-Testing Methods in the Development of a New Evidenced-Based Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instrument

Background: Variation in development methods of Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instruments has led to inconsistent inclusion of risk factors and concerns about content validity. A new evidenced-based Risk Assessment Instrument, the Pressure Ulcer Risk Primary Or Secondary Evaluation Tool - PURPOSE-T was developed as part of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded Pressure Ulcer Research Programme (PURPOSE: RP-PG-0407-10056). This paper reports the pre-test phase to assess and improve PURPOSE-T acceptability, usability and confirm content validity. Methods: A descriptive study incorporating cognitive pre-testing methods and integration of service user views was undertaken over 3 cycles comprising PURPOSE-T training, a focus group and one-to-one think-aloud interviews. Clinical nurses from 2 acute and 2 community NHS Trusts, were grouped according to job role. Focus group participants used 3 vignettes to complete PURPOSE-T assessments and then participated in the focus group. Think-aloud participants were interviewed during their completion of PURPOSE-T. After each pre-test cycle analysis was undertaken and adjustment/improvements made to PURPOSE-T in an iterative process. This incorporated the use of descriptive statistics for data completeness and decision rule compliance and directed content analysis for interview and focus group data. Data were collected April 2012-June 2012. Results: Thirty-four nurses participated in 3 pre-test cycles. Data from 3 focus groups, 12 think-aloud interviews incorporating 101 PURPOSE-T assessments led to changes to improve instrument content and design, flow and format, decision support and item-specific wording. Acceptability and usability were demonstrated by improved data completion and appropriate risk pathway allocation. The pre-test also confirmed content validity with clinical nurses. Conclusions: The pre-test was an important step in the development of the preliminary PURPOSE-T and the methods used may have wider instrument development application. PURPOSE-T proposes a new approach to pressure ulcer risk assessment, incorporating a screening stage, the inclusion of skin status to distinguish between those who require primary prevention and those who require secondary prevention/treatment and the use of colour to support pathway allocation and decision making. Further clinical evaluation is planned to assess the reliability and validity of PURPOSE-T and it’s impact on care processes and patient outcomes

Perspectives in visual imaging for marine biology and ecology: from acquisition to understanding

Durden J, Schoening T, Althaus F, et al. Perspectives in Visual Imaging for Marine Biology and Ecology: From Acquisition to Understanding. In: Hughes RN, Hughes DJ, Smith IP, Dale AC, eds. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. 54. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2016: 1-72