ActiveStereoNet: End-to-End Self-Supervised Learning for Active Stereo Systems

In this paper we present ActiveStereoNet, the first deep learning solution for active stereo systems. Due to the lack of ground truth, our method is fully self-supervised, yet it produces precise depth with a subpixel precision of $1/30th$ of a pixel; it does not suffer from the common over-smoothing issues; it preserves the edges; and it explicitly handles occlusions. We introduce a novel reconstruction loss that is more robust to noise and texture-less patches, and is invariant to illumination changes. The proposed loss is optimized using a window-based cost aggregation with an adaptive support weight scheme. This cost aggregation is edge-preserving and smooths the loss function, which is key to allow the network to reach compelling results. Finally we show how the task of predicting invalid regions, such as occlusions, can be trained end-to-end without ground-truth. This component is crucial to reduce blur and particularly improves predictions along depth discontinuities. Extensive quantitatively and qualitatively evaluations on real and synthetic data demonstrate state of the art results in many challenging scenes.Comment: Accepted by ECCV2018, Oral Presentation, Main paper + Supplementary Material

Solvent contribution to the stability of a physical gel characterized by quasi-elastic neutron scattering

The dynamics of a physical gel, namely the Low Molecular Mass Organic Gelator {\textit Methyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-$\alpha$ -D-mannopyranoside ($\alpha$-manno)} in water and toluene are probed by neutron scattering. Using high gelator concentrations, we were able to determine, on a timescale from a few ps to 1 ns, the number of solvent molecules that are immobilised by the rigid network formed by the gelators. We found that only few toluene molecules per gelator participate to the network which is formed by hydrogen bonding between the gelators' sugar moieties. In water, however, the interactions leading to the gel formations are weaker, involving dipolar, hydrophobic or $\pi-\pi$ interactions and hydrogen bonds are formed between the gelators and the surrounding water. Therefore, around 10 to 14 water molecules per gelator are immobilised by the presence of the network. This study shows that neutron scattering can give valuable information about the behaviour of solvent confined in a molecular gel.Comment: Langmuir (2015

Protocols for the field testing

The COMMON SENSE project has been designed and planned in order to meet the general and specific scientific and technical objectives mentioned in its Description of Work (page 77). In an overall strategy of the work plan, work packages (11) can be grouped into 3 key phases: (1) RD basis for cost-effective sensor development, (2) Sensor development, sensor web platform and integration, and (3) Field testing. In the first two phases WP1 and WP2 partners have provided a general understanding and integrated basis for a cost effective sensors development. Within the following WPs 4 to 8 the new sensors are created and integrated into different identified platforms. During the third phase 3, characterized by WP9, partners will deploy precompetitive prototypes at chosen platforms (e.g. research vessels, oil platforms, buoys and submerged moorings, ocean racing yachts, drifting buoys). Starting from August 2015 (month 22; task 9.2), these platforms will allow the partnership to test the adaptability and performance of the in-situ sensors and verify if the transmission of data is properly made, correcting deviations. In task 9.1 all stakeholders identified in WP2, and other relevant agents, have been contacted in order to close a coordinated agenda for the field testing phase for each of the platforms. Field testing procedures (WP2) and deployment specificities, defined during sensor development in WPs 4 to 8, are closely studied by all stakeholders involved in field testing activities in order for everyone to know their role, how to proceed and to provide themselves with the necessary material and equipment (e.g. transport of instruments). All this information will provide the basis for designing and coordinating field testing activities. Type and characteristics of the system (vessel or mooring, surface or deep, open sea or coastal area, duration, etc.), used for the field testing activities, are planned comprising the indicators included in the above-mentioned descriptors, taking into account that they must of interest for eutrophication, concentration of contaminants, marine litter and underwater noise. In order to obtain the necessary information, two tables were realized starting from the information acquired for D2.2 delivered in June 2014. One table was created for sensor developers and one for those partners that will test the sensors at sea. The six developers in COMMON SENSE have provided information on the seven sensors: CEFAS and IOPAN for underwater noise; IDRONAUT and LEITAT for microplastics; CSIC for an innovative piro and piezo resistive polymeric temperature and pressure and for heavy metal; DCU for the eutrophication sensor. This information is anyway incomplete because in most cases the novel sensors are still far to be ready and will be developed over the course of COMMON SENSE. So the sensors cannot be clearly designed yet and, consequently, technical characteristics cannot still be perfectly defined. This produces some lag in the acquired information and, consequently, in the planning of their testing on specific platforms that will be solved in the near future. In the table for Testers, partners have provided information on fifteen available platforms. Specific answers have been given on number and type of sensors on each platforms, their availability and technical characteristics, compatibility issues and, very important when new sensors are tested, comparative measurements to be implemented to verify them. Finally IOPAN has described two more platforms, a motorboat not listed in the DoW, but already introduced in D2.2, and their oceanographic buoy in the Gdansk Bay that was previously unavailable. The same availability now is present for the OBSEA Underwater observatory from CSIC, while their Aqualog undulating mooring is still not ready for use. In the following months, new information on sensors and platforms will be provided and the planning of testing activities will improve. Further updates of this report will be therefore necessary in order to individuate the most suitable platforms to test each kind of sensor. Objectives and rationale The objective of deliverable 9.1 is the definition of field testing procedures (WP2), the study of deployment specificities during sensor development work packages (from WP4 to WP8) and the preparation of protocols. This with the participation of all stakeholders involved in field testing activities in order for everyone to know their role, how to proceed and to provide themselves with the necessary material and equipment

Field testing, validation and optimization report

The COMMON SENSE project has been designed and planned in order to meet the general and specific scientific and technical objectives mentioned in its Description of Work (page 77). As the overall strategy, the 11 work packages (WPs) of the work plan were grouped into 3 key phases: (1) RD basis for cost-effective sensor development , (2) Sensor development, sensor web platform and integration, and (3) Field testing. In the first two phases, partners involved in WP1 and WP2 have provided a general understanding and integrated basis for a cost effective sensors development. Within the following WPs 4 to 8 the new sensors were created and integrated into different identified platforms. During the third phase of field testing (WP9), partners have deployed precompetitive prototypes at chosen platforms (e.g. research vessels, oil platforms, buoys and submerged moorings, ocean racing yachts, drifting buoys). Starting from August 2015 (month 22; task 9.2), these platforms have allowed the partnership to test the adaptability and performance of the in-situ sensors and verify if the transmission of data is properly made, correcting deviations. In task 9.1 all stakeholders identified in WP2 have been contacted in order to agree upon a coordinated agenda for the field testing phase for each of the platforms. Field testing procedures (WP2) and deployment specificities, defined during sensor development in WPs 4 to 8, have been closely studied by all stakeholders involved in field testing activities in order for everyone to know their role, how to proceed and to provide themselves with the necessary material and equipment (e.g. transport of instruments). All this information have provided the basis for designing and coordinating field testing activities. Subsequently, the available new sensors have been tested since August 2015 till mid-October of the current year (2016) as part of task 9.2, following the indications defined in D9.1, such as the intercomparison of the new sensors with commercial ones, when possible. The availability of new sensors was quite different in time starting with the first tests in September and October 2015 on noise, nutrient and heavy metals sensors and closing with pCO2 in late September 2016. Sensors are technically fully described in the deliverables of WPs 3 to 8 and are here just mentioned where necessary. For further details, please consider those reports. Objectives and rationale The protocols prepared in D9.1 have been verified during the field testing activities of the innovative sensors on platforms. These can be summarized into 3 categories: (1) Research vessels (regular cruises); (2) Fixed platforms; (3) Ocean racing yachts. An exhaustive analysis of the different data obtained during field testing activities has been carried on in order to set possible optimization actions for prototypes design and performances. The data from each platform have been analyzed to verify limits and optimal installations or possible improvements. Finally a set of possible optimization actions has been defined. Data and observations collected during the course of field testing have been used to iteratively optimize the design and performance of the precompetitive prototypes

Transesterification of PHA to Oligomers Covalently Bonded with (Bio)Active Compounds Containing Either Carboxyl or Hydroxyl Functionalities

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Public Library of Science. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120149This manuscript presents the synthesis and structural characterisation of novel biodegradable polymeric controlled-release systems of pesticides with potentially higher resistance to weather conditions in comparison to conventional forms of pesticides. Two methods for the preparation of pesticide-oligomer conjugates using the transesterification reaction were developed. The first method of obtaining conjugates, which consist of bioactive compounds with the carboxyl group and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) oligomers, is "one-pot" transesterification. In the second method, conjugates of bioactive compounds with hydroxyl group and polyhydroxyalkanoates oligomers were obtained in two-step method, through cyclic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) oligomers. The obtained pesticide-PHA conjugates were comprehensively characterised using GPC, 1H NMR and mass spectrometry techniques. The structural characterisation of the obtained products at the molecular level with the aid of mass spectrometry confirmed that both of the synthetic strategies employed led to the formation of conjugates in which selected pesticides were covalently bonded to PHA oligomers via a hydrolysable ester bond

Optical techniques for 3D surface reconstruction in computer-assisted laparoscopic surgery

One of the main challenges for computer-assisted surgery (CAS) is to determine the intra-opera- tive morphology and motion of soft-tissues. This information is prerequisite to the registration of multi-modal patient-specific data for enhancing the surgeon’s navigation capabilites by observ- ing beyond exposed tissue surfaces and for providing intelligent control of robotic-assisted in- struments. In minimally invasive surgery (MIS), optical techniques are an increasingly attractive approach for in vivo 3D reconstruction of the soft-tissue surface geometry. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art methods for optical intra-operative 3D reconstruction in laparoscopic surgery and discusses the technical challenges and future perspectives towards clinical translation. With the recent paradigm shift of surgical practice towards MIS and new developments in 3D opti- cal imaging, this is a timely discussion about technologies that could facilitate complex CAS procedures in dynamic and deformable anatomical regions

Tailoring the Degradation Time of Polycationic PEG-Based Hydrogels toward Dynamic Cell Culture Matrices

Poly(ethylene glycol)-based (PEG) hydrogels provide an ideal platform to obtain well-defined and tailor-made cell culture matrices to enhance in vitro cell culture conditions, although cell adhesion is often challenging when the cells are cultivated on the substrate surface. We herein demonstrate two approaches for the synthesis of polycationic PEG-based hydrogels which were modified to enhance cell-matrix interactions, to improve two-dimensional (2D) cell culture, and catalyze hydrolytic degradation. While the utilization of N , N -(bisacryloxyethyl) amine (BAA) as cross-linker for in situ gelation provides degradable scaffolds for dynamic cell culture, the incorporation of short segments of poly( N -(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)acrylamide) (PDMAPAam) provides high local cationic charge density leading to PEG-based hydrogels with high selectivity for fibroblastic cell lines. The adsorption of transforming growth factor (TGF-β) into the hydrogels induced stimulation of fibrosis and thus the formation of collagen as a natural ECM compound. With this, these dynamic hydrogels enhance in vitro cell culture by providing a well-defined, artificial, and degradable matrix that stimulates cells to produce their own natural scaffold within a defined time frame

Transscleral Optical Phase Imaging of the Human Retina.

In-vivo observation of the human retina at the cellular level is crucial to detect the first signs of retinal diseases and properly treat them. Despite the phenomenal advances in adaptive optics (AO) systems, clinical imaging of many retinal cells is still elusive due to the low signal-to-noise ratio induced by transpupillary illumination. We present a transscleral optical phase imaging (TOPI) method, which relies on high-angle oblique illumination of the retina, combined with AO, to enhance cell contrast. Examination of eleven healthy volunteer eyes, without pupil dilation, shows the ability of this method to produce in-vivo images of retinal cells, from the retinal pigment epithelium to the nerve fibre layer. This method also allows the generation of high-resolution label-free ex-vivo phase images of flat-mounted retinas. The 4.4°x 4.4° field-of-view in-vivo images are recorded in less than 10 seconds, opening new avenues in the exploration of healthy and diseased retinas