Automatic translation of the dactilologic language of hearing impaired by adaptive systems

Una de las principales limitaciones que presentan las personas con discapacidad auditiva está directamente relacionada con su dificultad para interactuar con otras personas, ya sea de forma verbal o a través de sistemas auxiliares basados en la voz y el audio. En este artículo se presenta el desarrollo de un sistema integrado de hardware y software, para el reconocimiento automático del lenguaje dactilológico de señas utilizado por personas con este tipo de discapacidad. El hardware está compuesto por un sistema inalámbrico adherido a un guante, el cual posee un conjunto de sensores que capturan una serie de señales generadas por los movimientos gestuales de la mano, y un modelo por adaptación basado en los principios de la computación neuronal, el cual permite su reconocimiento en términos de un lenguaje dactilológico en particular. Los resultados arrojados por el sistema integrado mostraron gran efectividad en el reconocimiento de las vocales que conforman el lenguaje dactilológico en español, esto gracias a la capacidad que posee el modelo de asociar un conjunto de señales de entrada, con un movimiento dactilológico en particular.One of the main limitations of the people with hearing impairment is directly related to their difficulty interacting with others, either verbally or through auxiliary systems based on voice and audio. This paper presents the development of an integrated system of hardware and software for automatic fingerspelling sign language used by people with this type of disability. The hardware system comprises a glove which has a set of wireless sensors that capture a series of signals generated by the hand gestures, and a adaptive model based on the principles of neural computation, that allows recognition of a particular dactilologic language. Results from the integrated system showed great effectiveness in recognizing vowels from the dactilologic Spanish language. This recognition was influenced by the dimensionality reduction made by the neural model of the input signals representing movements, and the sensitivity factor that sets the limit between recognition and learning

ZnO-mesoporous glass scaffolds loaded with osteostatin and mesenchymal cells improve bone healing in a rabbit bone defect.

The use of 3D scaffolds based on mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBG) enhanced with therapeutic ions, biomolecules and cells is emerging as a strategy to improve bone healing. In this paper, the osteogenic capability of ZnO-enriched MBG scaffolds loaded or not with osteostatin (OST) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was evaluated after implantation in New Zealand rabbits. Cylindrical meso-macroporous scaffolds with composition (mol %) 82.2SiO2–10.3CaO–3.3P2O5–4.2ZnO (4ZN) were obtained by rapid prototyping and then, coated with gelatin for easy handling and potentiating the release of inorganic ions and OST. Bone defects (7.5 mm diameter, 12 mm depth) were drilled in the distal femoral epiphysis and filled with 4ZN, 4ZN+MSC, 4ZN+OST or 4ZN+MSC+OST materials to evaluate and compare their osteogenic features. Rabbits were sacrificed at 3 months extracting the distal third of bone specimens for necropsy, histological and microtomography (µCT) evaluations. Systems investigated exhibited bone regeneration capability. Thus, trabecular bone volume density (BV/TV) values obtained from µCT showed that the good bone healing capability of 4ZN was significantly improved by the scaffolds coated with OST and MSC. Our findings in vivo suggest the interest of these MBG complete systems to improve bone repair in the clinical practice

Simulation of risk of tuberculosis infection in healthcare workers in hospitals of an intermediate incidence country

We simulated the frequency of tuberculosis infection in healthcare workers in order to classify the risk of TB transmission for nine hospitals in Medellín, Colombia. We used a risk assessment approach to estimate the average number of infections in three risk groups of a cohort of 1082 workers exposed to potentially infectious patients over 10- and 20-day periods. The risk level of the hospitals was classified according to TB prevalence: two of the hospitals were ranked as being of very high priority, six as high priority and one as low priority. Consistent results were obtained when the simulation was validated in two hospitals by studying 408 healthcare workers using interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin testing. The latent infection prevalence using laboratory tests was 41% [95% confidence interval (CI) 34·3–47·7] and 44% (95% CI 36·4–51·0) in those hospitals, and in the simulation, it was 40·7% (95% CI 32·3–49·0) and 36% (95% CI 27·9–44·0), respectively. Simulation of risk may be useful as a tool to classify local and regional hospitals according to their risk of nosocomial TB transmission, and to facilitate the design of hospital infection control plans

The ecology of peace : preparing Colombia for new political and planetary climates

ABSTRACT: Colombia, one of the world’s most species-rich nations, is currently undergoing a profound social transition: the end of a decadeslong conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. The peace agreement process will likely transform the country’s physical and socioeconomic landscapes at a time when humans are altering Earth’s atmosphere and climate in unprecedented ways. We discuss ways in which these transformative events will act in combination to shape the ecological and environmental future of Colombia. We also highlight the risks of creating perverse development incentives in these critical times, along with the potential benefits – for the country and the world – if Colombia can navigate through the peace process in a way that protects its own environment and ecosystems

International collaborative study to assess cardiovascular risk and evaluate long-term health in cats with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and apparently healthy cats:The REVEAL Study

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most prevalent heart disorder in cats and principal cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Yet, the impact of preclinical disease is unresolved. Hypothesis/Objectives: Observational study to characterize cardiovascular morbidity and survival in cats with preclinical nonobstructive (HCM) and obstructive (HOCM) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and in apparently healthy cats (AH). Animals: One thousand seven hundred and thirty client-owned cats (430 preclinical HCM; 578 preclinical HOCM; 722 AH). Methods: Retrospective multicenter, longitudinal, cohort study. Cats from 21 countries were followed through medical record review and owner or referring veterinarian interviews. Data were analyzed to compare long-term outcomes, incidence, and risk for congestive heart failure (CHF), arterial thromboembolism (ATE), and cardiovascular death. Results: During the study period, CHF, ATE, or both occurred in 30.5% and cardiovascular death in 27.9% of 1008 HCM/HOCM cats. Risk assessed at 1, 5, and 10 years after study entry was 7.0%/3.5%, 19.9%/9.7%, and 23.9%/11.3% for CHF/ATE, and 6.7%, 22.8%, and 28.3% for cardiovascular death, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between HOCM compared with HCM for cardiovascular morbidity or mortality, time from diagnosis to development of morbidity, or cardiovascular survival. Cats that developed cardiovascular morbidity had short survival (mean \ub1 standard deviation, 1.3 \ub1 1.7 years). Overall, prolonged longevity was recorded in a minority of preclinical HCM/HOCM cats with 10% reaching 9-15 years. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Preclinical HCM/HOCM is a global health problem of cats that carries substantial risk for CHF, ATE, and cardiovascular death. This finding underscores the need to identify therapies and monitoring strategies that decrease morbidity and mortality

Antropología aplicada. Escenarios y experiencias en América Latina

Antropología Aplicada. Escenarios y experiencias en América Latina es la traducción al español del dossier publicado en inglés (Human Organization vol. 81, Número 2, 2022), con la intención de promover la antropología aplicada en el continente americano. Su difusión a una audiencia hispano-parlante fomentará el diálogo y estimulará tanto la enseñanza como la promoción de una antropología atenta a dar respuesta a las necesidades locales. A través de temas de relevancia hemisférica -como la migración, los derechos humanos, la interculturalidad, el desarrollo participativo y la educación universitaria-, los artículos instruyen sobre la antropología aplicada en Ecuador, México, Perú, Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina. El texto no solo contribuye al conocimiento de múltiples expresiones de la antropología aplicada en dichos países a tráves de estudios de casos; impulsa, además, el diálogo con quienes la practican en Estados Unidos y Canadá. Su lectura contribuirá al debate, a la difusión del conocimiento, y a su aplicación práctica

The extreme HBL behaviour of Markarian 501 during 2012

A multiwavelength campaign was organized to take place between March and July of 2012. Excellent temporal coverage was obtained with more than 25 instruments, including the MAGIC, FACT and VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes, the instruments on board the Swift and Fermi spacecraft, and the telescopes operated by the GASP-WEBT collaboration. Mrk 501 showed a very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray flux above 0.2 TeV of $\sim$0.5 times the Crab Nebula flux (CU) for most of the campaign. The highest activity occurred on 2012 June 9, when the VHE flux was $\sim$3 CU, and the peak of the high-energy spectral component was found to be at $\sim$2 TeV. This study reports very hard X-ray spectra, and the hardest VHE spectra measured to date for Mrk 501. The fractional variability was found to increase with energy, with the highest variability occurring at VHE, and a significant correlation between the X-ray and VHE bands. The unprecedentedly hard X-ray and VHE spectra measured imply that their low- and high-energy components peaked above 5 keV and 0.5 TeV, respectively, during a large fraction of the observing campaign, and hence that Mrk 501 behaved like an extreme high-frequency- peaked blazar (EHBL) throughout the 2012 observing season. This suggests that being an EHBL may not be a permanent characteristic of a blazar, but rather a state which may change over time. The one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario can successfully describe the segments of the SED where most energy is emitted, with a significant correlation between the electron energy density and the VHE gamma-ray activity, suggesting that most of the variability may be explained by the injection of high-energy electrons. The one-zone SSC scenario used reproduces the behaviour seen between the measured X-ray and VHE gamma-ray fluxes, and predicts that the correlation becomes stronger with increasing energy of the X-rays

Periastron Observations of TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from a Binary System with a 50-year Period

We report on observations of the pulsar / Be star binary system PSR J2032+4127 / MT91 213 in the energy range between 100 GeV and 20 TeV with the VERITAS and MAGIC imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays. The binary orbit has a period of approximately 50 years, with the most recent periastron occurring on 2017 November 13. Our observations span from 18 months prior to periastron to one month after. A new, point-like, gamma-ray source is detected, coincident with the location of PSR J2032+4127 / MT91 213. The gamma-ray light curve and spectrum are well-characterized over the periastron passage. The flux is variable over at least an order of magnitude, peaking at periastron, thus providing a firm association of the TeV source with the pulsar / Be star system. Observations prior to periastron show a cutoff in the spectrum at an energy around 0.5 TeV. This result adds a new member to the small population of known TeV binaries, and it identifies only the second source of this class in which the nature and properties of the compact object are firmly established. We compare the gamma-ray results with the light curve measured with the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and with the predictions of recent theoretical models of the system. We conclude that significant revision of the models is required to explain the details of the emission we have observed, and we discuss the relationship between the binary system and the overlapping steady extended source, TeV J2032+4130

The Great Markarian 421 Flare of 2010 February: Multiwavelength Variability and Correlation Studies

We report on variability and correlation studies using multiwavelength observations of the blazar Mrk 421 during the month of 2010 February, when an extraordinary flare reaching a level of ∼27 Crab Units above 1 TeV was measured in very high energy (VHE) γ-rays with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observatory. This is the highest flux state for Mrk 421 ever observed in VHE γ-rays. Data are analyzed from a coordinated campaign across multiple instruments, including VHE γ-ray (VERITAS, Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov), high-energy γ-ray (Fermi-LAT), X-ray (Swift, Rossi X-ray Timing Experiment, MAXI), optical (including the GASP-WEBT collaboration and polarization data), and radio (Metsahovi, Owens Valley Radio Observatory, University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory). Light curves are produced spanning multiple days before and after the peak of the VHE flare, including over several flare "decline" epochs. The main flare statistics allow 2 minute time bins to be constructed in both the VHE and optical bands enabling a cross-correlation analysis that shows evidence for an optical lag of ∼25-55 minutes, the first time-lagged correlation between these bands reported on such short timescales. Limits on the Doppler factor (δ ⪆ 33) and the size of the emission region (δ-1RB≲ 3.8 × 1013cm) are obtained from the fast variability observed by VERITAS during the main flare. Analysis of 10 minute binned VHE and X-ray data over the decline epochs shows an extraordinary range of behavior in the flux-flux relationship, from linear to quadratic to lack of correlation to anticorrelation. Taken together, these detailed observations of an unprecedented flare seen in Mrk 421 are difficult to explain with the classic single-zone synchrotron self-Compton model

Strategies to reengage patients lost to follow up in HIV care in high income countries, a scoping review

Background: Despite remarkable achievements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), losses to follow-up (LTFU) might prevent the long-term success of HIV treatment and might delay the achievement of the 90-90-90 objectives. This scoping review is aimed at the description and analysis of the strategies used in high-income countries to reengage LTFU in HIV care, their implementation and impact. Methods: A scoping review was done following Arksey & O'Malley's methodological framework and recommendations from Joanna Briggs Institute. Peer reviewed articles were searched for in Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science; and grey literature was searched for in Google and other sources of information. Documents were charted according to the information presented on LTFU, the reengagement procedures used in HIV units in high-income countries, published during the last 15 years. In addition, bibliographies of chosen articles were reviewed for additional articles. Results: Twenty-eight documents were finally included, over 80% of them published in the United States later than 2015. Database searches, phone calls and/or mail contacts were the most common strategies used to locate and track LTFU, while motivational interviews and strengths-based techniques were used most often during reengagement visits. Outcomes like tracing activities efficacy, rates of reengagement and viral load reduction were reported as outcome measures. Conclusions: This review shows a recent and growing trend in developing and implementing patient reengagement strategies in HIV care. However, most of these strategies have been implemented in the United States and little information is available for other high-income countries. The procedures used to trace and contact LTFU are similar across reviewed studies, but their impact and sustainability are widely different depending on the country studied