Indoor assistance for visually impaired people using a RGB-D camera

In this paper a navigational aid for visually impaired people is presented. The system uses a RGB-D camera to perceive the environment and implements self-localization, obstacle detection and obstacle classification. The novelty of this work is threefold. First, self-localization is performed by means of a novel camera tracking approach that uses both depth and color information. Second, to provide the user with semantic information, obstacles are classified as walls, doors, steps and a residual class that covers isolated objects and bumpy parts on the floor. Third, in order to guarantee real time performance, the system is accelerated by offloading parallel operations to the GPU. Experiments demonstrate that the whole system is running at 9 Hz

Deep Learning-Based Signal Detection for Dual-Mode Index Modulation 3D-OFDM

In this paper, we propose a deep learning-based signal detector called DuaIM-3DNet for dual-mode index modulation-based three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DM-IM-3D-OFDM). Herein, DM-IM-3D- OFDM is a subcarrier index modulation scheme which conveys data bits via both dual-mode 3D constellation symbols and indices of active subcarriers. Thus, this scheme obtains better error performance than the existing IM schemes when using the conventional maximum likelihood (ML) detector, which, however, suffers from high computational complexity, especially when the system parameters increase. In order to address this fundamental issue, we propose the usage of a deep neural network (DNN) at the receiver to jointly and reliably detect both symbols and index bits of DM-IM-3D-OFDM under Rayleigh fading channels in a data-driven manner. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed DNN detector achieves near-optimal performance at significantly lower runtime complexity compared to the ML detector

CAMELLIA HOABINHENSIS (THEACEAE: SECT. CHRYSANTHA), A NEW YELLOW-FLOWERED SPECIES FROM NORTHERN VIETNAM

A new species, Camellia hoabinhensis (section Chrysantha, Theaceae), is described and illustrated based on specimens collected from a lowland forest on limestone hills in Hoa Binh Province, northern Vietnam. The species is characterized by its small habit to 4.5 m tall, large flowers 9.0–9.5 cm in diameter with 18–19 light yellow petals, and hairy filaments, ovaries, and styles. A comparison of the new species with similar species, C. euphlebia, C. impressinervis, C. phanii, and C. velutina, is provided. The IUCN conservation status of the proposed species is Data Deficient (DD)

CAMELLIA QUYNHII (THEACEAE, SECT. STEREOCARPUS), A NEW YELLOW SPECIES FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, VIETNAM

Camellia quynhii is described and illustrated as a new species of section Stereocarpus (Pierre) Sealy from 12th village, Vu Bon Commune, Krong Pak District, Dak Lak Province. C. quynhii resembles C. dormoyana (Pierre) Sealy but differs in several morphological characteristics: sepals 6–7; petals about 12–15; filaments tomentose at the base; style 3(–4), basally united; capsule 3(–4) locular, 2–6 seeds in each locule. Information on its phenology, distribution, ecology, and conservation status is also provided.Camellia quynhii is described and illustrated as a new species of section Stereocarpus (Pierre) Sealy from 12th village, Vu Bon Commune, Krong Pak District, Dak Lak Province. C. quynhii resembles C. dormoyana (Pierre) Sealy but differs in several morphological characteristics: sepals 6–7; petals about 12–15; filaments tomentose at the base; style 3(–4), basally united; capsule 3(–4) locular, 2–6 seeds in each locule. Information on its phenology, distribution, ecology, and conservation status is also provided

Mechanism of Inverse Magnetoresistance in High-TaT_{a} Annealed MnNi/Co/Ag(Cu)/Py Spin Valves

The magnetic transport properties -- magnetoresistive (MR) effects of MnNi/Co/Ag(Cu)/\break Py pinned spin valve structures (SVs) prepared by rf sputtering method and annealed at $T_{a} = 100$°C - 500°C for 30 minutes in high vacuum ($\sim 10^{ - 5}$ torr) are investigated. The received results show a change in the observed MR behaviors from a normal giant magnetoresistance effect to an inverse magnetoresistance effect after annealing at high temperatures, 300°C and 400°C, for these SVs. The origin and mechanism of the IMR behavior are analyzed and discussed. These results will suggest an ability to manufacture SV devices used the IMR effect for enhancing the application capacities for SV-sensor systems

Depression and its associated factors among pregnant women in central Vietnam.

To date, little attention has been given to prenatal depression, especially in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors amongst pregnant women in a central Vietnamese city. This cross-sectional study included 150 pregnant women from 29 to 40 weeks of gestation, from eight wards of Hue city, via quota sampling from February to May 2019. We employed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Findings suggest the need to provide routine screening of pregnant women in primary care for depressive symptoms and other mental health problems.This is part of the EBLS proejct of which Prof Eisner is PI. Botnar Fondation is the sponso

Magnetic Properties of FePt Nanoparticles Prepared by Sonoelectrodeposition

Sonoelectrodeposition is a useful technique to make metallic nanoparticles, using ultrasound during electrodeposition to remove nanoparticles as they grow on the cathode surface. This paper reports some structural and magnetic properties of FePt nanoparticles prepared by this method. The as-prepared Fe45Pt55 nanoparticles were ferromagnetic at room temperature. Upon annealing at 700°C for 1 h under H2 atmosphere, the saturation magnetization and the coercivity of the nanoparticles were improved significantly. The annealed nanoparticles showed a high coercivity of 13.5 kOe at 2 K and of 9 kOe at room temperature. Sonoelectrodeposition is a promising technique to make large quantity of FePt nanoparticles

PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY PREDICTION BASED ON SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION AND HYBRID OF MACHINES

The article presents an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) based on a situational recognition solution and provides alert levels in the context of actual traffic. The solution is a process in which a single image is segmented to detect pedestrians’ position as well as extract features of pedestrian posture to predict the action. The main purpose of this process is to improve accuracy and provide warning levels, which supports autonomous vehicle navigation to avoid collisions. The process of the situation prediction and issuing of warning levels consists of two phases: (1) Segmenting in order to definite the located pedestrians and other objects in traffic environment, (2) Judging the situation according to the position and posture of pedestrians in traffic. The accuracy rate of the action prediction is 99.59% and the speed is 5 frames per second

Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Aneuploidy by Next Generation Sequencing: Association of Maternal Age and Chromosomal Abnormalities of Blastocyst

BACKGROUND: Aneuploidy is a major cause of miscarriages and implantation failure. Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is able to detect of the numeral and structural chromosomal abnormalities of embryos in vitro fertilization (IVF). AIM: This study was aimed to assess the relationship between maternal age and chromosomal abnormalities NGS technology. METHODS: 603 human trophectoderm (TE) biopsied samples were tested by Veriseq kit of Illumina. The relation of marternal age and chromosomal abnormality of blastocyst embryo was evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 603 TE samples, 247 samples (42.73%) presented as chromosomal abnormalities. The abnormalities occurred to almost chromosomes, and the most popular aneuploidy observed is 22. Aneuploidy rate from 0.87% in chromosome 11 to 6.06% in chromosome 22. The rate of abnormal chromosome increased dramatically in group of mother's ages over 37 (54.17%) comparing to group of mother's ages less than 37 (38.05%) (p < 0.000). The Abnormal chromosome and maternal age has a positive correlation with r = 0.4783 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: These results showed high rate abnormal chromosome and correlated with advanced maternal age of blastocyst embryos