Implementation of an automated eye-in-hand scanning system using Best-Path planning

In this thesis we implemented an automated scanning system for 3D object reconstruction. This system is composed of a KUKA LWR 4+ arm with Microsoft Kinect cameras placed on its extreme and thus, in an eye-in-hand con guration. We implemented the system in ROS using Kinect Fusion software with extra features added by R. Monica's previous work [16] and MoveIt! ROS libraries [29] to control the robot movement with motion planning. To connect these nodes, we have coded a suite using ROS and MATLAB to easily operate them as well as including new features, such as an original view planner that outperforms the commonly used Next-Best-View planner. This suite incorporates a Graphical User Interface that allows new users to easily perform the reconstruction tasks. The new view planner developed in this work, called Best-Path planner, o ers a new approach using a modi ed Dijkstra algorithm. Among its bene ts, Best-Path planner o ers an optimized way to scan the objects preventing the camera to cross again the areas which have already been scanned. Moreover, viewpoint location and orientation have been studied in depth in order to obtain the most natural movements and get the best results. For this reason, this new planner makes the scanning procedure more robust as it assures trajectories through these optimized viewpoints, so the camera is always looking towards the object maintaining the optimal sensing distances. As this project is focused on its later utility in the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, we uploaded all the source code in the Aalto GitLab repositories [37] with installation instructions and user guides to show the di erent features that the suite o ers

Multi-terminal transistor-like devices based on strongly correlated metallic oxides for neuromorphic applications

Memristive devices are attracting a great attention for memory, logic, neural networks, and sensing applications due to their simple structure, high density integration, low-power consumption, and fast operation. In particular, multi-terminal structures controlled by active gates, able to process and manipulate information in parallel, would certainly provide novel concepts for neuromorphic systems. In this way, transistor-based synaptic devices may be designed, where the synaptic weight in the postsynaptic membrane is encoded in a source-drain channel and modified by presynaptic terminals (gates). In this work, we show the potential of reversible field-induced metal-insulator transition (MIT) in strongly correlated metallic oxides for the design of robust and flexible multi-terminal memristive transistor-like devices. We have studied different structures patterned on YBa2Cu3O7−δ films, which are able to display gate modulable non-volatile volume MIT, driven by field-induced oxygen diffusion within the system. The key advantage of these materials is the possibility to homogeneously tune the oxygen diffusion not only in a confined filament or interface, as observed in widely explored binary and complex oxides, but also in the whole material volume. Another important advantage of correlated oxides with respect to devices based on conducting filaments is the significant reduction of cycle-to-cycle and device-to-device variations. In this work, we show several device configurations in which the lateral conduction between a drain-source channel (synaptic weight) is effectively controlled by active gate-tunable volume resistance changes, thus providing the basis for the design of robust and flexible transistor-based artificial synapses

Predicting hospital admissions to reduce crowding in the emergency departments

Having an increasing number of patients in the emergency department constitutes an obstacle to the admissions process and hinders the emergency department (ED)’s ability to deal with the continuously arriving demand for new admissions. In addition, forecasting is an important aid in many areas of hospital management, including elective surgery scheduling, bed management, and staff resourcing. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a precise prediction model for admissions in the Integral Healthcare System for Public Use in Catalonia. These models assist in reducing overcrowding in emergency rooms and improve the quality of care offered to patients. Data from 60 EDs were analyzed to determine the likelihood of hospital admission based on information readily available at the time of arrival in the ED. The first part of the study targeted the obtention of models with high accuracy and area under the curve (AUC), while the second part targeted the obtention of models with a sensitivity higher than 0.975 and analyzed the possible benefits that could come from the application of such models. From the 3,189,204 ED visits included in the study, 11.02% ended in admission to the hospital. The gradient boosting machine method was used to predict a binary outcome of either admission or discharge.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Torres Quevedo grant number PTQ2021-012147.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i BenestarObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i Benestar::3.8 - Assolir la cobertura sanitària universal, en particular la protecció contra els riscos financers, l’accés a serveis de salut essencials de qualitat i l’accés a medicaments i vacunes segurs, eficaços, assequibles i de qualitat per a totes les personesPostprint (published version

Skin infection by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Streptococcus pyogenes: an unusual association

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is a noncapsulated, club-shaped facultative anaerobic Gram-positive bacilli. Opportunistic or cutaneous co-infection caused by this microorganism, especially non-toxigenic strains, has become important in travellers

El conte de les llengües

Treball de l'alumnat del Grau d'Educació Primària de la Facultat d'Educació de la UB. Proposta d'activitat emmarcada al projecte de recerca EDU201S-69332-R "Desarrollo de las competencias para la educación multilingüe". Any: 2017. Tutors: Juli Palou i Margarida CambraLa següent proposta didàctica pretén donar resposta a la diversitat lingüística a l'escola la Llacuna del barri del Poblenou. S’escriurà un conte col·laboratiu amb els alumnes i, posteriorment, s’explicarà audiovisualment. Escriurem un conte en una llibreta personalitzable en la qual la classe haurà de decidir: tema, context i personatges principals. Posteriorment, es crearà una història aprofitant la riquesa cultural i lingüística de cada alumne. Un cop acabat el conte, se’n farà una representació audiovisual mitjançant el programa Green Screen, disponible per tauletes tàctils amb sistema Apple. Tanmateix, es podria gravar amb mòbils o tablets android i editar amb el programa Sony Vegas. Un cop la portada de la llibreta hagi estat personalitzada i decorada, el mestre/a escriurà un primer paràgraf per introduir-lo, en català. A partir d’aquí cada setmana un alumne s’endurà la llibreta a casa i escriurà un paràgraf de la continuació d’aquest conte amb la seva llengua. En cas que la llengua no sigui la vehicular, a classe es traduirà aquell fragment al català amb l’ajuda de l’autor i la col·laboració dels altres companys i companyes de classe

Estudi del metabolisme del ferro <i>in vivo</i> en diferents animals

En treballs anteriors, hem estudiat el transport del ferro en el sèrum de diferents mamífers i ocells. Aquests estudis realitzats in vitro son ara complementats amb una serie d'experiments fets amb conill i gallina in vivo

CO oxidation on ceria studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique has been widely used to analyze the electrical properties of a large number of materials. In this study, the electrical properties of CeO2 pellets under CO oxidation conditions have been analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. CeO2 pellets have been prepared by a conventional precipitation method and sintered at low temperature to satisfy a compromise between large surface area and a high relative density of the pellet. The electrical properties of CeO2 have been investigated under different atmosphere conditions such as N2, O2, CO, CO2, or selected combinations. The electrical sensitivity of CeO2 to the surrounding atmosphere allows to follow the catalytic reaction as a function of the CO : O2 ratio and temperature. The appropriate analysis of the electrical response by electro-chemical impedance spectroscopy could open a new insight to monitor the catalytic response and behavior of any catalyst

Characterization of CTX-M-14 and CTX-M-15 producing Escherichia coli strains causing neonatal sepsis

Neonatal sepsis is a disease affecting newborns ≤1 month of age with clinical symptoms and positive blood cultures. The number of Escherichia coli strains causing neonatal sepsis resistant to the antibiotics used in the treatment is increasing. In this study, two E. coli strains causing sepsis in neonates of mothers infected with an E. coli strain harboring extended spectrum beta-lactamases were characterized. The blaCTX-M-15 and the blaCTX-M-14 genes were found in an IncFIA and nontypeable transferable plasmids, respectively. In addition, these highly virulent strains belonged to ST705 and ST156 clonal groups, respectively. The presence of strains, which are highly virulent and resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, and cephalosporins, makes a change in empirical treatment necessary as well as an increase in the surveillance of these infections