Mixing body-parts model for 2D human pose estimation in stereo videos

This study targets 2D articulated human pose estimation (i.e. localisation of body limbs) in stereo videos. Although in recent years depth-based devices (e.g. Microsoft Kinect) have gained popularity, as they perform very well in controlled indoor environments (e.g. living rooms, operating theatres or gyms), they suffer clear problems in outdoor scenarios and, therefore, human pose estimation is still an interesting unsolved problem. The authors propose here a novel approach that is able to localise upper-body keypoints (i.e. shoulders, elbows, and wrists) in temporal sequences of stereo image pairs. The authors' method starts by locating and segmenting people in the image pairs by using disparity and appearance information. Then, a set of candidate body poses is computed for each view independently. Finally, temporal and stereo consistency is applied to estimate a final 2D pose. The authors' validate their model on three challenging datasets: `stereo human pose estimation dataset', `poses in the wild' and `INRIA 3DMovie'. The experimental results show that the authors' model not only establishes new state-of-the-art results on stereo sequences, but also brings improvements in monocular sequences

The AVA Multi-View Dataset for Gait Recognition

In this paper, we introduce a new multi-view dataset for gait recognition. The dataset was recorded in an indoor scenario, using six convergent cameras setup to produce multi-view videos, where each video depicts a walking human. Each sequence contains at least 3 complete gait cycles. The dataset contains videos of 20 walking persons with a large variety of body size, who walk along straight and curved paths. The multi-view videos have been processed to produce foreground silhouettes. To validate our dataset, we have extended some appearance-based 2D gait recognition methods to work with 3D data, obtaining very encouraging results. The dataset, as well as camera calibration information, is freely available for research purpose

Stereo Pictorial Structure for 2D Articulated Human Pose Estimation

In this paper, we consider the problem of 2D human pose estimation on stereo image pairs. In particular, we aim at estimating the location, orientation and scale of upper-body parts of people detected in stereo image pairs from realistic stereo videos that can be found in the Internet. To address this task, we propose a novel pictorial structure model to exploit the stereo information included in such stereo image pairs: the Stereo Pictorial Structure (SPS). To validate our proposed model, we contribute a new annotated dataset of stereo image pairs, the Stereo Human Pose Estimation Dataset (SHPED), obtained from YouTube stereoscopic video sequences, depicting people in challenging poses and diverse indoor and outdoor scenarios. The experimental results on SHPED indicates that SPS improves on state-ofthe- art monocular models thanks to the appropriate use of the stereo informatio

North Atlantic oscillation affects the physical condition of migrating bullet tuna Auxis rochei (Risso, 1810) from the Western Mediterranean Sea

Climate oscillations exert direct control over the environment in which they occur and may influence the physical condition of migratory marine species, such as tuna, as reported by several authors. The main aim of thisstudywastoexploretheassociationbetweenthepotentialeffectsoftheNorthAtlanticOscillation(NAO)on thefitness condition of bullet tuna (Auxis rochei) migrating to the Spanish Mediterranean Sea. A total of 2357 length-weight pairs of data obtained from individuals collected on the Spanish Mediterranean coast were analysed. A non-parametric Spearman test was used to investigate correlations between the atmospheric oscillation indexes and two physical condition indexes. The results suggest that, in general, positive phases of the NAO index improve the physical condition offish migrating to spawning grounds in the Mediterranean Sea. These results could be explained by changes in the dominant winds, which could favour pre-spawning migration, and by nutrients availability, which guarantees their recovery after the spawning period.En prens

Variaciones interanuales en las capturas de tiburones pelágicos en el

Pelagic migrating sharks are by-caught incidentally in longline fisheries. Some of these species have been catalogued as threatened or vulnerable by several Regional Fisheries Organizations and International Conservational NGOs. Alboran Sea is an important area for pelagic migrating sharks because it is the natural and unique communication way between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. This area is considered by several authors as a hot-spot of Climate Oscillation, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO). In addition, Alboran Sea is an important fishing ground where the longline fisheries targeting swordfish operates. Recent studies concluded that historical landing of pelagic sharks from harbours of Alboran Sea and Balearic Sea were mediated for atmospheric oscillations. The main aim of the present study was to assess the effect of atmospheric oscillation on the Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) of vulnerable sharks thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788) and shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) by-caught in the traditional longline fisheries. The atmospheric oscillations tested in this study were the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO). We found a significant positive correlation between the NAO and AO indexes of the previous year to the CPUE tested.En prens

Análisis preliminar del efecto de las oscilaciones climáticas sobre la condición física de la melva (Auxis rochei) post-reproductora en el Mar de Alborán

The Mediterranean Sea is considered by several authors as a hot-spot of Climate Oscillation, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO). However, information about the effect of the climate oscillations on the fitness of the species is still scarce. In this context, bullet tuna is an important migratory species with a substantial socio-economical value, whose fisheries might be affected by the effect of certain climatological conditions. In fact, these atmospheric oscillations trigger a chain of hydrodynamic events, leading a change on the timing, destinations, and success of the migratory species in their search for spawning grounds. This study relies on the hypothesis of a correlation between the physical condition of the post-spawning bullet tuna and climate oscillation indexes. For that purpose, 151 individuals of bullet tuna, Auxis rochei, were collected in the traps of Ceuta (Alboran Sea) during three different years, (1983, 1984 and 2014). The physical condition index was calculated, and later statistically correlated with the climate oscillation indexes proposed. Significant differences were found between the physical condition of A. rochei and the average accumulated NAO index. Moreover, for age class 3+ we obtained a significant correlation with atmospheric oscillations.Postprin

Critical review of technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater: From conventional to combined advanced processes

This review aims to assess different technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater (HWW) to remove pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) as sustances of emerging concern at a bench, pilot, and full scales from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, a rough characterisation of hospital effluents is presented. The main detected PhCs are antibiotics and psychiatric drugs, with concentrations up to 1.1 mg/L. On the one hand, regarding the presented technologies, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are a good alternative for treating HWW with PhCs removal values higher than 80% in removing analgesics, anti-inflammatories, cardiovascular drugs, and some antibiotics. Moreover, this system has been scaled up to the pilot plant scale. However, some target compounds are still present in the treated effluent, such as psychiatric and contrast media drugs and recalcitrant antibiotics (erythromycin and sulfamethoxazole). On the other hand, ozonation effectively removes antibiotics found in the HWW (>93%), and some studies are carried out at the pilot plant scale. Even though, some families, such as the X-ray contrast media, are recalcitrant to ozone. Other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as Fenton-like or UV treatments, seem very effective for removing pharmaceuticals, Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria (ARBs) and Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs). However, they are not implanted at pilot plant or full scale as they usually consider extra reactants such as ozone, iron, or UV-light, making the scale-up of the processes a challenging task to treat high-loading wastewater. Thus, several examples of biological wastewater treatment methods combined with AOPs have been proposed as the better strategy to treat HWW with high removal of PhCs (generally over 98%) and ARGs/ARBs (below the detection limit) and lower spending on reactants. However, it still requires further development and optimisation of the integrated processes.Comunidad de Madri

Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on yield and grape composition of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Monastrell

Warm and semi-arid climates are characterized by rainfall scarcity, resulting in the frequent use of low-quality water for irrigation. This work was undertaken to study the effects of water stress and saline irrigation on yield and grape composition of Monastrell grapevines grafted onto 1103P rootstock. The experiment was carried out during three consecutive seasons in a commercial vineyard located in Jumilla (SE Spain) with a loamy-sandy soil. Rainfed vines were compared with five watering regimes including a Control, irrigated with standard water, and four treatments that combined two different schedules for irrigation initiation (pre- and post-veraison) with saline water obtained by adding two types of salts (sulphates and chlorides). Vines from treatments with more severe water stress (i.e., rainfed) showed lower yields and vegetative growth. Moreover, the Rainfed treatment clearly modified grape composition when compared with the Control treatment by increasing berry phenolic content. The application of saline water slightly affected vine performance and grape composition regardless of the type of salts added to the irrigation water. Indeed, the watering regime had a greater effect on yield, vegetative growth and grape composition than the use of different saline waters. Our results suggest that, in the mid-term (3 years), and with a vineyard soil with good drainage, the use of saline waters is not detrimental to vine performance, but does not improve grape composition. Further research is required to assess the long-term effects of saline water application, particularly in view of the important accumulation of chlorides and sodium in leaf tissues observed in vines watered with salty water at the last season of this experiment.Publishe

Análisis de las tendencias de las capturas de atún listado Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758) de la pesca deportiva en el Mediterráneo occidental (2006-2014)

Skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis is a tropical tuna species that inhabits the warm waters worldwide. This species is caught as bycatch of tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea whereas a variety of fisheries target skipjack tuna in the three oceans. This species is a resource of high economic value for many countries and information about its basic life history parameters, distribution and catches is available, however that information in the Mediterranean Sea is scarce. The main objective of this study was to test for interannual variability in the catches of this species in two areas: the Balearic Sea and its surroundings (area I), and the Alboran Sea (area II). Catch per unit effort of skipjack tuna (both in number and kilograms) from individuals caught by recreational fisheries was assessed. Our results indicate that the occurrence of skipjack tuna in fishing area II is larger than those found in fishing area I. Nevertheless, larger individuals were caught in fishing area I, coinciding with the spawning season. Finally, the CPUE of skipjack tuna was tested against two explanatory variables (area and year) using a general linear model (GLM). Our results conclude that these variables explain the 58% of the variability of the catches of this species in the studied areas, where an increasing trend of captures was found. Despite the limitations of the present study, our results showed evidence of an increment of the skipjack tuna abundance in the spawning ground of other tuna species.En prens

Derivation and external validation of the SIMPLICITY score as a simple immune-based risk score to predict infection in kidney transplant recipients

Existing approaches for infection risk stratification in kidney transplant recipients are suboptimal. Here, we aimed to develop and validate a weighted score integrating non-pathogen-specific immune parameters and clinical variables to predict the occurrence of post-transplant infectious complications. To this end, we retrospectively analyzed a single-center derivation cohort of 410 patients undergoing kidney transplantation in 2008-2013 in Madrid. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations, serum immunoglobulin and complement levels were measured at one-month post-transplant. The primary and secondary outcomes were overall and bacterial infection through month six. A point score was derived from a logistic regression model and prospectively applied on a validation cohort of 522 patients undergoing kidney transplantation at 16 centers throughout Spain in 2014-2015. The SIMPLICITY score consisted of the following variables measured at month one after transplantation: C3 level, CD4+ T-cell count, CD8+ T-cell count, IgG level, glomerular filtration rate, recipient age, and infection within the first month. The discrimination capacity in the derivation and validation cohorts was good for overall (areas under the receiver operating curve of 0.774 and 0.730) and bacterial infection (0.767 and 0.734, respectively). The cumulative incidence of overall infection significantly increased across risk categories in the derivation (low-risk 13.7%; intermediate-risk, 35.9%; high-risk 77.6%) and validation datasets (10.2%, 28.9% and 50.4%, respectively). Thus, the SIMPLICITY score, based on easily available immune parameters, allows for stratification of kidney transplant recipients at month one according to their expected risk of subsequent infection