Improved detection of small objects in road network sequences using CNN and super resolution

The detection of small objects is one of the problems present in deep learning due to the context of the scene or the low number of pixels of the objects to be detected. According to these problems, current pre-trained models based on convolutional neural networks usually give a poor average precision, highlighting some as CenterNet HourGlass104 with a mean average precision of 25.6%, or SSD-512 with 9%. This work focuses on the detection of small objects. In particular, our proposal aims to vehicle detection from images captured by video surveillance cameras with pretrained models without modifying their structures, so it does not require retraining the network to improve the detection rate of the elements. For better performance, a technique has been developed which, starting from certain initial regions, detects a higher number of objects and improves their class inference without modifying or retraining the network. The neural network is integrated with processes that are in charge of increasing the resolution of the images to improve the object detection performance. This solution has been tested for a set of traffic images containing elements of different scales to check the efficiency depending on the detections obtained by the model. Our proposal achieves good results in a wide range of situations, obtaining, for example, an average score of 45.1% with the EfficientDet-D4 model for the first video sequence, compared to the 24.3% accuracy initially provided by the pre-trained model.This work is partially supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain [grant number RTI2018-094645-B-I00], project name Automated detection with low-cost hardware of unusual activities in video sequences. It is also partially supported by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia (Spain) under project UMA18-FEDERJA-084, project name Detection of anomalous behaviour agents by deep learning in low-cost video surveillance intelligent systems. All of them include funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It is also partially supported by the University of Málaga (Spain) under grants B1-2019_01, project name Anomaly detection on roads by moving cameras, and B1-2019_02, project name Self-Organizing Neural Systems for Non-Stationary Environments. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources, technical expertise and assistance provided by the SCBI (Supercomputing and Bioinformatics) center of the University of Málaga. The authors acknowledge the funding from the Universidad de Málaga. I.G.-A. is funded by a scholarship from the Autonomous Government of Andalusia (Spain) under the Young Employment operative program [grant number SNGJ5Y6-15]. They also gratefully acknowledge the support of NVIDIA Corporation with the donation of two Titan X GPUs. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA

Análisis fraccionado de la actividad física desarrollada en escolares

Se ha destacado la importancia de la actividad física (AF) con escolares. Los estudios indican que hay que realizar al menos 60 minutos de actividad física a intensidad desde moderada a vigorosa (AFMV) para garantizar la salud. El presente estudio transversal pretende, por un lado, conocer los niveles generales de AF de la población escolar y el grado de cumplimiento de las recomendaciones de salud; y, por otro lado, estudiar de manera fraccionada la AF en diferentes actividades durante la semana, para determinar su contribución a la AFMV a nivel diario (min/día), como el por hora (min/hora). Se seleccionaron 136 escolares españoles entre 8 y 19 años, empleándose acelerómetros GT3X para evaluar su nivel de actividad física durante una semana. En general, se observó un nivel bajo de AFMV (51,7 min/día) y cumplimiento de las recomendaciones (34,6%). A pesar de ello, aparecieron actividades escolares de corta duración, que proporcionaron una contribución elevada de AFMV/hora, fundamentalmente en Primaria respecto a Secundaria (9.66 vs. 5.75 min AFMV /hora; p < .001 para la educación física y 10.75 vs. 4.65 min AFMV/hora; p < .001 durante el Recreo). Estos resultados podrían ser relevantes para futuros estudios de intervención, así como para el establecimiento de estrategias y políticas de promoción de la AF en la población escolar.Several papers have focused on the importance of physical activity (PA) with school-aged subjects. These papers underline the importance of accruing 60-minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) to ensure a proper health status. The objectives of this paper are two: to describe general patterns of PA levels among school-aged subjects and the prevalence of meeting PA guidelines; and, secondly, to fractionally analyze the contribution of different activities performed during the week to daily MVPA (min/day), such as the MVPA per hour (min/hour). A hundred and thirty-six Spanish students aged 8 to 19 years were selected; they wore a GT3X accelerometer in order to measure their weekly PA. Most children displayed a low level of PA (51.7 min/day), and low compliance with PA health guidelines (34.6%). Despite these low levels, short duration schoolbased activities were found to provide a great amount of MVPA per hour, especially among Primary school subjects compared to Secondary (9.66 vs. 5.75 min MVPA /hour; p < .001 for physical education classes and 10.75 vs. 4.65 min MVPA /hour; p < .001 during recess). This fact could be essential for future intervention studies, and to establish strategies and PA promotion policies for school-aged subjects.Tem sido destacada a importância da actividade física em crianças. Os estudos indicam que se devem realizar pelo menos 60 minutos de actividade física de intensidade modera da ou vigorosa (AFMV) para se obterem benefícios para a saúde. O presente estudo transversal pretende, por um lado, conhecer os níveis gerais de AF da população escolar e o grau de cumprimento das recomendações de saúde; e, por outro lado, estudar de maneira fraccionada a AF em diferentes actividades durante a semana, para determinar a sua contribuição para a AFMV a nível diário (min/dia), como por hora (min/hora). Foram selecionados 136 estudantes espanhóis com idades compreendidas entre os 8 e os 19 anos, utilizando-se acelerómetros GT3X para avaliar o seu nível de actividade física durante uma semana. Em geral, verificou-se um nível baixo de AFMV (51.7 min/dia) e de cumprimento das recomendações (34.6%). Apesar destes resultados, verificaram-se actividades escolares de curta duração, que proporcionaram uma contribuição elevada de AFMV/hora, fundamentalmente no Ensino Primário comparativamente com o Secundário (9.66 vs. 5.75 min AFMV /hora; p < .001 para a educação física e 10.75 vs. 4.65 min AFMV/hora; p < .001 durante o Intervalo). Estes resultados podem ser relevantes para futuros estudos de intervenção, assim como para o delineamento de estratégias e políticas de promoção de AF na população escolar

Object detection in traffic videos: an optimized approach using super-resolution and maximal clique algorithm

Funding for open access publishing: Universidad Málaga/CBUA

Automate d lab eling of training data for improved object detection in traffic videos by fine-tuned deep convolutional neural networks

The exponential increase in the use of technology in road management systems has led to real-time vi- sual information in thousands of locations on road networks. A previous step in preventing or detecting accidents involves identifying vehicles on the road. The application of convolutional neural networks in object detection has significantly improved this field, enhancing classical computer vision techniques. Al- though, there are deficiencies due to the low detection rate provided by the available pre-trained models, especially for small objects. The main drawback is that they require manual labeling of the vehicles that appear in the images from each IP camera located on the road network to retrain the model. This task is not feasible if we have thousands of cameras distributed across the extensive road network of each nation or state. Our proposal presented a new automatic procedure for detecting small-scale objects in traffic sequences. In the first stage, vehicle patterns detected from a set of frames are generated automatically through an offline process, using super-resolution techniques and pre-trained object detection networks. Subsequently, the object detection model is retrained with the previously obtained data, adapting it to the analyzed scene. Finally, already online and in real-time, the retrained model is used in the rest of the traffic sequence or the video stream generated by the camera. This framework has been successfully tested on the NGSIM and the GRAM datasets.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga/CBU

Niveles de actividad física y acelerometría: Recomendaciones y patrones de movimiento en escolares

El objetivo de esta revisión es identi'car los niveles de actividadfísica por medio de acelerometría en alumnos de edad escolar y analizar elcumplimiento de las recomendaciones de actividad física. Se realizó una revisiónde la literatura de los artículos incluidos en las bases de datos Medline/Pubmed y Scielo que utilizaran acelerómetros con participantes en edadescolar, entre enero de 2004 y mayo de 2013, seleccionándose 98 artículoscientí'cos. Se muestran valores de referencia en diferentes etapas educativas,posibilidades de actividad física que ofrece el contexto escolar, asícomo programas de intervención, donde en términos generales se observaun bajo nivel de actividad física. A su vez, se observa un escaso cumplimientodel mínimo nivel de actividad física recomendada como saludable. Enconclusión, esta revisión contribuye a orientar las futuras investigacionesen este campo, fundamentalmente destinadas a llevar a cabo programasde intervención

Vehicle overtaking hazard detection over onboard cameras using deep convolutional networks

The development of artificial vision systems to support driving has been of great interest in recent years, especially after new learning models based on deep learning. In this work, a framework is proposed for detecting road speed anomalies, taking as reference the driving vehicle. The objective is to warn the driver in realtime that a vehicle is overtaking dangerously to prevent a possible accident. Thus, taking the information captured by the rear camera integrated into the vehicle, the system will automatically determine if the overtaking that other vehicles make is considered abnormal or dangerous or is considered normal. Deep learning-based object detection techniques will be used to detect the vehicles in the road image. Each detected vehicle will be tracked over time, and its trajectory will be analyzed to determine the approach speed. Finally, statistical regression techniques will estimate the degree of anomaly or hazard of said overtaking as a preventive measure. This proposal has been tested with a significant set of actual road sequences in different lighting conditions with very satisfactory results.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Topographic evaluation of the titanium implant surfaces

La superficie de los implantes es muy importante para la oseointegración. La superficie rugosa de titanio puede influir en los resultados experimentales y clínicos. Diferentes instrumentos y técnicas de medicio- nes pueden influir notablemente en los resultados de la caracterización topográfica de los implantes. Las superficies han sido documentadas mediante microscopio electrónico de barrido. La interferometría de luz blanca puede identificar las irregularidades en la superficie por cambios en la luz reflejada. La composición química de las superficies puede ser determinada por la técnica de espectroscopía fotoelectrónica de rayos X. La composición química refleja los procedimientos de la fabricación de los implantes. Una variedad de elementos y compuestos químicos no relacionados con la composición del titanio pueden encontrarse en algunos tipos de implantes; como material inorgánico (ej. cloruro de sodio) y compuestos orgánicos de carbono que pueden deberse a la contaminación durante la fabricación y el almacenaje. Conclusiones. Las modificaciones en la topografía y en la composición química de la superficie de los implantes constituye un importante campo en la implantologia oral experimental y clínica.Implant surface is very important for the osseointegration. Roughened surface titanium may influence in experimental and clinical results. Different measures instruments and techniques strongly influence the outcome of a topographic characterization of surface implant. Surfaces has been documented by scanning electron microscopy. White light inter- ferometer may identify the surface irregularities that cause phase changes in the reflected light. The surfaces chemical composition was determined using a technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Chemical composition reflect the type of fabrication procedures applied to implants. A variety of elements and chemical compounds not related to the titanium composition were found on some implant types. They ranged from inorganic material (i.e. sodium chlo- ride) to specific organic as carbon compounds believed to be due to contamination during fabrication or storage. The experimental findings are believed to make a contribution to a better understanding of the interplay between industrial fabrication procedure and physico-chemical implant surface properties. Conclusions. The topographic and chemical composition modifications of surface implants constitute an important field in experimental and clinical implant dentistry

The clinical and molecular cardiometabolic fingerprint of an exploratory psoriatic arthritis cohort is associated with the disease activity and differentially modulated by methotrexate and apremilast

Objectives: (1) To evaluate clinical and molecular cardiovascular disease (CVD) signs and their relationship with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) features and (2) to identify a clinical patient profile susceptible to benefit from methotrexate (MTX) and/or apremilast regarding CVD risk. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 patients with PsA and 100 age-matched healthy donors. In addition, an exploratory cohort of 45 biologically naïve patients treated for 6 months with apremilast, MTX or combined therapy according to routine clinical practice was recruited. Extensive clinical and metabolic profiles were obtained. Ninety-nine surrogate CVD-related molecules were analysed in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Hard cluster analysis was performed to identify the clinical and molecular phenotypes. Mechanistic studies were performed on adipocytes. Results: Cardiometabolic comorbidities were associated with disease activity and long-term inflammatory status. Thirty-five CVD-related proteins were altered in the plasma and PBMCs of PsA patients and were associated with the key clinical features of the disease. Plasma levels of some of the CVD-related molecules might distinguish insulin-resistant patients (MMP-3, CD163, FABP-4), high disease activity (GAL-3 and FABP-4) and poor therapy outcomes (CD-163, LTBR and CNTN-1). Hard cluster analysis identified two phenotypes of patients according to the rates of cardiometabolic comorbidities with distinctive clinical and molecular responses to each treatment. Conclusions: (1) Novel CVD-related proteins associated with clinical features could be emerging therapeutic targets in the context of PsA and (2) the pleiotropic action of apremilast could make it an excellent choice for the management of PsA patients with high CVD risk, targeting metabolic alterations and CVD-related molecules

Complement component 3 as biomarker of disease activity and cardiometabolic risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis.

Funder: Europeo de Desarrollo Regional de la Unión EuropeaFunder: Rheumatic Diseases NetworkOBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between complement component 3 (C3) and the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors and disease activity in the rheumatic diseases having the highest rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study including 200 RA, 80 PsA, 150 axSpA patients and 100 healthy donors. The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors [obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A (apoB/apoA) and atherogenic risks and hypertension] was analyzed. Serum complement C3 levels, inflammatory markers and disease activity were evaluated. Cluster analysis was performed to identify different phenotypes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to assess the accuracy of complement C3 as biomarker of insulin resistance and disease activity was carried out. RESULTS: Levels of complement C3, significantly elevated in RA, axSpA and PsA patients, were associated with the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors. Hard clustering analysis identified two distinctive phenotypes of patients depending on the complement C3 levels and insulin sensitivity state. Patients from cluster 1, characterized by high levels of complement C3 displayed increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors and high disease activity. ROC curve analysis showed that non-obesity related complement C3 levels allowed to identify insulin resistant patients. CONCLUSIONS: Complement C3 is associated with the concomitant increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis. Thus, complement C3 should be considered a useful marker of insulin resistance and disease activity in these rheumatic disorders

Cuéntame + sobre medio ambiente & robótica

Recopilación de cuentos escritos por niños asociados a las temáticas de medio ambiente y robótica en instituciones educativas de municipios adscritos a la Tecnoacademia Itinerante del Meta.El águila y el león / Saudith Torres, Eliat Torres, Katerin Yepes -- Los planeta vecinos / Karen Rangel -- Madre naturaleza /Andrés Felipe Pereira Sabby -- Un día natural / Andrés Felipe Pereira Sabby -- Un paseo por el parque / Andrés Mantilla F. -- Al parecer no tan pequeño / Bryan Camilo Agudelo Galindo F. -- Adolescentes del mundo verde / Laura Camila Morales Marín -- Colores del sembrador / Levi Botero y Diego Ortiz -- El bosque / Danna Pinzón F. -- El guardián del medio ambiente / Jesús López, Santiago Martínez -- El planeta enfermo / Gabriela Rivadeneira, Emily Medina, Nelvis Torres -- El problema ambiental / Sofía Rojas -- Cuento ambiental los jóvenes del planeta verde / Heidy Luque F. -- El sueño / Heidy Luque F. -- El medio ambiente y los humanos / Iván David Aguillón Orjuela – Emma y el pingüino perdido / Joshep López F. -- Ayudando al planeta / Juan David Pérez F. -- Cuento sobre el medio ambiente / Juan David Pérez Moreno -- Cuidemos el medio ambiente / Nixon Santiago Fuentes -- Superando todo tipo de obstáculos / Jhon Torres, Wilfran Quisacue -- El bosque y su bello esplendor / Tatiana Calderón F. -- Los desplazados / Angelo Esneider Rey Vargas -- El primer televisor de la historia / Claudia Daniela Piedrahíta -- Cuidemos la vida acuática / Schneider Steven Barrera – El señor árbol / Deyvid Rodríguez Ramírez -- El bosque y sus maravillas / Maikol Andrés Tevero Ramírez -- El medio ambiente / Sarah Valentina Montero -- El medio ambiente / Freddy Andrés Zabal -- El medio ambiente / Maikol Andrés Tejero Ramírez -- Desenlace / Maikol Andrés Tejero Ramírez -- El pez robot / Samuel Saray Quevedo -- Un robot en mi casa / Jaime Leonardo Calderón Betancurt, Dayanna Nicol Torres González -- Jardín curioso / Juan David Jaramillo F. – Pedro el castor / Kevin Stiven Rojas Silva -- El bosque herido / Laura Nieto Cabuyaro -- Protejamos la sabana / Laura Valentina Bobadilla Galindo -- La gota de agua / Lizeth Barreiro Rodríguez -- Los protectores del bosque / Samuel Santiago Cifuentes -- Cuidemos nuestro planeta / Luis Alejandro Ramos Céspedes -- El W / María Alejandra Torres Ochoa -- El medio ambiente -- Mi lugar favorito -- Mi naturaleza mi vida / Tatiana Corredor -- El tesoro pedido / Santiago Muñoz Gutiérrez -- Sin agua no hay vida / Tatiana Corredor -- Cuento medio ambiente / Juan Camilo Ocampo Aguilar -- El bosque y sus maravillas / Maikol Andrés Tevero Ramírez -- El medio ambiente -- Conquistando la luna / Ana Higuera Cabuyarona85 página