Object Matching in Distributed Video Surveillance Systems by LDA-Based Appearance Descriptors

Establishing correspondences among object instances is still challenging in multi-camera surveillance systems, especially when the cameras’ fields of view are non-overlapping. Spatiotemporal constraints can help in solving the correspondence problem but still leave a wide margin of uncertainty. One way to reduce this uncertainty is to use appearance information about the moving objects in the site. In this paper we present the preliminary results of a new method that can capture salient appearance characteristics at each camera node in the network. A Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model is created and maintained at each node in the camera network. Each object is encoded in terms of the LDA bag-of-words model for appearance. The encoded appearance is then used to establish probable matching across cameras. Preliminary experiments are conducted on a dataset of 20 individuals and comparison against Madden’s I-MCHR is reported

Impact of endostatin gene therapy on myeloid-derived suppressor cells from a metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Aim: To evaluate the role of endostatin (ES) gene therapy on myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in a metastatic model of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: Balb/C mice bearing orthotopic Renca tumors were treated with NIH/3T3LendSN or, as a control, with NIH/3T3-LXSN cells. At the end of in vivo experiment, plasma and tissue lung samples were collected. Plasma ES and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels were measured by ELISA and Milliplex, respectively. Quantification of CD11b⁺Gr⁻1⁺ cells and their subsets was performed by flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured in CD11b⁺Gr⁻1⁺ MDSC using the DCFDA marker by flow cytometry. Results: Metastatic RCC (mRCC) induced expansions of CD11b⁺Gr⁻1⁺ MDSC and promoted accumulation of these cells and their subtypes in lymphoid organ and metastases. ES treatment promoted low G-CSF plasmatic levels which were produced by the tumor microenvironment, reflecting the reduced metastatic accumulation of CD11b⁺Gr⁻1⁺ MDSC in the lungs. However, the therapy was selective for granulocytic cells, thus reducing the production of ROS. Conclusion: These findings confirm the expansion of MDSC during metastatic progression of RCC and indicate the important role of ES in reducing MDSC and possible use of ES therapy in combined anticancer treatment

Use of three joints as predictors of carcass and body fat depots in Blanca Celtibérica goats

Nineteen adult goats of the Blanca Celtibérica breed - in non productive stage - from the experimental flock of Servicio de Investigación Agraria (Diputación General de Aragón) were scored using the lumbar, breast and tail palpation. Sternal triangle joint, lumbar square jointt a ailn tdha t were handled to assess body condition scores were dissected into muscle, bone subcutaneous fat and intermuscular fat. Regression analyses were developed for predicting carcass and body fat depots, using sternal triangle, lumbar square joint and tail compositions like independent variables. The best predictor of omental fat, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat, kidney fat, total body and total carcass fat depots was the totaol ff alut mbar square joint. On the other hand8 9, 80 and 86% (PS0,Ol) of the variationo f mesenteric, heart and udder fat depots, respectively, were accounted for by variation in intermuscular fat of sternal triangle joint. Finally, the subcutaneous fat weight of 1 tail vertebra accounted for 96% of the total variation of tail fat weight. In conclusion, the best predictor of the most important carcass and body fat depots (omental, subcutaneous, intermuscular, kidney, total body and total carcass fat) was the total fat of lumbar square. Utilisation de trois points de prélèvement comme prédicteurs des dépôts adipeux de la carcasse et du corps chez des chèvres de race Blanca Celtibérica". Un lot de 19 chèvres adultes de race Blanca Celtibérica, vides et taries, appartenant au troupeau expérimental du Service de la Recherche Agronomique (Gouvernement Autonome d'Aragon), ont été notées par la palpation au niveau lombaire, setet crnaauld al. Le triangle sternal, le carré lombaire et la queue ont été soumis à dissection en muscle, os, gras sous-cutané et intermusculaire. L 'analyse des régressionsé até utilisée pour prédire les dépôts adipeux de la carcaests edu corps de l'animal moyennant l'utilisation de la composition du triangle sterna/, du carré lombaire et de la queue comme variables indépendantes. Le meilleur prédicteur des graisses omentales, sous-cutanées, intermusculaires, rénales totales du corps, et totales de la carcasse é até le gras total du carré lombaire. D'autre part, 89, e8t0 8 6% (E0,Ol) de la variation des dépôts de gras mésentérique, du coeur et de la mamelle respectivement, ont eté expliqués par la variation du gras intermusculaire du triangle sternal. Comme conclusion, le meilleur prédicteur des dépôts adipeux de la carcasse et du corps les plus importants (omental, sous-cutané, intermusculaire, rénal, total du corps et total de la carcasse) a été le gras total du carré lombaire

Distinguishing two probability ensembles with one sample from each ensemble

We introduced a new method for distinguishing two probability ensembles called one from each method, in which the distinguisher receives as input two samples, one from each ensemble. We compare this new method with multi-sample from the same method already exiting in the literature and prove that there are ensembles distinguishable by the new method, but indistinguishable by the multi-sample from the same method. To evaluate the power of the proposed method we also show that if non-uniform distinguishers ( ..

High frequency magnetic behavior through the magnetoimpedance effect in CoFeB/(Ta, Ag, Cu) multilayered ferromagnetic thin films

We studied the dynamics of magnetization through an investigation of the magnetoimpedance effect in CoFeB/(Ta, Ag, Cu) multilayered thin films grown by magnetron sputtering. Impedance measurements were analyzed in terms of the mechanisms responsible for their variations at different frequency intervals and the magnetic and structural properties of the multilayers. Analysis of the mechanisms responsible for magnetoimpedance according to frequency and external magnetic field showed that for the CoFeB/Cu multilayer, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) contributes significantly to the magnetoimpedance effect at frequencies close to 470 MHz. This frequency is low when compared to the results obtained for CoFeB/Ta and CoFeB/Ag multilayers and is a result of the anisotropy distribution and non-formation of regular bilayers in this sample. The MImax values occurred at different frequencies according to the used non-magnetic metal. Variations between 25% and 30% were seen for a localized frequency band, as in the case of CoFeB/Ta and CoFeB/Ag, as well as for a wide frequency range, in the case of CoFeB/Cu.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Effortless attention as a biomarker for experienced mindfulness practitioners

Objective: The present study aimed at comparing frontal beta power between long-term (LTM) and first-time meditators (FTM), before, during and after a meditation session. We hypothesized that LTM would present lower beta power than FTM due to lower effort of attention and awareness. Methods: Twenty one participants were recruited, eleven of whom were long-term meditators. The subjects were asked to rest for 4 minutes before and after open monitoring (OM) meditation (40 minutes). Results: The two-way ANOVA revealed an interaction between the group and moment factors for the Fp1 (p<0.01), F7 (p = 0.01), F3 (p<0.01), Fz (p<0.01), F4 (p<0.01), F8 (p<0.01) electrodes. Conclusion: We found low power frontal beta activity for LTM during the task and this may be associated with the fact that OM is related to bottom-up pathways that are not present in FTM. Significance: We hypothesized that the frontal beta power pattern may be a biomarker for LTM. It may also be related to improving an attentive state and to the efficiency of cognitive functions, as well as to the long-term experience with meditation (i.e., life-time experience and frequency of practice)

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Of Co(oh)2 Nanoparticle-coated α-fe2o3 Nanorings

The production of hydrogen from water using only a catalyst and solar energy is one of the most challenging and promising outlets for the generation of clean and renewable energy. Semiconductor photocatalysts for solar hydrogen production by water photolysis must employ stable, non-toxic, abundant and inexpensive visible-light absorbers capable of harvesting light photons with adequate potential to reduce water. Here, we show that α-Fe 2O3 can meet these requirements by means of using hydrothermally prepared nanorings. These iron oxide nanoring photocatalysts proved capable of producing hydrogen efficiently without application of an external bias. In addition, Co(OH)2 nanoparticles were shown to be efficient co-catalysts on the nanoring surface by improving the efficiency of hydrogen generation. 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Biometric differences between several populations of Cordulegaster boltonii (Odonata: Cordulegastridae) in Ibero-Maghrebian area

Biometric data of the exuviae of female larvae of the dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii collected in Portugal, Spain and Morocco were analysed to determine whether the size of three exuvial structures measured differed depending on the geographic localities of the populations. Based on the results recorded for the 16 populations studied, head width was negatively correlated with latitude and the greatest length of the gonapophysis was recorded for the Iberian populations at the centre of this peninsula. Multivariate cluster analysis revealed a clear separation of the Moroccan population. A second cluster separated the southernmost population (Sierra Nevada) from the remaining Iberian populations. Four population groups were distinguished: those located in watercourses in the north and central area of the Iberian Peninsula, those in Iberian watercourses in the East and Middle South, the Sierra Nevada and North Morocco. Some of these results coincide with the results of genetic studies of other authors

Metastatic deaths in retinoblastoma patients treated with intraarterial chemotherapy (ophthalmic artery chemosurgery) worldwide.

Ophthalmic artery chemosurgery [OAC, intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC)] was introduced in 2006 as treatment modality for intraocular retinoblastoma. The purpose of this commentary is to retrospectively review the incidence of metastatic deaths in retinoblastoma patients treated with OAC worldwide over a 10 year period. Retrospective data regarding metastatic deaths was collected from six international retinoblastoma centers (New York City USA, Philadelphia USA, Sao Paulo Brazil, Siena Italy, Lausanne Switzerland and Buenos Aires Argentina). All retinoblastoma patients from these centers (naive and recurrent, unilateral and bilateral) treated with OAC/IAC since 2006 have been included in this study. Data regarding number of patients, number of OAC/IAC infusions, number unilateral and bilateral, number treated for naive disease or salvage and number of metastatic deaths have been assessed. Over a 10-year period of time 1139 patients received OAC/IAC for 4396 infusions. At last follow-up there were only three metastatic deaths (all treated in Buenos Aires). The current survey assessed the recorded risk of metastatic deaths in six retinoblastoma centers worldwide in children with retinoblastoma (unilateral or bilateral) treated with OAC/IAC as primary or secondary therapy. Overall, the observed risk for metastatic deaths from retinoblastoma was &lt;1% in OAC/IAC treated children