On the beneficial effect of noise in vertex localization

A theoretical and experimental analysis related to the effect of noise in the task of vertex identication in unknown shapes is presented. Shapes are seen as real functions of their closed boundary. An alternative global perspective of curvature is examined providing insight into the process of noise- enabled vertex localization. The analysis reveals that noise facilitates in the localization of certain vertices. The concept of noising is thus considered and a relevant global method for localizing Global Vertices is investigated in relation to local methods under the presence of increasing noise. Theoretical analysis reveals that induced noise can indeed help localizing certain vertices if combined with global descriptors. Experiments with noise and a comparison to localized methods validate the theoretical results

Fiscal Year 2006

This image analysis project is constructing a tool for performing computer assisted detection of defects in large CT data sets. We address two primary challenges: proving an algorithm that can reliably highlight the objects of interest, and coupling this algorithm to efficient and effective data management and interface routines. The goal of this project is to create an end to end tool that will efficiently extract from large CT data sets a manageable set of candidate defects that highlights 100% of the unambiguous (to a trained analyst) true defects and as many as possible of the ambiguous objects. Objective metrics for defect ambiguity are elusive given the ill defined nature of both the defects and their CT images (e.g., variations in size and contrast, defect/object density gradients). Therefore the true metric of success will be gaining the confidence of the Weapons Program NDE analysts in this tool, which will be a qualitative function of efficiency and accuracy. In consultation with Weapons Program NDE analysts voids it was decided to focus this initial effort on searching for small voids (order of tenths to tens of millimeters in extent). The program has produced a Tungsten ring with surrogate defects drilled into it (Figure 1) that they use for studying the ability of their systems and analysts to detect this class of defects

Participative risk communication as an important tool in medical geology studies

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Risk situations related to brownfield sites, contaminated lands and groups exposed to toxic substances are common in South America. In some of these situations, there is a lack of institutional response to the risks and consequences coupled with a failure to communicate the risks to those affected. Drawing on empirical research in 4 South American communities exposed to lead contamination, we investigated which strategies of risk communication (RC) have been used by researchers to communicate the risks of contamination, and the possible impacts of these strategies. Considering that risk situations of contaminated lands are characterized by uncertainty/strain/controversy, and that their residents are in a collective stress situation because of the physical conditions in their neighborhood and possible impacts on their health, in our study we argue for the need of participative RC in medical geology studies. The participative RC is based on cultural/social elements, trust, open dialogue and collective learning process to implement policies for mitigating risks and for a sustainable future. However, the analysis of these cases suggests that the efforts of RC have focused only on information transmission and public persuasion. We noticed that RC did not promote an open dialogue, or any discussion about the life styles of locals, which gave the impression that research results have not been properly released, and therefore, the general understanding (by assorted actors) is that environmental/health research is not being undertaken for the public good. These experiences endorse a need for a debate about participative RC among medical geology researchers. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.131SI3744Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [2002/00271-0, 2005/52239-0, 2006/57720-1, 2010/51849-8]CAPES [0650-9/9]CNPq [304338/2005-2

Participative Risk Communication As An Important Tool In Medical Geology Studies

Risk situations related to brownfield sites, contaminated lands and groups exposed to toxic substances are common in South America. In some of these situations, there is a lack of institutional response to the risks and consequences coupled with a failure to communicate the risks to those affected. Drawing on empirical research in 4 South American communities exposed to lead contamination, we investigated which strategies of risk communication (RC) have been used by researchers to communicate the risks of contamination, and the possible impacts of these strategies. Considering that risk situations of contaminated lands are characterized by uncertainty/strain/controversy, and that their residents are in a collective stress situation because of the physical conditions in their neighborhood and possible impacts on their health, in our study we argue for the need of participative RC in medical geology studies. The participative RC is based on cultural/social elements, trust, open dialogue and collective learning process to implement policies for mitigating risks and for a sustainable future. However, the analysis of these cases suggests that the efforts of RC have focused only on information transmission and public persuasion. We noticed that RC did not promote an open dialogue, or any discussion about the life styles of locals, which gave the impression that research results have not been properly released, and therefore, the general understanding (by assorted actors) is that environmental/health research is not being undertaken for the public good. These experiences endorse a need for a debate about participative RC among medical geology researchers. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.1313744Anderson, A., (1997) Media, Culture and Environment, , UCL Press Limited, LondonAtkinson, R., Flint, J., Accessing hidden and hard-to-reach populations: snowball research strategies (2001) Social Research Update, Guildord, UK, 33Bardin, L., (1977) Análise de conteúdo, p. 70. , Ediç̃es, LisboaBerkhout, F., Leach, M., Scoones, I., (2003) Negotiating Environmental Changes: New Perspectives From Social Science, , Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham, UKBoholm, A., Editorial: new perspectives on risk communication: uncertainty in a complex society (2008) Journal of Risk Research, 11 (1-2), pp. 1-3Boyne, R., (2003) Risk, , Open University Press, BuckinghamCarvalho, F.M., Chumbo no sangue de crianças e passivo ambiental de uma fundição de chumbo no Brasil (2003) Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 1, pp. 19-23(2005) Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children, , CDC, US Department of Health and Human Services, CDCCovello, V., Sandman, P.M., Risk Communication: Evolution and Revolution (2001) Solutions to an Environment in Peril, pp. 164-178. , John Hopkins University Press, A. Wolbarst (Ed.)Cunha, F., Human and environmental lead contamination in the Upper Ribeira Valley, southeastern Brazil (2005) Terrae, 2, pp. 28-36. , (Campinas)Demetriades, A., Medical Geology in Hellas: The Lavrion Environmental Pollution Study (2010) Medical Geology, A Regional Synthesis, Book Series International Year of Planet Earth, pp. 355-390. , Springer, Netherlands, O. Selinus, R.B. Finkelman, J.A. Centeno (Eds.)Di Giulio, G.M., Pereira, N.M., Figueiredo, B.R., Lead contamination, the media and risk communication: a case study from the Ribeira Valley, Brazil (2008) Communicating Environmental Geoscience, 305, pp. 63-74. , Liverman, D.G.E., Pereira, C., Marker, B. (Org.). Geological Society, London, Special Publications, LondonDi Giulio, G.M., Figueiredo, B.R., Ferreira, L.C., Dos Anjos, J.A.S.A., Comunicação e governança do risco: A experiência brasileira em áreas contaminadas por chumbo (2010) Ambiente e Sociedade, 13 (2), pp. 283-297. , (online)Di Giulio, G.M., Figueiredo, B.R., Ferreira, L.C., Dos Anjos, J.A.S.A., Experiências brasileiras e o debate sobre comunicação e governança do risco em áreas contaminadas por chumbo (2010) Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 17, pp. 337-349. , http://www.cienciaesaudecoletiva.com.br/artigos/artigo_int.php?id_artigo=6137)Dos Anjos, J.A.S.A., (2003) Avaliação da eficiência de uma zona alagadiça (wetland) no controle da poluição por metais pesados: o caso da Plumbum em Santo Amaro da Purificação/BA, , Tese de Doutorado, USP, São PauloDouglas, M., (1966) Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, , Praeger, New YorkDouglas, M., (1996) La aceptabilidad del riesgo según las ciencias sociales, , Ediciones Paidós IbéricaDouglas, M., Wildavsky, A.B., (1982) Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technical and Environmental Dangers, , University of California Press, BerkeleyFigueiredo, B.R., (2005) A contaminação ambiental e humana por chumbo no Vale do Ribeira (SP-PR), , http://www.comciencia.br/reportagens/2005/11/09.shtml, ComCiência SBPC/LABJORFigueiredo, B.R., Geoindicators as a tool for epidemiological studies in lead contaminated areas in Brazil (2007) II Hemispheric Conference on Medical Geology, XICBGq, Atibaia, Brazil, October, 2007, Proceedings, CD RomFlynn, J., Slovic, P., Avaliaç̃es dos peritos e do público acerca dos riscos tecnológicos (2000) Cultura científica e participação pública, pp. 109-128. , Celta Editora, Oeiras, M.E. Gonçalves (Ed.)Freitas, C.U., Vigilância de população exposta a chumbo no município de Bauru-São Paulo: investigação de fatores de exposição e avaliação da dinâmica institucional (2004), Doctorate Thesis, Public Health College, University of São Paulo, São PauloFreitas, C.M., Gómez, C.M., Technological risk analysis from the perspective of the social studies (1997) História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos, 3 (3), pp. 485-504. , (Nov. 1996-Fev.1997)Freitas, C.U., De Capitani, M.F.H., Gouveia, N., Simonetti, M.H., Paula e Silve, M.R., Kira, C.S., Sakuma, A.M., Abreu, M.H., Lead exposure in an urban community: investigation of risk factors and assessment of the impact of lead assessment measures (2007) Environmental Research, 103, pp. 338-344Gnaiger, A., Schrofferegger, G., Tool-kit scenario, , http://www.uibk.ac.at/fbi/download/fbibuchweb1.pdf, Available:Hannigan, J.A., (1995) Environmental Sociology-A Social Construction Perspective, , Routledge, LondonKasperson, R., The social amplification of risk: a conceptual framework (2005) The Social Contours of Risk: Publics, Risk Communication and the Social Amplification of Risk, pp. 99-114. , Earthscan, London, J. Kasperson, R. Kasperson (Eds.)Lamoglia, T., Lead and other trace elements in edibles and in topsoil as a pathway for human contamination in a mining area in Brazil (2010) Terrae, 7 (1-2), pp. 3-13Leiss, W., Three phases in the evolution of risk communication practice (1996) Challenges in Risk Assessment and Risk Management, 545. , Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceLindell, L., Environmental effects of agricultural expansion in the Upper Amazon-a study of river basin geochemistry and hydrochemistry and farmers' perceptions (2011), Doctoral dissertation, Linnaeus UniversityLiverman, D., Jaramillo, M., Communicating environmental geoscience-an international survey (2011) Episodes, 34 (1), pp. 25-31Lundgren, R., McMakin, A., (2000) Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety and Health Risks, , Battelle Press, OhioLupton, D., (1999) Risk, , Routledge, LondonMacnaghten, P., Urry, J., (1998) Contested Natures, , Sage, LondonMañay, N., Alonzo, C., Dol, I., Contaminación por plomo en el barrio La Teja: Montevideo, Uruguay (2003) Salud Pública de México, 2, pp. 268-275Mañay, N., Cousillas, A.Z., Alvarez, C., Heller, T., Lead contamination in Uruguay: the "La Teja" neighborhood case (2008) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 195, pp. 93-115Morgan, D.L., (1988) Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, , Sage Publications, LondonMorgan, D.L., (1998) The Focus Group Guidebook, , Sage Publications, LondonMorgan, D.L., (1998) Planning Focus Groups, , Sage Publications, LondonOwens, S., Engaging the public: information and deliberation in environmental policy (2000) Environment and Planning A, 32, pp. 1141-1148Paoliello, M.M.B., Exposure of children to lead and cadmium from a mining area of Brazil (2002) Environmental Research, Baltimore, 88, pp. 120-128Paoliello, M.M.B., Capitani, E.M., Cunha, F.G., Carvalho, M.F., Matsuo, T., Sakuma, A., Figueiredo, B.R., Determinants of blood lead levels in an adult population from a mining area in Brazil (2003) Journal de Physique IV, 107, pp. 127-130Penrod, J., Preston, D.B., Cain, R.E., Starks, M.T., A discussion of chain referral as a method for sampling hard-to-reach populations (2003) Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 14 (2), pp. 100-107Renfrew, D., We are all contaminated - Lead poisoning and urban environmental politics in Uruguay (2007), Doctorate Thesis, Benghamton University, State University of New YorkRenn, O., (2008) Risk Governance: Coping with Uncertainty in a Complex World, , Earthscan, LondonSetting Environmental Standards, , http://www.rcep.org.uk/reports/21-standards/documents/standards-full.pdf, Royal Commission on Environmental PollutionSchlag, A.K., Expert and lay representations of GM food: implications for risk communication (2006), PhD thesis-Institute of Social Psychology. London School of Economics and Political Science, University of LondonSlovic, P., Perception of risk (1987) Science, 236, pp. 280-285Strydom, P., Risk communication: world creation through collective learning under complex contingent conditions (2008) Journal of Risk Research, 11 (1-2), pp. 5-22(2006) Risk in Social Science, , Oxford University Press, Oxford, P. Taylor-Gooby, J.O. Zinn (Eds.)Van Der Pligt, J., De Boer, J., Contaminated soil: public reactions, policy decisions, and risk communication (1991) Communicating Risks to the Public: International Perspectives, pp. 127-144. , Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, R.E. Kasperson, P.J.M. Slatlen (Eds.)Vaughan, E.J., (1996) Risk Management, , Hardcover, New YorkWynne, B., Sheep farming after Chernoby-a case study in communicating scientific information (1989) Environment Magazine, 31, pp. 10-15(2008) Social Theories of Risk and Uncertainty-An Introduction, , Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, J.O. Zinn (Ed.

Comparative evaluation of micronuclei in Saudi smokers and non-smokers without any visible oral lesions– A pilot study.

Introducción: el cáncer oral es un problema grave con alta mortalidad y morbilidad, a pesar de la disponibilidad de los mejores tratamientos. Uno de los factores más importantes para una mortalidad tan alta es su diagnóstico tardío. La mejor manera de enfrentar un problema de este tipo es evitar su aparición creando conciencia entre la población y tenendo un diagnóstico más temprano. El cáncer oral es una enfermedad multifactorial, donde el daño genómico tiene un papel. Se ha demostrado que los micronúcleos (MNi) son un biomarcador importante y en este estudio se utilizó como una herramienta para crear conciencia sobre el riesgo de cáncer oral. Objetivo: evaluar y comparar la frecuencia de MNi en fumadores sin ninguna lesión oral visible (Grupo I) y no fumadores sanos (Grupo II). Materiales y métodos: se obtuvieron citoestimuladores de fumadores sauditas (n = 15, Grupo I) sin ninguna lesión oral visible y no fumadores sanos (n = 15, control, Grupo II) y se tiñeron con hemotoxilina y eosina para evaluar la frecuencia de MNi y las observaciones fueron sometidas a análisis estadístico utilizando la prueba t de Student. Resultados: La frecuencia media de MNi en el Grupo I fue significativamente mayor (p<0.05) que en el Grupo II. El estudio ayuda a educar, motivar y crear conciencia, alentando así a los pacientes a dejar de fumar, y evitando así el cáncer oral antes de su inicio

Electrochemical Sensors for the Detection of Lead and Other Toxic Heavy Metals: The Next Generation of Personal Exposure Biomonitors

To support the development and implementation of biological monitoring programs, we need quantitative technologies for measuring xenobiotic exposure. Microanalytical based sensors that work with complex biomatrices such as blood, urine, or saliva are being developed and validated and will improve our ability to make definitive associations between chemical exposures and disease. Among toxic metals, lead continues to be one of the most problematic. Despite considerable efforts to identify and eliminate Pb exposure sources, this metal remains a significant health concern, particularly for young children. Ongoing research focuses on the development of portable metal analyzers that have many advantages over current available technologies, thus potentially representing the next generation of toxic metal analyzers. In this article, we highlight the development and validation of two classes of metal analyzers for the voltammetric detection of Pb, including: a ) an analyzer based on flow injection analysis and anodic stripping voltammetry at a mercury-film electrode, and b ) Hg-free metal analyzers employing adsorptive stripping voltammetry and novel nanostructure materials that include the self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports and carbon nanotubes. These sensors have been optimized to detect Pb in urine, blood, and saliva as accurately as the state-of-the-art inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry with high reproducibility, and sensitivity allows. These improved and portable analytical sensor platforms will facilitate our ability to conduct biological monitoring programs to understand the relationship between chemical exposure assessment and disease outcomes