Pyramidal Fisher Motion for Multiview Gait Recognition

Submitted to International Conference on Pattern Recognition, ICPR, 2014The goal of this paper is to identify individuals by analyzing their gait. Instead of using binary silhouettes as input data (as done in many previous works) we propose and evaluate the use of motion descriptors based on densely sampled short-term trajectories. We take advantage of state-of-the-art people detectors to define custom spatial configurations of the descriptors around the target person. Thus, obtaining a pyramidal representation of the gait motion. The local motion features (described by the Divergence-Curl-Shear descriptor) extracted on the different spatial areas of the person are combined into a single high-level gait descriptor by using the Fisher Vector encoding. The proposed approach, coined Pyramidal Fisher Motion, is experimentally validated on the recent `AVA Multiview Gait' dataset. The results show that this new approach achieves promising results in the problem of gait recognition

Abordaje transvasto mínimamente invasivo versus abordaje parapatelar medial convencional en la artroplastia total de rodilla en pacientes con gonartrosis: estudio prospectivo comparativo no randomizado

Objetivos: valorar y comparar los resultados a corto plazo de la artroplastia total de rodilla realizada mediante dos vías de abordaje. Material y métodos: estudio prospectivo comparativo que compara abordaje parapatelar medial (24 pacientes) y transvasto mínimamente invasivo (25 pacientes) en artroplastia total de rodilla. Se incluyeron pacientes con gonartrosis grado IV de la clasificación de Kellgren-Lawrence y se excluyeron aquellos menores de 50 años, deformidad en varo (> 15º) o valgo (> 10º), artrosis postraumática, artritis reumatoide, cirugías de revisión, osteotomías correctoras previas, IMC > 40 kg/m2, infección activa local o sistémica y/o deterioro mental. Resultados: se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en dolor del primer y segundo día postoperatorios a favor del abordaje mínimamente invasivo (1º día: 3,8 ± 2,5 vs. 6,7 ± 2,1; p< 0,001. 2º día: 3 ± 2,1 vs. 6 ± 2; p< 0,001). Conclusiones: no existen diferencias relevantes entre ambos abordajes, por lo que se recomienda la utilización del abordaje con el que el cirujano se encuentre más cómodo y familiarizadoAim: Assess and compare short-term outcomes of total knee arthroplasty performed using two surgical approaches. Material and methods: a prospective study with 49 patients comparing medial parapatellar approach (24 patients) and minimally invasive trans-vastus access (25 patients) in total knee replacement. The patients included suffered knee osteoarthritis grade IV the Kellgren-Lawrence’s classification. Exclusion criteria were age under 50 years, large axial deformity (varus deformity > 15° or valgus > 10°), posttraumatic osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, revision surgeries, previous osteotomies, BMI> 40 kg/m2 and of course local or systemic active infection and mental impairment. Results: statistically significant differences were found for pain in first and second postoperative days for the minimally invasive approach (1st day: 3.8 ± 2.5 vs. 6.7 ± 2.1; p <0.001. 2nd day: 3 ± 2.1 vs. 6 ± 2; p <0.001). Conclusions: there are not significant differences between mini and standard approaches in knee replacement, so decision about which access to use in knee reconstruction surgery depends on surgeon’s preferences

Extensibilidad de la musculatura isquiosural en gimnasia estetica de grupo

La exibilidad es uno de los elementos fundamentales de la con- dición física en determinadas modalidades deportivas, especialmente en las diferentes modalidades de la gimnasia. En estas disciplinas se requiere un rango de movimiento (ROM) articular máximo en la mayoría de las articu- laciones para la ejecución de los gestos técnicos extremos con mayor valor en el reglamento. La musculatura isquiosural constituye un grupo muscular biarticular que, debido a su origen e inserción, tiene efectos sobre la rodilla, la cadera y la estática y dinámica de la pelvis. Para conocer el efecto que la práctica continuada de gimnasia de puede tener sobre la extensibilidad de la musculatura isquiotibial, se realizaron valoraciones con los test distancia dedos-planta, test del ángulo lumbo-horizontal en exión y el test del ángu- lo vertical en 94 mujeres gimnastas de la especialidad de Gimnasia Estética de Grupo (GEG) con edades comprendidas entre 9 y 18 años de nivel nacio- nal e internacional. Los resultados de las tres valoraciones indican que todas las gimnastas presentan una extensibilidad isquiosural superior a la media de población general y superior a la de otras modalidades. Además se ha registrado un aumento signicativo de la exibilidad a medida que aumenta la edad de las gimnastas. Estos resultados evidencian los altos requerimien- tos de exibilidad y ROM de esta modalidad deportiva, exibilidad que van adquiriendo progresivamente las gimnastas a medida que ascienden de categoría de edad.

Cómo minimizar los cambios radiológicos laterales en la osteotomía valguizante de adición medial de rodilla

Objetivo: estudiar la relación entre posición del injerto en Osteotomía Valguizante de Adición (OVA) en rodilla, los cambios radiológicos experimentados por la rótula y la pendiente tibial y su correlación clínica. Material y métodos: estudio retrospectivo de 10 pacientes operados de OVA. Medimos el cambio experimentado tras la osteotomía en Índice de Catón y la pendiente tibial y su relación con la ubicación del injerto. Valoración clínica mediante test de Lisholm y WOMAC. Resultados: edad media de 49.5 años, seguimiento medio de 32,2 meses. Se observa un cambio estadísticamente significativo de 1,45º en la pendiente tibial y de 0,15 unidades (Índice Catón) en la altura de la patela, pero sin correlación con la clínica. La ubicación del injerto en el cuadrante posterior se halló en el 80% de los casos. Conclusión : la osteotomía valguizante de adición medial tiene buenos resultados clínicos. Los cambios en la pendiente tibial y en la patela son menores cuanto más posterior es la ubicación del injerto.Objectives: we investigated changes in patellar height and tibial inclination angle after open-wedge high tibial osteotomy, the effect of these changes on patient satisfaction and the correlation with the graft position. Methods: retrospective study of 10 knees who underwent open-wedge proximal tibial osteotomy with allograft and medial plate for medial compartment. Were measured pre- and postoperatively tibial inclination angle, and patellar height (Caton Index), and we study the correlation of these changes with the location of the graft. Clinical evaluations were made using the Lysholm and WOMAC score. Results: the mean age was 49.5 years, the mean follow up was 32,2 months. The mean increase in the tibial inclination angle was 1,45 ° (p<0.05) and the mean of decrease in patellar height was 0.15 Units Caton Index (p<0.05). There weren’t correlation between radiological changes and patients satisfaction. The graft localization was posterior in 80% of patients. Conclusion: the open-wedge tibial osteotomy has good results and high clinical satisfaction. Changes in the tibial slope and the patellar height are lower if the graft position is posterior

Assessing the potential replacement of laurel forest by a novel ecosystem in the steep terrain of an Oceanic Island

Biological invasions are a major global threat to biodiversity and often affect ecosystem services negatively. They are particularly problematic on oceanic islands where there are many narrow-ranged endemic species, and the biota may be very susceptible to invasion. Quantifying and mapping invasion processes are important steps for management and control but are challenging with the limited resources typically available and particularly difficult to implement on oceanic islands with very steep terrain. Remote sensing may provide an excellent solution in circumstances where the invading species can be reliably detected from imagery. We here develop a method to map the distribution of the alien chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), using freely available satellite images. On La Palma, the chestnut invasion threatens the iconic laurel forest, which has survived since the Tertiary period in the favourable climatic conditions of mountainous islands in the trade wind zone. We detect chestnut presence by taking advantage of the distinctive phenology of this alien tree, which retains its deciduousness while the native vegetation is evergreen. Using both Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 (parallel analyses), we obtained images in two seasons (chestnuts leafless and in-leaf, respectively) and performed image regression to detect pixels changing from leafless to in-leaf chestnuts. We then applied supervised classification using Random Forest to map the present-day occurrence of the chestnut. Finally, we performed species distribution modelling to map the habitat suitability for chestnut on La Palma, to estimate which areas are prone to further invasion. Our results indicate that chestnuts occupy 1.2% of the total area of natural ecosystems on La Palma, with a further 12\u201317% representing suitable habitat that is not yet occupied. This enables targeted control measures with potential to successfully manage the invasion, given the relatively long generation time of the chestnut. Our method also enables research on the spread of the species since the earliest Landsat images

SEDIGISM-ATLASGAL: Dense Gas Fraction and Star Formation Efficiency Across the Galactic Disk

By combining two surveys covering a large fraction of the molecular material in the Galactic disk we investigate the role the spiral arms play in the star formation process. We have matched clumps identified by ATLASGAL with their parental GMCs as identified by SEDIGISM, and use these giant molecular cloud (GMC) masses, the bolometric luminosities, and integrated clump masses obtained in a concurrent paper to estimate the dense gas fractions ($DGF_{gmc} = ∑M_{clump}/M_{gmc}$) and the instantaneous star forming efficiencies (i.e., $SFE_{gmc} = ∑L_{clump}/M_{gmc}$). We find that the molecular material associated with ATLASGAL clumps is concentrated in the spiral arms (∼60 per cent found within ±10 km s$^{−1}$ of an arm). We have searched for variations in the values of these physical parameters with respect to their proximity to the spiral arms, but find no evidence for any enhancement that might be attributable to the spiral arms. The combined results from a number of similar studies based on different surveys indicate that, while spiral-arm location plays a role in cloud formation and HI to H$_2$ conversion, the subsequent star formation processes appear to depend more on local environment effects. This leads us to conclude that the enhanced star formation activity seen towards the spiral arms is the result of source crowding rather than the consequence of a any physical process

Phenotypic Dissection of Bone Mineral Density Reveals Skeletal Site Specificity and Facilitates the Identification of Novel Loci in the Genetic Regulation of Bone Mass Attainment

Heritability of bone mineral density (BMD) varies across skeletal sites, reflecting different relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences. To quantify the degree to which common genetic variants tag and environmental factors influence BMD, at different sites, we estimated the genetic (rg) and residual (re) correlations between BMD measured at the upper limbs (UL-BMD), lower limbs (LL-BMD) and skull (SK-BMD), using total-body DXA scans of ~4,890 participants recruited by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and their Children (ALSPAC). Point estimates of rg indicated that appendicular sites have a greater proportion of shared genetic architecture (LL-/UL-BMD rg = 0.78) between them, than with the skull (UL-/SK-BMD rg = 0.58 and LL-/SK-BMD rg = 0.43). Likewise, the residual correlation between BMD at appendicular sites (re = 0.55) was higher than the residual correlation between SK-BMD and BMD at appendicular sites (re = 0.20-0.24). To explore the basis fo

Radical prostatectomy after vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) with TOOKAD® : feasibility, early and intermediate results

Purpose: Vascular targeted photodynamic therapy with TOOKAD® is a new therapeutic option for localized prostate cancer management. The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility of radical prostatectomy after vascular targeted photodynamic therapy and describe functional and oncologic outcomes. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively included in study 45 patients who underwent salvage radical prostatectomy after vascular targeted photodynamic therapy for recurrent prostate cancer at a total of 14 surgical centers in Europe between October 2008 and March 2017. Of the 42 radical prostatectomies performed 16 were robot-assisted, 6 were laparoscopic and 20 were open surgery. Primary end points were morbidity and technical difficulties. Secondary end points were early and intermediate postoperative functional and oncologic outcomes. Results: Median operative time was 180 minutes (IQR 150-223). Median blood loss was 200 ml (IQR 155-363). According to the surgeons the surgery was easy in 29 patients (69%) and difficult in 13 (31%). Nerve sparing was feasible in 14 patients (33%). Five postoperative complications (12%) were found, including 2 Clavien I, 2 Clavien II and 1 Clavien IIIB complications. Of the cases 13 (31%) were pT3 and 21 (50%) were pT2c. Surgical margins were positive in 13 patients (31%). Prostate specific antigen was undetectable at 6 to 12 months in 37 patients (88%). Nine patients underwent complementary radiotherapy. Four patients had final prostate specific antigen greater than 0.2 ng/ml at a median followup of 23 months (IQR 12-36). At 1 year 27 patients (64%) were completely continent (no pads) and 10 (24%) had low incontinence (1 pad). Four patients (11%) recovered potency without treatment and 23 (64%) recovered potency with appropriate treatment. Conclusions: Salvage radical prostatectomy after vascular targeted photodynamic therapy treatment was feasible and safe without difficulty for most of the surgeons

Genomic analysis of two phlebotomine sand fly vectors of Leishmania from the New and Old World.

Phlebotomine sand flies are of global significance as important vectors of human disease, transmitting bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, including the kinetoplastid parasites of the genus Leishmania, the causative agents of devastating diseases collectively termed leishmaniasis. More than 40 pathogenic Leishmania species are transmitted to humans by approximately 35 sand fly species in 98 countries with hundreds of millions of people at risk around the world. No approved efficacious vaccine exists for leishmaniasis and available therapeutic drugs are either toxic and/or expensive, or the parasites are becoming resistant to the more recently developed drugs. Therefore, sand fly and/or reservoir control are currently the most effective strategies to break transmission. To better understand the biology of sand flies, including the mechanisms involved in their vectorial capacity, insecticide resistance, and population structures we sequenced the genomes of two geographically widespread and important sand fly vector species: Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, (distributed in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (distributed across Central and South America). We categorized and curated genes involved in processes important to their roles as disease vectors, including chemosensation, blood feeding, circadian rhythm, immunity, and detoxification, as well as mobile genetic elements. We also defined gene orthology and observed micro-synteny among the genomes. Finally, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of these species in their respective geographical areas. These genomes will be a foundation on which to base future efforts to prevent vector-borne transmission of Leishmania parasites