A Comprehensive Study on Pain Assessment from Multimodal Sensor Data

Pain assessment is a critical aspect of healthcare, influencing timely interventions and patient well-being. Traditional pain evaluation methods often rely on subjective patient reports, leading to inaccuracies and disparities in treatment, especially for patients who present difficulties to communicate due to cognitive impairments. Our contributions are three-fold. Firstly, we analyze the correlations of the data extracted from biomedical sensors. Then, we use state-of-the-art computer vision techniques to analyze videos focusing on the facial expressions of the patients, both per-frame and using the temporal context. We compare them and provide a baseline for pain assessment methods using two popular benchmarks: UNBC-McMaster Shoulder Pain Expression Archive Database and BioVid Heat Pain Database. We achieved an accuracy of over 96% and over 94% for the F1 Score, recall and precision metrics in pain estimation using single frames with the UNBC-McMaster dataset, employing state-of-the-art computer vision techniques such as Transformer-based architectures for vision tasks. In addition, from the conclusions drawn from the study, future lines of work in this area are discussed

Design project management methodology proposal for construction projects in Peru

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como finalidad elaborar una guía metodológica de gestión de proyectos en la etapa de diseño a través de la propuesta de matrices didácticas que muestren el proceso completo del cruce la información adquirida en la investigación y culminen en la propuesta metodológica deseada. Para ello se ha tomado en cuenta las metodologías de gestión de proyectos más usuales en el Perú como son: el Lean Construction, Target Value Design (TVD), Choosing By Advantages, Cost Benefit Analysis, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Design And Construction (VDC) y la Guía del PMBOK. En primer lugar, se desarrolló un marco teórico definiendo el “valor” para el cliente y todos los involucrados en el proyecto de diseño y el alcance proyectual, seguido de la descripción de las metodologías de gestión antes mencionadas y sus procedimientos para la gestión de proyectos. En el capítulo siguiente, el trabajo de investigación se centra en el diseño en sí, definiendo los procesos del diseño para generar una primera matriz de la cual establecer el proceso de diseño como un proyecto, para esto, se definen las 5 etapas o fases del modelo de gestión del PMBOK, concluyendo en una propuesta metodología de la gestión de proyectos de diseño en 41 procesos. Se realizaron 5 matrices de cruce de procesos del proyecto de diseño y las estrategias y herramientas de los modelos de gestión, en las cuales, estas matrices entrelazan o interrelacionan los procesos de las 5 fases del proyecto de diseño con cada uno de los procedimientos indicados por las metodologías de gestión de proyectos, resultando en una matriz general con las etapas, procesos y herramientas que serán utilizados en el diseño de proyectos.The purpose of this research is to develop a methodological guide for the project management of the design process through the proposal of didactic matrices that show the complete process of crossing the information acquired in the research and culminate in the desired methodological approach. To achieve this, the most common project management methodologies in Peru have been taken into account, such as Lean Construction, Target Value Design (TVD), Choosing By Advantages, Cost Benefit Analysis, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Design And Construction (VDC) and the PMBOK Guide. First, a theoretical framework was developed defining "value" for the client and all those involved in the design project and the project scope, followed by a description of the management methodologies and their procedures for project management. In the next chapter, the research work focuses on the design itself, defining the design processes to generate a first matrix from which to establish the design process as a project. For this, the 5 stages or phases of the PMBOK management model are defined, concluding in a proposed methodology for project management in design consisting of 41 processes. Five matrices were created to cross the design project processes with the strategies and tools of the management models. These matrices interrelate the processes of the 5 design project phases with each of the procedures indicated by the project management methodologies, resulting in a general matrix with the stages, processes and tools that will be used in the design of projects.Trabajo de investigació

Hydrogeochemical variability of the acidic springs in the Rio Tinto headwaters

This research was funded by MICINN grant PID2019-1048126GB-I00.Peña de Hierro, located in southwest Spain, encompasses the springs and headwaters for the Rio Tinto River that emerge above normal faults and has been mined for its rich sulfide ore since 2500 BC. The springs are typically characterized by an orange coloration, typical pH of ~2.33, and contain elevated concentrations of heavy metals that are produced by acid rock drainage (ARD). ARD is a natural phenomenon that results from chemolithoautotrophs metabolizing the sulfide ore. Mining has amplified the magnitude of the acidity and concentrations of heavy metals evidenced within sedimentary cores from the Huelva estuary. Acidity, redox state, hydrochemistry and isotopic analyses were examined for the purpose of characterizing the subsurface flows and determining the interconnectivity of the groundwaters. Previous studies have documented the geochemistry of the springs, dating a select few, yet many springs remain uncharacterized. Acidity presented spatial variability throughout the field area, caused by extensive sulfide interactions which generated and modified the pH. Redox exhibited a large range of values due to oxygen diffusivity though the fracture network. The surrounding geology is highly heterogeneous because of intensive deformation during the Variscan and Tertiary periods, and this heterogeneity is shown in the varied aqueous chemistry. Fractionation patterns observed in δ2H and δ18O values predominantly reflected enrichment by intensive evaporation and depletion in δ18O as a result of the proposed sulfatic-water model for Rio Tinto’s hydrogeology. The analysis illustrates minimal hydrologic interconnectivity, evidenced by the extensive physical and chemical contrasts within such a small proximity.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A Deep Learning-Based Multimodal Architecture to predict Signs of Dementia

This paper proposes a multimodal deep learning architecture combining text and audio information to predict dementia, a disease which affects around 55 million people all over the world and makes them in some cases dependent people. The system was evaluated on the DementiaBank Pitt Corpus dataset, which includes audio recordings as well as their transcriptions for healthy people and people with dementia. Different models have been used and tested, including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for audio classification, Transformers for text classification, and a combination of both in a multimodal ensemble. These models have been evaluated on a test set, obtaining the best results by using the text modality, achieving 90.36% accuracy on the task of detecting dementia. Additionally, an analysis of the corpus has been conducted for the sake of explainability, aiming to obtain more information about how the models generate their predictions and identify patterns in the data.We would like to thank “A way of making Europe” European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 for supporting this work under the MoDeaAS project (grant PID2019-104818RB-I00) and AICARE project (grant SPID202200X139779IV0). Furthermore, we would like to thank Nvidia for their generous hardware donation that made these experiments possible

Automated Generation of Clinical Reports Using Sensing Technologies with Deep Learning Techniques

This study presents a pioneering approach that leverages advanced sensing technologies and data processing techniques to enhance the process of clinical documentation generation during medical consultations. By employing sophisticated sensors to capture and interpret various cues such as speech patterns, intonations, or pauses, the system aims to accurately perceive and understand patient–doctor interactions in real time. This sensing capability allows for the automation of transcription and summarization tasks, facilitating the creation of concise and informative clinical documents. Through the integration of automatic speech recognition sensors, spoken dialogue is seamlessly converted into text, enabling efficient data capture. Additionally, deep models such as Transformer models are utilized to extract and analyze crucial information from the dialogue, ensuring that the generated summaries encapsulate the essence of the consultations accurately. Despite encountering challenges during development, experimentation with these sensing technologies has yielded promising results. The system achieved a maximum ROUGE-1 metric score of 0.57, demonstrating its effectiveness in summarizing complex medical discussions. This sensor-based approach aims to alleviate the administrative burden on healthcare professionals by automating documentation tasks and safeguarding important patient information. Ultimately, by enhancing the efficiency and reliability of clinical documentation, this innovative method contributes to improving overall healthcare outcomes.We would like to thank “A way of making Europe” European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 for supporting this work under the “CHAN-TWIN” project (grant TED2021-130890B-C21. HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-0 action number: 101086387, REMARKABLE, Rural Environmental Monitoring via ultra wide-ARea networKs And distriButed federated Learning; CIAICO/2022/132 Consolidated group project “AI4Health” funded by the Valencian government and International Center for Aging Research ICAR funded project “IASISTEM.” This work has also been supported by a Valencian government grant for PhD studies, CIACIF/2022/175 and a research initiation grant from the University of Alicante, AII23-12

A Comprehensive Study on Pain Assessment from Multimodal Sensor Data

Pain assessment is a critical aspect of healthcare, influencing timely interventions and patient well-being. Traditional pain evaluation methods often rely on subjective patient reports, leading to inaccuracies and disparities in treatment, especially for patients who present difficulties to communicate due to cognitive impairments. Our contributions are three-fold. Firstly, we analyze the correlations of the data extracted from biomedical sensors. Then, we use state-of-the-art computer vision techniques to analyze videos focusing on the facial expressions of the patients, both per-frame and using the temporal context. We compare them and provide a baseline for pain assessment methods using two popular benchmarks: UNBC-McMaster Shoulder Pain Expression Archive Database and BioVid Heat Pain Database. We achieved an accuracy of over 96% and over 94% for the F1 Score, recall and precision metrics in pain estimation using single frames with the UNBC-McMaster dataset, employing state-of-the-art computer vision techniques such as Transformer-based architectures for vision tasks. In addition, from the conclusions drawn from the study, future lines of work in this area are discussed.We would like to thank “A way of making Europe” European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 for supporting this work under the “CHAN-TWIN” project (grant TED2021-130890B-C21). HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-0 action number: 101086387, REMARKABLE, Rural Environmental Monitoring via ultra wide-ARea networKs and distriButed federated Learning. CIAICO/2022/132 Consolidated group project “AI4Health” funded by Valencian government and International Center for Aging Research ICAR funded project “IASISTEM”. This work has also been supported by a Spanish national and two regional grants for PhD studies, FPU21/00414, CIACIF/2021/430 and CIACIF/2022/175

Caracterizacion escolar. Un acercamiento a las representaciones sociales presentes en la cotidianidad escolar para fomentar la producci?n textual en los estudiantes del grado octavo de la instituci?n educativa fundadores Ram?n Bueno y Jos? Triana de Girardot - Cundinamarca.

104 P?ginasEl trabajo CARACTERIZACION ESCOLAR. Un acercamiento a las representaciones sociales presentes en la cotidianidad escolar para fomentar la producci?n textual en los estudiantes del grado octavo de la Instituci?n Educativa Fundadores Ram?n Bueno y Jos? Triana, es resultado parcial del trabajo liderado desde el Proyecto RE-PRESENTAR LA ESCUELA del semillero de Investigaci?n LENGUAJE Y TERRITORIO ESCOLAR, y del MACROPROYECTO REDESCUBRIR LA ESCUELA. La investigaci?n es un proceso integrador de los entes que componen la territorialidad escolar (estudiantes, padres de familia y docentes).Es un an?lisis de los diferentes espacios de interrelaci?n de estos, es decir, de las mediaciones socioculturales interpretadas a trav?s de las representaciones sociales, elementos que se enlazan hacia la formaci?n de un canal de comunicaci?n por medio de procesos de producci?n textual; focalizando as? las problem?ticas del entorno inmediato de los participantes, las diferentes visiones de los individuos que la integran y las posiciones que estos toman respecto a las mismas, dentro de un proceso de exploraci?n de causales hacia la vinculaci?n de alternativas de cambio que dan significaci?n al territorio escolar y se consolidan en el proceso de producci?n textual que desarrollaron los participantes. Por consiguiente teniendo en cuenta que la escuela desarticula del proceso educativo aspectos socio-culturales que influyen directamente en el desarrollo del mismo y que fortalecen la producci?n textual. Es necesario investigar ?De qu? manera se podr?a caracterizar las representaciones sociales presentes en la cotidianidad escolar para fomentar la producci?n textual en los estamentos del grado octavo? Es as? como la investigaci?n permiti? tomar referentes de la diversificaci?n socio cultural para dar sentido a la caracterizaci?n escolar, revelando la realidad escolar, propiciando espacios de construcci?n colectiva y de participaci?n activa; entrelazando los conocimientos de cada uno de los individuos para fortalecer los mecanismos de intervenci?n y de construcci?n de tejido social desde la producci?n textual, alcanzando as? con este objetivo que los estudiantes desarrollaran procesos cognitivos implicados en los mecanismos de producci?n mientras traduc?an de forma escrita lo que pensaban y sent?an. Por lo tanto, dentro del campo de investigaci?n se tom? una muestra de la poblaci?n de la Instituci?n Educativa Fundadores Ram?n Bueno y Jos? Triana de la ciudad de Girardot Cundinamarca, a?o 2012.ABSTRACT 7 The ?CARACTERIZACION ESCOLAR? work it is an approach to the socials representation in the school to improve the textual produccion in the students of eight level, in the INSTITUCIONEDUCATIVAFUNDADORES RAMON BUENO Y JOSE TRIANA de Girardot Cundinamarca. It is a partial result of the work leaded from the project: ?REPRESENTAR LA ESCUELA seedbed investigation LENGUAJE Y TERRITORIO ESCOLAR and macro project REDESCUBRIR LA ESCUELA. The researching is an integrator process of the entties that make up the school territoriality (students, parents and teachers). It. Is an analysis of the different areas of Interaction of these where interpreted through social representations elements that are linked to the formation of a channel of communication through textual production processes, focus allowed the problems of the immediate environment of the participants and hinted different views of the individual members and the positions they take about the same, within a process causal exploration towards linking exchange alternatives that give meaning to the school grounds and vest in the text production process developed by the participants. Therefore considering the school's educational process dismantles socio-cultural aspects that directly influence its development and to strengthen the text production. It is necessary to investigate what could be characterized as social representations present in everyday school to boost production in the estates textual eighth grade? And research is allowed to take concerning socio cultural diversification to make sense of the characterization school, revealing the realities of school, providing opportunities for collective and active participation; intertwined where knowledge of each individual to strengthen intervention mechanisms and social fabric construction from textual production in the territoriality of the school, reaching this goal that students develop cognitive processes involved in the production mechanisms as translated in writing what they thought and felt. Therefore, research in the field of a sample population of INSTITUCION EDUCATIVA RAMON BUENO Y JOSE TRIANA Cundinamarca, Girardot city, year 2012.INTRODUCCI?N 1. PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA 1.1 DESCRIPCI?N Y FORMULACI?N DELPROBLEMA 2. OBJETIVOS 2.1OBJETIVO GENERAL 2.2OBJETIVOS ESPEC?FICOS 3. JUSTIFICACION 4. DISE?O METODOL?GICO 4.1.ENFOQUE DE INVESTIGACI?N 4.2. POBLACI?N 4.3. MUESTRA 4.4. RECOLECCI?N DE DATOS O DE LA INFORMACI?N 4.4.1. La observaci?n directa 4.4.2. Evidencia fotogr?ficas 4.4.3. Documentos institucionales 4.4.4. Registro de di?logos establecidos con maestros y directivos. 4.4.5. Grupo focal 4.5. FORMA DE RECOLECCI?N DE LA INFORMACI?N 4.5.1. Lectura de contexto 4.5.2. Recopilaci?n de datos 4.5.3 Grupo focal 4.5.4. An?lisis de resultados 4.6. ETAPAS DEL PROCESO 14 16 17 18 18 18 19 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 9 4.6.1. Tejedores visionarios 4.6.2. Mi escuela mi parche 4.6.3. Escribo a mi manera 4.7. T?CNICAS QUE SE UTILIZARAN PARA REALIZAR EL AN?LISIS DE LOS RESULTADOS 5. REFERENTES 5.1. ANTECEDENTES 5.2. REFERENTE LEGAL 5.3. REFERENTES TE?RICOS 5.3.1 La escuela una caja abierta 5.3.2. Lenguaje y pensamiento 5.3.3. Leer para producir textos y construir contexto 5.3.4. Representaci?n de la realidad 5.3.5. Territorios y espacios escolares 5.3..6. La cultura escolar y comunidad educativa 5.4. REFERENTES PEDAG?GICOS 5.4.1. Estrategias pedag?gicas y pedagog?a del lenguaje 5.4.2. Habilidades intelectuales 5.5. REFERENTES PSICOL?GICOS 6. ANALISIS DE RESULTADOS 6.1 TEJEDORES VISIONARIOS 6.1. 1. Espionaje 6.1.2. Retratos calcados 6.1.3. Pergamino ilustrado 6.2. MI ESCUELA MI PARCHE 6.2.1. Hablo m?s 6.2.2. Grupo focal ?la voz juvenil a trav?s del papel? 6.2.3. Pesquisa a la cuchilla y al parche 6.3. ESCRIBO A MI MANERA 6.3.1 Construcci?n de tejido social 6.3.2. Contexto sociocultural 6.3.3. Convivencia escolar 6.3.4. Construcci?n de ciudadan?a 6.3.5. Carpeta bit?cora 6.3.6. Las TICS en el aula de clases 7. CONCLUSIONES 8. RECOMENDACIONES REFERENCIAS ANEXO

Physical Fitness and Energy Balance Activity of “Promotora” Community Health Care Workers in the South Texas-Mexico Border Region

PURPOSE: Latinas along the U.S.-Mexico border are among the most physically inactive and obese segment of the U.S. population. There is widespread recognition of the cultural appropriateness of promotoras (community health workers) in health education among Latino communities. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 17 promotoras who reside/work in the region to investigate their physical fitness and energy balance behaviors. Promotoras completed physical testing and self-report on physical activity and dietary behaviors. Participants wore an accelerometer for one week. In addition, the validity of an activity self-report instrument to assess cardiorespiratory fitness was tested. RESULTS: Participants’ average body mass index (BMI) was high (31.4±7.18 kg/m²); 76.5% were overweight or obese, 30% very or extremely obese. Physical functioning levels were low (cardiorespiratory capacity 26.0±9.1 VO2/kg/min; step test 77.4 steps/2-minutes). Objectively measured moderate-vigorous PA (114.6 ± 87.0 minutes/week) was less than PA recommendations. Accelerometry activity significantly correlated with self-report (r = 0.71, p=0.009). Participants self-reported consuming 1889.2±492.8 kCal/day. CONCLUSION: Promotoras’ energy balance behaviors were similar to women where they reside/work. Promotoras engaging in health-promoting behaviors may enhance their effectiveness as change agents in the communities they serve

Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe

In the current socioeconomic context, the question of local government sustainability transparency is of great interest to policymakers, managers, citizens and other stakeholders, and yet one to which previous research has devoted little specific attention. At the same time, the Internet has become an instrument of good governance worldwide and government entities in Europe have strived to promote e-government to improve transparency towards citizens. The aim of this study was to identify factors that can help politicians and managers improve practices of sustainability information disclosed by European local governments. To do so, an empirical study was conducted of 91 municipalities in nine countries, comparing three main administrative cultures. Our analysis of the study results highlights various demographic, socioeconomic, financial and legal factors that may be useful to policymakers and managers in promoting the online provision of sustainability information in Anglo-Saxon, Nordic and Southern European countries

Supplementation of xylo-oligosaccharides to suckling piglets promotes the growth of fiber-degrading gut bacterial populations during the lactation and nursery periods

Modulating early-life microbial colonization through xylo-oligosacharides (XOS) supplementation represents an opportunity to accelerate the establishment of fiber-degrading microbial populations and improve intestinal health. Ninety piglets from 15 litters were orally administered once a day from d7 to d27 of lactation with either 5 mL of water (CON) or 5 mL of a solution containing 30 to 60 mg of XOS (XOS). Supplementation ceased at weaning (d28) when all piglets were fed the same commercial pre-starter diet. Growth performance did not differ between treatments during the experimental period (d7 to d40). Piglet's fecal microbiota (n = 30) shifted significantly from the end of lactation (d27) to nursery period (d40) exhibiting an increase in microbial alpha diversity. Animals supplemented with XOS showed higher richness and abundance of fiber-degrading bacteria and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production at d27 and d40. Additionally, the predicted abundance of the pyruvate to butanoate fermentation pathway was increased in the XOS group at d40. These results show that supplementation of XOS to lactating piglets promotes fiber-degrading bacterial populations in their hindgut. Moreover, differences observed in the nursery period suggest that XOS can influence the microbiota in the long-term