Learning Three-Dimensional Shape Models for Sketch Recognition

Artifacts made by humans, such as items of furniture and houses, exhibit an enormous amount of variability in shape. In this paper, we concentrate on models of the shapes of objects that are made up of fixed collections of sub-parts whose dimensions and spatial arrangement exhibit variation. Our goals are: to learn these models from data and to use them for recognition. Our emphasis is on learning and recognition from three-dimensional data, to test the basic shape-modeling methodology. In this paper we also demonstrate how to use models learned in three dimensions for recognition of two-dimensional sketches of objects.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Effectiveness of a program of romana’s Pilates for non-specific low back pain: A pilot study

Objetivo: comprobar la efectividad del método Pilates Romana para conseguir una mayor flexibilidad de la columna, junto con una mejora en la movilidad de la misma, así como del dolor que presentan en su vida diaria los pacientes. Metodología: ensayo clínico con intención de tratar a treinta pacientes con dolor lumbar inespecífico. Asistieron a 15 sesiones, 2 veces a la semana, del Método Pilates Romana.. Se evaluaron parámetros tales como dolor, test de Schöber, SRS-22 y distancia dedos- suelo. Resultados. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas con respecto al dolor (escala EVA), distancia dedos- suelo, test de Schöber (flexibilidad en plano sagital), flexión lateral (flexibilidad en plano frontal) y en varios ítems de la escala SRS-22, con valores de p<0,001. Por ello, este método puede ser usado para mejorar el dolor, la flexibilidad axial, la función y los aspectos relacionados con la calidad de vidaAim: to test the effectiveness of the Romana’s Pilates method to obtain increased flexibility, improvements in mobility, and reduced pain in daily life. Methodology: a clinical trial with intention-to-treat thirty patients with nonspecific low back pain. Participants attended 15 sessions, twice a week. The Romana’s Pilates method was taught by an external physiotherapist. Parameters such as pain, the Schober test, and the SRS-22 were evaluated. Results: Statistically significant differences in pain (VAS), the Schober test (flexibility in sagittal plane), lateral flexion (flexibility in frontal plane) and several items of the SRS-22 scale were found, with p <0.001. This method may be used to improve pain, axial flexibility, function and aspects related to the quality of life of patient

Applying MAPP Algorithm for Cooperative Path Finding in Urban Environments

The paper considers the problem of planning a set of non-conflict trajectories for the coalition of intelligent agents (mobile robots). Two divergent approaches, e.g. centralized and decentralized, are surveyed and analyzed. Decentralized planner - MAPP is described and applied to the task of finding trajectories for dozens UAVs performing nap-of-the-earth flight in urban environments. Results of the experimental studies provide an opportunity to claim that MAPP is a highly efficient planner for solving considered types of tasks

Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Complications of Obesity in Children

The rise in obesity in both children and adults has made obesity one of the biggest public health problems of this century. Obesity along with other factors such as hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus are risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Overweight and/or obesity during childhood and its maintenance until adult life has been associated with early stages of cardiovascular disease. For this reason, the aim of this study is to revise the state of the art of cardiometabolic and cardiovascular complications related with overweight and/or obesity in children and adolescents. The first consequence of weight gain is an increase in adipose tissue, with different distribution depending on the sex. The excess of fat mass entails dysfunction of adipose tissue with an altered secretion of adipokines and instauration of a proinflammatory environment, which may derive in metabolic syndrome condition. The increase of adipose tissue along with an increase in sympathetic nervous system, triggers an increased left ventricular mass and with a reduced diastolic function. Therefore, obesity should be prevented from the early stages of life, in order to avoid obesity itself and the metabolic disturbances that could undermine quality of life further on

A Machine Learning Approach to Predict Healthcare Cost of Breast Cancer Patients

This paper presents a novel machine learning approach to per- form an early prediction of the healthcare cost of breast cancer patients. The learning phase of our prediction method considers the following two steps: i) in the first step, the patients are clustered taking into account the sequences of ac- tions undergoing similar clinical activities and ensuring similar healthcare costs, and ii) a Markov chain is then learned for each group to describe the action- sequences of the patients in the cluster. A two step procedure is undertaken in the prediction phase: i) first, the healthcare cost of a new patient’s treatment is estimated based on the average healthcare cost of its k−nearest neighbors in each group, and ii) finally, an aggregate measure of the healthcare cost estimated by each group is used as the final predicted cost. Experiments undertaken reveal a mean absolute percentage error as small as 6%, even when half of the clinical records of a patient is available, substantiating the early prediction capability of the proposed method. Comparative analysis substantiates the superiority of the proposed algorithm over the state-of-the-art techniques.IT1244-19 PID2019-104966GB-I00 TIN2016-78365-

In vitro effect photodynamic therapy with differents photosensitizers on cariogenic microorganisms

Background: Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy has been proposed as an alternative to suppress subgingival species. This results from the balance among Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans in the dental biofilm. Not all the photosensitizers have the same photodynamic effect against the different microorganims. The objective of this study is to compare in vitro the photodynamic effect of methylene blue (MB), rose Bengal (RB) and curcumin (CUR) in combination with white light on the cariogenic microorganism S. mutans, S. sanguis and C. albicans. Results: Photodynamic therapy with MB, RB and CUR inhibited 6 log 10 the growth of both bacteria but at different concentrations: 0.31-0.62 µg/ml and 0.62-1.25 µg/ml RB were needed to photoinactivate S. mutans and S. sanguis, respectively//1.25-2.5 µg/ml MB for both species//whereas higher CUR concentrations (80-160 µg/ml and 160-320 µg/ml) were required to obtain the same reduction in S. mutans and S. sanguis viability respectively. The minimal fungicidal concentration of MB for 5 log10 CFU reduction (4.5 McFarland) was 80-160 µg/ml, whereas for RB it ranged between 320 and 640 µg/ml. For CUR, even the maximum studied concentration (1280 µg/ml) did not reach that inhibition. Incubation time had no effect in all experiments. Conclusions: Photodynamic therapy with RB, MB and CUR and white light is effective in killing S. mutans and S. sanguis strains, although MB and RB are more efficient than CUR. C. albicans required higher concentrations of all photosensitizers to obtain a fungicidal effect, being MB the most efficient and CUR ineffective

Establishment of criteria for the selection and adaptation of objectives and indicators in ISO9001:2008 quality system in a university pharmaceutical pilot plant

The authors want to thank Álex López from LOUFARM, S.L. for his support in drafting the article.Aims: The aim of this work is the correct establishment and follow-up of quality objectives and indicators as the cornerstones of a quality assurance system, in this case focused on ISO9001. Materials and methods: In this work, the authors present the criteria that, in their view, an organization must follow for a better selection and adaptation of the ISO9001:2008 quality system objectives and indicators applied to a university pharmaceutical pilot plant. The evolution of errors in setting objectives and indicators is assessed. Results: Based on the experience of several years at the SDM (Service of Development of Medicines) at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Barcelona, the results show that the establishing of appropriate objectives and indicators is not an easy task. A careful selection of both objectives and indicators must be a compulsory step prior to the establishment of a robust, reliable quality assurance system through years. Conclusions: Experience over time proves to be a powerful tool to end up selecting the right quality objectives and indicators for such quality system. Since this task is not always easy to carry out, is necessary to set a selection of criteria in order to obtain useful information that contributes to the continuous improvement of the quality system.Objetivos: El objetivo de este trabajo es el correcto establecimiento y seguimiento de los objetivos de calidad y sus indicadores, como pilar fundamental de un sistema de garantía de calidad, en este caso centrado en ISO9001. Material y métodos: En este trabajo, los autores presentan los criterios que, a su juicio, una organización debe seguir para una mejor selección y adaptación de objetivos e indicadores en el marco de la norma de calidad ISO9001:2008, aplicada a una planta piloto farmacéutica universitaria. Se realiza una evaluación de los errores en el establecimiento de objetivos e indicadores. Resultados: En base a la experiencia de varios años en SDM (Servicio de Desarrollo del Medicamento) en la Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad de Barcelona, los resultados muestran que el establecimiento de objetivos e indicadores apropiados no resulta una tarea sencilla. Una cuidadosa selección tanto de objetivos como de indicadores debe ser un paso obligado para el establecimiento de un sistema de aseguramiento de calidad robusto y fiable a lo largo del tiempo. Conclusiones: El aprendizaje basado en la experiencia de años demuestra ser una herramienta poderosa para acabar seleccionando los objetivos e indicadores correctos que se adapten al sistema de calidad en cuestión. Dado que este hecho no siempre resulta fácil, es necesario establecer unos criterios con el objetivo de obtener información útil que contribuya a la mejora continua del sistema de calidad

Plant Antioxidants in Food Emulsions

Addition of free radical scavenging antioxidants (AOs) is one of practical strategies controlling the oxidative stability in food emulsions. Attention has been directed toward AOs derived from natural plant extracts with the capacity to improve health and well-being due to lack of consumers’ trust toward synthetic antioxidant in food. Nevertheless, antioxidant efficiency varies widely from one compound to another and the most abundant AOs in our diet are not necessarily those that have the best availability profile at the reaction place with free radicals. In this book chapter, we will provide a state-of-the-art summary of the uses of plant AOs in colloidal systems, ranging from their main structural features to their benefits for the human health and their antioxidant role in controlling the oxidative stress and, particularly, the oxidation of lipid-based food emulsions

Simultaneous catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and soot with Ce–Zr–Nd mixed oxides in simulated diesel exhaust conditions

Ce0.73−xZr0.27NdxO2 mixed oxides (x ≤ 0.3) were prepared, characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, N2 adsorption isotherms and H2-TPR, and tested for simultaneous CO, propylene, benzene and soot oxidation in a gas mixture containing O2, NOx, H2O, CO2, CO, propylene (model aliphatic hydrocarbon) and benzene (model aromatic hydrocarbon) that simulates a diesel exhaust. Ce–Zr mixed oxide doping with a low atomic fraction of neodymium (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.09) promotes the creation of oxygen vacancies, has a minor effect in the BET specific surface areas of the oxides, increases the surface ceria reducibility and has a positive effect in the catalytic activity. On the contrary, higher neodymium atomic fractions (x = 0.2 and 0.3) promote sintering, with a drastic decrease of the BET specific surface area, surface reducibility and catalytic activity. The Ce0.73−xZr0.27NdxO2 catalysts with x ≤ 0.09 are able to accelerate simultaneously soot, propylene and benzene combustion, and as a general trend, the catalytic behavior of Ce0.73Zr0.27O2 is improved by low atomic fraction neodymium doping (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.09). These Ce0.73−xZr0.27NdxO2 mixed oxides with 0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.09 are also able to accelerate CO oxidation in a certain extent, but there is a net production of CO during soot combustion because the oxidation capacity of these oxides is not high enough to oxidize all CO released as soot combustion product.The authors thank the financial support of CNPq – National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (Brazil), of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ProjectCTQ2012-30703) and of the UE (FEDER funding)