Boosting histograms of oriented gradients for human detection

Presentado al 2nd Computer Vision: Advances in Research & Development celebrado en 2007 en Bellaterra (Spain).In this paper we propose a human detection framework based on an enhanced version of Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features. These feature descriptors are computed with the help of a precalculated histogram of square blocks. This novel method outperforms the integral of oriented histograms allowing the calculation of a single feature four times faster. Using Adaboost for HOG feature selection and Support Vector Machine as weak classifier, we build up a fast human classifier with an excellent detection rate.This work was supported by the project 'Integration of robust perception, learning, and navigation systems in mobile robotics' (J-0929).This work is supported by EC grants IST-027110 for the HERMES project and IST-045547 for the VIDI-video project, and by the Spanish MEC under projects TIN2006-14606 and DPI-2004-5414. Jordi Gonzàlez also acknowledges the support of a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish MEC.Peer Reviewe

Eltrombopag for myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia with no excess blasts and thrombocytopenia: a French multicentre retrospective real-life study.

peer reviewedDespite a moderate prevalence in low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), thrombocytopenia remains a risk of severe bleeding and therapeutic options are still limited. There are only a few studies with eltrombopag (ELT), a thrombopoietin receptor agonist, in those patients. In this retrospective multicentre study, ELT was used in 50 patients with MDS and 11 with CMML, with no excess of marrow blasts and platelet counts of <50 × 109 /l in a 'real-life' situation. Platelet response occurred in 47 (77%) patients. The median (range) duration of response was 8 (0-69) months. None of the eight still responders who discontinued ELT had relapsed, at a median (range) of 16 (6-23) months after ELT discontinuation. Although 36% of the patients were anti-coagulated or anti-aggregated only 10% of patients had Grade ≥3 bleeding events. Thrombotic events were observed in six (10%) patients, who all but one had a medical history of arterial or venous thrombosis. Progression to acute myeloid leukaemia occurred in four (7%) patients. In this first 'real-life' study, ELT was effective and generally well tolerated in patients with MDS/CMML without excess blasts

Pressure-assisted osmosis (PAO)-RO hybrid: impact of hydraulic pressure on fouling and economics

The use of forward osmosis (FO) is of growing interest for water desalination due to its potential energy savings. However, its industrial implementation is still limited by its current limitation in performance in terms of water permeation and reverse salt diffusion, mainly due to the membrane properties. Pressure-assisted osmosis is a new concept, aiming at pressurising the feed solution to enhance water permeation through synergistic osmotic and hydraulic driving forces that have demonstrated promising results in tackling current limitations of FO

Evolution of fouling deposition and removal on hollow fibre membrane during filtration with periodical backwash

Fouling deposition and removal during filtration with short periodical backwash was investigated by direct observation coupled with hydraulic resistance measurement. Using a model mixture of bentonite and alginate, it was found that short periodical backwash only (i.e. without air scouring) expanded the foulant cake, which is subsequently recompressed back to membrane surface when the filtration resumes. With air-scouring aided backwash, the fouling material is convected away from the effective filtration zone, thus limiting re-deposition. However, due to the potential fractionation of foulant species at high air scouring rate, the deposition of more highly resistant components was observed over multiple filtration and backwash cycles. The results indicated that the changes in cake height, composition and structure were affected not only by the initial composition of the feed, but also by the hydrodynamics of the backwash and air scouring present