3D Surface Reconstruction of Plant Seeds by Volume Carving: Performance and Accuracies

We describe a method for 3D reconstruction of plant seed surfaces, focusing on small seeds with diameters as small as 200 μm. The method considers robotized systems allowing single seed handling in order to rotate a single seed in front of a camera. Even though such systems feature high position repeatability, at sub-millimeter object scales, camera pose variations have to be compensated. We do this by robustly estimating the tool center point from each acquired image. 3D reconstruction can then be performed by a simple shape-from-silhouette approach. In experiments we investigate runtimes, theoretically achievable accuracy, experimentally achieved accuracy, and show as a proof of principle that the proposed method is well sufficient for 3D seed phenotyping purposes

Why, how, and how far should microbiological contamination in a coastal zone be mitigated? An application of the systems approach to the Thau lagoon (France)

Full text : http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00136/24775/22959.pdf (Version "auteur", 0.77 Mo)International audienceThis paper describes the building of an integrated simulation tool based on a systems approach, and its contribution to local political discussion of the mitigation of microbiological contamination of the water in a coastal area. Local management schemes view water quality as a high-priority environmental objective. In practice, how far this objective is achieved depends on trade-offs between the costs of improved water treatment facilities and the acceptable impacts of water contamination. An in-the-field experiment in collaboration with local managers was carried out in the Thau lagoon on the French Mediterranean coast during the SPICOSA (Science and Policy Integration for Coastal System Assessment) project, from 2007 through 2011. It consisted of building a modeling platform and an integrated assessment framework for simulating exploratory scenarios. The modeling platform combines a dynamic contamination model, which represents the sources of microbiological contamination, wastewater treatment facilities, and physical mechanisms of lagoon contamination, with a prospective economic model, which estimates the patterns of development of economic activities in the area through a holistic approach. Exploratory scenarios are used to assess the risk of water contamination and the efficiency of management measures, under various assumptions about the evolution of the system. The contamination simulations suggest that the work currently planned by local authorities will be inadequate for preventing increased water pollution, and that additional but fairly inexpensive management measures for maintaining the current level of water quality should be considered. The integrated assessment framework estimates the ecological and socio-economic impacts of the various pollution mitigation policies in the broader context of possible local development patterns. The results illustrate how the systems approach may aid in the design of an applicable water policy based on operational objectives and feasible technical options. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

World Health Organization cardiovascular disease risk charts: revised models to estimate risk in 21 global regions

BACKGROUND: To help adapt cardiovascular disease risk prediction approaches to low-income and middle-income countries, WHO has convened an effort to develop, evaluate, and illustrate revised risk models. Here, we report the derivation, validation, and illustration of the revised WHO cardiovascular disease risk prediction charts that have been adapted to the circumstances of 21 global regions. METHODS: In this model revision initiative, we derived 10-year risk prediction models for fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (ie, myocardial infarction and stroke) using individual participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration. Models included information on age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total cholesterol. For derivation, we included participants aged 40-80 years without a known baseline history of cardiovascular disease, who were followed up until the first myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, or stroke event. We recalibrated models using age-specific and sex-specific incidences and risk factor values available from 21 global regions. For external validation, we analysed individual participant data from studies distinct from those used in model derivation. We illustrated models by analysing data on a further 123 743 individuals from surveys in 79 countries collected with the WHO STEPwise Approach to Surveillance. FINDINGS: Our risk model derivation involved 376 177 individuals from 85 cohorts, and 19 333 incident cardiovascular events recorded during 10 years of follow-up. The derived risk prediction models discriminated well in external validation cohorts (19 cohorts, 1 096 061 individuals, 25 950 cardiovascular disease events), with Harrell's C indices ranging from 0·685 (95% CI 0·629-0·741) to 0·833 (0·783-0·882). For a given risk factor profile, we found substantial variation across global regions in the estimated 10-year predicted risk. For example, estimated cardiovascular disease risk for a 60-year-old male smoker without diabetes and with systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg and total cholesterol of 5 mmol/L ranged from 11% in Andean Latin America to 30% in central Asia. When applied to data from 79 countries (mostly low-income and middle-income countries), the proportion of individuals aged 40-64 years estimated to be at greater than 20% risk ranged from less than 1% in Uganda to more than 16% in Egypt. INTERPRETATION: We have derived, calibrated, and validated new WHO risk prediction models to estimate cardiovascular disease risk in 21 Global Burden of Disease regions. The widespread use of these models could enhance the accuracy, practicability, and sustainability of efforts to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease worldwide. FUNDING: World Health Organization, British Heart Foundation (BHF), BHF Cambridge Centre for Research Excellence, UK Medical Research Council, and National Institute for Health Research

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

3D Surface Reconstruction of Plant Seeds by Volume Carving

We describe a method for 3D reconstruction of plant seed surfaces, focusing on small seeds with diameters as small as 200µm. The method considers robotized systems allowing single seed handling in order to rotate a single seed in front of a camera. Even though such systems feature high position repeatability, at sub-millimeter object scales, camera pose variations have to be compensated. We do this by robustly estimating the tool center point from each acquired image. 3D reconstruction can then be performed by a simple shape-from-silhouette approach. In experiments we investigate runtimes, theachieved accuracy, and show as a proof of principle that the proposed method is well sufficient for 3D seed phenotyping purposes

Rapid deployable ballistic barriers based on airbag systems

The investigations included an outline of the threat scenarios which identified a list of situations where such a ballistic protection kit was urgently needed for improving security of individuals ending up with specifications. Predominantly, 2-3 persons have to be protected against the attack by hand guns and hand grenade and enable a counter attack from this safe area. The ballistic protection was established by a multitude of textiles layers made out of aramid fibres. The fibre weaving applying various methods, treatment by lamination and their combination was optimized by measuring the energy reduction of various layers to achieve best resistance against the impact of the selected ammunition. For the inflation of the ballistic package new approaches for the gas generator formulation and manufacturing techniques were investigated and successfully tested. This new composition combined pyrotechnic hot gas production with ablative cooling to provide cool gases for safely deploying the folded protecting shield stabilized by inflated tubular structure. Finally, all components were combined in a demonstrator which was tested on a shooting range. The results showed that the ballistic shield deployed in a short time and withstood the demanded impact of bullets, fragments and blasts according to the specifications. The current weight of the ballistic package has still to be reduced for which effective proposals are to be made

Chiral liquid chromatography contribution to the determination of the absolute configuration of enantiomers

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