16 research outputs found
FARSEC: A Reproducible Framework for Automatic Real-Time Vehicle Speed Estimation Using Traffic Cameras
Estimating the speed of vehicles using traffic cameras is a crucial task for
traffic surveillance and management, enabling more optimal traffic flow,
improved road safety, and lower environmental impact. Transportation-dependent
systems, such as for navigation and logistics, have great potential to benefit
from reliable speed estimation. While there is prior research in this area
reporting competitive accuracy levels, their solutions lack reproducibility and
robustness across different datasets. To address this, we provide a novel
framework for automatic real-time vehicle speed calculation, which copes with
more diverse data from publicly available traffic cameras to achieve greater
robustness. Our model employs novel techniques to estimate the length of road
segments via depth map prediction. Additionally, our framework is capable of
handling realistic conditions such as camera movements and different video
stream inputs automatically. We compare our model to three well-known models in
the field using their benchmark datasets. While our model does not set a new
state of the art regarding prediction performance, the results are competitive
on realistic CCTV videos. At the same time, our end-to-end pipeline offers more
consistent results, an easier implementation, and better compatibility. Its
modular structure facilitates reproducibility and future improvements
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies,
expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling
for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least .
With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000
people realized that vision as the James Webb Space Telescope. A
generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of
the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the
scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000
team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image
quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief
history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing
program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite
detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space
Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure
Phytochemical Pharmacokinetics and Bioactivity of Oat and Barley Flour: A Randomized Crossover Trial
While dietary fiber plays an important role in the health benefits associated with whole grain consumption, other ingredients concentrated in the outer bran layer, including alkylresorcinols, lignans, phenolic acids, phytosterols, and tocols, may also contribute to these outcomes. To determine the acute bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of the major phytochemicals found in barley and oats, we conducted a randomized, three-way crossover trial in 13 healthy subjects, aged 40–70 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 27–35.9 kg/m2. After a two-day run-in period following a diet low in phytochemicals, subjects were randomized to receive muffins made with either 48 g whole oat flour, whole barley flour, or refined wheat flour plus cellulose (control), with a one-week washout period between each intervention. At the same time, an oral glucose tolerance test was administered. In addition to plasma phytochemical concentrations, glucose and insulin responses, biomarkers of antioxidant activity, lipid peroxidation, inflammation, and vascular remodeling were determined over a 24-h period. There was no significant effect on acute bioavailability or pharmacokinetics of major phytochemicals. Administered concurrently with a glucose bolus, the source of whole grains did not attenuate the post-prandial response of markers of glucoregulation and insulin sensitivity, inflammation, nor vascular remodeling compared to the refined grain control. No significant differences were observed in the bioavailability or postprandial effects between whole-oat and whole-barley compared to a refined wheat control when administered with a glucose challenge. These null results may be due, in part, to the inclusion criteria for the subjects, dose of the whole grains, and concurrent acute administration of the whole grains with the glucose bolus
Phytochemical Pharmacokinetics and Bioactivity of Oat and Barley Flour: A Randomized Crossover Trial
While dietary fiber plays an important role in the health benefits associated with whole grain consumption, other ingredients concentrated in the outer bran layer, including alkylresorcinols, lignans, phenolic acids, phytosterols, and tocols, may also contribute to these outcomes. To determine the acute bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of the major phytochemicals found in barley and oats, we conducted a randomized, three-way crossover trial in 13 healthy subjects, aged 40–70 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 27–35.9 kg/m2. After a two-day run-in period following a diet low in phytochemicals, subjects were randomized to receive muffins made with either 48 g whole oat flour, whole barley flour, or refined wheat flour plus cellulose (control), with a one-week washout period between each intervention. At the same time, an oral glucose tolerance test was administered. In addition to plasma phytochemical concentrations, glucose and insulin responses, biomarkers of antioxidant activity, lipid peroxidation, inflammation, and vascular remodeling were determined over a 24-h period. There was no significant effect on acute bioavailability or pharmacokinetics of major phytochemicals. Administered concurrently with a glucose bolus, the source of whole grains did not attenuate the post-prandial response of markers of glucoregulation and insulin sensitivity, inflammation, nor vascular remodeling compared to the refined grain control. No significant differences were observed in the bioavailability or postprandial effects between whole-oat and whole-barley compared to a refined wheat control when administered with a glucose challenge. These null results may be due, in part, to the inclusion criteria for the subjects, dose of the whole grains, and concurrent acute administration of the whole grains with the glucose bolus
Phytochemical Pharmacokinetics and Bioactivity of Oat and Barley Flour: A Randomized Crossover Trial
Professor Piotr Roniewicz (1936-2019) In memoriam
Piotr Roniewicz was born in 1936 in Warsaw, however his family roots were in Stanisławów (nowadays Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine). He completed his university studies at the Faculty of Geology of the University of Warsaw in 1959, gaining a Master’s Degree. He began his geological career at this Faculty already as a 4th year student. In 1981-1984 he was the Vice-Dean and later in 1984-1990 – the Dean of the Faculty. Professor Roniewicz worked there until his retirement in 2006