A Survey of Super-Resolution in Iris Biometrics With Evaluation of Dictionary-Learning

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other worksThe lack of resolution has a negative impact on the performance of image-based biometrics. While many generic super-resolution methods have been proposed to restore low-resolution images, they usually aim to enhance their visual appearance. However, an overall visual enhancement of biometric images does not necessarily correlate with a better recognition performance. Reconstruction approaches thus need to incorporate the specific information from the target biometric modality to effectively improve recognition performance. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of iris super-resolution approaches proposed in the literature. We have also adapted an eigen-patches’ reconstruction method based on the principal component analysis eigen-transformation of local image patches. The structure of the iris is exploited by building a patch-position-dependent dictionary. In addition, image patches are restored separately, having their own reconstruction weights. This allows the solution to be locally optimized, helping to preserve local information. To evaluate the algorithm, we degraded the high-resolution images from the CASIA Interval V3 database. Different restorations were considered, with 15 × 15 pixels being the smallest resolution evaluated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the smallest resolutions employed in the literature. The experimental framework is complemented with six publicly available iris comparators that were used to carry out biometric verification and identification experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms both the bilinear and bicubic interpolations at a very low resolution. The performance of a number of comparators attains an impressive equal error rate as low as 5% and a Top-1 accuracy of 77%–84% when considering the iris images of only 15 × 15 pixels. These results clearly demonstrate the benefit of using trained super-resolution techniques to improve the quality of iris images prior to matchingThis work was supported by the EU COST Action under Grant IC1106. The work of F. Alonso-Fernandez and J. Bigun was supported in part by the Swedish Research Council, in part by the Swedish Innovation Agency, and in part by the Swedish Knowledge Foundation through the CAISR/SIDUS-AIR projects. The work of J. Fierrez was supported by the Spanish MINECO/FEDER through the CogniMetrics Project under Grant TEC2015-70627-R. The authors acknowledge the Halmstad University Library for its support with the open access fee

A Preschool Obesity Prevention Program is Associated with Improvements on Physical Activity Quality

The Míranos! Look at Us We Are Healthy (Míranos!) is an eight-week pilot intervention to promote healthy weight gain in low-income preschool Latino children aged 3-5 years. A major focus is to increase time spent in physical activity level, especially moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during play time and improve class instruction quality. According to one published study, preschool children spent only 14% of play session time in MVPA and 73% in sedentary activity (Tandon, 2015). PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of the Míranos! pilot intervention on the quality (lesson context, and health promotion interactions) and level of physical activity intensity among 3-5 year old children during outdoor and indoor play sessions conducted in two Head Start Centers in San Antonio, Texas. METHODS: Head Start teachers received a 20-hour training on physical activity and gross motor skill instructions, lesson plans for structured outdoor and indoor activities, and equipment for structured and unstructured outdoor play. System of Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) was utilized to observe the level of activity intensity (lying down, sitting, standing, walking, and vigorous), lesson context [management, instruction (knowledge, fitness, skill, game), and other “free play”], and teacher-student interactions (in-class and out-class promotion, and no promotion), following an established protocol (McKenzie et al., 1991a; McKenzie 2015). Two trained research assistants recorded the play sessions and coded the activities separately. The observations took place at week 4, week 6, and week 8 of the intervention. There were 4 recorded sessions on week 4, 4 recorded sessions on week 6, and 7 recorded sessions on week 8. RESULTS: Data from 15 sessions and 1,180 observations were scored for a total of 6 hours and 18 minutes. The average session lasting 25.19 minutes (ranging from 10.26 to 39.9 min). Children spent an average of 12% of play time in sedentary activity (lying down and sitting), 61% of time in light activity (standing and walking), and 25% of time in MVPA (vigorous activities). Percent of time spent on management, instructional content (knowledge, fitness, skill, and game), and other “free play” were 18%, 34%, and 47%, respectively. Teachers and teacher aides spent 21% of time for in-class physical activity promotion, 79% no physical activity promotion, and 0% of time for out-class physical activity promotion. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of SOFIT observation, Míranos! intervention increased time children spent in MVPA and decreased time in sedentary activities compared to published data of similar age children. The Míranos! intervention was also successful in increasing the quality of the instruction with 61% of teacher’s time on instruction-related activities

Effects of a Head Start Obesity Prevention Pilot on Preschoolers’ Physical Activity

Regular participation in physical activity (PA) is important for the healthy growth and development of preschoolers. The Míranos! Look at Us We Are Healthy (Míranos!) is an obesity prevention intervention with age-appropriate structured and unstructured outdoor/indoor play and classroom activities led by teacher. As an objective instrument to provide information on human movements, accelerometer can accurately identify the levels of physical activity and assess the effects of physical activity intervention. PURPOSE: to evaluate the effects of an 8-week Míranos! pilot intervention on increasing physical activity levels during school time in preschoolers. METHODS: Study participants were children aged 3-5 years enrolled in two Head Start Centers in San Antonio, Texas. Assessments of physical activity level were obtained for time spent in light PA (LPA) and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Children wore accelerometers (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT, ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL) for two days at baseline, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks of the intervention. Accelerometers were worn on the wrist when children arrived at the center and collected by the teachers at the end of the day. Accelerometers must be worn for a minimum of 6 hours for data to be included for analysis. Data were processed on ActiLife-6 (Version 6.13.3, Copyright 2009-2015 Actigraph, LLC.) using cut-off points from Johansson (2016) calibration study. Vector magnitude (VM) counts between 4885 and 11292 per minute were classified as LPA, VM counts above 11293 per minute were classified as MVPA. Independent Samples T-Test was used to assess differences in time (minutes) in LPA, MVPA, and total PA from baseline to 4-week and 8-week time point. RESULTS: Valid data were obtained from 30 children. Independent Samples T-Test showed that there was a significant increase (mean difference=-7.59;

Feasibility, drug safety, and effectiveness of etiological treatment programs for Chagas disease in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia: 10-year experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is a zoonotic or anthropozoonotic disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Predominantly affecting populations in poor areas of Latin America, medical care for this neglected disease is often lacking. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has provided diagnostic and treatment services for Chagas disease since 1999. This report describes 10 years of field experience in four MSF programs in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia, focusing on feasibility protocols, safety of drug therapy, and treatment effectiveness. METHODOLOGY: From 1999 to 2008, MSF provided free diagnosis, etiological treatment, and follow-up care for patients <18 years of age seropositive for T. cruzi in Yoro, Honduras (1999-2002); Olopa, Guatemala (2003-2006); Entre Ríos, Bolivia (2002-2006); and Sucre, Bolivia (2005-2008). Essential program components guaranteeing feasibility of implementation were information, education, and communication (IEC) at the community and family level; vector control; health staff training; screening and diagnosis; treatment and compliance, including family-based strategies for early detection of adverse events; and logistics. Chagas disease diagnosis was confirmed by testing blood samples using two different diagnostic tests. T. cruzi-positive patients were treated with benznidazole as first-line treatment, with appropriate counseling, consent, and active participation from parents or guardians for daily administration of the drug, early detection of adverse events, and treatment withdrawal, when necessary. Weekly follow-up was conducted, with adverse events recorded to assess drug safety. Evaluations of serological conversion were carried out to measure treatment effectiveness. Vector control, entomological surveillance, and health education activities were carried out in all projects with close interaction with national and regional programs. RESULTS: Total numbers of children and adolescents tested for T. cruzi in Yoro, Olopa, Entre Ríos, and Sucre were 24,471, 8,927, 7,613, and 19,400, respectively. Of these, 232 (0.9%), 124 (1.4%), 1,475 (19.4%), and 1,145 (5.9%) patients, respectively, were diagnosed as seropositive. Patients were treated with benznidazole, and early findings of seroconversion varied widely between the Central and South American programs: 87.1% and 58.1% at 18 months post-treatment in Yoro and Olopa, respectively; 5.4% by up to 60 months in Entre Ríos; and 0% at an average of 18 months in Sucre. Benznidazole-related adverse events were observed in 50.2% and 50.8% of all patients treated in Yoro and Olopa, respectively, and 25.6% and 37.9% of patients in Entre Ríos and Sucre, respectively. Most adverse events were mild and manageable. No deaths occurred in the treatment population. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing Chagas disease diagnosis and treatment programs in resource-limited settings, including remote rural areas, while addressing the limitations associated with drug-related adverse events. The variability in apparent treatment effectiveness may reflect differences in patient and parasite populations, and illustrates the limitations of current treatments and measures of efficacy. New treatments with improved safety profiles, pediatric formulations of existing and new drugs, and a faster, reliable test of cure are all urgently needed

Refractory hyperactive bladder treated with sacral neuromodulator: case report and literature review

The overactive bladder syndrome is a chronic medical condition that affects the quality of life of patients whether men or women, has a prevalence of 16.5%, however, it is known to increase with age, affecting up to 25% of women older than 65 years and up to 80% in the elderly. More than 90% of cases have no apparent cause.  The OAB (Overactive Bladder) It is a condition with characteristic symptoms of urinary urgency, usually accompanied by frequency and nocturia, with or without urge incontinence, in the absence of urinary tract infection or other obvious pathology. The different therapeutic steps are not always sufficient to restore the quality of life

A ventromedial prefrontal dysrhythmia in obsessive-compulsive disorder is attenuated by nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has consistently been linked to abnormal frontostriatal activity. The electrophysiological disruption in this circuit, however, remains to be characterized. Objective/hypothesis: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the neuronal synchronization in OCD patients. We predicted aberrant oscillatory activity in frontal regions compared to healthy control subjects, which would be alleviated by deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Methods: We compared scalp EEG recordings from nine patients with OCD treated with NAc-DBS with recordings from healthy controls, matched for age and gender. Within the patient group, EEG activity was compared with DBS turned off vs. stimulation at typical clinical settings (3.5 V, frequency of stimulation 130 Hz, pulse width 60 ms). In addition, intracranial EEG was recorded directly from depth macro electrodes in the NAc in four OCD patients. Results: Cross-frequency coupling between the phase of alpha/low beta oscillations and amplitude of high gamma was significantly increased over midline frontal and parietal electrodes in patients when stimulation was turned off, compared to controls. Critically, in patients, beta (16-25 Hz)-gamma (110-166 Hz) phase amplitude coupling source localized to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and was reduced when NAc-DBS was active. In contrast, intracranial EEG recordings showed no beta-gamma phase amplitude coupling. The contribution of non-sinusoidal beta waveforms to this coupling are reported. Conclusion: We reveal an increased beta-gamma phase amplitude coupling in fronto-central scalp sensors in patients suffering from OCD, compared to healthy controls, which may derive from ventromedial prefrontal regions implicated in OCD and is normalized by DBS of the nucleus accumbens. This aberrant cross-frequency coupling could represent a biomarker of OCD, as well as a target for novel therapeutic approaches. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.This work was supported by Project grants SAF2015-65982-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness to BS and PSI2014-58654-JIN to JGR, an FPI Predoctoral Fellowship (BES-2016-079470) to ST, and BIAL Foundation Grant 119/12 to BS. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ERC-2018-COG 819814)

Propuesta de la Sociedad Española de Farmacia Comunitaria sobre prácticas tuteladas

La asignatura Prácticas Tuteladas (PT) es obligatoria en el grado de Farmacia, siendo la de mayor carga lectiva, entre 24 y 30 ECTS. Su objetivo es completar la formación del alumno e iniciarlo en las actividades asistenciales desarrolladas en la farmacia comunitaria (FC) y/o en la farmacia de hospital. Una gran mayoría de estudiantes las realizan en la FC donde, por primera vez, entran en contacto real con la profesión. Sin embargo cada universidad establece de manera autónoma la forma en que se imparten la asignatura, existiendo una gran diversidad en el desarrollo de las PT entre las distintas facultades de Farmacia.La Sociedad Española de Farmacia Comunitaria (SEFAC) elabora este documento para contribuir a homogeneizar la docencia de esta asignatura y unificar criterios entre todas las partes implicadas: responsables académicos, profesores asociados y farmacéuticos tutores encargados de la formación de los estudiantes. En definitiva, para contribuir a mejorar su calidad docente.Se propone la creación de un Departamento específico de PT, actualmente inexistente, se abordan los criterios para acreditar farmacias y farmacéuticos tutores (FT), se revisan las funciones del profesor asociado (PA) y de los coordinadores académicos, los requisitos que deben cumplir los alumnos para cursar esta asignatura, las competencias y habilidades mínimas que necesitan adquirir y los contenidos del programa docente. También se abordan la evaluación del alumno por el FT así como la evaluación de los profesores, de la metodología docente y de las FC donde se realizan las estancias por los estudiantes

El puzzle de grupos: una alternativa a la exposición magistral para el aprendizaje activo de técnicas experimentales con herbicidas

Se presenta la implementación y evaluación de una experiencia educativa basada en la técnica del “puzzle de grupos”, como una alternativa a la exposición magistral. La finalidad de la actividad fue favorecer el aprendizaje activo, mediante la aplicación de contenidos conceptuales a una situación concreta, en sustitución de la recepción pasiva por parte de los estudiantes de información trasmitida por el docente. El tema fue “Técnicas experimentales con herbicidas”, dentro de un curso de Terapéutica Vegetal de la carrera de ingeniero agrónomo. Los estudiantes debieron efectuar propuestas de experimentos para determinar el grado de eficacia de herbicidas en el control de malezas y fitotoxicidad a un cultivo. La actividad se desarrolló con la siguiente secuencia: 1) conformación de los grupos básicos; 2) presentación del tema; 3) Rescate de conocimientos previos; 4) profundización de los contenidos de bajo orden; 5) elaboración de propuestas en los grupos básicos; 6) presentaciones plenarias y discusión. La evaluación de los aprendizajes se efectuó a través de las producciones grupales y las correspondientes fundamentaciones. La actividad se valoró por medio de observaciones no participantes de dos docentes, b) el diario del docente responsable, c) una encuesta semi-estructurada a los estudiantes y d) una encuesta no estructurada diferida a los estudiantes. Por medio de estos instrumentos y agentes informantes se efectuó la triangulación. Se obtuvieron muy buenos niveles de aprendizaje, alto grado de satisfacción en los participantes e importante sugerencias de mejora. Se concluyó que la propuesta desarrollada constituyó una excelente alternativa a la exposición magistral.Eje temático 2: Los cambios e innovaciones en los procesos de formación a - Alternativas didácticas y experiencias de renovación de la enseñanzaFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales (FCAF

Evaluación de aprendizajes en la acción del tema técnicas de aplicación de plaguicidas

Se presenta una experiencia de evaluación de aprendizajes en la acción basada en una actividad grupal como una alternativa a la evaluación convencional por medio de instrumentos estructurados o exposiciones. La actividad tuvo por objetivo no sólo comprobar los niveles de aprendizaje logrados, sino fomentar la autorreflexión de los sujetos sobre sus logros y las causas de los fracasos. Desde estas perspectivas la evaluación se ubicó en una postura crítica/reflexiva en contraposición con las tecnocráticas/positivistas. La actividad se desarrolló en el ámbito del curso de Terapéutica Vegetal de la carrera de Ingeniero Agrónomo. Los estudiantes debieron seleccionar en el campo distintas formas de aplicación de plaguicidas y fundamentar las decisiones que tomaron. La evaluación de los aprendizajes procedimentales motores se realizó por observación directa; los aspectos conceptuales y valorativos a través de las producciones y argumentaciones de cada grupo. La valoración de la actividad se efectuó por métodos cuanti/cualitativos de encuestas semiestructuradas; diarios de observadores participantes y no participantes; entrevistas en profundidad y entrevistas diferidas. La información se validó por triangulación de instrumentos. Se obtuvieron muy buenos niveles de logro en los aprendizajes, altos indicadores de aceptación por de la actividad e importantes sugerencias de mejora. Se concluyó que la propuesta constituyó una excelente alternativa a la evaluación convencional.Eje temático 3: Los procesos de evaluación y acreditación a - La evaluación de los aprendizajes: problemas, experiencias y estrategiasFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales (FCAF