A new denoising technique for ultrasound images using morphological properties of speckle combined with tissue classifying parameters

In this paper we introduce a new speckle suppression technique for medical ultrasound images that incorporates morphological properties of speckle as well as tissue classifying parameters. Each individual speckles is located, and, exploiting our prior knowledge on the tissue classification, it is determined whether this speckle is noise or a medically relevant detail. We apply the technique on images of neonatal brains affected by White Matter Damage (leukomalacia). The results show that applying an active contour on a processed image, in order to segment the affected areas, yields a segmentation much closer to that of an expert

Through-Wall Imaging based on WiFi Channel State Information

This work presents a seminal approach for synthesizing images from WiFi Channel State Information (CSI) in through-wall scenarios. Leveraging the strengths of WiFi, such as cost-effectiveness, illumination invariance, and wall-penetrating capabilities, our approach enables visual monitoring of indoor environments beyond room boundaries and without the need for cameras. More generally, it improves the interpretability of WiFi CSI by unlocking the option to perform image-based downstream tasks, e.g., visual activity recognition. In order to achieve this crossmodal translation from WiFi CSI to images, we rely on a multimodal Variational Autoencoder (VAE) adapted to our problem specifics. We extensively evaluate our proposed methodology through an ablation study on architecture configuration and a quantitative/qualitative assessment of reconstructed images. Our results demonstrate the viability of our method and highlight its potential for practical applications

Reproductive isolation in four populations of the striped mouse Rhabdomys

Reproductive isolation was investigated in four phylogenetically and/or geographically separated populations of Rhabdomys in South Africa. The four populations, Jonkershoek (Rhabdomys pumilio), Goegap (R. pumilio), Irene (R. dilectus dilectus) and Suikerbosrand (R. d. chakae), represent the two putative species, R. pumilio (Sparrman, 1784) and R. dilectus De Winton (1897), as well as the two sub-species, R. d. dilectus (Wroughton, 1905) and R. d. chakae (Wroughton, 1905), of Rhabdomys. The populations occur > 900 km apart, except for the Irene and Suikerbosrand populations which are approximately 80 km apart. Inter- and intrapopulation breeding experiments and behavioural studies were used to test for pre- and/or postzygotic reproductive barriers. In breeding experiments, most intrapopulation pairs produced offspring. In the interpopulation breeding tests, except for one litter produced by an Irene-Jonkershoek pair, which did not survive, only the Jonkershoek-Goegap pairings produced offspring, which were fertile and had growth rates similar to those of offspring produced in intrapopulation pairings. However, the smaller litter size of the Jonkershoek-Goegap pairings compared to intrapopulation pairings, suggests post-zygotic failure between these two R. pumilio populations. In the behavioural experiments, I tested the responses of females to the soiled bedding of homotype (same population) and heterotype (different population) males. Two experiments were conducted: habituation-discrimination and habituation-generalization tests were used to investigate within- and between-taxon variations in male odour quality and female perception; and choice tests were used to test female preference. The results of the behavioural experiments indicate that there is variation within the R. pumilio (Jonkershoek and Goegap) taxon in odour quality, perception and preference. The Jonkershoek females could discriminate between their own population males and those of Goegap, and preferred their own males, while the Goegap females were unable to distinguish between their own population scent and the Jonkershoek population scent and therefore were unable to display a preference for their own population scent when a Jonkershoek/Goegap scent choice was presented. The two subspecies of R. dilectus perceived the scent of males from their own population as being more similar to each other than to that of R. pumilio, and Irene females perceived the two R. pumilio populations as different. All four populations displayed assortative mate preference and preferred their own population’s scent over all the others, with the exception of the Goegap population. My study indicates that phylogeny, and not geography, appears to be a more parsimonious explanation for the pattern of divergence in these four Rhabdomys populations, although ecological influences cannot be ruled out

On “epistemic injustice” and victimization in prisons: an empiric exploration into Chilean reality = Sobre injusticia epistémica y victimización en la prisión: una exploración empírica de la realidad carcelaria chilena

Trata do conceito de injustiça epistêmica. Busca compreender como o conceito influencia os resultados na investigação de delitos. Utiliza abordagem qualitativa para apontar a realidade carcerária chilena

Discriminación en la persecución penal. Acerca de las diferencias entre delitos intracarcelarios y delitos cometidos fuera de prisión. = Discrimination in criminal prosecution. On the differences between crimes committed in prison and crimes committed outside prison

Analisa a questão da persecução penal intra-prisionais no Chile à luz do princípio da igualdade perante a lei e a não discriminação. Conclui que existe uma desigualdade na resposta institucional aos crimes cometidos dentro da prisão, e que esta diferença implica uma discriminação factual contra as vítimas privadas de liberdade, o que as torna vítimas de segunda classe

Explanations for the Punitive Turn of Crime Policy in Bolivia, 2006-2016

In the last decade, Bolivia, as with most countries in the region, has seen an unprecedented increase of its prison population. This is often explained as the consequence of a punitive populism sweeping Latin America. Our article investigates what triggered this punitive turn in Bolivia by identifying some of the factors that impact crime policy and growing prison populations since the election of president Evo Morales in 2006. We argue that a complex array of local and international factors and shifts in crime policy to harden approaches to domestic violence led to steep increases in remand populations. Combined with other inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, this led to sustained increases in the prison population throughout most of this period. This study is based on new and previously unstudied statistical data produced by the Bolivian institutions in charge of implementing crime policy

On “epistemic injustice” and victimization in prisons

The article looks for reasons that explain the different results of criminal investigations conducted inside and outside prisons. We ask if and how the concept of epistemic injustice, as developed by Miranda Fricker, helps to understand those variations. The underlying hypothesis is that epistemic injustice is a symptom of a wider problem. The authors assume that the treatment of victims of violent crime inside prison has structural rather than interpersonal explanations. In a qualitative approach the study uses data from a series of semi-structured interviews with prisoners and prison officers (40 interviews in total). It explores the dynamics of the decision to report crime committed inside prisons and the role of different institutions involved in the investigation of these crimes from the perspective and experience of prisoners and prison officers. As result it is argued, that Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice is not very helpful when it comes to understand epistemic injustice suffered by victims of violent crime inside prison. It can be better understood in the terms of epistemic oppression used by Dotson. Thus, it is not about assigning blame but how to change the underlying social relations and institutions that subordinate prisoners on epistemic grounds

Simulation of High-Dose Ion Implantation-Induced Transient Diffusion and of Electrical Activation of Boron in Crystalline Silicon

Abstract Coupled diffusion-reaction equations for boron and for point defects and rather simple initial conditions are used to model the implantation-induced transiently enhanced diffusion and the electrical activation of high-dose boron distributions during annealing