Localization and tracking in known large environments using portable real-time 3D sensors

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Telemedicine Network in Pediatric Cardiology: The Case of Tuscany Region in Italy

Four years ago, a telemedicine project in diagnosis and care of congenital cardiac malformations was developed in Tuscany interconnecting the Heart Hospital of Gabriele Monasterio Tuscany Foundation (FTGM) in Massa with main clinical centers around the region. Both live and store-and-forward tele-echocardiography were implemented, while the FTGM medical record system was applied for collaborative reporting. Mobile medical-grade carts, equipped with videoconferencing and computer units, were installed at main neonatology/pediatric centers throughout the Tuscany region. Today, 13 hospitals are connected to the network, while the MEYER Pediatric University Hospital (MEYER) in Firenze has recently adhered to the project, as HUB center jointly with FTGM, so enabling H24 telemedicine service in pediatric cardiology throughout the region. So far, more than 200 patients were diagnosed and followed by telemedicine

Sensor Tracking and Mapping (STeAM)

STeAM (Sensor Tracking and Mapping) is a software suite developed at the JRC, which is used to operate its Mobile Laser Scanning Platform (MLSP) and to process the scan data acquired by the system. MLSP/STeAM are used by nuclear safeguards inspectors during on-site inspections and it is commercially available for non-nuclear applications through a JRC license agreement. This report provides an overview of the STeAM software and the new features introduced in STeAM 2.3.3.JRC.G.II.7-Nuclear securit

Evaluating the Accuracy of Indoor Localization Devices

Indoor localisation in GPS-denied areas is a subject that currently receives a lot of attention in research and industry. There are many potential applications for indoor localization based on small and affordable consumer devices. It is however often difficult to evaluate the localization accuracy due to the unavailability of accurate ground-truth information. Over the last years, JRC has developed the Mobile Laser Scanning Platform (MLSP) for 3D mapping and indoor localization, which has been demonstrated to be significantly more accurate than what can be achieved with other (consumer) technologies. Since 2014, Microsoft has organized an Indoor Localization Competition which brings together players from research and industry to evaluate the current state of the art in indoor localization. JRC participated in the 2015 edition and won the first prize using the MLSP. In the following years, JRC co-organised the event and was responsible for evaluating the accuracy of the competing devices. In 2018, the evaluation was based on the average distance between the positions reported by the devices and the ground-truth trajectory generated by MLSP. This note describes the evaluation process and the activities that JRC carried out in preparation and during the event.  JRC.G.II.7-Nuclear securit

Chemical investigation and screening of anti-proliferative activity on human cell lines of pure and nano-formulated lavandin essential oil

Lavandin essential oil (LEO), a natural sterile hybrid obtained by crossbreeding L. angustifolia × L. latifolia, is mainly composed by active components belonging to the family of terpenes endowed with relevant anti-proliferative activity, which can be enhanced by proper application of nanotechnology. In particular, this study reports the chemical characterization and the screening of the anti-proliferative activity on different human cell lines of pure and nano-formulated lavandin essential oil (EO). LEO and its formulation (NanoLEO) were analyzed by HS/GC-MS (Headspace/Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) to describe and compare their chemical volatile composition. The most abundant compounds were linalool and 1,8-cineole (LEO: 28.6%; 27.4%) (NanoLEO: 60.4%; 12.6%) followed by α-pinene (LEO: 9.6%; NanoLEO: 4.5%), camphor (LEO: 6.5%; NanoLEO: 7.0%) and linalyl acetate (LEO: 6.5%; NanoLEO: 3.6%). The cytotoxic effects of LEO and NanoLEO were investigated on human neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y), human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), human lymphoblastic leukemia cells (CCRF CEM), human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) and one normal breast epithelial cell (MCF10A) by the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide)-assay. Caco-2, MCF7 and MCF10A normal cells resulted more resistant to the treatment with LEO, while CCRF-CEM and SHSY5Y cells were more sensitive. The antiproliferative effect of LEO resulted amplified when the essential oil was supplied as nanoformulation, mainly in Caco-2 cells. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy investigations were carried out on Caco-2 cells to outline at ultrastructural level possible affections induced by LEO and NanoLEO treatments

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

X-ray and 3D data fusion for 3D reconstruction of closed receptacle contents

Closed receptacle contents can be reconstructed without invasive approaches by coupling X-ray and 3D data acquisitions. We present a solution to the reconstruction problem that exploits 3D data acquisitions of the environment to initialize the X-ray projection calibration and to align the final reconstruction to a global frame. In particular we show that the problem can be solved, without employing calibration patterns, by precisely locating the X-ray emitters and receiver plates w.r.t. a global reference frame. We then exploit matching contours extracted from the X-ray images to calibrate the projection system and to perform the reconstruction of parametric objects. We provide experimental results to measure the reconstruction precision of the overall system using both synthetic data and real experiments.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Template-based paper reconstruction from a single image is well posed when the rulings are parallel

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