Segmentation of lung fields in digital chest radiographs by artificial neural networks

Lung field segmentation is a basic step for virtually any quantitative procedure. In this view, due to the imaging process and the complexity of the imaged district, an efficient use of prior anatomical knowledge is crucial. In this report we describe a new approach to lung field segmentation which is based on fuzzy boundary modeling and a neural network architecture including supervised multilayer networks and topology preserving maps

Quantification of Epicardial Fat by Cardiac CT Imaging

The aim of this work is to introduce and design image processing methods for the quantitative analysis of epicardial fat by using cardiac CT imaging

Decision support system for emergency management of oil spill accidents in the Mediterranean Sea

This paper presents an innovative web-based decision support system to facilitate emergency management in the case of oil spill accidents, called WITOIL (Where Is The Oil). The system can be applied to create a forecast of oil spill events, evaluate uncertainty of the predictions, and calculate hazards based on historical meteo-oceanographic datasets. To compute the oil transport and transformation, WITOIL uses the MEDSLIK-II oil spill model forced by operational meteo-oceanographic services. Results of the modeling are visualized through Google Maps. A special application for Android is designed to provide mobile access for competent authorities, technical and scientific institutions, and citizens

Mirror mirror on the wall... an unobtrusive intelligent multisensory mirror for well-being status self-assessment and visualization

A person’s well-being status is reflected by their face through a combination of facial expressions and physical signs. The SEMEOTICONS project translates the semeiotic code of the human face into measurements and computational descriptors that are automatically extracted from images, videos and 3D scans of the face. SEMEOTICONS developed a multisensory platform in the form of a smart mirror to identify signs related to cardio-metabolic risk. The aim was to enable users to self-monitor their well-being status over time and guide them to improve their lifestyle. Significant scientific and technological challenges have been addressed to build the multisensory mirror, from touchless data acquisition, to real-time processing and integration of multimodal data

Mediterranean monitoring and forecasting operational system for Copernicus Marine Service

The MEDiterranean Monitoring and Forecasting Center (Med-MFC) is part of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS, http://marine.copernicus.eu/), provided on an operational mode by Mercator Ocean in agreement with the European Commission. Specifically, Med MFC system provides regular and systematic information about the physical state of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the Mediterranean Sea. The Med-MFC service started in May 2015 from the pre-operational system developed during the MyOcean projects, consolidating the understanding of regional Mediterranean Sea dynamics, from currents to biogeochemistry to waves, interfacing with local data collection networks and guaranteeing an efficient link with other Centers in Copernicus network. The Med-MFC products include analyses, 10 days forecasts and reanalysis, describing currents, temperature, salinity, sea level and pelagic biogeochemistry. Waves products will be available in MED-MFC version in 2017. The consortium, composed of INGV (Italy), HCMR (Greece) and OGS (Italy) and coordinated by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC, Italy), performs advanced R&D activities and manages the service delivery. The Med-MFC infrastructure consists of 3 Production Units (PU), for Physics, Biogechemistry and Waves, a unique Dissemination Unit (DU) and Archiving Unit (AU) and Backup Units (BU) for all principal components, guaranteeing a resilient configuration of the service and providing and efficient and robust solution for the maintenance of the service and delivery. The Med-MFC includes also an evolution plan, both in terms of research and operational activities, oriented to increase the spatial resolution of products, to start wave products dissemination, to increase temporal extent of the reanalysis products and improving ocean physical modeling for delivering new products. The scientific activities carried out in 2015 concerned some improvements in the physical, biogeochemical and wave components of the system. Regarding the currents, new grid-point EOFs have been implemented in the Med-MFC assimilation system; the climatological CMAP precipitation was replaced by the ECMWF daily precipitation; reanalysis time-series have been increased by one year. Regarding the biogeochemistry, the main scientific achievement is related to the implementation of the carbon system in the Med-MFC biogeochemistry model system already available. The new model is able to reproduce the principal spatial patterns of the carbonate system variables in the Mediterranean Sea. Further, a key result consists of the calibration of the new variables (DIC and alkalinity), which serves to the estimation of the accuracy of the new products to be released in the next version of the system (i.e. pH and pCO2 at surface). Regarding the waves, the system has been validated against in-situ and satellite observations. For example, a very good agreement between model output and in-situ observations has been obtained at offshore and/or well-exposed wave buoys in the Mediterranean Sea.PublishedVienna3SR. AMBIENTE - Servizi e ricerca per la Societ

Genetic characterization of juvenile sudden cardiac arrest and death in Tuscany: The ToRSADE registry

BackgroundSudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in young people represents a dramatic event, often leading to severe neurologic outcomes or sudden cardiac death (SCD), and is frequently caused by genetic heart diseases. In this study, we report the results of the Tuscany registry of sudden cardiac death (ToRSADE) registry, aimed at monitoring the incidence and investigating the genetic basis of SCA and SCD occurring in subjects < 50 years of age in Tuscany, Italy.Methods and resultsCreation of the ToRSADE registry allowed implementation of a repository for clinical, molecular and genetic data. For 22 patients, in whom a genetic substrate was documented or suspected, blood samples could be analyzed; 14 were collected at autopsy and 8 from resuscitated patients after SCA. Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis revealed likely pathogenetic (LP) variants associated with cardiomyopathy (CM) or channelopathy in four patients (19%), while 17 (81%) carried variants of uncertain significance in relevant genes (VUS). In only one patient NGS confirmed the diagnosis obtained during autopsy: the p.(Asn480Lysfs*20) PKP2 mutation in a patient with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC).ConclusionSystematic genetic screening allowed identification of LP variants in 19% of consecutive patients with SCA/SCD, including subjects carrying variants associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or AC who had SCA/SCD in the absence of structural cardiomyopathy phenotype. Genetic analysis combined with clinical information in survived patients and post-mortem evaluation represent an essential multi-disciplinary approach to manage juvenile SCD and SCA, key to providing appropriate medical and genetic assistance to families, and advancing knowledge on the basis of arrhythmogenic mechanisms in inherited cardiomyopathies and channelopathies

SeaConditions: a web and mobile service for safer professional and recreational activities in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Reliable and timely information on the environmental conditions at sea is key to the safety of professional and recreational users as well as to the optimal execution of their activities. The possibility of users obtaining environmental information in due time and with adequate accuracy in the marine and coastal environment is defined as sea situational awareness (SSA). Without adequate information on the environmental meteorological and oceanographic conditions, users have a limited capacity to respond, which has led to loss of lives and to large environmental disasters with enormous consequent damage to the economy, society and ecosystems. Within the framework of the TESSA project, new SSA services for the Mediterranean Sea have been developed. In this paper we present SeaConditions, which is a web and mobile application for the provision of meteorological and oceanographic observation and forecasting products. Model forecasts and satellite products from operational services, such as ECMWF and CMEMS, can be visualized in SeaConditions. In addition, layers of information related to bathymetry, sea level and ocean-colour data (chl a and water transparency) are displayed. Ocean forecasts at high spatial resolutions are included in the version of SeaConditions presented here. SeaConditions provides a user-friendly experience with a fluid zoom capability, facilitating the appropriate display of data with different levels of detail. SeaConditions is a single point of access to interactive maps from different geophysical fields, providing high-quality information based on advanced oceanographic models. The SeaConditions services are available through both web and mobile applications. The web application is available at www.sea-conditions.com and is accessible and compatible with present-day browsers. Interoperability with GIS software is implemented. User feedback has been collected and taken into account in order to improve the service. The SeaConditions iOS and Android apps have been downloaded by more than 105 000 users to date (May 2016), and more than 100 000 users have visited the web version

Recognition of Stress Activation by Unobtrusive Multi Sensing Setup

It is recognized that stress conditions play an important role in the definition of individual wellness and represent a major risk factor for most non-communicable diseases. Most studies focus on the evaluation of response to maximal stress conditions while a few of them reports results about the detection/monitoring of response to mild stimulations. In this study, we investigate the capability of some physiological signs and indicators (including Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Respiratory Rate, Galvanic Skin Response) to recognize stress in response to moderate cognitive activation in daily life settings. To achieve this goal, we built up an unobtrusive platform to collect signals from healthy volunteers (10 subjects) undergoing cognitive activation via Stroop Color Word Test. We integrated our dataset with data from the Stress Recognition in the Automobile Drivers dataset. Following data harmonization, signal recordings in both datasets were split into five-minute blocks and a set of 12 features was extracted from each block. A feature selection was implemented by two complementary approaches: Sequential Forward Feature Selection (SFFS) and Auto-Encoder (AE) neural networks. Finally, we explored the use of Self-Organizing Map (SOM) to provide a flexible representation of an individual status. From the initial feature set we have determined, by SFFS analysis, that 2 of them (median Respiratory Rate and number peaks in Galvanic Skin Response signals) can discriminate activation statuses from resting ones. In addition, AE experiments also support that two features can suffice for recognition. Finally, we showed that SOM can provide a comprehensive but compact description of activation statuses allowing a fine prototypical representation of individual status