A new paradigm based on agents applied to free-hand sketch recognition

Important advances in natural calligraphic interfaces for CAD (Computer Aided Design) applications are being achieved, enabling the development of CAS (Computer Aided Sketching) devices that allow facing up to the conceptual design phase of a product. Recognizers play an important role in this field, allowing the interpretation of the user’s intention, but they still present some important lacks. This paper proposes a new recognition paradigm using an agent-based architecture that does not depend on the drawing sequence and takes context information into account to help decisions. Another improvement is the absence of operation modes, that is, no button is needed to distinguish geometry from symbols or gestures, and also “interspersing” and “overtracing” are accomplishedThe Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and the FEDER Funds, through the CUESKETCH project (Ref. DPI2007-66755-C02-01), partially supported this work.Fernández Pacheco, D.; Albert Gil, FE.; Aleixos Borrás, MN.; Conesa Pastor, J. (2012). A new paradigm based on agents applied to free-hand sketch recognition. Expert Systems with Applications. 39(8):7181-7195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2012.01.063S7181719539

New method to find corner and tangent vertices in sketches using parametric cubic curves approximation

Some recent approaches have been presented as simple and highly accurate corner finders in the sketches including curves, which is useful to support natural human-computer interaction, but these in most cases do not consider tangent vertices (smooth points between two geometric entities, present in engineering models), what implies an important drawback in the field of design. In this article we present a robust approach based on the approximation to parametric cubic curves of the stroke for further radius function calculation in order to detect corner and tangent vertices. We have called our approach Tangent and Corner Vertices Detection (TCVD), and it works in the following way. First, corner vertices are obtained as minimum radius peaks in the discrete radius function, where radius is obtained from differences. Second, approximated piecewise parametric curves on the stroke are obtained and the analytic radius function is calculated. Then, curves are obtained from stretches of the stroke that have a small radius. Finally, the tangent vertices are found between straight lines and curves or between curves, where no corner vertices are previously located. The radius function to obtain curves is calculated from approximated piecewise curves, which is much more noise free than discrete radius calculation. Several tests have been carried out to compare our approach to that of the current best benchmarked, and the obtained results show that our approach achieves a significant accuracy even better finding corner vertices, and moreover, tangent vertices are detected with an Accuracy near to 92% and a False Positive Rate near to 2%.Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and the FEDER Funds, through CUESKETCH (Ref. DPI2007-66755-C02-01) and HYMAS projects (Ref. DPI2010-19457) partially supported this work.Albert Gil, FE.; García Fernández-Pacheco, D.; Aleixos Borrás, MN. (2013). New method to find corner and tangent vertices in sketches using parametric cubic curves approximation. Pattern Recognition. 46(5):1433-1448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patcog.2012.11.006S1433144846

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions. © Copyright