16 research outputs found
CAMBADA@Home: deteção e seguimento de humanos
Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçÔesEste trabalho apresenta uma abordagem ao problema da deteção e seguimento
de humanos, usando uma cùmara RGB-D. Existem soluçÔes propostas
para este tipo de problema, no entanto, algumas sĂŁo baseadas em
técnicas de extração de fundo ou outras e, como tal, necessitam que a
cùmara se encontre numa posição estacionåria. Com o sistema proposto,
a deteção e seguimento podem ser desempenhadas enquanto a cùmara se
move, em tempo real.
O objetivo deste projeto é a implementação de um sistema de deteção
e seguimento de pessoas para o robÎ de serviço CAMBADA@Home, permitindo
assim o desenvolvimento de futuras aplicaçÔes na årea da interação
humano-robĂŽ.
O sistema aqui descrito permite realizar deteção, classificação e monitorização de mĂșltiplas pessoas. Na primeira etapa, regiĂ”es de interesse (ROIs)
são segmentadas através da anålise do histograma da imagem de profundidade
seguido da utilização de um algoritmo de preenchimento. Na etapa
seguinte, cada região é classificada como humana ou não-humana através
de uma tĂ©cnica de correspondĂȘncia de modelos, baseada no algoritmo de
descida de gradiantes RPROP, com suporte para mĂșltiplos modelos. A terceira
e Ășltima etapa permite a monitorização de vĂĄrias pessoas, atravĂ©s de
um mĂ©todo de atribuição de identificadores Ășnicos baseado em comparação
de histogramas, assim como estimação de pose e localização.
Os resultados obtidos em ambiente nĂŁo controlado sĂŁo encorajadores, com
altas taxas de deteção, e, em geral, os algoritmos de estimação de pose
e localização são executados como esperado. Para além disto, o projeto
CAMBADA@Home foi premiado com o primeiro lugar no Desafio Free Bots,
que teve lugar durante o campeonato nacional de robĂłtica, RobĂłtica 2013,
onde o robĂŽ provou ser capaz de executar rondas autĂłnomas num ambiente
desconhecido enquanto detetava e monitorizava pessoas com as quais se
cruzava.This work presents an approach to the people detection and tracking problem,
using an RGB-D camera. While there are already solutions for this
problem, some are based on background extraction techniques or other,
which require the camera to be in a stationary position. With the proposed
method, detection and tracking can be performed while the camera is moving,
in real time.
The aim of this project is the implementation of a people detection and
tracking system for the CAMBADA@Home service robot, enabling the development
of further human-robot interaction applications.
The system here described enables object detection, classi cation and multiple
person tracking. In the rst stage, regions of interest (ROIs) are
segmented through the analysis of the depth image histogram and using a
ood ll algorithm. On the next stage, each region is classi ed as human
or not-human using a template matching technique, based on the RPROP
gradient descent algorithm, with support for multiple templates. The third
and last stage enables the tracking for multiple persons, using a unique
identi cation assignment method based on histogram comparison, as well
as pose and location estimation.
The results obtained in unconstrained environments are encouraging, with
high detection rates, and, in general, the algorithms for pose and location
estimation perform as expected. Furthermore the CAMBADA@Home
project has been awarded with the rst place in the Free Bots Challenge,
which took place on the Rob otica 2013 robotics national championship,
where the robot was proven to be capable of performing autonomous tours
in an unknown environment while at the same time detecting and tracking
people it came across
MiR-193b promoter methylation accurately detects prostate cancer in urine sediments and miR-34b/c or miR-129-2 promoter methylation define subsets of clinically aggressive tumors
Background: Contemporary challenges of prostate cancer (PCa) include overdiagnosis and overtreatment, entailing the need for novel clinical tools to improve risk stratification and therapy selection. PCa diagnosis and prognostication might be perfected using epigenetic biomarkers, among which aberrant DNA methylation of microRNA promoters has not been systematically explored. Herein, we identified aberrantly methylated microRNAs promoters in PCa and assessed its diagnostic and prognostic biomarker potential.
Methods: Using HumanMethylation450 BeadChip-based analysis differentially methylated CpGs in microRNA promoters were identified. Promoter methylation of six microRNAs (miR-34b/c, miR-129-2, miR-152, miR-193b, miR-663a and miR-1258) was analyzed by qMSP in three sets (180 prostatectomies, 95 urine sediments and 74 prostate biopsies). Biomarkersâ diagnostic (validity estimates) and prognostic [disease-free (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS)] performance was assessed.
Results: Significantly higher promoter methylation levels in PCa were confirmed for six candidate microRNAs. Except for miR-152, all displayed AUC values higher than 0.90, with miR-1258 and miR-193b disclosing the best performance (AUCâ=â0.99 and AUCâ=â0.96, respectively). In urine samples, miR-193b showed the best performance (91.6% sensitivity, 95.7% specificity, AUCâ=â0.96). Moreover, higher miR-129-2 independently predicted for shorter DSS and miRâ34b/c methylation levels independently predicted for shorter DFS and DSS.
Conclusions: Quantitative miR-193b, miR-129-2 and miR-34b/c promoter methylation might be clinically useful PCa biomarkers for non-invasive detection/diagnosis and prognostication, both in tissue and urine samples.The authors would like to acknowledge funding attributed to this study, namely research grants from Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP 4â2012; CI-IPOP 19â2016)) and by Federal funds through Programa Operacional TemĂĄtico Factores de Competitividade (COMPETE) with co-participation from the European Community Fund (FEDER) and by national funds through Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e TecnologĂa (FCT) under the projects EXPL/BIM-ONC/0556/2012. JRC was supported by a FCT-Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia fellowship (SFRH/BD/71293/2010)
Com o diabo no corpo: os terrĂveis papagaios do Brasil colĂŽnia
Desde a Antiguidade, papagaios, periquitos e afins (Psittacidae) fascinaram os europeus por seu vivo colorido e uma notĂĄvel capacidade de interação com seres humanos. A descoberta do Novo Mundo nada faria alĂ©m de acrescentar novos elementos ao trĂĄfico de animais exĂłticos hĂĄ muito estabelecido pelos europeus com a Ăfrica e o Oriente. Sem possuir grandes mamĂferos, a AmĂ©rica tropical participaria desse comĂ©rcio com o que tinha de mais atrativo, essencialmente felinos, primatas e aves - em particular os papagaios, os quais eram embarcados em bom nĂșmero. Contudo, a julgar pelos documentos do Brasil colĂŽnia, esses volĂĄteis podiam inspirar muito pouca simpatia, pois nenhum outro animal - exceto as formigas - foi tantas vezes mencionado como praga para a agricultura. AlĂ©m disso, alguns psitĂĄcidas mostravam-se tĂŁo loquazes que inspiravam a sĂ©ria desconfiança de serem animais demonĂacos ou possessos, pois sĂł trĂȘs classes de entidades - anjos, homens e demĂŽnios - possuĂam o dom da palavra. Nos dias de hoje, vĂĄrios representantes dos Psittacidae ainda constituem uma ameaça para a agricultura, enquanto os indivĂduos muito faladores continuam despertando a suspeita de estarem possuĂdos pelo demĂŽnio. Transcendendo a mera curiosidade, essa crença exemplifica o quĂŁo intrincadas podem ser as relaçÔes do homem com o chamado âmundo naturalâ, revelando um universo mais amplo e multifacetado do que se poderia supor a princĂpio. Nesse sentido, a existĂȘncia de aves capazes de falar torna essa relação ainda mais complexa e evidencia que as dificuldades de estabelecer o limite entre o animal e o humano se estendem alĂ©m dos primatas e envolvem as mais inusitadas espĂ©cies zoolĂłgicas.Since ancient times, parrots and their allies (Psittacidae) have fascinated Europeans by their striking colors and notable ability to interact with human beings. The discovery of the New World added new species to the international exotic animal trade, which for many centuries had brought beasts to Europe from Africa and the Orient. Lacking large mammals, tropical America participated in this trade with its most appealing species, essentially felines, primates and birds - especially parrots - which were shipped in large numbers. It should be noted, however, that at times these birds were not well liked. In fact, according to documents from colonial Brazil, only the ants rank higher than parrots as the animals most often mentioned as agricultural pests. On the other hand, some of these birds were so chatty that people suspected them to be demonic or possessed animals, since only three classes of beings - angels, men and demons - have the ability to speak. Nowadays, several Psittacidae still constitute a threat to agriculture, and the suspicion that extremely talkative birds were demon possessed has also survived. More than a joke or a mere curiosity, this belief exemplifies how intricate manâs relationships with the ânatural worldâ may be. In this sense, the existence of birds that are able to speak adds a further twist to these relationships, demonstrating that the problem of establishing a boundary between the animal and the human does not only involve primates, but also includes some unusual zoological species
Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone
As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe
© 2016 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia.Background: Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. Methods: We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. Results: The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl-1 and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl-1 after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). Conclusions: Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl-1), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold
Intraoperative transfusion practices and perioperative outcome in the European elderly: A secondary analysis of the observational ETPOS study
The demographic development suggests a dramatic growth in the number of elderly patients undergoing surgery in Europe. Most red blood cell transfusions (RBCT) are administered to older people, but little is known about perioperative transfusion practices in this population. In this secondary analysis of the prospective observational multicentre European Transfusion Practice and Outcome Study (ETPOS), we specifically evaluated intraoperative transfusion practices and the related outcomes of 3149 patients aged 65 years and older. Enrolled patients underwent elective surgery in 123 European hospitals, received at least one RBCT intraoperatively and were followed up for 30 days maximum. The mean haemoglobin value at the beginning of surgery was 108 (21) g/l, 84 (15) g/l before transfusion and 101 (16) g/l at the end of surgery. A median of 2 [1â2] units of RBCT were administered. Mostly, more than one transfusion trigger was present, with physiological triggers being preeminent. We revealed a descriptive association between each intraoperatively administered RBCT and mortality and discharge respectively, within the first 10 postoperative days but not thereafter. In our unadjusted model the hazard ratio (HR) for mortality was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.08â1.15) and the HR for discharge was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.74â0.83). After adjustment for several variables, such as age, preoperative haemoglobin and blood loss, the HR for mortality was 1.10 (95% CI: 1.05â1.15) and HR for discharge was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78â0.87). Preoperative anaemia in European elderly surgical patients is undertreated. Various triggers seem to support the decision for RBCT. A closer monitoring of elderly patients receiving intraoperative RBCT for the first 10 postoperative days might be justifiable. Further research on the causal relationship between RBCT and outcomes and on optimal transfusion strategies in the elderly population is warranted. A thorough analysis of different time periods within the first 30 postoperative days is recommended