Visualization and interaction in a simulation system for flood emergencies

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia InformáticaThis thesis presents an interaction and visualization system for a river flood emergency simulation. It will also present a detailed study about forms of visual representation of critical elements in emergencies. All these elements are currently assembled in an application based on geographic information systems and agent simulation. Many of the goals in this thesis are interconnected with project Life-Saver. This project has the goal to develop an emergency response simulator, which needs a visualization and interaction system. The main goals of this thesis are, to create a visualization system for an emergency, to design an intuitive multimedia interface and to implement new forms of human-computer interaction. At the application level there is a representation of the simulation scenario with the multiple agent and their actions. Several studies were made to create an intuitive interface. New forms of multimedia interaction are studied and used such as interactive touch sensible boards and multi-touch panels. It is possible to load and retrieve geographic information on the scenario. The resulting architecture is used to visualize a simulation of an emergency flooding situation in a scenario where the Alqueva dam in Guadiana river fails

Anais do II Encontro de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa

Literatura e Lusofonia, colectânea dos textos apresentados ao II Encontro de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa, realizado na cidade de Natal, de 23 a 25 de novembro de 2011, é finalmente publicado, em 2013, ultrapassados que foram obstáculos de vária ordem que surgiram ao longo da sua preparação. Registamos com satisfação que a atual Prefeitura de Natal decidiu dar continuidade aos Encontros de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa, com a sua IV edição a decorrer em novembro de 2013, no âmbito do Festival Literário de Natal. As instituições promotoras deste livro gostariam de ressalvar que o conteúdo dos textos incluídos em Literatura e Lusofonia é da responsabilidade exclusiva dos seus autores. A presente edição segue a grafia do Acordo Ortográfico.Câmara Municipal de Natal e Câmara Municipal de Lisboainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interactive acquisition of spatial information from images for multimedia applications

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em InformáticaThis dissertation addresses the problem of creating interactive mixed reality applications where virtual objects interact in a real world scenario. These scenarios are intended to be captured by the users with cameras. In other words, the goal is to produce applications where virtual objects are introduced in photographs taken by the users. This is relevant to create games and architectural and space planning applications that interact with visual elements in the images such as walls, floors and empty spaces. Introducing virtual objects in photographs or video sequences presents several challenges, such as the pose estimation and the visually correct interaction with the boundaries of such objects. Furthermore, the introduced virtual objects should be interactive and respond to the real physical environments. The proposed detection system is semi-automatic and thus depends partially on the user to obtain the elements it needs. This operation should be significantly simple to accommodate the needs of a non-expert user. The system analyzes a photo captured by the user and detects high-level features such as vanishing points, floor and scene orientation. Using these features it will be possible to create virtual mixed and augmented reality applications where the user takes one or more photos of a certain place and interactively introduces virtual objects or elements that blend with the picture in real time. This document discusses computer vision, computer graphics and human-computer interaction techniques required to acquire images and information about the scenario involving the user. To demonstrate the framework and the proposed solutions, several proof-of-concept projects are presented and studied. Additionally, to validate the solution several system tests are described and each case-study interface was subject of different user-studies.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - research grant SFRH/BD/47511/200

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42·4% vs 44·2%; absolute difference -1·69 [-9·58 to 6·11] p=0·67; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5-8] vs 6 [5-8] cm H2O; p=0·0011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30·5% vs 19·9%; p=0·0004; adjusted effect 16·41% [95% CI 9·52-23·52]; p<0·0001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; p<0·0001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status