Automated Multimodal Data Capture for Photorealistic Construction Progress Monitoring in Virtual Reality

Construction monitoring is vital for the timely delivery of projects. However manual data collection and fusion methods are arduous. We propose a framework for autonomous multimodal data collection and VR visualisation. Based on “work-in-progress” results we demonstrate its capabilities in-the-lab and validate its functionality on a real site. We explore how such a framework could complement construction-centric deep learning and 4D as-built datasets to aid human decision-making using V

Explicit Space-Time Codes Achieving The Diversity-Multiplexing Gain Tradeoff

A recent result of Zheng and Tse states that over a quasi-static channel, there exists a fundamental tradeoff, referred to as the diversity-multiplexing gain (D-MG) tradeoff, between the spatial multiplexing gain and the diversity gain that can be simultaneously achieved by a space-time (ST) block code. This tradeoff is precisely known in the case of i.i.d. Rayleigh-fading, for T>= n_t+n_r-1 where T is the number of time slots over which coding takes place and n_t,n_r are the number of transmit and receive antennas respectively. For T < n_t+n_r-1, only upper and lower bounds on the D-MG tradeoff are available. In this paper, we present a complete solution to the problem of explicitly constructing D-MG optimal ST codes, i.e., codes that achieve the D-MG tradeoff for any number of receive antennas. We do this by showing that for the square minimum-delay case when T=n_t=n, cyclic-division-algebra (CDA) based ST codes having the non-vanishing determinant property are D-MG optimal. While constructions of such codes were previously known for restricted values of n, we provide here a construction for such codes that is valid for all n. For the rectangular, T > n_t case, we present two general techniques for building D-MG-optimal rectangular ST codes from their square counterparts. A byproduct of our results establishes that the D-MG tradeoff for all T>= n_t is the same as that previously known to hold for T >= n_t + n_r -1.Comment: Revised submission to IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

From Norm to Swarm: development of a balanced scorecard for evaluating automation in construction

Industry 4.0 technologies in construction (e.g. Building Information Modelling (BIM), robotics or 3D printing) offer radically different ways of planning and constructing the built environment. As a result, construction organisations expect an increase of productivity, efficiency, quality and safety, as well as a reduction of costs, emissions and waste. Yet a lack of management tools and standards to evaluate automation and set business strategic improvement drivers is hindering wider adoption in the construction industry. The aim of the project is to deliver a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to support the adoption of automation in in the UK building industry by delivering a framework to evaluate automated construction processes from a holistic perspective (i.e. financial, social, and environmental). The BSC is co-created with industry and focuses on assessing performance indicators such as productivity, resource consumption, and GHG emissions, helping construction organisations to set improvement targets to achieve their long-term strategy. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) included in the BSC are tested using data from a case study of 3D printing with aerial robotics. Access to the EPSRC-funded project Aerial Additive Building Manufacturing will provide the principal dataset, supplemented by data provided by industry partners during two workshops

Knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance among medical professionals at a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Background: Many adverse drug reactions (ADRs), interactions and specific toxicities are known once drug is exposed to a larger population. Spontaneous reporting adverse events (AEs) are fundamental to a robust pharmacovigilance (PhV). Increasing physician awareness about the pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting can significantly contribute the safety of medicines. Objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices related to PhV among medical professionals at a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: Postgraduate students (PGs) and medical teachers at a Medical College and tertiary care hospital were evaluated for their knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance with the help of a structured questionnaire. Suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the pharmacovigilance practices were also sought.Results: One-hundred and fifty doctors [91 (60.7%) PGs and 59 (39.3%) medical teachers] participated. Overall, 48.7% were males. 96% believed that PhV is important in medical practice but only 79.3% knew the definition of pharmacovigilance. Only 24.7% were aware of the existing nationwide pharmacovigilance program whereas the international collaborating center was known to 26% of the participants. 96% believed that it is the duty of a treating physician to report an ADR while 36.7% felt that ADR reporting should be the responsibility of a separate team. Surprisingly, 54% felt that financial aid should be provided for ADR reporting. 42.7% have not reported any ADR whilst only 16% have reported more than 10 ADRs in their career. To create an ADR database (79.3%) was the common expectation from the PhV center. 98.7% suggested continued medical education (CME) and trainings to improve the effectiveness of PhV in Indian setting.Conclusions: Regardless of a fair attitude towards PhV, the practice of ADR reporting is poor probably because of lack of sufficient knowledge about PhV. Motivating the physicians through CMEs and trainings so as to improve and strengthen the pharmacovigilance practices is the current need in India

Expertise and Trust-Aware Social Web Service Recommendation

With the increasing number of Web services, the personalized recommendation of Web services has become more and more important. Fortunately, the social network popularity nowadays brings a good alternative for social recommendation to avoid the data sparsity problem that is not treated very well in the collaborative filtering approach. Since the social network provides a big data about the users, the trust concept has become necessary to filter this abundance and to foster the successful interactions between the users. In this paper, we firstly propose a trusted friend detection mechanism in a social network. The dynamic of the users’ interactions over time and the similarity of their interests have been considered. Secondly, we propose a Web service social recommendation mechanism which considers the expertise of the trusted friends according to their past invocation histories and the active user’s query. The experiments of each mechanism produced satisfactory results

ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE, COMPLICATIONS AND POST-TRANSFUSION ADVERSE REACTIONS IN THALASSEMIA PEDIATRIC IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: To assess the quality of life, investigate complications and adverse transfusion reactions post blood transfusion in thalassemia pediatric.Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted over a period of six months in the pediatric department of Bharati hospital and research center, Pune. Thalassemia patient profile form was used for collecting demographic details, to record adverse transfusion reactions and complications. Using PedsQLâ„¢ (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) questionnaire thalassemia patients, and the control group was interviewed to assess their quality of life.Results: Out of 39 patients who were enrolled, 28 patients were above the age of 3 y; their overall quality of life score was significantly lower in thalassemia pediatric than healthy control. School function was a most affected domain. 53.84% had post-transfusion fever, 5.1% of respiratory distress while 41.06% had myalgia, swelling at IV site, headache, and vomiting. Out of 39 patients, 24 patients examined for complications; 33.34% had hepatosplenomegaly, 25% had infections, 16.66% had splenomegaly, 13.88% had cardiac complications, 8.34% had bone deformity, and 2.78% had growth failure.Conclusion: It was found that there was a significant decrease in the quality of life domains in thalassemia pediatric compared to control group. School domain was most affected. Hepatosplenomegaly is one of the leading complications observed in this study. Most common transfusion-related reaction was post-transfusion fever. Public awareness and preventive measures such as pre-marital and prenatal testing should be done to eliminate this fatal disease.Keywords: Thalassemia, Quality of life, PedsQLâ„¢, Adverse transfusion reactions, Complication in Thalassemia

Minimum resolution requirements of digital pathology images for accurate classification

Digitization of pathology has been proposed as an essential mitigation strategy for the severe staffing crisis facing most pathology departments. Despite its benefits, several barriers have prevented widespread adoption of digital workflows, including cost and pathologist reluctance due to subjective image quality concerns. In this work, we quantitatively determine the minimum image quality requirements for binary classification of histopathology images of breast tissue in terms of spatial and sampling resolution. We train an ensemble of deep learning classifier models on publicly available datasets to obtain a baseline accuracy and computationally degrade these images according to our derived theoretical model to identify the minimum resolution necessary for acceptable diagnostic accuracy. Our results show that images can be degraded significantly below the resolution of most commercial whole-slide imaging systems while maintaining reasonable accuracy, demonstrating that macroscopic features are sufficient for binary classification of stained breast tissue. A rapid low-cost imaging system capable of identifying healthy tissue not requiring human assessment could serve as a triage system for reducing caseloads and alleviating the significant strain on the current workforce

Evaluating Immersive Teleoperation Interfaces: Coordinating Robot Radiation Monitoring Tasks in Nuclear Facilities

We present a virtual reality (VR) teleoperation interface for a ground-based robot, featuring dense 3D environment reconstruction and a low latency video stream, with which operators can immersively explore remote environments. At the UK Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA) Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) facility, we applied the interface in a user study where trained robotics operators completed simulated nuclear monitoring and decommissioning style tasks to compare VR and traditional teleoperation interface designs. We found that operators in the VR condition took longer to complete the experiment, had reduced collisions, and rated the generated 3D map with higher importance when compared to non-VR operators. Additional physiological data suggested that VR operators had a lower objective cognitive workload during the experiment but also experienced increased physical demand. Overall the presented results show that VR interfaces may benefit work patterns in teleoperation tasks within the nuclear industry, but further work is needed to investigate how such interfaces can be integrated into real world decommissioning workflows