New Trends in Using Augmented Reality Apps for Smart City Contexts

The idea of virtuality is not new, as research on visualization and simulation dates back to the early use of ink and paper sketches for alternative design comparisons. As technology has advanced so the way of visualizing simulations as well, but the progress is slow due to difficulties in creating workable simulations models and effectively providing them to the users. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, the evolving technologies that have been haunting the tech industry, receiving excessive attention from the media and colossal growing are redefining the way we interact, communicate and work together. From consumer application to manufacturers these technologies are used in different sectors providing huge benefits through several applications. In this work, we demonstrate the potentials of Augmented Reality techniques in a Smart City (Smart Campus) context. A multiplatform mobile app featuring Augmented Reality capabilities connected to GIS services are developed to evaluate different features such as performance, usability, effectiveness and satisfaction of the Augmented Reality technology in the context of a Smart Campus

Hand Tracking and Gesture Recognition for Human-Computer Interaction

The proposed work is part of a project that aims for the control of a videogame based on hand gesture recognition. This goal implies the restriction of real-time response and unconstrained environments. In this paper we present a real-time algorithm to track and recognise hand gestures for interacting with the videogame. This algorithm is based on three main steps: hand segmentation, hand tracking and gesture recognition from hand features. For the hand segmentation step we use the colour cue due to the characteristic colour values of human skin, its invariant properties and its computational simplicity. To prevent errors from hand segmentation we add a second step, hand tracking. Tracking is performed assuming a constant velocity model and using a pixel labeling approach. From the tracking process we extract several hand features that are fed to a finite state classifier which identifies the hand configuration. The hand can be classified into one of the four gesture classes or one of the four different movement directions. Finally, using the system's performance evaluation results we show the usability of the algorithm in a videogame environment

The Role of Negative and Positive Urgency in the Relationship Between Craving and Symptoms of Problematic Video Game Use

Spanish Research Agency (Agencia Española de Investigación),Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/)PID2020- 116535 GB-I00.Grant (FPU21/00462, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación)Grant (PRE2018-085150, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

Health monitoring modular panel interface design and evaluation

In this paper we present a conceptual solution of modular panel for measuring health parameters of the elderly. The conceptual solution was followed by a study that analyzed the design and evaluated interface of the system. Modular panel contains sensors, processing unit, and interface enabling data acquisition and communication between the user and the medical staff. Positioning of the panel within the residential unit was determined by the categories of actions which it should provide and functional areas of typical housing unit. Interface design is based on a specific type of users and is on the basis of the type of data that should be collected and displayed. Evaluation of interface is conducted by using two user groups, where the first is made up of people older than 60 years and represents the interest group of the study, while the second group consisted of people younger than 60 years as the control group. The collected data were analyzed and the results indicate that the simplicity of the interface suits good to the users. Elderly users need more time to conduct certain commands, but most of them understood interface completely. The limitations of the system, such as lack of information provided for the users, will be considered in the future work

Articulated motion and deformable objects

This guest editorial introduces the twenty two papers accepted for this Special Issue on Articulated Motion and Deformable Objects (AMDO). They are grouped into four main categories within the field of AMDO: human motion analysis (action/gesture), human pose estimation, deformable shape segmentation, and face analysis. For each of the four topics, a survey of the recent developments in the field is presented. The accepted papers are briefly introduced in the context of this survey. They contribute novel methods, algorithms with improved performance as measured on benchmarking datasets, as well as two new datasets for hand action detection and human posture analysis. The special issue should be of high relevance to the reader interested in AMDO recognition and promote future research directions in the field

La reforma de la formación inicial del profesorado de ciencias de secundaria: propuesta de un diseño del currículo basado en competencias

El principal objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un mecanismo de selección de competencias específicas para la formación inicial del profesorado de ciencias experimentales, contando para ello con distintas fuentes relevantes para dicha formación. Con tal fin hemos hecho uso de un procedimiento consistente en ir incorporando de forma crítica las competencias procedentes de las siguientes fuentes curriculares: los modelos de formación inicial del profesorado vigentes en la literatura educativa, el currículo actual de ciencias en la educación secundaria obligatoria en España, el Programa internacional de evaluación PISA, la opinión del profesorado en activo mediante una encuesta cuyos resultados más relevantes son mostrados, las concepciones epistemológicas del profesorado, la profesionalización docente y las demandas que genera y, finalmente, la dimensión social de la ciencia.The primary objective of this paper is to propose a mechanism for selecting specific competences for preservice science teacher training, referring to relevant sources for such training. To this end we have used an trans-disciplinary procedure consistent with incorporating critical competences from the following curricular sources: Models of current preservice teacher training in educational literature, the current curriculum of Science in Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the views of in-service secondary school teachers (through a survey whose most relevant results are given), teachers' epistemological conceptions, the professionalization of teaching and the demands it generates and, finally the social dimension of science

Repercusión emocional en el personal de enfermería pediátrica. Revisión

Repercusión emocional en el personal de enfermería pediátrica. Revisión Para el personal de enfermería pediátrica, trabajar con niños/as requiere cierta connotación psicológica y emocional. Gestionándose de manera negativa, puede ser causa de sentimientos de impotencia, incertidumbre, tristeza y excesiva vinculación emocional; en caso de hacerlo de manera positiva, se observa una atención integral al paciente y su familia. La falta de herramientas de afrontamiento efectivo ante situaciones extremas en los pacientes, como la muerte, es causa de un manejo no efectivo de la salud

Dissociable Effects of Executive Load on Perceived Exertion and Emotional Valence during Submaximal Cycling

Endurance physical exercise is accompanied by subjective perceptions of exertion (reported perceived exertion, RPE), emotional valence, and arousal. These constructs have been hypothesized to serve as the basis for the exerciser to make decisions regarding when to stop, how to regulate pace, and whether or not to exercise again. In dual physical-cognitive tasks, the mental (executive) workload generated by the cognitive task has been shown to influence these perceptions, in ways that could also influence exercise-related decisions. In the present work, we intend to replicate and extend previous findings that manipulating the amount of executive load imposed by a mental task, performed concomitantly with a submaximal cycling session, influenced emotional states but not perceived exertion. Participants (experienced triathletes) were asked to perform a submaximal cycling task in two conditions with different executive demands (a two-back version of the n-back task vs. oddball) but equated in external physical load. Results showed that the higher executive load condition elicited more arousal and less positive valence than the lower load condition. However, both conditions did not differ in RPE. This experimental dissociation suggests that perceived exertion and its emotional correlates are not interchangeable, which opens the possibility that they could play different roles in exercise-related decision-making.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion; Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I + D, de Retos a la Sociedad; Spain) DEP2017-89879-RSpanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion; Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I + D de Excelencia, Spain - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, European Union) PSI2017-85488-

Comparison of non-invasive electrohysterographic recording techniques for monitoring uterine dynamics

Non-invasive recording of uterine myoelectric activity (electrohysterogram, EHG) could provide an alternative to monitoring uterine dynamics by systems based on tocodynamometer (TOCO). Laplacian recording of bioelectric signals has been shown to give better spatial resolution and less interference than mono and bipolar surface recordings. The aim of this work was to study the signal quality obtaines from monopolar, bipolar and Laplacian techniques in EHG recordings, as well as to assess their ability to detect uterine contractions. Twenty-two recording sessions were carried out on singleton pregnant women during the active phase of labour. In each session the following simultaneous recordings were obtained: internal uterine pressure (IUP), external tension of abdominal wall (TOCO) and EHG signals (5 monopolar and 4 bipolar recordings, 1 discrete aproximation to the Laplacian of the potential and 2 estimates of the Laplacian from two active annular electrodes). The results obtained show that EHG is able to detect a higher number of uterine contractions than TOCO. Laplacian recordings give improved signal quality over monopolar and bipolar techniques, reduce maternal cardiac interference and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The optimal position for recording EHG was found to be the uterine median axis and the lower centre-right umbilical zone.Research partly supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia (TEC2010-16945) and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (PAID 2009/10-2298). The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.Alberola Rubio, J.; Prats Boluda, G.; Ye Lin, Y.; Valero, J.; Perales Marin, AJ.; Garcia Casado, FJ. (2013). Comparison of non-invasive electrohysterographic recording techniques for monitoring uterine dynamics. Medical Engineering and Physics. 35(12):1736-1743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2013.07.008S17361743351