79 research outputs found
Modular E-Collar for animal telemetry: an animal-centered design proposal
Animal telemetry is a subject of great potential and scientific interest, but it shows design-dependent problems related to price, flexibility and customization, autonomy, integration of elements, and structural design. The objective of this paper is to provide solutions, from the application of design, to cover the niches that we discovered by reviewing the scientific literature and studying the market. The design process followed to achieve the objective involved a development based on methodologies and basic design approaches focused on the human experience and also that of the animal. We present a modular collar that distributes electronic components in several compartments, connected, and powered by batteries that are wirelessly recharged. Its manufacture is based on 3D printing, something that facilitates immediacy in adaptation and economic affordability. The modularity presented by the proposal allows for adapting the size of the modules to the components they house as well as selecting which specific modules are needed in a project. The homogeneous weight distribution is transferred to the comfort of the animal and allows for a better integration of the elements of the collar. This device substantially improves the current offer of telemetry devices for farming animals, thanks to an animal-centered design process
ChimpACT: A Longitudinal Dataset for Understanding Chimpanzee Behaviors
Understanding the behavior of non-human primates is crucial for improving
animal welfare, modeling social behavior, and gaining insights into
distinctively human and phylogenetically shared behaviors. However, the lack of
datasets on non-human primate behavior hinders in-depth exploration of primate
social interactions, posing challenges to research on our closest living
relatives. To address these limitations, we present ChimpACT, a comprehensive
dataset for quantifying the longitudinal behavior and social relations of
chimpanzees within a social group. Spanning from 2015 to 2018, ChimpACT
features videos of a group of over 20 chimpanzees residing at the Leipzig Zoo,
Germany, with a particular focus on documenting the developmental trajectory of
one young male, Azibo. ChimpACT is both comprehensive and challenging,
consisting of 163 videos with a cumulative 160,500 frames, each richly
annotated with detection, identification, pose estimation, and fine-grained
spatiotemporal behavior labels. We benchmark representative methods of three
tracks on ChimpACT: (i) tracking and identification, (ii) pose estimation, and
(iii) spatiotemporal action detection of the chimpanzees. Our experiments
reveal that ChimpACT offers ample opportunities for both devising new methods
and adapting existing ones to solve fundamental computer vision tasks applied
to chimpanzee groups, such as detection, pose estimation, and behavior
analysis, ultimately deepening our comprehension of communication and sociality
in non-human primates.Comment: NeurIPS 202
A multi-society position paper on the prevention and management of nosocomial and severe infections: the Italian Society for Infectious Diseases, the Italian Multidisciplinary Society of Hospital Infections, the Italian Society of Chemotherapy, the Italian Society of Respiratory Medicine, the Italian Society of Clinical Microbiology, the Italian Society of Microbiology, and GISIG (Italian Study Group on Severe Infections)
Amulti-society position paper on the prevention and management of nosocomial and severe infections: the Italian Society for Infectious Diseases, the Italian Multidisciplinary Society of Hospital Infections, the Italian Society of Chemotherapy, the Italian Society of Respiratory Medicine, the Italian Society of Clinical Microbiology, the Italian Society of Microbiology, and GISIG (Italian Study Group on Severe Infections
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Plant–environment interactions through a functional traits perspective: a review of Italian studies
Italy is among the European countries with the greatest plant diversity due to both a great environmental heterogeneity and a long history of man–environment interactions. Trait-based approaches to ecological studies have developed greatly over recent decades worldwide, although several issues concerning the relationships between plant functional traits and the environment still lack sufficient empirical evaluation. To draw insights on the association between plant functional traits and direct and indirect human and natural pressures on the environmental drivers, this article summarizes the existing knowledge on this topic by reviewing the results of studies performed in Italy adopting a functional trait approach on vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens. Although we recorded trait measurements for 1418 taxa, our review highlighted some major gaps in plant traits knowledge: Mediterranean ecosystems are poorly represented; traits related to belowground organs are still overlooked; traits measurements for bryophytes and lichens are lacking. Finally, intraspecific variation has been little studied at community level so far. We conclude by highlighting the need for approaches evaluating trait–environment relationship at large spatial and temporal scales and the need of a more effective contribution to online databases to tie more firmly Italian researchers to international scientific networks on plant traits
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