Benchmarking Methods for Audio-Visual Recognition Using Tiny Training Sets

International audienceThe problem of choosing a classifier for audio-visual command recognition is addressed. Because such commands are culture- and user-dependant, methods need to learn new commands from a few examples. We benchmark three state-of-the-art discriminative classifiers based on bag of words and SVM. The comparison is made on monocular and monaural recordings of a publicly available dataset. We seek for the best trade off between speed, robustness and size of the training set. In the light of over 150,000 experiments, we conclude that this is a promising direction of work towards a flexible methodology that must be easily adaptable to a large variety of users

Educational robot for the care of infectious diseases in children: A review of the scientific literature 2010 - 2020

ABSTRACT Due to the pandemic caused by the COVID-19, we are forced to maintain a social distance, relying on technology such as the use of robots for both commercial and educational activities. This document is a systematic review of scientific literature using Prism methodology and aims to determine the best characteristics for the development of educational robots in children on infectious disease care. We obtained 50 articles associated to the research topic collected from databases such as IEEE Xplore, Scielo, Scopus and WoS. The results were synthesized in different tables and graphs separated in approaches of: robotics in education, robotics in relation to humans, education in diseases, robotics in health and digital applications in education, where the first one is the most treated in the articles found

Los hábitats artificiales marinos favorecen a largo plazo a una única especie: la dominancia de Boops boops en las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto

Off-shore fish cages are new artificial habitats that can affect pelagic fish assemblages and constitute an important food source for wild fish assemblages. This aggregation has noticeable ecological consequences in cage areas in impoverished ecosystems such as those in the Canary archipelago (NE Atlantic Ocean). However, this new habitat could be dominated by a single species, reducing its positive ecological effects. Wild fish assemblages associated with an off-shore fish lease on the northeastern coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands) were sampled for six years. Fish assemblage structure beneath fish cages and at controls ( > 500 m from cages) differed significantly between locations, with 13 times greater abundance at cage locations. These differences were mainly explained by the dominance of bogue (Boops boops) around fish cages. This trend was consistent in the long-term throughout the study period (2004-2009), affecting local fisheries. The presence of fish cages significantly altered wild fish assemblages in the study area, enhancing mainly biomass and abundance of one species, bogue, and causing shifts in species composition.Las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto constituyen un hábitat artificial nuevo que puede afectar a las poblaciones de peces pelágicos porque constituyen una fuente importante de alimentación para las comunidades de peces salvajes. Esta congregación tiene consecuencias ecológicas notables en áreas caracterizadas por ecosistemas empobrecidos como ocurre en el archipiélago canario (Atlántico Noreste). Sin embargo, este nuevo hábitat puede encontrarse dominado por una única especie, limitando sus efectos ecológicos positivos. Las comunidades salvajes de peces asociadas a jaulas en mar abierto localizadas en la costa noreste de la isla de Tenerife (Islas Canarias) fueron muestreadas a lo largo de 6 años. La estructura de la comunidad íctica varió significativamente entre las localidades de las jaulas y los controles (>500 m de distancia de las jaulas), con abundancias que fueron 13 veces superiores en las jaulas. Estas diferencias fueron debidas principalmente a la dominancia de la boga (Boops boops) alrededor de las jaulas de acuicultura. Esta tendencia fue consistente a lo largo del período de estudio (2004-2009), afectando a las capturas de los pescadores locales. La presencia de las jaulas de acuicultura afectó de forma significativa las poblaciones de peces en el área de estudio, con un incremento de la biomasa y abundancia de una especie, la boga, que determinó cambios en la composición de las especies.The collaboration of PSJ was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science through the FATFISH project (CTM2009-14362-C02-01)

Los hábitats artificiales marinos favorecen a largo plazo a una única especie: la dominancia de Boops boops en las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto

Off-shore fish cages are new artificial habitats that can affect pelagic fish assemblages and constitute an important food source for wild fish assemblages. This aggregation has noticeable ecological consequences in cage areas in impoverished ecosystems such as those in the Canary archipelago (NE Atlantic Ocean). However, this new habitat could be dominated by a single species, reducing its positive ecological effects. Wild fish assemblages associated with an off-shore fish lease on the northeastern coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands) were sampled for six years. Fish assemblage structure beneath fish cages and at controls ( > 500 m from cages) differed significantly between locations, with 13 times greater abundance at cage locations. These differences were mainly explained by the dominance of bogue (Boops boops) around fish cages. This trend was consistent in the long-term throughout the study period (2004-2009), affecting local fisheries. The presence of fish cages significantly altered wild fish assemblages in the study area, enhancing mainly biomass and abundance of one species, bogue, and causing shifts in species composition.Las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto constituyen un hábitat artificial nuevo que puede afectar a las poblaciones de peces pelágicos porque constituyen una fuente importante de alimentación para las comunidades de peces salvajes. Esta congregación tiene consecuencias ecológicas notables en áreas caracterizadas por ecosistemas empobrecidos como ocurre en el archipiélago canario (Atlántico Noreste). Sin embargo, este nuevo hábitat puede encontrarse dominado por una única especie, limitando sus efectos ecológicos positivos. Las comunidades salvajes de peces asociadas a jaulas en mar abierto localizadas en la costa noreste de la isla de Tenerife (Islas Canarias) fueron muestreadas a lo largo de 6 años. La estructura de la comunidad íctica varió significativamente entre las localidades de las jaulas y los controles ( > 500 m de distancia de las jaulas), con abundancias que fueron 13 veces superiores en las jaulas. Estas diferencias fueron debidas principalmente a la dominancia de la boga (Boops boops) alrededor de las jaulas de acuicultura. Esta tendencia fue consistente a lo largo del período de estudio (2004-2009), afectando a las capturas de los pescadores locales. La presencia de las jaulas de acuicultura afectó de forma significativa las poblaciones de peces en el área de estudio, con un incremento de la biomasa y abundancia de una especie, la boga, que determinó cambios en la composición de las especies

Nutraceutical properties and safety evaluation of fruits and arrope of Geoffroea decorticans (chañar)

Context: Geoffroea decorticans (chañar) fruits and its derivate product (arrope) have been traditionally used as food and in folk medicine for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases including bronchopulmonary disorder. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the antitussive, expectorant and anti-inflammatory effects and safety of aqueous extract (AE) and arrope (Ar) of chañar.Materials and methods: The anti-inflammatory activity of AE and Ar, was evaluated through carrageenan induced edema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation in rats. The antitussive activity was evaluated using model against ammonia induced cough in rats. The expectorant activity was evaluated by volume of phenol red in rat?s tracheas. The tested doses of extracts were of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg, (p.o.). For the safety evaluation of AE and Ar, was conducted the chronic toxicity test in rats (1 and 2 g/kg, p.o.).Results: The results showed that AE (1000 mg/Kg) significantly reduced the edema (100%) induced by carrageenan 3 h post-dosing and granuloma formation (47.76 %) induced by cotton pellets. In the ammonia liquor induced cough and the amount of phenol red secretion, AE and Ar of chañar (1000 mg/kg) significantly enhanced the latent period of cough, inhibited the cough frequency and significantly enhance tracheal phenol red compared with that negative control. The result of toxicity assays suggested that AE and Ar did not induce or cause any damage to the liver and kidney of the rats and can be considered nontoxic for these animals at tested doses.Discussion and conclusions: This study has shown that the AE and Ar, possess antitussive and expectorant significant effect. Also AE possess significant anti-inflammatory effects, both extracts were nontoxic. These findings seem to justify use of the plant in traditional medicine and are proposed, the chañar fruits as an excellent nutraceutical food.Fil: Reynoso, Marcos Adrian. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Riera, Alicia Noemi. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Vera, Nancy Roxana. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; Argentin

A critical comparison between DWT and Hilbert-Huang-based methods for the diagnosis of rotor bar failures in induction machines

(c) 2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.[EN] In this paper, a cutting-edge time-frequency decomposition tool, i.e., the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), is applied to the stator startup current to diagnose the presence of rotor asymmetries in induction machines. The objective is to extract the evolution during the startup transient of the left sideband harmonic (LSH) caused by the asymmetry, which constitutes a reliable evidence of the presence of the fault. The validity of the diagnosis methodology is assessed through several tests developed using real experimental signals. Moreover, in this paper, an analytical comparison with an alternative time-frequency decomposition tool, i.e., the discrete wavelet transform (DWT), is carried out. This tool was applied in previous works to the transient extraction of fault-related components, with satisfactory results, even in cases in which the classical Fourier approach does not lead to correct results. The results of the application of the HHT and DWT are analyzed and compared, obtaining novel conclusions about their respective suitability for the transient extraction of asymmetry-related components, as well as the equivalence, with regard to the LSH extraction, between their basic components, namely: 1) intrinsic mode function, for the HHT, and 2) approximation signal for the DWT.This work was supported in part by the Spanish “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia,” in the framework of the “Programa Nacional de proyectos de Investigación Fundamental,” project reference DPI2008-06583/DPI and in part by “Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia” through the Programa de Apoyo a la Investigación y Desarrollo under Contract PAID-06-07.Antonino-Daviu, J.; Riera-Guasp, M.; Pineda-Sanchez, M.; Pérez, RB. (2009). A critical comparison between DWT and Hilbert-Huang-based methods for the diagnosis of rotor bar failures in induction machines. IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications. 45(5):1794-1803. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2009.2027558S1794180345

Climate Change Perceptions and Adaptations among Smallholder Farmers in the Mountains of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The warming rates in many mountain areas are higher than the global average, negatively impacting crop systems. Little is known about the climatic changes which are already being observed in eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, due to the lack of long-term meteorological data. Local perceptions could help us to understand not only the climatic changes and impacts but also which adaptation strategies are already being used by local smallholder farmers. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 300 smallholder Bafuliru (n = 150) and Lega (n = 150) farmers living in the Itombwe Mountains. The respondents reported climatic changes and impacts, with the Bafuliru—living on the eastern drier slopes—reporting more changes and impacts. While the Bafuliru were implementing several adaptation strategies (e.g., increased irrigation and use of inputs, more soil conservation, more income diversification), the Lega were implementing very few, due to soft limits (access to inputs, markets, and information) and culture (less interest in farming, less capacity to organize into groups). The results highlight important differences in sociocultural contexts, even for one ‘remote’ mountain, calling for a more collaborative approach to adaptation planning and action.We acknowledge funding from Ecole Régionale d’Aménagement et Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT) and Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)