People and object tracking for video annotation

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia InformáticaObject tracking is a thoroughly researched problem, with a body of associated literature dating at least as far back as the late 1970s. However, and despite the development of some satisfactory real-time trackers, it has not yet seen widespread use. This is not due to a lack of applications for the technology, since several interesting ones exist. In this document, it is postulated that this status quo is due, at least in part, to a lack of easy to use software libraries supporting object tracking. An overview of the problems associated with object tracking is presented and the process of developing one such library is documented. This discussion includes how to overcome problems like heterogeneities in object representations and requirements for training or initial object position hints. Video annotation is the process of associating data with a video’s content. Associating data with a video has numerous applications, ranging from making large video archives or long videos searchable, to enabling discussion about and augmentation of the video’s content. Object tracking is presented as a valid approach to both automatic and manual video annotation, and the integration of the developed object tracking library into an existing video annotator, running on a tablet computer, is described. The challenges involved in designing an interface to support the association of video annotations with tracked objects in real-time are also discussed. In particular, we discuss our interaction approaches to handle moving object selection on live video, which we have called “Hold and Overlay” and “Hold and Speed Up”. In addition, the results of a set of preliminary tests are reported.project “TKB – A Transmedia Knowledge Base for contemporary dance” (PTDC/EA /AVP/098220/2008 funded by FCT/MCTES), the UTAustin – Portugal, Digital Media Program (SFRH/BD/42662/2007 FCT/MCTES) and by CITI/DI/FCT/UNL (Pest-OE/EEI/UI0527/2011

Shape based image retrieval and classification

Content based retrieval and recognition of objects represented in images is a challenging problem making it an active research topic. Shape analysis is one of the main approaches to the problem. In this paper we propose the use of a reduced set of features to describe 2D shapes in images. The design of the proposed technique aims to result in a short and simple to extract shape description. We conducted several experiments for both retrieval and recognition tasks and the results obtained demonstrate usefulness and competiveness against existing descriptors. For the retrieval experiment the achieved bulls eye performance is about 60%. Recognition was tested with three different classifiers: decision trees (DT), k-nearest neighbor (kNN) and support vector machines (SVM). Estimated mean accuracies range from 69% to 86% (using 10-fold cross validation). The SVM classifier presents the best performance, followed by the simple kNN classifier

ATIVIDADES DE ENFERMAGEM QUE CONTRIBUEM PARA A QUALIDADE DOS CUIDADOS: ANÁLISE FATORIAL CONFIRMATÓRIA DA ESCALA

Objetivo: analisar a estrutura fatorial da Escala de Percepção das Atividades de Enfermagem que Contribuem para a Qualidade dos Cuidados. Método: estudo metodológico com participação de 3.451 enfermeiros de 36 hospitais portugueses. Além da realização da análise fatorial confirmatória, para avaliação da confiabilidade do modelo fatorial obtido, utilizou-se o alfa de Cronbach e a confiabilidade compósita. Resultados: os pesos fatoriais da solução encontrada foram majoritariamente elevados; os valores dos índices de ajustamento do modelo foram razoáveis; o alfa de Cronbach foi elevado para a totalidade da escala e para cinco dimensões, sendo aceitável em apenas uma dimensão. A confiabilidade compósita também foi elevada em cinco dimensões, excepto em uma, considerada como aceitável. Todas as atividades apresentaram uma confiabilidade individual elevada. Conclusão: em comparação com a escala original, o modelo fatorial identificado contempla seis dimensões e não sete, produzindo uma escala confiável e válida, passível de aplicação no contexto hospitalar.Descritores: Estudos de Validação. Análise Fatorial. Psicometria. Garantia da Qualidade dos Cuidados de Saúde.Cuidados de Enfermagem

Morphological and nutritional evaluation of ‘caraíba’ seedlings in different substrates using domestic sewage effluent for fertirrigation

In this study, we evaluated the effects of fertigation with domestic sewage effluent and different substrates on the growth of Caraíba seedlings (Tabebuia aurea Benth). The experiment was accomplished in a greenhouse in Mossoró, RN. Five irrigation solutions (100% of water supply - WS, 100% of domestic sewage effluent – DS and dilutions of 75% DS + 25% WS, 50% DS + 50% WS e 25% DS + 75% WS) were tested and two substrates (75% soil + 25% bovine manure and 75% soil + 25% coconut fiber) using completely randomized design in subdivided plots with three replicates per treatment. Growth and development parameters were measured at 30, 60, 90, and 150 days after cultivation. The variables shoots height, collar diameter, height/diameter ratio, dry matter of root, shoots and total (root and shoots), shoots/root ratio, Dickson quality index, and nutritional evaluation of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium were determinate. We verified that the use of domestic sewage increased growth and quality of caraíba seedlings, besides promoting nutrient accumulation in the plants grown in substrate of bovine manure plus soil with 100% application of domestic sewage in the fertigationEn este estudio se objetivó evaluar los efectos del agua de fertirrigación con efluente de alcantarillado doméstico y de diferentes sustratos de cultivo en el crecimiento de mudas de Caraíba (Tabebuia aurea Benth). El experimento fue realizado en condiciones de ambiente protegido en la ciudad de Mossoró, RN. Se han probado cinco soluciones de riego (100% de agua de abastecimiento - AA, 100% de efluente de desagüe doméstico - EE y las diluciones del 75% EE + 25% AA, 50% EE + 50% AA y 25% EE + 75 (% AA) y dos sustratos (75% suelo + 25% estiércol de bovinos y 75% suelo + 25% fibra de coco) utilizando el delineamiento estadístico completamente casualizado, arregladas en parcelas subdivididas con tres repeticiones por tratamiento. Las evaluaciones de crecimiento y desarrollo se realizaron a los 30, 60, 90 y 150 días después de la siembra. Se determinaron las variables altura de la parte aérea, diámetro del cuello, relación entre altura y diámetro, materias secas del sistema radicular, de la parte aérea y total (raíz y parte aérea), relación entre raíz y parte aérea, índice de Dickson, y la evaluación nutricional de nitrógeno, fósforo, potasio y calcio. Se verificó que la utilización de efluente doméstico aumentó el crecimiento y la calidad de las mudas de caraíba, además de promover la acumulación nutricional en las plantas cultivadas en sustrato de estiércol bovino más suelo cuando se fertirrigadas con 100% de efluente doméstic

Dissertações

Resumos das dissertações de mestrado defendidas na Universidade Lusófona, nas áreas da Educação, Educação Especial - domínio cognitivo e motor e Supervisão Pedagógica em Educação Física e Desporto

No Pattern, No Recognition: a Survey about Reproducibility and Distortion Issues of Text Clustering and Topic Modeling

Extracting knowledge from unlabeled texts using machine learning algorithms can be complex. Document categorization and information retrieval are two applications that may benefit from unsupervised learning (e.g., text clustering and topic modeling), including exploratory data analysis. However, the unsupervised learning paradigm poses reproducibility issues. The initialization can lead to variability depending on the machine learning algorithm. Furthermore, the distortions can be misleading when regarding cluster geometry. Amongst the causes, the presence of outliers and anomalies can be a determining factor. Despite the relevance of initialization and outlier issues for text clustering and topic modeling, the authors did not find an in-depth analysis of them. This survey provides a systematic literature review (2011-2022) of these subareas and proposes a common terminology since similar procedures have different terms. The authors describe research opportunities, trends, and open issues. The appendices summarize the theoretical background of the text vectorization, the factorization, and the clustering algorithms that are directly or indirectly related to the reviewed works

Clinical and genetic factors predicting response to therapy in patients with Crohn’s disease

Aim - To identify clinical and/or genetic predictors of response to several therapies in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. Methods - We included 242 patients with CD (133 females) aged (mean ± standard deviation) 39 ± 12 years and a disease duration of 12 ± 8 years. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) studied were ABCB1 C3435T and G2677T/A, IL23R G1142A, C2370A, and G9T, CASP9 C93T, Fas G670A and LgC844T, and ATG16L1 A898G. Genotyping was performed with real-time PCR with Taqman probes. Results - Older patients responded better to 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and to azathioprine (OR 1.07, p = 0.003 and OR 1.03, p = 0.01, respectively) while younger ones responded better to biologicals (OR 0.95, p = 0.06). Previous surgery negatively influenced response to 5-ASA compounds (OR 0.25, p = 0.05), but favoured response to azathioprine (OR 2.1, p = 0.04). In respect to genetic predictors, we observed that heterozygotes for ATGL16L1 SNP had a significantly higher chance of responding to corticosteroids (OR 2.51, p = 0.04), while homozygotes for Casp9 C93T SNP had a lower chance of responding both to corticosteroids and to azathioprine (OR 0.23, p = 0.03 and OR 0.08, p = 0.02,). TT carriers of ABCB1 C3435T SNP had a higher chance of responding to azathioprine (OR 2.38, p = 0.01), while carriers of ABCB1 G2677T/A SNP, as well as responding better to azathioprine (OR 1.89, p = 0.07), had a lower chance of responding to biologicals (OR 0.31, p = 0.07), which became significant after adjusting for gender (OR 0.75, p = 0.005). Conclusions - In the present study, we were able to identify a number of clinical and genetic predictors of response to several therapies which may become of potential utility in clinical practice. These are preliminary results that need to be replicated in future pharmacogenomic studies

Multidimensional Frailty and Lifestyles of Community-Dwelling Older Portuguese Adults

Abstract: (1) Background: Lifestyles are referred to as conditioning factors for the frailty of older adults. However, there are few studies that explore its association. The objective of the present study is to analyze the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors of older adults people with multidimensional frailty. (2) Methods: Descriptive and correlational study carried out with older adults people registered in a Health Unit in Portugal. Data were collected through a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and application of the Individual Lifestyle Profile and Tilburg Frailty Index to assess the lifestyles and multidimensional frailty of older adults, respectively. This last instrument, being of a multidimensional nature, assesses not only physical, but also psychological and social frailty, with a cut-off point of 6. (3) Results: Of the 300 older adults who participated, most were female (60.3%) and had a mean age of 81.34 6.75 years. Moreover, 60.3% of the sample were frail older adults. Gender, marital status, number of household members, number of chronic diseases, number of daily medications, self-perception of health status and lifestyle and use of a walking device were associated with multidimensional frailty (p 0.001). Healthy eating habits, physical activity, relational behaviour, preventive behaviour, and stress management were significantly associated with lower physical, psychological, and social frailty (p 0.001). (4) Conclusions: When community health workers are aware of multidimensional frailty predictors and their components, they can intervene early and, consequently, delay the onset and progression of frailty in older adults.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

COVID-19: articulação das políticas de saúde e sociais para promoção de cuidados seguros aos idosos

Objetivou compreender o processo de articulação das políticas de saúde e sociais dirigidas aos idosos durante estado de emergência por COVID-19 e implicações para a enfermagem. Estudo qualitativo, documental que utiliza como fonte de dados discursos de órgãos governamentais e dirigentes sociais, veiculados em 20 jornais portugueses, de acesso online, entre 2 de março a 2 de maio de 2020. Da análise dos dados emergiram três macrocategorias: dever de proteção dos idosos como grupo vulnerável, medidas promotoras da segurança dos idosos e consciencialização das lacunas de supervisão e apoio nos cuidados aos idosos em instituições sociais. De fato, apesar dos esforços na articulação das políticas de saúde e sociais e reorganização dos serviços durante a pandemia, observaram-se algumas lacunas nos cuidados aos idosos. Ficou evidente que é necessário aproximar cuidados de saúde comunitários às instituições sociais, através da capacitação dos seus profissionais e supervisão dos cuidados

Effect of the Active Aging-in-Place–Rehabilitation Nursing Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract: (1) Background: It is of great importance to promote functional capacity and positive lifestyles, since they contribute to preventing the progression of frailty among the older adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of active aging-in-place–rehabilitation nursing program (AAP-RNP) on the functional capacity and lifestyles of frail older adults. (2) Methods: This was a single-blinded, two-group, randomized, controlled trial of 30 frail older people enrolled at a Health-care unit in Portugal between 2021 and 2022. The duration of the program was 12 weeks, and the sessions took place at the participants’ homes. We used as instruments the Tilburg Frailty Indicator; Fried frailty phenotype; Senior Fitness Test battery; Barthel Index; Lawton Index; handgrip strength measurement; Tinetti Index; Individual lifestyle profile; and Borg’s perception of effort. (3) Results: Post-program, there was an improvement in multidimensional and physical frailty, functional capacity, balance, and perceived exertion (p < 0.05) in the experimental group. Among the older adults’ lifestyles, we observed significant improvements in physical activity habits, relational behavior, and stress management. (4) Conclusions: Rehabilitation nurses have a relevant role, and the AAP-RNP seems to be effective in improving functional capacity and lifestyles in frail older adults.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio