Temporal Segmentation of Video Lectures: a speech-based optimization framework

Video lectures are very popular nowadays. Following the new teaching trends, students are increasingly seeking educational videos on the web for the most different purposes: learn something new, review content for exams or just out of curiosity. Unfortunately, finding specific content in this type of video is not an easy task. Many video lectures are extensive and cover several topics, and not all of these topics are relevant to the user who has found the video. The result is that the user spends so much time trying to find a topic of interest in the middle of content irrelevant to him. The temporal segmentation of video lectures in topics can solve this problem allowing users to navigate of a non-linear way through all topics of a video lecture. However, temporal video lecture segmentation is a time-consuming task and must be automatized. For this reason, in this work we propose an optimization framework for the temporal video lecture segmentation problem. Our proposal only uses information from the teacher’s speech, therefore it does not depend on any additional resources such as slides, textbooks or manually generated subtitles. This makes our proposal versatile, as we can apply it to a wide range of different video lectures, as it only requires the teacher’s speech on the video. To do this, we formulate this problem as a linear programming model where we combine prosodic and semantic features from speech that may indicate topic transitions. To optimize this model, we use a elitist genetic algorithm with local search. Through the experiments, we were able to evaluate different aspects of our approach such as sensibility to parameter variation and convergence behavior. Also, we show that our method was capable of overcoming state-of-the-art methods, both in Recall and in F1-Score, in two different datasets of video lectures. Finally, we provide the implementation of our framework so that other researchers can contribute and reproduce our results.As videoaulas são muito populares hoje em dia. Seguindo as novas tendências de ensino, estudantes procuram cada vez mais por vídeos educacionais na Web com os mais diferentes propósitos: aprender algo novo, revisar conteúdo para exames ou apenas por curiosidade. Infelizmente, encontrar conteúdo específico nesse tipo de vídeo não é uma tarefa fácil. Muitas videoaulas são extensas e abrangem vários tópicos, sendo que nem todos são relevantes para o usuário que encontrou o vídeo. O resultado disso é que o usuário acaba gastando muito tempo ao tentar encontrar um tópico de interesse em meio a conteúdo que é irrelevante para ele. A segmentação temporal de videoaulas em tópicos pode resolver esse problema ao permitir que os usuários naveguem de maneira não-linear entre os tópicos existentes em uma videoaula. No entanto, se trata de uma tarefa dispendiosa que precisa ser automatizada. Por esse motivo, neste trabalho, propomos um framework de otimização para o problema de segmentação temporal de videoaulas. Nossa proposta utiliza apenas informações da fala do professor, portanto, não depende de recursos adicionais, como slides, livros didáticos ou legendas geradas manualmente. Isso a torna versátil, pois podemos aplicá-la a uma ampla variedade de videoaulas, uma vez que requer apenas que o discurso do professor esteja presente. Para fazer isso, formulamos o problema como um modelo de programação linear, onde combinamos recursos prosódicos e semânticos da fala que podem indicar transições de tópicos. Para otimizar esse modelo, usamos um algoritmo genético elitista com busca local. Através dos experimentos, fomos capazes de avaliar diferentes aspectos de nossa abordagem, como sua sensibilidade à variação de parâmetros e comportamento de convergência. Além disso, mostramos que nosso método foi capaz de superar métodos do estado da arte, tanto em Recall quanto em F1-Score, em dois conjuntos diferentes de videoaulas. Por fim, disponibilizamos a implementação de nosso framework para que outros pesquisadores possam contribuir e reproduzir nossos resultados.CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superio

The evaluation of sequential platelet counts has prognostic value for acute kidney injury patients requiring dialysis in the intensive care setting

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of platelet counts in acute kidney injury patients requiring renal replacement therapy. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was performed in three tertiary-care hospitals. Platelet counts were obtained upon admission to the intensive care unit and during the first week of renal replacement therapy on days 1, 3, 5 and 7. The outcome of interest was the hospital mortality rate. With the aim of minimizing individual variation, we analyzed the relative platelet counts on days 3, 5, 7 and at the point of the largest variation during the first week of renal replacement therapy. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the prognostic value of the platelet counts. RESULTS: The study included 274 patients. The hospital mortality rate was 62%. The survivors had significantly higher platelet counts upon admission to the intensive care unit compared to the non-survivors [175.5×103/mm3 (108.5-259×103/mm3) vs. 148×103/mm3 (80−141×103/mm3)] and during the first week of renal replacement therapy. The relative platelet count reductions were significantly associated with a higher hospital mortality rate compared with the platelet count increases (70% vs. 44% at the nadir, respectively). A relative platelet count reduction >;60% was significantly associated with a worse outcome (mortality rate = 82.6%). Relative platelet count variations and the percentage of reduction were independent risk factors of hospital mortality during the first week of renal replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: Platelet counts upon admission to the intensive care unit and at the beginning of renal replacement therapy as well as sequential platelet count evaluation have prognostic value in acute kidney injury patients requiring renal replacement therapy

SEGBEE: Mobile Application for Honey Segmentation in Apiary Boards

Beekeeping is one of the most important activities for humans. Since ancient times, honey has been used in the treatment of several diseases and is an extremely powerful antioxidant. The process of visual analysis of the apiary requires trained specialists who try to obtain relevant information to make a decision about what to do with the honeycomb. Since the process is performed manually, given the complexity of the task, opportunities arise for the application of automated systems that can assist the beekeeper's decision making. Thus, this paper presents the development of the application \textit{SegBee}, a computational tool that performs the segmentation in the apiary plates, where there is the presence of honey, in an accessible, fast and practical way. To do this, the OpenCV library was used for the digital image processing part, and the Kivy library was used to develop the interface of the mobile application. The tests performed showed that the images were adequately segmented by \textit{SegBee}, indicating where the honey is located on each analyzed plate. A visual comparison was made between results obtained by \textit{SegBee} and another commercial application, demonstrating the effectiveness of the developed tool. The proposed solution contributes to the improvement of the beekeeping professionals' work, once the application is simple to use and fast to process, being able to help in the honey identification task in apiaries plates

Framework for Knowledge Discovery in Educational Video Repositories

The ease of creating digital content coupled with technological advancements allows institutions and organizations to further embrace distance learning. Teaching materials also receive attention, because it is difficult for the student to obtain adequate didactic material, being necessary a high effort and knowledge about the material and the repository. This work presents a framework that enables the automatic metadata generation for materials available in educational video repositories. Each module of the framework works autonomously and can be used in isolation, complemented by another technique or replaced by a more appropriate approach to the field of use, such as repositories with other types of media or other content

Organizational culture and sustainability in Brazilian electricity companies

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the relationship between cultural profiles and the economic, environmental and social dimensions of electricity companies’ reporting based on the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability framework. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used the competing values framework, developed by Cameron and Quinn, as the theoretical starting point, with primary data collected through surveys that assessed organizational culture and with secondary data collected through the GRI indicators reported by the companies. Findings – First, the framework shows whether a company’s organizational culture corresponds with one of the following options: clan, adhocracy, market or hierarchy. The results show that most of the companies’ organizational cultures were hierarchical, characterized by a greater need for stability and control and a formal work environment. Clans were the second most popular type of organizational culture, characterized as having greater internal flexibility, more informal environments and fewer hierarchical levels. Second, by combining the above results with the assessment of the GRI indicators in the companies’ sustainability reports, the study checked whether the companies had strong (balanced) or non-balanced cultures. The results show that there was a greater correlation between a strong (balanced) culture and the total value of the reported indicators, compared to a non-balanced culture. Originality/value – The paper takes an innovative approach by correlating two different but wellrecognized methodologies as a way to create a more holistic assessment that can help stakeholders to understand both the way these companies work and how this choice reflects the transparency of their reportin

Quality control of Trichogramma atopovirilia and Trichogramma pretiosum (Hym.: Trichogrammatidae) adults reared under laboratory conditions

The objective of this work was to assess the flight capacity, parasitism and emergence of Trichogramma atopoviriliaand two strains of T. pretiosum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) (L1 and L2). The flight capacity of these species was assessed in test units consisting of a plastic PVC cylinder with a rigid transparent plastic circle on the upper part and an extruded polystyrene disk closing its bottom. A tube was placed in each test unit containing a card with 300 Anagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs parasitised by Trichogramma. These cards were assessed to determine the parasitism rate and adult emergence of these natural enemies. T. atopovirilia and T. pretiosum L1 presented adequate flight capacity and parasitism, in addition to high percentages of adults emerged

Estratégias de educação sustentável e gestão de pessoas: novos rumos?

Neste artigo buscou-se compreender se as Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), nos cursos de Administração que priorizam a educação sustentável de modo compatível aos Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), tornaram seus alunos candidatos potenciais nos processos de recrutamento e seleção em empresas brasileiras. A base teórica alicerçou-se em Boyatzis e Dutra. A metodologia é de caráter exploratório - descritiva com abordagem qualitativa. Os resultados demonstram que a maioria das empresas, apesar de considerarem fundamental o conhecimento dos candidatos sobre educação sustentável, ainda não utiliza esse critério nos processos de recrutamento, seleção e desenvolvimento de carreira, em virtude do desconhecimento em relação ao esforço que as IES vêm realizando juntamente à rede PRME

Effects of Early Changes in Organ Dysfunctions on the Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients in Need of Renal Replacement Therapy

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury usually develops in critically ill patients in the context of multiple organ dysfunctions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of changes in associated organ dysfunctions over the first three days of renal replacement therapy on the outcomes of patients with acute kidney injury. METHODS: Over a 19-month period, we evaluated 260 patients admitted to the intensive care units of three tertiary-care hospitals who required renal replacement therapy for > 48 h. Organ dysfunctions were evaluated by SOFA score (excluding renal points) on the first (D1) and third (D3) days of renal replacement therapy. Absolute (A-SOFA) and relative (D-SOFA) changes in SOFA scores were also calculated. RESULTS: Hospital mortality rate was 75%. Organ dysfunctions worsened (A-SOFA>0) in 53%, remained unchanged (A-SOFA=0) in 17% and improved (A-SOFA<0) in 30% of patients; and mortality was lower in the last group (80% vs. 84% vs. 61%, p=0.003). SOFA on D1 (p<0.001), SOFA on D3 (p<0.001), A-SOFA (p=0.019) and D-SOFA (p=0.016) were higher in non-survivors. However, neither A-SOFA nor D-SOFA discriminated survivors from non-survivors on an individual basis. Adjusting for other covariates (including SOFA on D1), A-SOFA and D-SOFA were associated with increased mortality, and patients in whom SOFA scores worsened or remained unchanged had poorer outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to baseline values, early changes in SOFA score after the start of renal replacement therapy were associated with hospital mortality. However, no prognostic score should be used as the only parameter to predict individual outcomes

Perspectivas profissionais de executivas brasileiras pós-programa de expatriação: punição ou recompensa?

Este artigo busca identificar quais as perspectivas profissionais das executivas brasileiras expatriadas. O artigo fundamenta-se em uma pesquisa sobre expatriação, de caráter exploratória e de natureza qualitativa com foco descritivo. A estratégia de pesquisa recaiu sobre o método de análise de conteúdo. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de uma rede social. Os resultados mostram que a essas mulheres encaram o programa de expatriação como uma grande oportunidade profissional, sendo assim, essas mulheres planejam suas carreiras para atingir os seus objetivos e suas perspectivas não estão, necessariamente, ligadas ao seu desenvolvimento profissional nas empresas

Statistical process control of manufacturing tablets for antiretroviral therapy

In this study, the manufacturing process of lamivudine (3TC) and zidovudine (AZT) tablets (150+300 mg respectively) was evaluated using statistical process control (SPC) tools. These medicines are manufactured by the Fundação para o Remédio Popular “Chopin Tavares de Lima” (FURP) laboratory, and are distributed free of charge to patients infected with HIV by the Ministry of Health DST/AIDS national program. Data of 529 batches manufactured from 2012 to 2015 were collected. The critical quality attributes of weight variation, uniformity of dosage units, and dissolution were evaluated. Process stability was assessed using control charts, and the capability indices Cp, Cpk, Pp, and Ppk (process capability; process capability adjusted for non-centered distribution; potential or global capability of the process; and potential process capability adjusted for non-centered distribution, respectively) were evaluated. 3TC dissolution data from 2013 revealed a non-centered process and lack of consistency compared to the other years, showing Cpk and Ppk lower than 1.0 and the chance of failure of 2,483 in 1,000,000 tablets. Dissolution data from 2015 showed process improvement, revealed by Cpk and Ppk equal to 2.19 and 1.99, respectively. Overall, the control charts and capability indices showed the variability of the process and special causes. Additionally, it was possible to point out the opportunities for process changes, which are fundamental for understanding and supporting a continuous improvement environment