Spontaneous facial expression analysis using optical flow

© 2017 IEEE. Investigation of emotions manifested through facial expressions has valuable applications in predictive behavioural studies. This has piqued interest towards developing intelligent visual surveillance using facial expression analysis coupled with Closed Circuit Television (CCTV). However, a facial recognition program tailored to evaluating facial behaviour for forensic and security purposes can be met if patterns of emotions in general can be detected. The present study assesses whether emotional expression derived from frontal or profile views of the face can be used to determine differences between three emotions: Amusement, Sadness and Fear using the optical flow technique. Analysis was in the form of emotion maps constructed from feature vectors obtained from using the Lucas-Kanade implementation of optical flow. These feature vectors were selected as inputs for classification. It was anticipated that the findings would assist in improving the optical flow algorithm for feature extraction. However, further data analyses are necessary to confirm if different types of emotion can be identified clearly using optical flow or other such techniques

Loss of BAP1 Expression Is Very Rare in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is both common and highly lethal and therefore new biomarkers or potential targets for treatment are needed. Loss of BRCA associated protein-1 (BAP1) expression has been found in up to a quarter of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. Given the close anatomical relationship between intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, we therefore sought to investigate the frequency of loss of BAP1 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: The records of the department of Anatomical Pathology Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia, were searched for cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 1992 and 2014 with material available in archived formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks. Immunohistochemistry for BAP1 was performed on tissue microarray sections and if staining was equivocal or negative it was confirmed on whole sections. Negative staining for BAP1 was defined as loss of expression in all neoplastic nuclei, with preserved expression in non-neoplastic cells which acted as an internal positive control. RESULTS: Loss of BAP1 expression was found in only 1 of 306 (0.33%) pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. This case was confirmed to demonstrate diffuse loss of expression throughout all neoplastic cells in multiple blocks, consistent with BAP1 loss being an early clonal event. All other cases demonstrated positive expression of BAP1. CONCLUSION: We conclude that, in contrast to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, loss of expression of BAP1 occurs very rarely in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Therefore BAP1 inactivation is unlikely to be a frequent driver abnormality in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Preserving lumbar spine physiology in the cleaning industry

© CCH. Background: Lumbar spine disc breakdown may begin as early as the second decade of life. Peak bone mass occurs between the ages of 16 and 25 years and continuously decreases thereafter where bone loss occurs at a faster rate in females increasing throughout menopause. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship of age and gender against lumbar or non-lumbar musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) diagnosis and post-injury recovery time. Methods: Records of 144 MSD-related incidents that were recorded between 2012 and 2016 (five years) were retrieved from the injury register of a large commercial cleaning organisation (n = 700 cleaners) for analysis. The mean age of the organisations workforce was 57 years of age and 62% of cleaners were female by payroll. Results: The overall non-lumbar related MSD was higher within the older age (>45 years) group (n = 53) as opposed to the younger age (45 years) group (n = 24). A strong relationship was identified between the age of a cleaner (greater than or less than 45 years) and the type of MSD (lumbar or non-lumbar) (p = 0.027). It was identified that that 110 (76.38%) of cleaners recovered from their MSD within four weeks. Of those in the younger age (45 years) group then 29.87% (n = 23) took longer than four weeks to recover. A relationship between age and recovery time was identified at the 90% confidence interval (p = 0.058). Conclusions: It was identified that non-lumbar musculoskeletal injury is more likely to occur as one ages. Furthermore, it was identified that age may have an adverse effect upon injury recovery time. It was recommended that manual handling, return to work training programs and work schedules be periodically reviewed to strategically target the potential impacts of age and gender. It was also recommended that task-specific warm-up programs be developed to reduce the potential of cold lifting-related incidents

Optical Flow Image Analysis of Emotional Human Facial Expressions – Forensic Applications

Emotional facial expressions have been suggested as indicators of a person’s intended actions when they display a set of specific facial reactions. Our aim was to investigate Optical Flow to identify specific emotions with the long-term objective to create an algorithm that would automate the process. This would remove all allegations of bias to give security personnel an objective way of screening individuals in a crowd who may require closer scrutiny. This paper describes our preliminary studies, using film clips to elicit dynamic natural facial responses. This has identified key elements that need to be evaluated further, such as gender and age of the people under observation, as well as specific facial elements that may be of greater benefit than whole facial images for the purpose of screening crowds for potential perpertrators of anti-social behaviour

Using the inflammatory cell infiltrate to estimate the age of human burn wounds A review and immunohistochemical study

The burn wound healing process, which is reviewed in this paper, has features that differ from the healing of incised cutaneous wounds. This study used immunohistochemical staining and cell counting to examine the inflammatory cell response in biopsy samples of burn wounds from live human subjects obtained at six hours until 23 days after injury in order to determine how the age of a burn could be estimated. Acute inflammatory cells predominated in samples taken six hours to two days after injury. However, neutrophils were often minimal in early samples or could be present late. Elevated numbers of macrophages tended to be encountered from days 2 to 20, but it was not uncommon to observe a minimal or absent macrophage response. Unexpectedly, there was no trend in the number of lymphocytes. A small study was also made of burn wound samples that had been obtained at post-mortem examination of subjects that died in a fire or up to 77 days after injury from fire. This revealed a similar trend of neutrophil and macrophage accumulation. Additionally,it appeared that an increase in the number of lymphocytes occurred late, from 35 days. In conclusion: If neutrophile predominate, the wound is probably less than a couple of days old. When macrophages are abundant the wound is probably a few days to weeks old. However, as expected from the review of the literature, the inflammatory cell infiltrate may be low or absent in burn wounds, which can render determination of the age of burn wounds difficult

A study of p53 expression in thermal burns of human skin for determination of wound age

Early expression of p53 protein in thermal burns of guinea pig skin has been reported. This study sought to determine if expression occurred in thermal burns of human skin and if immunohistochemical demonstration of p53 protein could be utilised to distinguish ante-mortem from post-mortem injuries as well as indicating the age of a lesion in the living subject. Biopsy samples were obtained from live patients and post-mortem examinations. Immunohistochemistry was uRed to demonstrate the presence of p53 protein. Staining was assessed by field counting of epithelial cell nuclei. In live subjects there was a tendency for early (six hour to five day) expression, with peak levels occurring around one to two days. Late samples (13 to 23 days) demonstrated minimal or no expression. In contrast, burn wounds from post-mortem examination demonstrated greater staining for p53 protein in the late (28 to 77 day) samples than in the early ones. It appears that expression of p53 protein may assist in the ageing of ante-mortem, but not post-mortem, bum wounds. This implies that results obtained from live subjects may not be applicable to post-mortem material and that any putative method for determining the age of a wound should be tested in both situations

Optical flow image analysis of facial expressions of human emotion - Forensic applications

© 2008 ICST. The objective of this study was to induce emotions in individuals to determine if specific facial movements could be detected and analysed by the optical flow technique. This analysis is in the form of motion vector plots. The procedure ascertains if specific emotions can be defined as a set of facial movements which are common to most people when they experience a particular emotion. 'Emotion vector maps' would then be established for specific emotions. These vector sets could then be applied to automated facial image analysis for security/forensic purposes. Individuals were videotaped while watching emotion-inducing short films. After the viewing of each short film, volunteers completed a brief self-reporting questionnaire to establish the emotions they experienced. The image sequences were then analysed according to emotion, by using optical flow analysis. Results were statistically analysed. Trends and analyses are presented in relation to security and video surveillance. Issues and the development of pattern recognition systems applied to human facial images for security purposes are briefly discussed

Bolus or weekly zoledronic acid administration does not delay endochondral fracture repair but weekly dosing enhances delays in hard callus remodeling

Introduction: It has been widely assumed that osteoclasts play a pivotal role during the entire process of fracture healing. Bisphosphonates (BPs) are anti-catabolic agents commonly used to treat metabolic bone diseases including osteoporosis, minimizing fracture incidence. Yet, fractures do occur in these patients and the potential for negative effects of BPs on healing has been suggested. We aimed to examine the effect of different dosing regimes of the potent BP zoledronic acid (ZA) on early endochondral fracture repair and later callus remodeling in a normal bone healing environment. Methods: Saline, a Bolus dose of 0.1°mg/kg ZA or 5 weekly divided doses of 0.02°mg/kg of ZA commenced 1 week post operatively in a rat closed fracture model. Samples at 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks post fracture were used to analyze initial fracture union, and 12 and 26 weeks post fracture to investigate the progress of remodeling. Results: ZA did not alter the rate of endochondral fracture union. All fractures united by 6 weeks, with no difference in the progressive reduction of cartilaginous soft callus between control and treatment groups over time. ZA treatment increased hard callus bone mineral content (BMC), volume and increased callus strength at 6 and 26 weeks post fracture. Hard callus remodeling commenced at 4 weeks post fracture with Bolus ZA treatment but was delayed until after 6 weeks in the Weekly ZA group. By 12 and 26 weeks, Bolus ZA had equivalent callus content of remodeled neo-cortical bone to the Saline controls, whereas Weekly ZA remained reduced compared to Saline controls at these times (P < 0.01). Callus material properties such as peak stress were significantly reduced in both ZA groups at 6 weeks. At 26 weeks, Bolus ZA-treated calluses generated peak stress equivalent to control values, whereas Weekly ZA callus peak stress remained significantly reduced, indicating remodeling delay. Conclusions: Osteoclast inhibition with ZA does not delay endochondral fracture repair in healthy rats. Bolus ZA treatment increased net callus size and strength at 6 weeks while allowing hard callus remodeling to proceed in the long term, albeit more slowly than control. Prolonged bisphosphonate dosing during repair does not delay endochondral ossification but can significantly affect remodeling long after the drug is ceased. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Heart rate variability, blood pressure and cognitive function: Assessing age effects

Increasing age is the most significant risk factor for dementia. Aging populations see cognitive disorders becoming increasingly prevalent, unfortunately paired with high economic and social consequences. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the earliest detectable stage preceding dementia. This study aimed to identify early links between heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure (BP) to cognitive performance. Three blood pressure readings were taken pre and post study. Electrocardiogram was recorded during both resting (baseline) and cognitive interventions (active). HRV was extrapolated using a fast Fourier transform algorithm to produce low and high frequency bandwidths. Two psychometric tools were administered to assess cognitive domains such as memory, reasoning and visual construction ability. In the youngest age group, 18-35 years, higher blood pressure was detrimental to judgment and orientation but beneficial to calculation and memory skills. Higher sympathetic drive (low frequency) impaired language, recall and attention ability. In the middle age group (36-50 years) higher blood pressure predicted decline in comprehension, orientation and attention domains. Higher sympathetic activity (low frequency) was linked to decreases in various domains such as similarity and construction. The oldest group (51-65 years) showed higher blood pressure precipitated declines in recall ability and high sympathetic activity (low frequency) impaired orientation func-tion. These various associations suggest autonomic activity biomarkers for cognitive impairment vary according to age. Few studies confirm specific autonomic implications on cognition from young to older age. The cognitive associations reported highlight the potential importance of autonomic activity as a predictive tool for cognitive decline. Early detection of cognitive impairment allows for intervention methods to be applied sooner to slow or cease cognitive decline progression. © 2013 River Publishers

Optical flow based analyses to detect emotion from human facial image data

Artificial recognition of facial expression has attracted a lot of attention in the last few years and different facial expression detection methods have been developed. The current study uses a feature point tracking technique separately applied to the five facial image regions (eyebrows, eyes and mouth) to capture basic emotions. The used dataset contains a total 60 facial images from subject's different genders and nationality not wearing glasses and/or facial hair. Results show that the used point tracking algorithm separately applied to the five facial image regions can detect emotions in image sequences. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved