Visual SLAM for underwater vehicles using video velocity log and natural landmarks

A visual SLAM system has been implemented and optimised for real-time deployment on an AUV equipped with calibrated stereo cameras. The system incorporates a novel approach to landmark description in which landmarks are local sub maps that consist of a cloud of 3D points and their associated SIFT/SURF descriptors. Landmarks are also sparsely distributed which simplifies and accelerates data association and map updates. In addition to landmark-based localisation the system utilises visual odometry to estimate the pose of the vehicle in 6 degrees of freedom by identifying temporal matches between consecutive local sub maps and computing the motion. Both the extended Kalman filter and unscented Kalman filter have been considered for filtering the observations. The output of the filter is also smoothed using the Rauch-Tung-Striebel (RTS) method to obtain a better alignment of the sequence of local sub maps and to deliver a large-scale 3D acquisition of the surveyed area. Synthetic experiments have been performed using a simulation environment in which ray tracing is used to generate synthetic images for the stereo system

Disseny d'una eina visual per a la configuració d'Iptables

Es dissenya una eina per configurar Iptables en una distribució de xarxa. L'eina permet a través d'una interfície gràfica definir una tipologia de xarxa i generar automàticament els scripts de configuració.

Plug-in de procesado visual (OpenCV) en OpenDomo OS

Este proyecto consiste en el diseño y desarrollo de un plug-in que permita usar el sistema de procesado de imagen OpenCV desde el sistema operativo OpenDomo OS.

Control doméstico visual desde Android : VisualDomo

VisualDomo tiene como objetivo la creación de una aplicación multiplataforma para dispositivos móviles que permita controlar de manera visual los dispositivos ODControl de la empresa OpenDomo Services SL. El proyecto está desarrollado utilizando HTML, CSS y JavaScript con el soporte de Cordova.

Control domèstic visual per a Android

El projecte desenvolupa una aplicació visual per a dispositius mòbils basada en PhoneGap - Cordova (HTML + CSS + JavaScript) per al control del dispositiu ODControl de l'empresa OpenDomo Services.

PROPUESTA DE UN AMBIENTE E-LEARNING PARA EL FORTALECIMIENTO DE LAS HABILIDADES DE ALFABETIZACIÓN VISUAL E INFORMACIONAL: CASO LICENCIATURA EN ELECTRÓNICA - UPN.

El proyecto "Propuesta de un ambiente e-learning para el fortalecimiento de las habilidades de alfabetización visual e informacional: caso Licenciatura en Electrónica - UPN" fortalece la investigación alrededor de ambientes e-learning de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Con la investigación se buscó determinar las estrategias organizativas, pedagógicas y tecnológicas a implementar en el diseño y desarrollo de un entorno e-learning que promueva las habilidades de alfabetización visual e informacional en estudiantes de primer semestre de la Licenciatura en Electrónica de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional de Colombia. La investigación realizada fue de tipo cualitativo a través de un estudio de caso.

Retrats d'acollida : Una aproximació des de l'etnografia visual a les cuidadores i cuidadors de la Fundació Pere Mitjans

Acostament etnogràfic visual a un grup de cuidadors/es de la Fundació Pere Mitjans. Descobriment de l'empatia d'un col·lectiu divers de cuidadors/es amb el grup d'usuaris amb l'etiqueta de diferents, per la seva discapacitat o diversitat funcional.

The Andean Biotic Index (ABI): revised tolerance to pollution values for macroinvertebrate families and index performance evaluation.

Score-based biotic indices are widely used to evaluate the water quality of streams and rivers. Few adaptations of these indices have been done for South America because there is a lack of knowledge on mac-roinvertebrate taxonomy, distribution and tolerance to pollution in the region. Several areas in the Andes are densely populated and there is need for methods to assess the impact of increasing human pressures on aquatic ecosystems. Considering the unique ecological and geographical features of the Andes, macroinvertebrate indices used in other regions must be adapted with caution. Here we present a review of the literature on mac-roinvertebrate distribution and tolerance to pollution in Andean areas above 2 000masl. Using these data, we propose an Andean Biotic Index (ABI), which is based on the BMWP index. In general, ABI includes fewer macroinvertebrate families than in other regions of the world where the BMWP index has been applied because altitude restricts the distribution of several families. Our review shows that in the high Andes, the tolerance of several macroinvertebrate families to pollution differs from those reported in other areas. We tested the ABI index in two basins in Ecuador and Peru, and compared it to other BMWP adaptations using the reference condi-tion approach. The ABI index is extremely useful for detecting the general impairment of rivers but class quality boundaries should be defined independently for each basin because reference conditions may be different. The ABI is widely used in Ecuador and Peru, with high correlations with land-use pressures in several studies. The ABI index is an integral part of the new multimetric index designed for high Andean streams (IMEERA). Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 2): 249-273. Epub 2014 April 01.

Does visual impairment in a child or an adolescent affect their parents' quality of life? : A literature review

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the existing research shows that having a child with a visual impairment affects their parents' quality of life and, if it is thecase, in what way it does.

Case-Crossover Analysis of Air Pollution Health Effects: A Systematic Review of Methodology and Application

Case-crossover is one of the most used designs for analyzing the health-related effects of air pollution. Nevertheless, no one has reviewed its application and methodology in this context. Objective: We conducted a systematic review of case-crossover (CCO) designs used to study the relationship between air pollution and morbidity and mortality, from the standpoint of methodology and application.Data sources and extraction: A search was made of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases.Reports were classified as methodologic or applied. From the latter, the following information was extracted: author, study location, year, type of population (general or patients), dependent variable(s), independent variable(s), type of CCO design, and whether effect modification was analyzed for variables at the individual level. Data synthesis: The review covered 105 reports that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 24 addressed methodological aspects, and the remainder involved the design’s application. In the methodological reports, the designs that yielded the best results in simulation were symmetric bidirectional CCO and time-stratified CCO. Furthermore, we observed an increase across time in the use of certain CCO designs, mainly symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. The dependent variables most frequently analyzed were those relating to hospital morbidity; the pollutants most often studied were those linked to particulate matter. Among the CCO-application reports, 13.6% studied effect modification for variables at the individual level.Conclusions: The use of CCO designs has undergone considerable growth; the most widely used designs were those that yielded better results in simulation studies: symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. However, the advantages of CCO as a method of analysis of variables at the individual level are put to little use

Association between Long-Term Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Subclinical Atherosclerosis: The REGICOR Study

Background: Epidemiological evidence of the effects of long-term exposure to air pollu tion on the chronic processes of athero genesis is limited. Objective: We investigated the association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollu tion with subclinical atherosclerosis, measured by carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and ankle–brachial index (ABI). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis using data collected during the reexamination (2007–2010) of 2,780 participants in the REGICOR (Registre Gironí del Cor: the Gerona Heart Register) study, a population-based prospective cohort in Girona, Spain. Long-term exposure across residences was calculated as the last 10 years’ time-weighted average of residential nitrogen dioxide (NO2) estimates (based on a local-scale land-use regression model), traffic intensity in the nearest street, and traffic intensity in a 100 m buffer. Associations with IMT and ABI were estimated using linear regression and multinomial logistic regression, respectively, controlling for sex, age, smoking status, education, marital status, and several other potential confounders or intermediates. Results: Exposure contrasts between the 5th and 95th percentiles for NO2 (25 μg/m), traffic intensity in the nearest street (15,000 vehicles/day), and traffic load within 100 m (7,200,000 vehicle-m/day) were associated with differences of 0.56% (95% CI: –1.5, 2.6%), 2.32% (95% CI: 0.48, 4.17%), and 1.91% (95% CI: –0.24, 4.06) percent difference in IMT, respectively. Exposures were positively associated with an ABI of > 1.3, but not an ABI of < 0.9. Stronger associations were observed among those with a high level of education and in men ≥ 60 years of age. Conclusions: Long-term traffic-related exposures were associated with subclinical markers of atherosclerosis. Prospective studies are needed to confirm associations and further examine differences among population subgroups.key words: ankle–brachial index, average daily traffic, cardiovascular disease, exposure assessment, exposure to tailpipe emissions, intima media thickness, land use regression model, Mediterranean diet, nitrogen dioxide

Effects of neurotrophins on synaptic protein expression in the visual cortex of dark reared rats.

Total lack of visual experience [dark rearing (DR)] is known to prolong the critical period and delay development of sensory functions in mammalian visual cortex. Recent results show that neurotrophins (NTs) counteract the effects of DR on functional properties of visual cortical cells and exert a strong control on critical period duration. NTs are known to modulate the development and synaptic efficacy of neurotransmitter systems that are affected by DR. However, it is still unknown whether the actions of NTs in dark-reared animals involve interaction with neurotransmitter systems. We have studied the effects of DR on the expression of key molecules in the glutamatergic and GABAergic systems in control and NT-treated animals. We have found that DR reduced the expression of the NMDA receptor 2A subunit and its associated protein PSD-95 (postsynaptic density-95), of GRIP (AMPA glutamate receptor interacting protein), and of the biosynthetic enzyme GAD (glutamic acid decarboxylase). Returning dark-reared animals to light for 2 hr restored normal expression of the above-mentioned proteins almost completely. NT treatment specifically counteracts DR effects; NGF acts primarily on the NMDA system, whereas BDNF acts primarily on the GABAergic system. Finally, the action of NT4 seems to involve both excitatory and inhibitory systems. These data demonstrate that different NTs counteract DR effects by modulating the expression of key molecules of the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems

Efficient image mosaicing for multi-robot visual underwater mapping

Robotic platforms have advanced greatly in terms of their remote sensing capabilities, including obtaining optical information using cameras. Alongside these advances, visual mapping has become a very active research area, which facilitates the mapping of areas inaccessible to humans. This requires the efficient processing of data to increase the final mosaic quality and computational efficiency. In this paper, we propose an efficient image mosaicing algorithm for large area visual mapping in underwater environments using multiple underwater robots. Our method identifies overlapping image pairs in the trajectories carried out by the different robots during the topology estimation process, being this a cornerstone for efficiently mapping large areas of the seafloor. We present comparative results based on challenging real underwater datasets, which simulated multi-robot mapping

Visual impairment and multimorbidity in a representative sample of the Spanish population

BACKGROUND: In the context of population aging, visual impairment has emerged as a growing concern in public health. However, there is a need for further research into the relationship between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions in the elderly. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between visual impairment and three main types of co-morbidity: chronic physical conditions (both at an independent and additive level), mental health and cognitive functioning. METHODS: Data were collected from the COURAGE in Europe project, a cross-sectional study. A total of 4,583 participants from Spain were included. Diagnosis of chronic medical conditions included self-reported medical diagnosis and symptomatic algorithms. Depression and anxiety were assessed using CIDI algorithms. Visual assessment included objective distance/near visual acuity and subjective visual performance. Descriptive analyses included the whole sample (n = 4,583). Statistical analyses included participants aged over 50 years (n = 3,625; mean age = 66.45 years) since they have a significant prevalence of chronic conditions and visual impairment. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regressions were performed to identify independent associations between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions, physical multimorbidity and mental conditions. Covariates included age, gender, marital status, education level, employment status and urbanicity. RESULTS: The number of chronic physical conditions was found to be associated with poorer results in both distance and near visual acuity [OR 1.75 (CI 1.38-2.23); OR 1.69 (CI 1.27-2.24)]. At an independent level, arthritis, stroke and diabetes were associated with poorer distance visual acuity results after adjusting for covariates [OR 1.79 (CI 1.46-2.21); OR 1.59 (CI 1.05-2.42); OR 1.27 (1.01-1.60)]. Only stroke was associated with near visual impairment [OR 3.01 (CI 1.86-4.87)]. With regard to mental health, poor subjective visual acuity was associated with depression [OR 1.61 (CI 1.14-2.27); OR 1.48 (CI 1.03-2.13)]. Both objective and subjective poor distance and near visual acuity were associated with worse cognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis, stroke and the co-occurrence of various chronic physical diseases are associated with higher prevalence of visual impairment. Visual impairment is associated with higher prevalence of depression and poorer cognitive function results. There is a need to implement patient-centered care involving special visual assessment in these cases.

Espacio público: universidad, censura y política. Un ensayo visual

Lisbon, October 27, 2014, Dr. Jose Luis Cardoso director of the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS) at the University of Lisbon, has suspended the publication of the number 212 of the prestigious journal Análise Social. The reason: the number contains a visual essay produced by Ricardo Campos that is qualified to use a 'strong language'. While the online edition of the magazine was available (not try to find it at the site of the ICS) the printed edition was in printing machines. Now, the hard copies will be destroyed.