Specialized Mappings Architecture with Applications to Vision-based Estimation of Articulated Body Pose

A fundamental task of vision systems is to infer the state of the world given some form of visual observations. From a computational perspective, this often involves facing an ill-posed problem; e.g., information is lost via projection of the 3D world into a 2D image. Solution of an ill-posed problem requires additional information, usually provided as a model of the underlying process. It is important that the model be both computationally feasible as well as theoretically well-founded. In this thesis, a probabilistic, nonlinear supervised computational learning model is proposed: the Specialized Mappings Architecture (SMA). The SMA framework is demonstrated in a computer vision system that can estimate the articulated pose parameters of a human body or human hands, given images obtained via one or more uncalibrated cameras. The SMA consists of several specialized forward mapping functions that are estimated automatically from training data, and a possibly known feedback function. Each specialized function maps certain domains of the input space (e.g., image features) onto the output space (e.g., articulated body parameters). A probabilistic model for the architecture is first formalized. Solutions to key algorithmic problems are then derived: simultaneous learning of the specialized domains along with the mapping functions, as well as performing inference given inputs and a feedback function. The SMA employs a variant of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm and approximate inference. The approach allows the use of alternative conditional independence assumptions for learning and inference, which are derived from a forward model and a feedback model. Experimental validation of the proposed approach is conducted in the task of estimating articulated body pose from image silhouettes. Accuracy and stability of the SMA framework is tested using artificial data sets, as well as synthetic and real video sequences of human bodies and hands.

Longitudinal study of changes in body mass index, anthropometric measures, dietary intake and physical activity in cohorts of school-going Irish adolescents

The prevalence of obesity worldwide has increased dramatically over the last few decades. Poor dietary habits and low levels of exercise in adolescence are often maintained into adulthood where they can impact on the incidence of obesity and chronic diseases. A 3-year longitudinal study of anthropometric, dietary and exercise parameters was carried out annually (2005 - 2007) in 3 Irish secondary schools. Anthropometric measurements were taken in each year and analysed longitudinally. Overweight and obesity were at relatively low levels in these adolescents. Height, weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and TST increased significantly over the 3 years. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) decreased significantly over time. Boys were significantly taller than girls across the 3 years. A 3-day weighed food diary was used to assess food intake by the adolescents. Analysis of dietary intake data was determined using WISP©. Mean daily energy and nutrient intakes were reported. Mean daily energy and macronutrient intakes were analysed longitudinally. The adolescents’ diet was characterised by relatively high saturated fat intakes and insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption. The dietary pattern did not change significantly over the 3 years. Boys consumed more energy than girls over the study period. A validated questionnaire was used to assess physical activity and sedentary activity levels. Boys were substantially more active and had higher energy expenditure estimates than girls throughout the study. A significant longitudinal decrease in physical activity levels among the adolescents was observed. Both genders spent more than the recommended amount of time (hrs/day) pursing sedentary activities. The dietary pattern in these Irish adolescents is relatively poor. Of additional concern is the overall longitudinal decrease in physical activity levels. Promoting consumption of a balanced diet and increased exercise levels among adolescents will help to reduce future public health care costs due to weight-related diseases.

Musculoskeletal symptoms among female garment factory workers in Sri Lanka.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and their association with sociodemographic risk factors among female garment factory workers in Sri Lanka. METHODS: 1058 randomly selected female garment factory workers employed in the free trade zone of Kogalla, Sri Lanka were recruited to complete two interviewer-administered questionnaires assessing musculoskeletal symptoms and health behaviors. DISCUSSION: Musculoskeletal complaints among female garment workers in the FTZ of Kogalla are less common than expected. Sociocultural factors may have resulted in underreporting and similarly contribute to the low rates of healthcare utilization by these women. RESULTS: 164 (15.5%) of workers reported musculoskeletal symptoms occurring more than 3 times or lasting a week or more during the previous 12-month period. Back (57.3%) and knee (31.7%) were the most common sites of pain. Although most symptomatic women reported that their problems interfered with work and leisure activities, very few missed work as a result of their pain. Prevalence correlated positively with increased age and industry tenure of less than 12 months. Job type, body mass index, and education were not significant predictors of musculoskeletal symptoms.

Mainland size variation informs predictive models of exceptional insular body size change in rodents.

The tendency for island populations of mammalian taxa to diverge in body size from their mainland counterparts consistently in particular directions is both impressive for its regularity and, especially among rodents, troublesome for its exceptions. However, previous studies have largely ignored mainland body size variation, treating size differences of any magnitude as equally noteworthy. Here, we use distributions of mainland population body sizes to identify island populations as 'extremely' big or small, and we compare traits of extreme populations and their islands with those of island populations more typical in body size. We find that although insular rodents vary in the directions of body size change, 'extreme' populations tend towards gigantism. With classification tree methods, we develop a predictive model, which points to resource limitations as major drivers in the few cases of insular dwarfism. Highly successful in classifying our dataset, our model also successfully predicts change in untested cases.

Big or fast: two strategies in the developmental control of body size.

Adult body size is controlled by the mechanisms that stop growth when a species-characteristic size has been reached. The mechanisms by which size is sensed and by which this information is transduced to the growth regulating system are beginning to be understood in a few species of insects. Two rather different strategies for control have been discovered; one favors large body size and the other favors rapid development.

Relationship between work stress and body mass index among 45,810 female and male employees

Objective: The proportion of overweight and obese people has grown rapidly, and obesity has now been widely recognized as an important public health problem. At the came time, stress has increased in working life. The 2 problems could be connected if work stress promotes unhealthy eating habits and sedentary behavior and thereby contributes to weight gain. This study explored the association between work stress and body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)). Methods: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data obtained from 45,810 female and male employees participating in the ongoing Finnish Public Sector Cohort Study. We constructed individual-level scores, as well as occupational- and organizational-level aggregated scores for work stress, as indicated by the demand/control model and the effort-reward imbalance model. Linear regression analyses were stratified by sex and socioeconomic status (SES) and adjusted for age, marital status, job contract, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and negative affectivity. Results: The results with the aggregated scores showed that lower job control, higher job strain, and higher effort-reward imbalance were associated with a higher BMI. In men, lower job demands were also associated with a higher BMI. These associations were not accounted for by SES, although an additional adjustment for SES attenuated the associations. The results obtained with the individual-level scores were in the same direction, but the relationships were weaker than those obtained with the aggregated scores. Conclusions: This study shows a weak association between work stress and BMI.

Improving signal reliability in outdoor body-to-body communications using front and back positioned antenna diversity

It has previously been shown that human body shadowing can have a considerable impact on body-to-body communications channels in low multipath environments. Signal degradation directly attributable to shadowing when one user's body obstructs the main line of sight can be as great as 40 dB. When both people's bodies obstruct the direct line of sight path, the communications link can be lost altogether even at very short distances of a few metres. In this paper, using front and back positioned antennas, we investigate the utility of a simple selection combination diversity combining scheme with the aim of mitigating human body shadowing in outdoor body-to-body communications channels at 2.45 GHz. Early results from this work are extremely promising, indicating substantial diversity gains, as great as 29 dB, may be achieved in a number of everyday scenarios likely to be encountered in body-to-body networking. © 2012 IEEE.

Traumatic brain injury and co-occurring problems in prison populations: a systematic review.

Background: A growing body of epidemiological research suggests high rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in prisoners. The aim of this review is to systematically explore the literature surrounding the rates of TBI and their co-occurrences in a prison population.
Methods: Six electronic databases were systematically searched for articles published between 1980 and 2014. Studies were screened for inclusion based on predetermined criteria by two researchers who independently performed data extraction. Study quality was appraised based on a modified quality assessment tool.
Results: Twenty six studies were included in this review. Quality assessment ranged from 20% (poor) to 80% (good) with an overall average of 60%. Twenty four papers included TBI prevalence rates, which ranged from 5.69%-88%. Seventeen studies explored co-occurring factors including rates of aggression (n=7), substance abuse (n=9), anxiety and depression (n=5), neurocognitive deficits (n=4), and psychiatric conditions (n=3).
Conclusions: The high degree of variation in TBI rates may be attributed to the inconsistent way in which TBI was measured with only seven studies using valid and reliable screening tools. Additionally, gaps in the literature surrounding personality outcomes in prisoners with TBI, female prisoners with TBI, and qualitative outcomes were found.

Kernelized structural classification for 3D dogs body parts detection

Despite pattern recognition methods for human behavioral analysis has flourished in the last decade, animal behavioral analysis has been almost neglected. Those few approaches are mostly focused on preserving livestock economic value while attention on the welfare of companion animals, like dogs, is now emerging as a social need. In this work, following the analogy with human behavior recognition, we propose a system for recognizing body parts of dogs kept in pens. We decide to adopt both 2D and 3D features in order to obtain a rich description of the dog model. Images are acquired using the Microsoft Kinect to capture the depth map images of the dog. Upon depth maps a Structural Support Vector Machine (SSVM) is employed to identify the body parts using both 3D features and 2D images. The proposal relies on a kernelized discriminative structural classificator specifically tailored for dogs independently from the size and breed. The classification is performed in an online fashion using the LaRank optimization technique to obtaining real time performances. Promising results have emerged during the experimental evaluation carried out at a dog shelter, managed by IZSAM, in Teramo, Italy.

Systematic Review of the Measurement Properties of Tools Used to Measure Behaviour Problems in Young Children with Autism

Background
Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population.

Objectives
To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years.

Methods
Behaviour measurement tools were identified as part of a larger, two stage, systematic review. First, sixteen major electronic databases, as well as grey literature and research registers were searched, and tools used listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools in use with young children with ASD in ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COSMIN checklist.

Results
We identified twelve tools which had been used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD, and fifteen studies which investigated the measurement properties of six of these tools. There was no evidence available for the remaining six tools. Two questionnaires were found to be the most robust in their measurement properties, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home Situations Questionnaire—Pervasive Developmental Disorders version.

Conclusions
We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity, for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD. More systematic research is required on measurement properties of tools for use in this population, in particular to establish responsiveness to change which is essential in measurement of outcomes of intervention.

PROSPERO Registration Number

CRD42012002223

Problems of minimal aerodynamic resistance

Nesta tese estamos preocupados com o problema da resistência mínima primeiro dirigida por I. Newton em seu Principia (1687): encontrar o corpo de resistência mínima que se desloca através de um médio. As partículas do médio não interagem entre si, bem como a interação das partículas com o corpo é perfeitamente elástica. Diferentes abordagens desse modelo foram feitas por vários matemáticos nos últimos 20 anos. Aqui damos uma visão geral sobre estes resultados que representa interesse independente, uma vez que os autores diferentes usam notações diferentes. Apresentamos uma solução do problema de minimização na classe de corpos de revolução geralmente não convexos e simplesmente conexos. Acontece que nessa classe existem corpos com resistência menor do que o mínimo da resistência na classe de corpos convexos de revolução. Encontramos o infimum da resistência nesta classe e construimos uma sequência regular de corpos que aproxima este infimum. Também apresentamos um corpo de resistência nula. Até agora ninguém sabia se tais corpos existem ou não, evidentemente o nosso corpo não pertence a nenhuma classe anteriormente analisado. Este corpo é não convexo e não simplesmente conexo; a forma topológica dele é um toro, parece um UFO extraterrestre. Apresentamos aqui várias famílias de tais corpos e estudamos as suas propriedades. Também apresentamos um corpo que é natural de chamar um corpo "invisíveis em uma direção", uma vez que a trajectória de cada partícula com a certa direcção coincide com a linha recta fora do invólucro convexo do corpo. ABSTRACT: In this thesis we are concerned with the problem of minimal resistance first addressed by I. Newton in his Principia (1687): find the body of minimal resistance moving through a medium. The medium particles do not mutually interact, and the interaction of particles with the body is perfectly elastic. Different approaches to that model have been tried by several mathematicians during the last 20 years. Here we give an overview of these results that represents interest in itself since all authors use different notations. We present a solution of the minimization problem in the class of generally non convex, simply connected bodies of revolution. It happens that in this class there are bodies with smaller resistance than the minimum in the class of convex bodies of revolution. We find the infimum of the resistance in this class, and construct a sequence of bodies which approximates this infimum. Also we present a body of zero resistance. Since earlier it was unknown if such bodies exists or not, evidently our body does not belong to any class previously examined. The zero resistance body found by us is non-convex and non-simply connected; topologically it is a torus, and it looks like an extraterrestrial UFO. We present here several families of such bodies and study their properties. We also present a body which is natural to call a body "invisible in one direction", since the trajectory of each particle with the given direction, outside the convex hull of the body, coincides with a straight line.

A Benefit-Risk Assessment Framework for Development of Clinical Guidelines in Diagnostic Radiology

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2015-12

Clay body wrap with microcurrent: effects in central adiposity

Introduction Increased fat mass is becoming more prevalent in women and its accumulation in the abdominal region can lead to numerous health risks such as diabetes mellitus. The clay body wrap using compounds such as green clay, green tea and magnesium sulfate, in addition to microcurrent, may reduce abdominal fat mass and minimize or prevent numerous health problems. Objective This study aims at measuring the influence of the clay body wrap with microcurrent and aerobic exercise on abdominal fat. Methods Nineteen female patients, randomized into intervention (n = 10) and control (n = 9) groups, were evaluated using ultrasound for visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat, calipers and abdominal region perimeter for subcutaneous fat and bioimpedance for weight, fat mass percentage and muscular mass. During 10 sessions (5 weeks, twice a week) both groups performed aerobic exercise in a cycloergometer and a clay body wrap with microcurrent was applied to the intervention group. Results When comparing both groups after 5 weeks of protocol, there was a significant decrease in the subcutaneous fat around left anterior superior iliac spine in the intervention group (ρ = 0.026 for a confidence interval 95%). When comparing initial and final abdominal fat in the intervention group, measured by ultrasound (subcutaneous and visceral fat) and by skinfold (subcutaneous fat), we detected a significant abdominal fat reduction. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the clay body wrap used with microcurrent and aerobic exercise can have a positive effect on central fat reduction.

Male body size and breeding tubercles are both linked to intra-sexual dominance and reproductive success in the minnow

Male dominance hierarchies are usually linked to relative body size and to weapon size, that is, to determinants of fighting ability. Secondary sexual characters that are not directly used as weapons could still be linked to dominance if they reveal determination or overall health and vigour and hence, indirectly, fighting ability. We studied the mating behaviour of the minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus, a cyprinid fish in which males develop breeding tubercles during the spawning season. The function of these breeding tubercles is still not clear. Using microsatellite markers, we determined male reproductive success under controlled conditions. The minnows were territorial and quickly established a dominance hierarchy at the beginning of the spawning season. Dominance was strongly and positively linked to fertilization success. Although body size and number of breeding tubercles were not significantly correlated in our sample, both large males and males with many breeding tubercles were more dominant and achieved higher fertilization success than small males or males with few tubercles. We found multimale fertilization in most clutches, suggesting that sperm competition is important in this species. Females showed behaviour that may be linked to spawning decision, that is, male dominance might not be the only determinant of male reproductive success in minnows

Pediatric drug-related problems: a multicenter study in four French-speaking countries.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric intensive care patients represent a population at high risk for drug-related problems. There are few studies that compare the activity of clinical pharmacists between countries. OBJECTIVE: To describe the drug-related problems identified and interventions by four pharmacists in a pediatric cardiac and intensive care unit. SETTING: Four pediatric centers in France, Quebec, Switzerland and Belgium. METHOD: This was a six-month multicenter, descriptive and prospective study conducted from August 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010. Drug-related problems and clinical interventions were compiled from four pediatric centers in France, Quebec, Switzerland and Belgium. Data on patients, drugs, intervention, documentation, approval and estimated impact were compiled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number and type of drug-related problems encountered in a large pediatric inpatient population. RESULTS: A total of 996 interventions were recorded: 238 (24 %) in France, 278 (28 %) in Quebec, 351 (35 %) in Switzerland and 129 (13 %) in Belgium. These interventions targeted 270 patients (median 21 months old, 53 % male): 88 (33 %) in France, 56 (21 %) in Quebec, 57 (21 %) in Switzerland and 69 (26 %) in Belgium. The main drug-related problems were inappropriate administration technique (29 %), untreated indication (25 %) and supra-therapeutic dose (11 %). The pharmacists' interventions were mostly optimizing the mode of administration (22 %), dose adjustment (20 %) and therapeutic monitoring (16 %). The two major drug classes that led to interventions were anti-infectives for systemic use (23 %) and digestive system and metabolism drugs (22 %). Interventions mainly involved residents and all clinical staff (21 %). Among the 878 (88 %) proposed interventions requiring physician approval, 860 (98 %) were accepted. CONCLUSION: This descriptive study illustrates drug-related problems and the ability of clinical pharmacists to identify and resolve them in pediatric intensive care units in four French-speaking countries.